Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Gen. Tinio Street, Cabanatuan City

GRADUATE SCHOOL
MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER 5:

BUREAUCRATIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH &

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

Prepared by:

FERRER, FERNANDO JR., P.

MBA

Submitted to:

DR. RACHAEL MORALDE

 LEARNING OUTCOME

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

• understand the Weber’s contribution to the theory of bureaucracy;

• explains the types of authority;

• know the elements of bureaucracy;

• discuss the limitation of the bureaucracy;

BUREAUCRATIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH

Jesus once said that the poor has been with us and will always be with us. We can say the
same thing with bureaucracy has been with us and will always will be with us even if the
organizational structure becomes flatter, leaner and meaner.

Max Weber (1864-1920)

A German sociologist, historian and philosopher. Considered the guru of bureaucracy

because of his work or studies of Germany’s Government bureaucracy. He is said to be the
“father of organization theory” He has provided a theoretical framework and basis for
understanding bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy is a model of organization based on defined positions, formal authority, and

a regulated environment that includes well-documented rules, policies, and procedures.

Bureaucracy management is a traditional management system that relies on rules, set

hierarchy, a clear division of labor, and formal procedures and focus on the overall
organization structure.

– Founded by Max Weber 1864-1920 – An organization is viewed as a type of social

relationship that has regulations enforced – Has a few people at the top, making decisions

2|Page
 and a chain of middle managers and lower-level people below them carrying out specific
functions

Weber defined bureaucracy as “the ideal pure form of organization”. He believed

bureaucracy was the most efficient way to set up an organization and administration. In
bureaucratic organization, everyone is treated equal and the division of labor is clearly
described for each employee.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WEBER’S BUREAUCRACY

1. RULES

Rules are formal guidelines for the behavior of employees while they are on the job.
Rules can provide the discipline for the organization to achieve its goals. Adherence to the
rules ensures uniformity of procedures and operations and helps maintain organizational
stability, regardless of personal desires of mangers and employees. Efficiency and success
will result by following rules in a routine and unbiased manner.

2. IMPERSONALITY

Reliance to rules leads to impersonality. Mangers and employees are selected on the basis
of their qualifications, either by examination or on the basis of their education or training.
All employees are evaluated according to rules and objective data.

Weber emphasized that the official should perform their duties in an impersonal manner

3. DIVISION OF LABOR

The division of labor is a process of dividing duties and functions into simpler, more
specialized tasks. Managers and employees are assigned and perform duties based on
specialization and personal expertise.

3|Page
 4. HIERARCHICAL

A hierarchical structure ranks jobs according to the amount of power and authority (right
to decide) given to each manager or employee. Authority and responsibility are clearly
defined and legitimized. Each lower-level position is under the control and direction of a
higher-level position. Roles are standardized.

4|Page
 5. AUTHORITY STRUCTURE

An authority structure is the organizational structure that determines the right to make
decision of varying importance at different levels within an organization.

WEBER’S 3 TYPES OF AUTHORITY

1. TRADITIONAL

It is based on traditional or custom. In this kind of authority, a command is obeyed

because of the belief in age-old customs, traditions, conventions and beliefs. The system
retains legitimacy as long as the customs and traditions are respected in the organization.

Example: the divine right of kings like Louis XIV of France

2. CHARISMATIC

It is based on follower’s personal belief and trust in the leader because special qualities or
abilities they perceive in the leader. In this type of authority obedience was justified because
the person giving order had some sacred or out-standing character.

Example: Andres Bonifacio and Walt Disney

3. RATIONAL

It is legal authority based on impersonal laws and rules that apply to all. A superior is
obeyed because of the position he/she occupies within the organization’s hierarchy.

6. LIFELONG CAREER COMMITMENT

In bureaucratic management system, employment is viewed as a lifelong career

commitment. In general, it means that job security is guaranteed as long as the manager or
employee is technically qualified, competent and performs satisfactory. The organization

5|Page
 uses job security, tenure, step by step salary increases and pensions to ensure that employees
satisfactorily do their assigned duties.

7. RATIONALITY

Is the use of the most efficient possible means to achieve the organization’s objectives.
Rationality requires general organization’s goals or purpose to be broken down into more
specific objectives for each part of the organization. If all the departments achieve their
individual objectives, the corporation reaches its overall goals.

BUREAUCRATIC MANAGEMENT

KEY CONCEPT

• Weber’s Seven Characteristics of Bureaucracy

• Structured formal network of relationship among specialized positions in an organization

• Rules and regulations standardized behavior

• Hierarchy defines the relationship among jobs.

• Job staffed by trained specialist who follow rules.’

CONTRIBUTIONS

• Provides rational model for restructuring complex, mega organizations

• Minimizes subjective personal factors that affect decision making

• Consistency

• Predictability

• Reliability

6|Page
 • Stability

• Continuity

• Emphasize the position, rather than the person, as the source of authority.

• Promotes efficient performance of routine activities.

LIMITATIONS

• Inefficiency due to rigid rules. Rules become an end in itself

• Red tape

• Inflexibility, hinders timely decision making

• Coldness

• Slow decision making

• Incompatibility with changing technology

• Ignore the importance of people and interpersonal relationships.

• Accumulation of power can lead to authoritarian management.

ADVANTAGES OF BUREAUCRATIC APPROACH

• Protects employees from unfair rulings from leaders which gives a greater sense of
security to the employees.

• Creates an opportunity for employees to become specialists within one specific area,
increasing the effectiveness and efficiency in each area of the organization.

• Creativity and stability are promoted within their respective duties and sub-tasks

DISADVANTAGES OF BUREAUCRATIC APPROACH

• It is difficult to determine who is responsible for having made the decision, creating a
feeling of powerlessness amongst employees

7|Page
 • There is diffusion of responsibility and subsequent refusal to make a decision. Eg To get
something done you need 6 different approvals on 6 different forms and each refusing to
give approval until the other 5 have given theirs

• Organizational structure is too inflexible to effect necessary changes efficiently

• It is too difficult to determine specific individual contribution to successful patient care

outcome

• The top bottom hierarchy does not utilize specialized lower level to make decisions in
their field of specialty

• Overspecialization, makes individuals not aware of larger consequences of their actions.

• Not allowing people to use common sense, as everything must be as is written by the law.

• There is rigidity making decision-making slow or even impossible when facing some
unusual case, and similarly delaying change and evolution

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

Backdrop and Context of Developments in Management Approaches

During the 1920’s and 1930’s and other industrialized nation experienced economic,
technological, social and cultural changes. Mass production and assembly lines produced
floods of inexpensive goods – cars, appliances, and clothing- into an increasingly consumer
society. This phenomenon unleashed the second industrial revolution in Amerika.

The overall standard of living rose. Working conditions in many industries improved. As
productivity increased dramatically, the average workweek was shortened from 70 hours to
less than 48. Consumer demand so pressed the factories that they tried to attract workers
from the farm to the cities by making industrial employment more appealing than it was
during Taylor’s tenure at Midvale steel.

8|Page
 During the Great depression that followed the crash of 1929, the federal government
began to adopt Keynesian Economics to play a more influential role in people’s lives. By the
time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the economy was hovering on the brink of collapse. To
provide employment, the government undertook temporary public work projects-
constructing dams, roads, public buildings and laying out national parks. It also created
government agencies such as Social Security System to provide safety nets to aged, the
unemployed and the disabled.

In one of the era’s most dramatic changes, unskilled workers increased the ability to
influence management decision by forming powerful unions. That’s why professional and
skilled workers, as well as unskilled workers, united to press for better pay, increased
benefits and improve working conditions.

Following the recovery from depression due to full productive capacities of industries as
a result of World War II, a new wave of prosperity and optimism swept the 1950’s through
1970’s. Management has to adjust to newfound power of trade unions.

Against this backdrop of changes and reform, managers were forced to recognized the
human aspect of their task. They were now leading workers who did not appear in exhibit
what traditional management theorist had thought was rational behavior. That is workers
were not always performing up to their physiological capacities, as Taylor observed as
workers resorting to soldiering.

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE APPROACH

The behavioral science approach springs from humanistic management perspective that
applies social science in an organizational context, drawing from sociology, psychology,
anthropology, economics and other discipline to understand individual behavior and
interaction in an organizational settings.

Behavioral approach is a perspective on management that emphasize the “people side” of

organization and the importance of trying to understand the various factors that affect human
behavior in organization. The humanistic perspective, a precursor of the behavioral approach

9|Page
 that emerged around the late 19th century, emphasized understanding human behavior,
needs, and attitudes in the workplace.

The Behavioral school of thought spans two main phases from 1920’s to the present: (1)
Human Relations Movement and (2) Human Resources/Organizational Behavior Approach.

Human Relations Movement

Human relations movement is a movement in management thinking and practice that

emphasized the satisfaction of employees’ basic needs to increase worker productivity.
When employee-management relation stimulates more and better work, the organization is
said to have effective human relations; when morale and efficiency deteriorate, its human
relations are said to be ineffective.

The human relations movement arose from early attempts to systematically discover the
social and psychological factors that would create effective human relations.

The historical context of the hawthorne studies begun around 1895 when a struggle
developed between manufacturers of gas and electric lighting fixtures for control of the
residential and industrial market. By 1909, electric lighting had begun to win, but the
increasingly efficient electric fixtures used less total power. The electric companies began a
campaign to convince industrial users that they needed more light to get more productivity.

10 | P a g e