Beaucracy
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Bureaucratic
Organization
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lthough modern societies are for the most part lacking in castes, guilds, and other socially embedded ways of recruiting, training, and organizing workers, personal connections and social networks are still highly relevant to many aspects of working life, especially in regard to the way jobs get filled, as will be noted in Chapter 7. In a parallel fashion, the rules and procedures governing the way that particular kinds of work are done may simply reflect longstanding customs, even when they may not be effective or efficient. In today’s world, however, a great many aspects of work organization are governed by a markedly different approach, one that is encompassed by the term bureaucracy. At first glance, this hardly seems like a progressive step, as bureaucracies are often thought to be collections of semicompetent plodders hopelessly ensnarled in red tape. As we shall see, there is some truth to this stereotype, but bureaucracies have a number of positive features, and for many kinds of work, their virtues far outweigh their vices.
_________________ The Rise of Bureaucratic Organization
Bureaucracies have been around for a long time. They were an essential feature of preindustrial empires such as Rome and dynastic China. In both cases, much of the extension and endurance of these empires can be attributed to the development and use of effective bureaucracies.1 These administrative bodies were staffed by functionaries charged with the governance of territories hundreds or even thousands of miles distant from the empire’s capital. In these far-flung realms, bureaucratic tasks and responsibilities were limited in number. Above all, preindustrial governments had to defend their territories from external enemies (often disparaged as “barbarians”) seeking land and plunder. The control of their own populations was another priority, as domestic
11/12/2007
5
12:46 PM
Page 79
Bureaucratic
Organization
A
lthough modern societies are for the most part lacking in castes, guilds, and other socially embedded ways of recruiting, training, and organizing workers, personal connections and social networks are still highly relevant to many aspects of working life, especially in regard to the way jobs get filled, as will be noted in Chapter 7. In a parallel fashion, the rules and procedures governing the way that particular kinds of work are done may simply reflect longstanding customs, even when they may not be effective or efficient. In today’s world, however, a great many aspects of work organization are governed by a markedly different approach, one that is encompassed by the term bureaucracy. At first glance, this hardly seems like a progressive step, as bureaucracies are often thought to be collections of semicompetent plodders hopelessly ensnarled in red tape. As we shall see, there is some truth to this stereotype, but bureaucracies have a number of positive features, and for many kinds of work, their virtues far outweigh their vices.
_________________ The Rise of Bureaucratic Organization
Bureaucracies have been around for a long time. They were an essential feature of preindustrial empires such as Rome and dynastic China. In both cases, much of the extension and endurance of these empires can be attributed to the development and use of effective bureaucracies.1 These administrative bodies were staffed by functionaries charged with the governance of territories hundreds or even thousands of miles distant from the empire’s capital. In these far-flung realms, bureaucratic tasks and responsibilities were limited in number. Above all, preindustrial governments had to defend their territories from external enemies (often disparaged as “barbarians”) seeking land and plunder. The control of their own populations was another priority, as domestic