Bureaucratic Forms of Organization are Soley Determined by Rules and Regulations

In bureaucratic forms of organization, organizational structure is solely determined by rules and regulations. This statement is true, and I agree with it. This paper is going to discuss why I agree with the statement.

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Rules and regulations offer guidance on how affairs are conducted in an organization. This apply most in the case of a bureaucratic organization. Without rules and regulations, a bureaucratic organization will cease to exist. The first proof that bureaucratic organizations are solely determined by rules and regulations is the original definition of bureaucracy and by extension bureaucratic organization. Bureaucracy is a term that was coined by Max Weber. In the Weberian concept of bureaucracy, a bureaucratic organization has been defined as an organization that is characterized by rigid and tight procedures as well as policies and constraints. A typical bureaucratic organization such as a company operates in such a way that it not only employ stringent controls but also display a high level of reluctance to adapt or change as circumstances dictate. It has been observed that organizations that employ Weberian perspective of bureaucracy in their management are very organized and exhibits a very high degree of formality and efficiency in the way they manage their affairs (Daft, Murphy, and Willmott, 2010). For example, each department in a bureaucratic organization has an organizational chart which not only shows who is in charge but also responsibilities attached to the employees.

One of the other proof that explains that a bureaucratic organization operates by rules and regulations is in the manner in which decision making is made. Decision-making in a bureaucratic organization follows a certain procedure (Daft, Murphy, and Willmott, 2010). Decision making is not made in a haphazard manner. Rather, there is an organized process with regulations that has been put in place to guide the managers and other employees in the way they are supposed to make decisions. In all circumstances, managers and other staff are expected to adhere to a strict command and control structure which is depicted in the organizational chart. Such an organization is not dynamic and fails to adapt to changing business environment.

Working in a bureaucratic organization is characterized by impersonality. No one owns the job or work. The staff is a representative of the department or the whole organization. Individuals are only valued by the jobs or tasks they perform. There is also a system which has to be followed in the specification as well as detailing the tasks that are performed by the individuals. Nobody is free to come up with personal decisions regarding the way in which works is to be performed. For example, nobody can increase the tasks or expand the details of the tasks to be performed beyond the ones that have been set. There are formal structures that have been intentionally put in place to limit individual as well as personal decisions. Rules and regulations allow for minimum deviation from the norm. There are regulations and rules that govern every job title (Daft, Murphy, and Willmott, 2010). Consequently, there is little or no room allowed for creativity. Titles for all the positions existing in the organization are prevalent. There is no freedom in the way everyone is expected to behave in the organization. All staff in the organization are expected to behave according to certain rules and regulations which have been put in place. It is also required that all staff in a bureaucratic organization observe and value formality in all situations. For employees, strict discipline (measured by ones ability to adhere to the set rules and regulations) is essential for success.

Organizational structure. One of the most conspicuous characteristics of a bureaucratic organization is the manner in which management structure is organization. It is also one of the areas which show how rules and regulations are followed when setting up an organizational structure for a bureaucratic organization. In a bureaucratic organization, there are many layers of management. A typical organizational structure for a bureaucratic organization is shaped like a pyramid where the organizations president or leader appear at the top level (Aldrich, 2008). All other departments, however, cascade beneath the leader. As part of the rules and regulations, there is a manner in which staff has to report. For example, the vice president of the organization report to the chief executive officer or the president. Beneath the vice president is the directors. The directors report to the vice president while managers who are under the directors report to the directors. Managers to have several supervisors working under them. The supervisors report directly to the managers. Finally, working under the supervisors are the lowest level staff in the organization. The staff, as per the rules and regulations, report to the supervisors. There is no way a supervisor reports to the directors or worker reports to the vice president. The reporting format is dictated part of the rules and regulations of the organization. There is no by-passing any level when it comes to reporting or decision-making. This is good evidence that a bureaucratic organization survives by rules and regulations.

Power is a very important concept in a bureaucratic system. He way in which rules and regulations are established is such that power is exercised by a few individuals in the organization (Aldrich, 2008). The high-ranking staff such as the managers and directors have more powers than the workers or supervisors. The manner in which power is also distributed reflects the manner in which rules of policy formulation or decision-making are accomplished. For example, decisions regarding personnel decisions, company policy, and also financial objectives of the organization are made by the highest ranking staff of the organization such as directors, managers, vice president, and president. These are also not done in an ad hoc manner. Rather, there are rules and regulations that guide and direct the way in which decisions are made at the upper level of management. The presence of rules and regulations which guide the way tasks are to be performed explains why there is slowness when it comes to decision-making in bureaucratic organizations. Rules are also used to micromanage workers who look up to their supervisors for all decisions regarding their work and assignments. If there were no rules, workers would have been in a position to make their individual decisions regarding their tasks without necessary consulting their supervisors. However, due to the power relationships established by the organizations rules, they have to consult their supervisors.

Administration. In bureaucratic organizations, the administration is guided by a set of rules. Every administrator employs a set of rules and regulations to carry out his or her administrative duties (Burley, 2016). All bureaucratic organizations are characterized by procedures, policies, and rules that determine the way administrative functions are executed. The rules are so pertinent that employees in such organizations carry administrative title as part of their job descriptions. The carefully worded rules or policies are developed, distributed, maintained and updated regularly. Every associate is expected to have a copy of the rules or procedures. Further, it is expected that all associates maintain strict compliance with the rules and regulations. Often, there is reference to the administrative rules and tasks and assignments are usually defined by the policies. The managers are often the ones who are tasked with the job of interpreting the regulations. Consequently, being compliant to all the rules and regulations is an important part of performance reviews and job description. From this explanation of the way administrative function is executed in a bureaucratic organization, it is very clear that rules and regulations are so highly entrenched in the system that it is impossible to carry out administrative duties without rules and regulations. This evidence further reinforces the statement that rules and regulations define the manner in which bureaucratic organizations are run.

The original Weberian definition of a bureaucratic organization is another source of evidence that a bureaucratic organization is characterized by rules and regulations. According to Weber, an ideal bureaucratic kind of organization is bound by certain rules implying that without rules, it might be impossible to run such an organization. Bureaucratic type of organizations is also characterized by specific domains of competence. By this, Weber implied an organization where there is a high specialization of work with an assigned level of authority and rules that are employed to govern that authority. Weber also defined a bureaucratic organization as one that is characterized by a hierarchy. In such an organization, offices or jobs are arranged in a hierarchy and that one level of office or job is under the control of the next level of office higher up the structure. This implies that all bureaucratic organizations, by rule, need to have a hierarchical structure in place. Weber also pointed out that a bureaucratic organization has delineated lines of authority where the areas of activity are fixed. The ideal bureaucracy, according to Weber, is where actions are considered on certain written rules. In such a system, the implementation of the rules is left to the neutral officials. Weber emphasized the presence of written actions, decisions, and rules in a bureaucratic organization (Gole, 2004). The identified features of a bureaucratic organization suggest that the authority of the administrators or officials within an organization are subject to certain written rules and practices. Thus the authority in such organizations is considered legitimate rather than arbitrary. This also suggests that casting aside the rules and regulations in a bureaucratic organization will render the authority as illegitimate or arbitrary. Consequently, the presence of published rules and regulations implies that a bureaucratic organization can survive by using the rules and regulations to control individuals.

Further demonstration of the presence of rules and regulations is found in what Weber described as rational-legal authority. Weber found out that in a bureaucratic organization, there is a rational legal authority. Weber argued that legitimacy in such an organization seems to emanate from a legal order. A legal order is a set of rules and regulations which define how things are to be done. When applied to the modern scenario, the modern political leaders, as well as bureaucratic officials, falls into this category of authority. Although Weber found out that bureaucracy can be one of the most efficient forms of organization that is indispensable to the modern state, it presents a threat to individual freedoms. Limitation of individual freedoms in this context imply the use of rigid policies, rules, procedures, and regulations in bureaucratic organizations. Individuals are not at liberty to make decisions even when they feel they are the right decisions because they are bound by policies to follow certain procedures. According to Weber, the adoption of bureaucratic organizational style in government was a way of rationalization where the traditional ways of motivating behavior were neglected. Rather than employing values, emotions or traditions to motivate individual behavior, there is a tendency to use rational calculation. About the Western societies, Weber argued that the increasing application of the con...