Bureaucracy

Question 1

Merton (1940)

Answer 1

Bureaucratic personality and goal displacement:

• dull and too focused on rules, lack of flexibility, discretion and impersonality
• rigidity when following rules displaces goal

Question 2

Blau (1955)

Answer 2

People are not just mechanized parts, people use their own judgements to make decisions

Question 3

Gouldner (1954)

Answer 3

Types of bureaucracy:
• representative
• punishment-centered 
• mock
Lack of replicability shows that bureaucracy as a structure is unreliable

Question 4

Ferguson (1984)

Answer 4

Bureaucracy is masculine and lacks feminine qualities such as emotion and cooperation
• criticism: Ferguson is ‘assuming’ what qualities are feminine

Question 5

Bauman (1989)

Answer 5

Bureaucracy enabled the Holocaust from happening:
• separation of instrumental and substantive rationality
• loss of humanity and individual morality
• distance between decision-maker and actions

Question 6

Power (1987)

Answer 6

Audit society:

Meeting target is more important than quality of outcome.

Question 7

Paul du Gay (2000)

Answer 7

Defends bureaucracy

• fairness: equality
• anonymity: impersonal, no personal feelings attached
• rules protect you from ‘prohibited’ acts towards you

Question 8

Jackall (1988)

Answer 8

Moral Maze:
- high level managers push decision-making to lower levels in order to unburden themselves from the knowledge of bad decisions

Question 9

Ritzer (2003)

Answer 9

McDonaldization
Principles based on aggressive rationalization:
- homogeneity
- focus on speed
- quantification over quality
- formal control over production and employee/customer behavior

Question 10

Heckscher (1994)

Answer 10

Post-Bureaucratic ideal:

• rules are formed through consensus
• assignment of responsibilities based on competence, not hierarchy
• organizations permit flexible employment (open boundaries)