THE IMPACT OF BUREAUCRACY ON ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP LEARNING ORGANISATION

SUMMARY

1. What is the bureaucracy ?

• Definition and concept

2. The vicious circle of bureaucracy

• Merton analysis• Crozier analysis

3. Conclusion : The impact

1. WHAT IS THE BUREAUCRACY ?

“Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that the administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized. Four structural concepts are central to any definition of bureaucracy:

WEBER DESCRIBED THE IDEAL TYPE BUREAUCRACY IN POSITIVE TERMS

a well-defined division of administrative labour among persons and offices,

a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and stable linear careers,

a hierarchy among offices, such that the authority and status are differentially distributed among actors, and

formal and informal networks that connect organizational actors to one another through flows of information and patterns of cooperation.”

2. The vicious circle of bureaucracy

Merton analysis

Merton explains that every need of a customers is put into categories, andeach need has an only way to be satisfied.

The vicious circle according to Merton appears when there are troubles within the mechanic organisation that in order to fix it strengthen its rules which are the cause of the troubles.

This kind of organisation is not able to learn from its errors, furthemorethe troubles keep growing more and more.

Demand for Control

Emphasis on Reliability

Defence ofIndividual Action

Perceived NeedTo Defend Actions

Rigid Behaviour and Defence of Org. Status

Difficulty with Clients

Intended

Un-intended

Merton 1936

Crozier analysis

"A bureaucratic organization is an organization that can not correct its behaviour by learning from its errors"

He wrote The Bureaucratic Phenomenon in 1964 as the re-examinationof Weber concept of the efficient ideal bureaucracy.

His theory is based on the observation that in situations where almost every outcome has been decided in advance according to a set of impersonal and predefined rules and regulations, the only way in which people are able to gain some control over their lives is to exploit 'zones of uncertainty' where the outcomes are not already known.

He explains the Theory of bureaucratic dysfunction which showshow much bureaucracy can be un efficient in a lot of domains.

3. Conclusion : The impact.

Mechanistic Organic

Structure Rigid Flexible

Tasks Standardised Ill Defined

Change Resisted Receptive

Authority Positional Expertise & Knowledge

Control Hierarchy Self & Peers

Communication Direction

Downward In all directions

Communication Content

Instructions Information & Advice

Diference between Mechanistic and Organic organisations

The impact of bureaucracy on attempt to develop learning organisation is impressive, indeed there are contradictions between the learning organisations development and the bureaucracy effects within the organisation.

Bureaucracy is inadapted to the learning organisations due to the fact that bureaucracy is not able to learn from its experience and that learning organisations are based on their ability to develop itself.

Thank you for your attention !