Preview

Relevance of Bureaucracy in an Organization

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2368 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relevance of Bureaucracy in an Organization
Managing Indigenous Knowledge And Traditional Cultural Expressions: Is Technology The Solution?

Amber Burtis

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses current issues surrounding the management of indigenous knowledge (IK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) in libraries, archives and other cultural institutions. It addresses the need for: (1) ethical policies for the management of these knowledge systems, (2) critical approaches to the dominant library paradigm of information management, (3) recent efforts by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the American Library Association to craft policy on this topic, and (4) the need for and examples of collaboration with indigenous communities. Implications for social change with the implementation of socially responsible management systems are also considered.

INTRODUCTION

Even as globalization opens up more opportunities for worldwide democratic participation in the information society, the digital divide continues to grow larger for the cultural groups that have already benefited the least from the development of information and communication technologies (Appadurai, 1998, cited in Srinivasan, 2006). While this paper will specifically consider indigenous communities, the discussion is also relevant to other communities that are disadvantaged.

At least in the United States, the library and information science (LIS) profession subscribes to the idea of technological utopianism, or that technology

will lead to the creation of a perfect society (Segal, 2005). This progression toward a utopian society will include the cataloging of all information that is pertinent to the promotion of scientific and technological development. I argue that a movement toward a utopian information society would not be of equal benefit to all members of our global society. Collective ownership of the world’s knowledge would continue to disadvantage those who have already been exploited by dominant world powers. Of concern is the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Bureaucracy

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The bureaucracy I will discuss is the company for which I work. We are a large-scale pharmacy benefits manager. If you receive your medication through a home delivery program, there’s a good chance it’s through my employer. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and has sites all over the country. My employer employs people at entry-level positions up to formally-trained and experienced, degreed professionals.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Reflect on your reading for the week, specifically Analytical Exercise 8. Is another form of structural configuration better suited to multiproduct, multiservice companies? If not, is there a form of departmentalization for multiproduct, multiservice companies which would match somewhat the divisional structure configuration?"…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    -Technological advances during the 1950s and 1960s accelerated scientific productivity and discovery, enlightening a variety of information organization and access problems. The most visible of these is the commonness of scientists directly involved in the development of technological solutions to information problems, particularly in the growing "e-science" domain, which consists of large-scale, distributed scientific research that produces digital data. In broad strokes, the conditions for information management in the late 1950s and 1960s resulted, in part, from the information flood produced following World War II, when many thousands of documents and technical reports were imported from other countries and many thousands more from our own scientific activities released from classified status. The outcome of the war led to a belief that access to scientific information would lead to increased wealth and security for the country.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    It seems characteristic of most anti-utopias that technology, as portrayed therein, has acquired a definitely hostile and dangerous quality, becoming almost synonymous with dehumanization. It has ceased to serve as a tool employed by mankind in a profitable way for the sake of widespread prosperity and happiness, and has become a supreme force able to impose obedience on men. It may be stated that the natural order of things, as presented in utopian writing, has been…

    • 2211 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the mainstream perspective, Bureaucracy is thought to be the most technically efficient and rational form of organization, which is based on rules, hierarchy, impersonality and a division of labour. Under bureaucratic organization, workers’ behaviour and bodily actions are controlled by management. Recently, there goes a saying that bureaucracy is outdated as it is too controllable and the contemporary organizational structure, namely the post-bureaucracy offers more freedom. However, in my opinion, I didn’t quite agree, since this is just on-sided and restricted idea. Hence, this essay will critically discuss the saying and pose the reasons why I didn’t agree. Firstly, we will analyze the control issues in bureaucracy in comparison with post-bureaucracy. Then we will illustrate the nature of post-bureaucracy to prove that post-bureaucracy is another kind of control.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A bureacratic organization is basically an organization run by the government. It is bureacratic for the reason that there is a lot of red tape involved. It means that for a single thing to be done it has to be passed through the different heads of departments. Thus it will go from the president to the Vice President to Managers to Subordinates under him and the list is continuous. For instance take example which relates to government assets. Let’s say you want to take used materials from any government institute i.e. (used cars), you will have to fill out and complete different forms and wait like for ever before you actually acquire obtain what you want. Bureaucracies are base on set-in-stone rules and guidelines, expressed and backed up with written work. Because they are so rigid, they are best-used in industries where changes do not often happen, where a set routine streamlines production and makes it efficient.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michel Crozier once said, "Bureaucracies embody vicious circles of decreasing efficiency and effectiveness." As a leader, it is necessary to organize your people efficiently, so that the most work can be accomplished. The three key concepts I will concentrate on are authority, bureaucratization, and the dysfunctions of bureaucracy. Finally, I will address the organization principle of delegation, touching on my own experiences. All of these concepts are methods of organization; however, as a leader and manager, one must find the most appropriate method.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    It is not known exactly when the information society came into being, but it is believed that originated in Japan in 1964 according to (Duff, 1996 p. 119). Moreover, (Martin, 1995 p. 2) also notes that Masuda, one of its founders came to the realization that “the making of information values became the formative force for the development of society.” This new society also conceptualized in the mind of the economist, Fritz Machlup, who studied the role of knowledge in American societies. He felt especially concerned about how certain practices restricted competition, particularly, the patent system. He observed the cost of the patent system in contrast to its benefits, and consequently, was forced to inquire into the educational system. He investigated how the United States, as a nation, produced knowledge. His inquiry led him not only to investigate scientific and technical information, but all schooling, elementary though graduate education. He was able to distinguish five division of the knowledge sector and, as a consequence, calculated that in 1959 twenty-nine percent (29%) of the Gross National Product (GNP) in the United States of America had been produced in knowledge industries.…

    • 3591 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Digital communication systems have largely enhanced democracy, offering greater access and participation to many, but not all, citizens. This essay will discuss both sides of the argument, beginning by examining the notion of new, digital media as compared to old, traditional media, the concepts which make such media “new”, and how this adds to democracy and greater participation. On the other hand, this essay will also discuss the concept of “digital divide”; that while for many in often Westernised societies, digital communication is freely available, but in other areas it is not, therefore democracy cannot be fully realised in digital communication and new media. Furthermore, some downsides to online media will be explored, and reasons why it does not always promote democratic values.…

    • 1777 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The information society development demands to re-define the position and objectives of all the institutions which work with information, knowledge, and culture. Of these, media and education have been discussed in the European Union actively. Libraries have been a marginal theme. The situation is changing. Libraries have been identified as one of the key elements for open access to information, which is crucial to democratic information society development. In October 1998 the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report "The Role of Libraries in Modern Societies", the first library policy paper in the EU. It defines the need for the most important pan-European actions on library field. First, the general development of the information society is pushing to re-evaluation of all the institutions which work with information, data, and knowledge - indirectly also with culture. In this connection the roles of education and media have been discussed already quite largely also in the European Union. But libraries - as well as other memory institutions like archives and museums - have not been considered. Still, there is a clear need in the information society to maintain an institution which is concentrating in collecting and organizing information and offering general access to it. Until now, this work has been underestimated, but I argue the situation will change! Libraries are especially important now when the whole idea of education is stressing more and more independent learning and acting. All citizens must be able to find and use information. It is the key raw material - but it is a zero resource, if there are no access points to it and if documents are in chaotic order. Here we can see libraries enter the stage: The unique function of libraries is to acquire, organize, offer for use and preserve publicly…

    • 2237 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ict and Youth

    • 7392 Words
    • 30 Pages

    47- J. Suoranta and H. Lehtimنki, Children of the Information Society (New York, Peter Lang, 2003)…

    • 7392 Words
    • 30 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Essay

    • 9457 Words
    • 38 Pages

    potential of the Information Society. A number of reports with recommendations for further actions in this…

    • 9457 Words
    • 38 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many Americans today have a negative perception of the federal bureaucracy. They consider it a huge, immovable object that hinders progress and intrudes on their lives. Most Americans believe the federal bureaucracy has grown in the last few decades to an enormous size. This is a misperception. Since the 1960s, the size of the federal bureaucracy has been very stable. By contrast, however, state and local bureaucracies have grown steadily since World War II, reflecting the increasing extent to which federal programs are administered by the states.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    UCL-Q Library Analysis

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Libraries are the residence of the immortal thinker, the refuge of the disillusioned, the haven of the inquisitive and the temple of the scholar. Libraries carry varying identities and often reflect the community they belong to. Thus libraries are an extension of their community, and their function will often reflect the community’s needs.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Working in tea-coffee estates, construction sites in plains and moving to other states. Farming practice reduced (moving towards a market base economy)…

    • 2140 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays