1. Bureaucracies

2. Characteristics
A bureaucracy is a group that has become dominant in social life
All bureaucracies have:
Clear levels with assignments flowing downward and accountability flowing upward
A division of labor
Written rules
Written communications and records
Impersonality and replacability

3. The rationalization of society
Max Weber viewed bureaucracies as such a powerful form of social organization that he predicted they would come to dominate social life
Goal Displacement- even after a organization has achieved it’s goal and no longer has a reason to continue, it still continues
Example: March of Dimes, NATO

4. Dysfunctions of Bureaucracies
Red Tape: A Rule is a Rule- so bogged down by rules that the results can be illogical
Bureaucratic Alienation- many workers begin to feel more like objects than people
Workers no longer identify with their product
Resisting Alienation- forming primary groups at work, decorate their work area with personal items

5. More Dysfunctions Bureaucratic Incompetence
Peter Principle: each employee is promoted to his/her level of incompetence
Promoted until they are promoted to a level at which they can no longer handle the responsibilities well
There they hide behind the work of others and take credit for accomplishments of the employees under them

6. Working for a Corporation
Stereotypes can affect your career
Corporate and department heads look for people who have similar characteristics as them to hire and promote
They feed better information to workers with those characteristics, putting them on the fast track
With these advantages, workers perform better which then confirms the boss’s expectation or stereotype
The opposite happens for workers who are corporate leaders

7. The “hidden” corporate culture
Stereotypes and their powerful effects on workers remain hidden to everyone, even the boss
On the surface- the workers getting promoted are those who have superior performance and commitment to the company
Hidden- these higher and lower expectations and the open and closed opportunities that produce the attitudes and accomplishments