Mainstream And Critical Perspectives Of Bureaucracy And Post-Bureaucracy

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This essay will discuss the mainstream and critical perspectives of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy. It will begin by examining the characteristics of bureaucracy and then compare the mainstream and the critical views. Post-bureaucracy will then be discussed using the same structure.
Bureaucracy has been the main form of organisation for over a century and can be characterised by the following: functional specialisation, employees carrying out one function of activity as their primary role; hierarchy of authority, those in superior positions having authority based solely on the virtue of the position itself; a system of rules, the tasks of the organisation following a formal set of procedures and practices; and impersonality, individuals being treated on the basis of the rules rather than emotions and personality (Knights & Willmott, 2012). The mainstream perspective states that a bureaucratic organisation’s central aim is to maximise efficiency, objectivity and fairness and can be thought of as a ‘machine’ with the people making up the components (Knights & Willmott, 2012). This view attributes three problems to this rule-centred organisation: poor motivation, poor customer service and a resistance to innovation and change (Knights & Willmott, 2012). Employees in bureaucratic organisations tend not to be committed to their …show more content…

The mainstream view of bureaucracy identifies problems of poor motivation, poor customer service and resistance to change, while the critical view accuses its instrumental rationality and narrow focus on efficiency to not only be demotivating but also dehumanising. With regard to post-bureaucracy, the mainstream approach critiques its problems of fragile control, risk and bias, while the critical perspective contends that its method of normative control is still an exertion of power over employees carried out by senior

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