A Bureaucratic Organization - Case Study Example

A Bureaucratic Organization Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Bureaucratic organization 3 2.1 Purpose of the organization 3 2.1.1 Goals of the organisation 4 2.2 Structure 5 2.2.1 Centralization 5 2.2.2 Formalization 8 2.2.3 Complexity 9 2.3 Coordination mechanism 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 1. Introduction A bureaucratic organization is the organization with formal and complex management process (reading 2). The organization selected for this assignment is University of Sydney. The University of Sydney is one of the most prestigious Universities in Australia and globally. The University is ranked 37th globally in terms of academic performance. The reason for considering this organization as bureaucratic is because of its decision making process as spelt out in the organizational structure (University of Sydney 2014). The information about the organisation and its existence was both from the friends and the electronic media like internet, magazines and newspapers. The objectives of this essay include identifying the main task of the organization, discuss the structure of the organization and coordination mechanisms used in the organization and finally provide the conclusion. 2. Bureaucratic organization 2.1 Purpose of the organization 1. The University of Sydney performs various tasks. The first task which is performed by the organization includes motivating the students and the staff to be motivated so that they can be retained in the organization. For instance, motivating the students is done by ensuring that they are provided with relevant and adequate learning materials to improve their wellbeing. In addition, the University has the task of creating employment opportunities to the society (University of Sydney 2015). This is because the organization needs employees to work for it. In this context, the organization has the tasks of creating job opportunities to the society. 2. In addition, the organization has the task of corporate social responsibility. This is the task of ensuring that the University has good public relations with the society by engaging in societal activities. This helps to improve the wellbeing of the society. For instance, the organization has the responsibility of ensuring that the community life is incorporated into the University strategic plan (University of Sydney 2015). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the University to improve the wellbeing of the society. 3. The other task that is performed by the organization is to ensure effective research and development and innovation to develop new technologies that can be applied to improve the life in the society. This is because the organization is comprised of intellectuals who conduct research and make new discoveries. For instance, in the school of medical sciences, the intellectuals conduct research and make new discoveries that can help to improve the wellbeing of the society (University of Sydney 2015). This is one of the biggest responsibilities of the organization. 2.1.1 Goals of the organisation On the other hand, the main goals of the organization include the following; the first goal of the University of Sydney is to provide services which are distinctive and student centered University globally. This will be done by providing quality services and variety of courses like engineering and medicine as well as business management courses (University of Sydney 2014). These services will be provided based on the needs and expectations of the students hence student centered services. The other goal of University of Sydney is to be the leading and a vibrant research based University in the region and international education sector. This is achieved by ensuring that the University provides quality education and also admitting the international students. The research centers will help to conduct research by both national and international students and this will help to improve the rating of the University. The University also has the goals of providing unique learning experience among the students by offering various learning programs (University of Sydney 2014). For instance, there will be distance learning, part time learning and online learning. This will help to meet the needs and expectations of the students in terms of the learning programs. This will help the University to be unique thus improving its global ranking and reputation. 2.2 Structure 2.2.1 Centralization According to the centralization organizational structure, the major decisions are made at the highest level of management and then communication to other levels of management like middle level management and lower level management that include the employees. The decisions which are made at the topmost are based however on the needs of the user departments and with the consultation of the other departments. The main concept that makes the centralized organization to succeed is the communication that is made between the top management and the lower levels of management (reading 2). Organizational structure is the framework that defines the relationship between the internal and external stakeholders. The two main aspects of structuring an organization include the division of work and tasks and coordination of the different duties which are played in the organization. Centralization is the basic dimension that helps to define the structure of University of Sydney (reading 2). According to the structure of University of Sydney, the structure can be defined as vertical organizational structure because it has hierarchy at which various decisions are made at each level. The corporate decisions are made at topmost level of management that is the senate followed in the next rank by vice chancellor and academic board. Next in rank is the senior executive group followed by deputy vice chancellor and vice principals. This can clearly indicate that the University has bureaucratic structure (University of Sydney 2015). This organizational chart can be indicated by the structure below; (University of Sydney 2015) 2.2.2 Formalization In order to ensure effective management of the organization, there are policies and procedures that should be followed. The first policy of University of Sydney is the procurement. According to the procurement policy of the organization, a formal tendering process should be followed when buying the products and services for the organisation. This is a formal process that is long to complete. The basic principles of procurement in the organisation include integrity, values for money and quality and effectiveness in the procurement process (University of Sydney 2014). The procurement procedures therefore are followed by the organisation. On the other hand, the external policy of the organisation on the other hand influences the relationship between the internal and external stakeholders (reading 2). As a way of formalizing the processes and procedures of the organisation, the external policy requires the staff to engage in formal relationship with the external stakeholders. This helps to protect the interests of both the external and internal stakeholders (University of Sydney 2014). This means that there should be no personal commitments when acting on behalf of the organisation. The other policy that formalizes the bureaucracy of the organisation is the code of conduct policy. The code of conduct spells out the acceptable behavior among the stakeholders. This applies to both the University staff and the non teaching staff (University of Sydney 2014). For instance, the procedure of reporting a dispute should start with by reporting to the immediate supervisor who then recommends the case to the head of department if he or she cannot solve the conflict. These polices have made the University to run smoothly since all the operations are formalized. 2.2.3 Complexity Complexity is another dimension that explains the bureaucracy of the organisation. In the tall organizational structure, the span of control is less complex as compared to flat organisation. This is because the vertical organisation ensures that the company policies are adhered to when delegating duties and supervising works (reading 2). For instance, University of Sydney can be regarded as tall organisation because it has long procedures that should be followed when managing the organisation. The senate manages the entire organisation while the dean of students manages the affairs relating to the students. Tall organizational structures imply that supervision is easy because the span of control is limited to the department or the supervisor. On the contrary, the flat organisation makes communication easier since there are shorter channels of communication. Decentralization can be applied to ensure that there is harness in communication (reading 2). Based on these concepts discussed above, it can be concluded that University of Sydney is a bureaucratic organisation of the complexity of the processes which are involved in managing the organisation. For instance, the communication process is complex since it has to start from the top down to the departments and this means that the lower management level has no opportunity to interact with the top management. For instance, the exam results take long process before they are released to the students (reading 1). This is because the lecturers have to mark the exams and submit them to the head of departments. The head of respective departments have to counter check the results while the senate makes the final approval. 2.3 Coordination mechanism There can be vertical formal mechanism. This helps to coordinate issues between top and bottom management. There is lateral mechanism whereby the mechanisms are applied horizontally (Reading 2). There are various mechanisms of coordination which have been employed by the organization. The first mechanism that has been employed by the organisation is mutual adjustment. This is the adjustment that is made among the stakeholders (Jacobides 2007). However, the adjustment made maybe informal. An example of this coordination technique is when the head of departments meet in an open forum and discuss issues which are later incorporated into the policies of the organisation. The other mechanism of coordination applied by University of Sydney is direct supervision. This is the mechanism of coordination whereby there is span of control (Lim et al 2010). For instance, the head of school of business directly supervises the lecturers in the school of business department as well as the students taking the business related courses. Further, there is standardization of processes of performing tasks. This is coordination mechanism that all the employees working in the same department are expected to standardize their operations. For instance, the students are required to pay their school as the semester begins. In this context, there will be standardization of the registration procedures to all students. This has helped the organisation to coordinate its functions effectively (Grey & Garsten 2001). The other coordination mechanism that has been applied by the organisation is the standardization of the output. This means that the employees are expected to perform their tasks as assigned while the students are required to pass the criteria of the organisation before they can be awarded with respective grades (Repenning 2002). This has enabled the organisation to ensure that coordination is effective in the organisation since the output has been standardized. Conclusion This essay discussed the bureaucratic organisation. The organisation selected for this assignment is University of Sydney which is among the leading Universities in Australia and globally. The organisation was selected because it is a big organisation and encompasses variety of services provided. The purpose of the organisation is to provide educational services to the students as well as being one of the researcher centers for innovation as well as working with the community. Considering the dimensions of centralization, formalization and complexity, the organisation can be regarded as bureaucracy. On the other hand, the coordination mechanisms that have been applied by the organisation include mutual adjustment, direct supervision and standardization of working processes and output. References Grey, C & Garsten, C 2001, Trust, Control and Post-Bureaucracy, Sage Publishing. Jacobides, M. G 2007, The inherent limits of organizational structure and the unfulfilled role of hierarchy: Lessons from a near-war. Organization Science, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 455-477 Lim, M., Griffiths, G & Sambrook, S 2010, Organizational structure for the twenty-first century. Presented the annual meeting of The Institute for Operations Research and The Management Sciences, Austin. Repenning, N 2002, A Simulation-Based Approach to Understanding the Dynamics of Innovation Implementation. Organization Science, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 109-127. Reading 2 University of Sydney 2015, About Us, retrieved on 14th September 2015 from http://sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/organisational-structure.html University of Sydney 2014, policies and procedures, retrieved on 14th September 2015 from http://sydney.edu.au/procurement_services/policies/index.shtml Read More