advantages and disadvantages of bureaucratic management theory
According to the Max Weber theory, three types of power can be found in organizations; traditional power, charismatic power and legal power. It promotes higher levels of creativity. The average wage of a Chief Executive Officer in the United States at a major company in 2015 was $12.4 million. German sociologist Max Weber was the first person to formally study bureaucracy. Although their positions are often governed by the rules they create, this also generates a lifestyle they can enjoy. That is a repetitive structure which continues on until someone forces it to change. Mergers and acquisitions can be completed quickly and easily. Furthermore, a bureaucratic culture is based on impersonal relationships, discouraging favoritism. Bureaucratic leaders might find it difficult to adapt to change. 8. However, in practice, bureaucracies often fail to achieve this ideal. Every superior tries to increase the number of his subordinates as if this number is considered a symbol of power and prestige. Advantages of bureaucracy by Max Weber. Job descriptions are detailed and specialized. Answer: Criticism of Administrative Management Theory Henri Fayol's management principles and functions are used even today for managing the organisations. It is difficult to maintain high morale within a bureaucracy. The issue of time is the primary disadvantage of a bureaucracy. Unity of direction: Activities that are similar should be the . Your email address will not be published. It creates a world where anyone can begin to maximize their productivity. Hi, I am an MBA and the CEO of Marketing91. I am a retired Registered Investment Advisor with 12 years experience as head of an investment management firm. It completely revolutionizes and improves layout, routing, scheduling, purchasing, stores keeping and accounting. 7. It is often based on a system of quotas. There must be incentives built into the bureaucracy to reward a worker who can complete a task in two hours with the same quality it takes someone to complete the task in the expected eight hours. There are two basic themes that are the organisational structure (the way organisations are shaped and formed . How Much Influence Does a Leader Have on Employees? In his 1957 work Social Theory and Social Structure, American sociologist Robert K. Merton criticized earlier theories of bureaucracy. Critics argue that these processes slow down the bureaucracy's ability to provide a service to the public while also costing taxpayers money and time. Empire Building: People in bureaucracy tend to use their positions and resources to perpetuate self interests. It discourages favoritism. (2022, December 1). On the upside, it manages, he believed, to "eliminate from official business love, hate, and all the personal, irrational, and emotional elements that escape calculation." (Weber, 1982). Weber has observed three types of power in organisations: traditional, charismatic and rational-legal or bureaucratic. The bureaucratic style is built on conforming to authority lines and following normative principles in management and decision-making. In 2098, that's all changed. Advantages of Contingency Theory of Management Dynamic. Unity of command: Employees receive orders from only one superior. Throughout the history of the bureaucratic system and the many definitions of the model, three core elements have remained at the heart of bureaucracy. The servant-first leader strives to help people grow and make a lasting positive impact on society. Thus, everyone is moving in the same direction towards the company's goals by minimizing deviations. An insurance company, for example, may embrace this organizational structure to ensure its employees comply with customer data protection laws and follow industry's best practices. With a strong, forward-looking and efficient leader at the helm, like Amazon's Jeff Bezos, they tend to evolve just as rapidly as flatter organizations, but with less drama. ThoughtCo. There are some unique elements which distinguish this leadership style from others that are commonly practiced. They must be able to tolerate potentially harmful conditions. (3) Assignment of activities to individuals as fixed duties. The bureaucratic structure is an efficient, rule-based leadership framework that has proven to be a smooth way to govern and to organize societies. Technical Competence: Selection and promotion of employees are based on the technical competence of employees. Even though the bureaucratic structure has received a lot of criticism, it has some advantages. He refers in his bureaucratic theory to the latter as a bureaucracy. Conformity to rules and roles in the structural framework bring about order to cope with complexity. All documents have to be maintained in their draft and original forms. First, the paper will discuss the bureaucracy theory as proposed by Max Weber. 14 Types Of Leadership Most Commonly Observed in Organizations, Leadership Development Definition, Importance, Steps and Advantages, Charismatic Leadership Definition, Characteristics, Examples, Pros and Cons, Leadership Assessment Definition, Importance, Tools, Questions and Benefits, Charismatic Leader: Meaning, Best Practices, Characteristic & Advantages, Distributed Leadership Definition, Principles and Benefits, Ethical Leadership Definition, Meaning, Importance, Principles and Examples, 30 Leadership Skills to become an Effective Leader, Autocratic Leadership | Characteristics, Advantages, Disadvantages, JioMart launches its Digital-First Holi Campaign targeting Sale from 1st to 8th march, Tata Groups talks over $1 billion Bisleri stake stall, Goodbye Vistara Airlines! It provides a foundation for scalability. Although a bureaucracy is often viewed as a large mass of rules and regulations, it is also a place where responsibility is mandatory. Bureaucracy 1. It is based on a structure that needs a proper framework for supporting and channelizing its functions. Weber saw bureaucracy as a rational way for complex businesses and governments to organize. Examples of bureaucracies can be found everywhere. 1. This creates low morale because the goals of the individual become a higher priority than the goals of the bureaucratic structure. For example, if the marketing department decides to try out a new strategy, it must first obtain approval from several other departments based on their order of importance within the company. If workers are paid on a fixed salary and are asked to work extra hours, then their work productivity levels invariably decline. Efficiencies create the potential for increased productivity from each worker. It may also provide the cover to avoid responsibility for failures. Weber's theory of bureaucratic management also has two essential elements. Bureaucracy in organizations has long been associated with clear hierarchies, a high degree of formality, a rigid division of labor and strict policies that provide consequences to those who disobey. Order custom essay Administrative Management Theory Advantages and Disadvantages with free plagiarism report. Bureaucratic vs. Autocratic Leadership Styles, Characteristics ofBureaucratic Leadership. 5. The people who tend to thrive while working for a bureaucratic leader tend to have a college degree, can work independently, and use their own creative influences to improve their workflow. List of Disadvantages of Bureaucracy. That is because the best practices for a project are based on the fastest, cheapest way to do things without compromising the quality of the final work. In an ideal bureaucracy, the principles and processes are based on rational, clearly-understood rules, and they are applied in a manner that is never influenced by interpersonal relationships or political alliances. Bureaucratic leadership may have scalability built into its style, but that does not mean productivity comes along for the ride. From the C-suite, communication flows further downward in successive management levels, until it reaches the lowest levels of the hierarchy; often, these are the hourly workers that have limited opportunities to inform, criticize or feed information upward. Based on this principle, Peters Corollary states that "in time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties.. The big thinkers of the day conceived it as a way to streamline operations, increase productivity and enhance the bottom line. What Is Administrative Law? The military is a very formal institution that prefers to follow the rules for conducting business. List of the Disadvantages of Bureaucratic Leadership. Bureaucracies (especially government bureaucracies) are known to generate a lot of "red tape." With a strong, forward-looking and efficient leader at the helm, like Amazon's Jeff Bezos, they tend . That means a friendship or family relationship doesnt affect the process. 9. If problems are discovered, then it becomes possible to correct them before the rest of the business, government, or society is affected by the issue. 4. A bureaucracy centralizes power. Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of the bureaucratic leadership style to discuss. This sprang from his desire to govern the company in a sensible yet (then) contemporary manner; by doing so, he revolutionized not only GM but the automobile industry as a whole. List of Disadvantages of Bureaucracy. This system lets subordinates follow normative rules and adhere to the authority of the leader in a well-defined manner. The leadership talents and traits will flourish when properly employed inside a tightly regulated corporate setting. 5. 1. 9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Committees, 5 Promotional Items for Boosting Your Businesss Sales, How To Prepare Your Systems For A NetSuite Integration, 3 Strategic Management Decisions to Take Your Business to the Next Level, 5 Creative Ways to Improve Your Brand Awareness, Resume Lines Every Physician Needs On Their Resume, Some Responsibilities And Traits Of A Brand Ambassador, Removing the Mystery from Debt Consolidation, A Complete Guide To IT Portfolio Management Frameworks & Best Practices. In addition, when left with no latitude to deviate from the rules, frustrated employees can become defensive and indifferent to the needs of the people who deal with them. 2. This means a bureaucracy continues to function only because there are competent employees trying to achieve positions with more power. As an example, consider a software firm. 2, No. Bureaucracy increasingly demands people working as bureaucrats to be highly disciplined and abide by the rules, upholding ethical values. It is a style of leadership which encourages familiarity. According to a somewhat uncritical paean to flatness in The Huffington Post, Valve Corp. has been "boss free," for more than 20 years, and employees (who vote their own raises) "put their desks on wheels, making it easier to move around the offices for collaboration and meetings." In 2019, the most admired corporate structures are flattish (lots of independence at every corporate level) or completely flat, like the Valve Corporation. This means that friendships dont influence the outcomes that are created. Classical management theory increased the productivity and efficiency of the workers. In governmental and corporate structures, the establishment of best practices can save time and money when they are followed to the letter. The hierarchical structure of bureaucracy ensures that the bureaucrats who administer the rules and regulations have clearly-defined tasks. These rules allow managers to supervise production with confidence because each action has been defined. This theory states that organization should implement a bureaucratic structure for deriving out the best efficiency. It can be a challenge to increase productivity. Workers may seek to earn merit-based promotions based on their competencies, but there is no guarantee that advancement will occur immediately. Qualification for bureaucratic leadership is usually based upon the technical expertise required to efficiently and effectively manage the management tasks. Merton, Robert K. "Social Theory and Social Structure." However, unlike other leadership styles, such as charismatic leadership, the bureaucratic management system is simple and implemented. A bureaucracy creates numerous rules and laws that must be followed to the benefit of all. Rules and laws abound, making people accountable and responsible to a governing body. It creates a rigid division for the labor that must be complete. 2. Wilson, Woodrow. The author argues that power struggles are brought about by internal politics and strategic games, as employees seek to gain control or take over new job positions. The weaknesses to the theory are that it is still based on humans.As humans we are naturally going to make mistakes. One of the reasons why team members become uninspired by a bureaucratic leader is that most systems are based on a series of quotas. The leader has good listening skills and a high level of empathy. Officers must maintain a high level of quality and consistency in their job. Webber's Bureaucratic Model possesses the following characteristics: (1) Administration through well-defined rules. This creates a starting line where everyone has the same chance to succeed. After completing my post graduation I thought to start a website where I can share management related concepts with rest of the people. Google, founded in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergei Brin when they were students at Stanford, has evolved nearly continuously, from its origins as a formidably successful search engine, to so many different industries. A bureaucratic leader may be able to recognize these opportunities, but be able to do nothing about them, because the organizational structures in place do not offer the flexibility required to act. Alternatively, this type of structure can hinder productivity. If a worker abides by the rules and regulations that govern their position, then they are awarded with specific benefits and a steady salary that allows them to live the lifestyle they want. Leaders tend to stay in their positions until another position with a better salary opens up. What Extent Do Shareholders Control the Activities of a Corporation? The structure is inherently laden with rules and more policies and procedures can be added at any time, making workloads and roles more complicated. Not only does a bureaucracy struggle to change when markets evolve, but the structure also creates delays when new best practices have been developed. Bureaucratic leaders prefer to have team members that have defined roles. For some, bureaucratic leadership looks like a mess of red tape. But the point is that this leadership style has been used in other parts of business and organizations worldwide, including religion, business, and politics. The fundamental characteristics of this leadership style have their advantages and disadvantages. 1. Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 4.6, The University of Maryland, language: English, abstract: The paper comprises two major sections. Classical management theory creates bonds among managers .
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