Management theories have always focussed on one best way of managing organisations. In modern management, this is often referred to as best practice and is a concept I am very familiar with in my organisation as we attempt to standardise our processes in order to establish consistency. In early modern management, the most prominent theory was that of Bureaucracy developed by Weber in 1976 (Weiss, 1983). Bureaucracy is defined as an organisational structure based on a hierarchical design and characterised by formal rules and disciplines which members of the organisation must adhere to (Clegg et al., 2019). Advocates of bureaucracy argue that a positive aspect of bureaucracy is the hierarchical structure as it enables clear roles and tasks for employees to follow, and the clarity of rules and standardised processes increases efficiency and makes it easier for management to monitor performance of all employees (Matjie, 2018). On the other hand, a significant implication of the bureaucratic theory in the contemporary business world, is the rigidness of the approach (Mori, 2017). In a society that is rapidly changing due to technological, economical and political advances, it is crucial for the organisational structure to be flexible which the bureaucratic approach is lacking (Hamel, 2006). Consequently, the bureaucratic theory of management does have its flaws. The bureaucratic design is still widely used within the public and private sectors today, especially within Government departments. However, with the changes in the contemporary business environment, all organisations need to assess the efficiency of the design they currently use and assess whether any changes based on modern management theories are necessary to maintain their success in the modern context. My organisation does have elements of the bureaucratic approach, but we are also very flexible, we thrive on best practice and we also consider the human relations theory derived by Mayo in 1922 (Bruce & Nyland, 2011). Do you agree that there are elements of the bureaucratic theory that are still necessary for the success of organisations today? References Bruce, K. & Nyland, C. (2011) Elton Mayo and the Deification of Human Relations. Organisation Studies 32: 383. DOI: 10.1177/0170840610397478 Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., & Pitsis, T. (2019) Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 5th ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Hamel, G. (2006) The Why, What and How of Management Innovation. Harvard Business Review, 72-84. Matjie, M. (2018) Technical Advantages of Bureaucracy. In A. Farazmand (ed.). Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_644-1 Mori, G. T. (2017) Examining Hindrance of Bureaucracy on Management Innovation for Organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 7(4): 601-607. DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i4/2835 Weiss, R. M. (1983) Weber on Bureaucracy: Management Consultant or Political Theorist? The Academy of Management Review 8(2): 242-248.
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