Bureaucratic Management.

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An organisation can be best describes as a unit which consists of individuals who, in order to achieve certain objectives, influence other people. They may be trying to achieve wealth or well being through differing processes, technologies, structures and cultures.

In order to run an organisation well management is needed. Management then is the planning, organising, leading and controlling of human resources, s well as other resources, in order to achieve effective goals. Rosemary Stewart describes a manager as;

“Someone who gets things done with the aid of people”

                                                                (Boddy P11)

Bureaucratic Management

An important aim for most businesses today is to increase productivity and efficiency. In order to do so, many businesses adopt theoretical approached to management. The theory of bureaucracy is one in which is the underlying theme of control in many organisations of today. Bureaucratic management is described as “a formal system of organisation in order to maintain efficiency and effectiveness.” (Contemporary Management P48)

Max Weber developed the theory of bureaucratic management and derived five main principles which should be adopted when using bureaucratic management. Although his theories were very sound, perhaps the most influential principles of management in organisations are that of Henri Fayol. He devised 14 theories of management however some of these theories are similar to that of Max Weber. Like Weber, Fayol believed in division of labour where workers would be given more job duties and responsibilities.

He also believed in authority and responsibility similar to Weber’s theory, where authority should come from “personal expertise, technical knowledge moral worth and the ability to lead to generate commitment from subordinates” (Contemporary Management P50) Weber believed in dual command, similar to this, Fayol believed unity of command. This principle involves an employee reporting to and only receiving orders from one supervisor. Next he devised that there should be a line of authority which can be described as the line of command starting at the bottom of the organisation and following up to the very top of the organisation.

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In bureaucratic management it is important to control the number of levels in the hierarchy because the more managers there are the longer it takes to plan and organise activities. Similarly he believed that an effective bureaucratic work place should have a form of centralisation. Fayol believed that authority should not be centralised at the top of the chain of command. As a result of centralisation of authority, it would mean managers at the top of the hierarchy are able to make more decisions and therefore the people lower down the line of authority would simply follow their direction.

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