Many of the organizations in our society are organized as bureaucracies: corporations, the government, the armed services, schools, etc. A bureaucracy is an organization with specific structural characteristics oriented towards efficiently achieving specific goals.

The characteristics of bureaucracy are:

hierarchy of authority

division of labor$/$specialization

explicit rules$/$homogenization $($also known as "McDonaldization"$)$

impersonality

meritocratic

formalized records $($this is not mentioned in the book, but needs to be addressed$)$

Some possible advantages for bureaucratic structures include:

$-$standards that make clear who is responsible for what

$-$people know what is expected of them for every situation

$-$jobs based on expertise

$-$one person is not responsible for everything

Some possible disadvantages include:

$-$confusing chain of command

$-$Peter's principle, people rise to the level of their incompetence

$-$rules and regulations outdated$/$unclear

$-$people see you as a number

$-$communication flows only one way

$-$Parkinson's Law, work expands to fill the time given it

Instructions:

$1.$ Identify a bureaucracy $($i$.$e$.$ school, workplace, place of worship, sports team, etc.$)$ that you have had some experience. Name the bureaucracy $($provide the actual name, not just "school" or "work"$).$

$2.$ Identify how the bureaucracy that you have selected meets each of the characteristics $(1-6$ above$)$ associated with bureaucracies. Provide specific examples for each. $($Make sure you overtly state each characteristic, define it in your own words, and cite a source for where you learned about it$.)$

$3.$ Discuss your experience with the bureaucracy and whether or not the bureaucratic structure helped or hindered the organization's ability to meet its goals. Give at least three specific examples! $($Feel free to reference the examples given above of ways that the bureaucratic structure can be advantageous or disadvantageous.$)$ You should also include your thoughts$/$reactions$/$opinions to the strengths and weaknesses of a bureaucracy. And finally, state whether the positives or the bureaucratic structure outweigh the negatives $($or vice versa$),$ and why.