Organizational Communication

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last updated 8/19/2016

Max Weber and Frederick Taylor

  1. Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory – the essence of the modern traditionally managed organization.


    2.
    1. Bureaucracies are arrangements of formal positions.  Each position is defined by its specialized duties for which employees are selected on the basis of their technical expertise.

    2. Positions are divided (division of labor) into line (positions directly involved in production of goods or services) and staff (positions which advise line and engage in organizational maintenance functions)

    3. The positions are organized in a vertical, pyramid-shaped hierarchy.

    4. Decision-makers at all levels are to make decisions rationally based solely on the policies and procedures of the organization and the available facts.  Personal relationships play no role.

    5. All actions, decisions, and rules are constructed and recorded formally.

 

The power to accomplish goals in a bureaucracy comes from one or more of the three kinds of authority

  1. rational-legal authority, 

  2. traditional authority, or 

  3. charismatic authority.

 

 

2.  Taylor’s Scientific Management  ( 1910 – 1930)
  
    1. The Mental Revolution – a “humane” revolution

                                                              i.      Managers and workers share responsibility for efficiency

                                                            ii.      Cooperative labor-management attitudes are vital

                                                          iii.      There is a need for both UPWARD and downward communication

                                                           iv.      Managers need to consult with workers on job design

                                                             v.      Decisions must be made rationally – not arbitrarily

    1. The Methods of Scientific Management

                                                              i.      Scientific Job Design - the one best way

                                                            ii.      Scientific Employee Selection

                                                          iii.     Adequate and Appropriate Training and Rewards

                                                           iv.      Division of Labor and Responsibility (management vs workers - by type)

 

    Note: Taylor sought to resolve the problem of "systematic soldiering"  (i.e. workers intentionally working below their best effort), a consequence of the mechanistic model's failure to resolve the central dilemma.

 

  Discussion Questions.
     

Team 1.  Describe some organizations (or types of organizations that seem to represent the what is called the “Traditional” (also called “classical” or “mechanistic”) form of management?  Why do you think they work that way.
 

Team 2. What are examples of bureaucratic management you have seen in your work? And at Monmouth College? Were the effective in meeting organizational goals? individual goals?
 

Team 3. Describe an incident in which an organization you are familiar with seemed to suffer from lack of effective downward communication. What happened and why? How were individuals affected? How was the organization affected?
 

Team 4. Describe an incident in which an organization you are familiar with seemed to suffer from lack of sufficient upward communication. What happened and why? How were individuals affected? How was the organization affected?
 

All Teams: What are some ways to overcome problems with upward and downward communication in organizations?