Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast

Introduction

This paper will take into consideration readings that firstly are in the favor of formalizing organizational structure and then how Weber supported bureaucracy as the best way of organizing human activities. The topics or reading that I have chosen for this paper is reading number two and ten i.e. “Rational systems theorists like Taylor…Edwards; Vaughn; Collins” and “Weber saw bureaucracy…Blasi, and Kruse”. This paper will highlight both the concept of formal organizational structure and then the role of bureaucracy in organizing human resources.

Discussion

Formal Structure of organization

Organizational analysis examines the structures within an organization. These structures are the framework within which an organization operates and meets its goals. Some examples of organizational structures are departments, work groups, power distributions, levels of authority, and the politics. Some analyses also examine structurally related aspects of an organization such as its culture, networks, and communications. Although size and technology affect the type of organization, three characteristics of organizational structures are complexity, formality, and centralization. Complexity refers to the layers of coordination and authority within an organization. After World War II, new technology and high consumer demand supported the emergence of mass production and large complex bureaucratic organizations. While bureaucracies characterize the military and federal government, large complex organizations began to permeate many other social structures such as the media, educational system, and state and local governments. In the 1970s many small organizations closed because they were unable to compete in the market against the resources of larger firms, but since the 1990s computer technology has supported the emergence of smaller Internet-based companies who are able to respond quickly to consumer demand for high tech products.

Formalization refers to the rigidity of rules and procedures. Hospitals tend to have very explicit rules for handling patients and a number of outlined procedures for emergency decision-making situations. A less formal structure is guided by fewer or less rigid rules and communications that define what workers do. For example, universities agree upon department curricula, but are less rigid in how course information is communicated in the classroom to students.

Centralization refers to how power is structured within an organization. For example, in a bureaucracy, decision-making is limited to a few members of the upper echelon. While technology has increased levels of authority for some tasks, others that require technical skills and expertise tend to allow those workers more independence in their decision-making. Decentralization, the process of distributing decision-making to those with technical skills and expertise, expedites the communications process and reduces response rates to the market.

To understand the complexity, formalization, and centralization of an organization means realizing that organizations are dynamic entities that affect individuals who are in the organization and other organizations. Many factors such as the internal politics and exercise of power within an organization affect strategies and objectives. Furthermore, environmental factors, like globalization, new technology, and competitive action, also influence the structures of an organization and must be considered in an analysis.

The formalization is the key structural variable for people who work in ...