Bureacracy

Introduction

In recent years many large organisations have started restructuring themselves and are now becoming less bureaucratic. Nowadays organisations are moving away from the bureaucratic way of doing business and are increasingly utilising the Japanese Management Systems to achieve higher productivity, better quality of service to customers, and better employee and employer relations. These continuous changes of modernisation and restucturing within these organisatons have brought about many new and improved ways of doing business in today’s international markets.

An organisation as defined by (Mullins 2005, p 114) is “a consciously, coordinated unit created by groups in society to achieve specific purposes common aims and objectives by means of planned and coordinated activities.” In a recent case study in The Times 100 it was stated that “the external environment in which businesses operate is continually changing. Businesses must respond to these changes to remain competitive and continue to meet the needs of their customers. They need the commitment and support of key stakeholder groups, such as employees, in order to ensure changes are embedded to shape the organisation for the long term” (The Times 100, p 29).

Bureaucratic System

Bureaucracy, according to Weber (1964) is concerned with the business of administration; i.e. with controlling, managing and coordinating a complex series of tasks. Weber stated that bureaucratic organisations are increasingly dominating the institutional landscape. According to him, departments of state, political parties, business enterprises, the military, education and churches are all organised on bureaucratic lines. A bureaucratic system as characterised by Weber, is a system where decision m-making is directed from top to bottom with clear defined roles and responsibilities with a hierarchical structure and respect for merit. Weber's views of bureaucracy suggest it was a system of power where leaders...