BUREAUCRATIC MANAGEMENT

This is the third arm of the classical approach. The most important personality associated with bureaucracy is Max Weber [1864-1920]. As a German sociologist, psychologist and a practising manager, he was the key innovator of the concept of bureaucracy. His views on bureaucracy were published in his book “The Theory of Social and Economic Organization” He used bureaucracy to describe a form of organization that exists in almost every organization.

The concept of bureaucracy often referred to as “red tapeism” i.e. too many rules, regulations and paperwork which often lead to inefficiency. It is referred to as officialdom i.e. all the apparatus of central and local government.

The concern of Weber was on bureaucracy as a form of organization with hierarchy of authority regulated by rules and regulations. He saw the development of bureaucracy as a means of introducing order and rationality into social life.

He identified the characteristics/features of bureaucracy as follows:

• Every organization functions continuously through rules and regulations.
• Need for competence, division of labour and specialization.
• Allocation of authority regulated by rule.
• Appointment to positions/offices made on the basis of technical competence
• A hierarchical arrangement of offices/jobs i.e. work should be arranged in hierarchical order with control systems.
• The need to separate working staff from the ownership of the organization.
• Rules, decisions and actions are formulated and recorded in writing.
• Official positions exist in their own right and the job holder has no right to a particular position except through promotion or initial occupation based on merit.

According to Weber, the above characteristics make bureaucratic organizations capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency since to him, it is the most rational means of controlling workers or members in organizations. He believed that bureaucracy is indispensable for the needs of large-scale organizations. The size [large] and complex nature of organizations make bureaucracy inevitable in such organizations.

Weber’s Legitimate Authority

Max Weber identified three types of legitimate authority:

Traditional Authority

This is where acceptance of authority is based on tradition and custom.

Charismatic Authority

The acceptance of authority is based on loyalty to, and confidence in the personal qualities of a person in authority.

Rational-Legal Authority 

This is also based on the office or the position a person legitimately occupies; regulated by rules and procedures of the organization.

Contributions/Benefits from Weber’s Bureaucracy

• The need for fairness and uniformity of treatment of workers demands bureaucracy.
• Adherence to rules and procedures does not make room for arbitrariness.
• The element of hierarchy of authority creates orderliness and respect for higher authority.
• The elements of division of labour and specialization put the worker on the right job/task.

Limitations/drawbacks of Weber’s Bureaucracy

• Too much emphasis on rules, procedures, record-keeping and paperwork may lead to delay and inefficiency.
• There is the tendency of workers to place too much reliance on rules and procedures to the detriment of initiative and discretion.
• Bureaucracy does not make room for flexibility and adaptation
• This theory disregards informal organization and the development of groups with their own goals.

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THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH

The behavioural approach was made up of a group of management scholars trained in behavioural disciplines such as Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology and related fields who used their diverse knowledge to propose more effective ways to manage people in an organisation. It was developed to take care of the human element in organizations which was a major limitation of the classical approach. The major assumption that underlines the behavioural approach is that people are social and self-actualizing.

Dimensions of the Behavioural Approach

Human Relations

This approach deals with how managers interact with their workers. Proper “worker management” leads to organizational harmony and increases productivity. Many antagonisms, suspicions, acrimonies, wrangling, strikes, riots, demonstrations, etc. are often the result of how people in an organization are treated. In a wider perspective, the way the government manages the various ethnic factions can also affect the relations between the government and certain ethnic groups.

Human relations sub-approach was founded by Prof. Elton Mayo (1880-1949).

The approach is deeply rooted in the social environment and personality trait of the manager unlike the classical approach which emphasized the physical environment. Expert in this approach say that managers should be trained in both ‘technical skills’ and ‘people skill’.

The main underlying principle in this approach is that the achievement of organisational effectiveness depends on how people's needs and wants are satisfied. Under the human relations approach, managers must know why their subordinates behave in a certain way and the psychological and social factors that influence them. The human relations approach led to the famous Hawthorne Experiment conducted by Prof. Elton Mayo. 

Hawthorne Experiments  

The genesis of the experiments was the desire of the National Research Council [NRC] of the National Academy of Sciences to study how lighting in the workplace influenced individual efficiency. This led to what has become popularly known as the Hawthorne Studies

The experiments conducted by Mayo at Western Electric were;

• To determine the effects/impacts of changes in illumination on worker productivity.
• To  determine the effects of work-related periods, coffee breaks, shortened work days and other changes in working conditions on worker productivity. This was the relay assembly room experiments.
•  To interview workers to determine workers’ attitude.
• To analyse the various social factors at work.

Douglas Murray McGregor (1906-1964)

McGregor developed Theory X and Theory Y which are sets of assumptions about human behaviour. He wrote the book “The Human Side of Enterprise”

Theory X regards employees as being inherently lazy, requiring coercion and control, avoiding responsibility and only seeking security. Under this theory, work is distasteful and therefore workers must be directed and motivated through force, pecuniary consideration (financial incentives) and praise to achieve results.

Theory Y sees man in a more favourable position. It regards employees as liking work which is regarded as natural. That the worker should not be directed, controlled and coerced if he is committed to the directives of the organization. Under this theory, the worker will accept responsibility.

The above theories have become the basis for the extreme forms of management style that managers are using. A blend of the two theories may provide the best prescription for effective management.

Abraham H. Maslow

As a motivation theorist, his hierarchy of needs influenced the work habits of people at the workplace. He identified the levels of needs to be:

• Physiological needs
• Safety needs
• Love/Affection needs
• Esteem/Ego needs
• Self Actualization

According to Maslow, the manager should know the level of the hierarchy on which his subordinates are so that he can apply the appropriate motivational factors to move them up to the next level of hierarchy. The behaviour of workers will to some extend be influenced by the degree to which their needs are satisfied.