Bureaucracy, Authority, and Leadership in Management

Michel Crozier once said, “Bureaucracies embody vicious circles of decreasing efficiency and effectiveness.” As a leader, it is necessary to organize your people efficiently, so that the most work can be accomplished. The three key concepts I will concentrate on are authority, bureaucratization, and the dysfunctions of bureaucracy. Finally, I will address the organization principle of delegation, touching on my own experiences. All of these concepts are methods of organization; however, as a leader and manager, one must find the most appropriate method.

Every company must have some semblance of organization in order to run smoothly. The organizational structure provides the framework for the formal distribution of authority. Organizational authority has four main concepts that all affect structure: chain of command, line versus staff authority, delegation of authority, and the degree of centralization. A common form of organization involves a hierarchy chain, establishing authority at every level. There should be a unity of command, a span of control, and power distribution in an effective organizational culture. Authority is the legitimate power of a supervisor to direct subordinates to take action within the scope of the supervisor's position. Unity of command within the chain states that each person in an organization should take orders from and reports to only one person. This helps prevent the issue of conflicting demands placed on employees by more than one boss, as seen in “Office Space,” when Peter had several people come up to him telling him he screwed up. In most corporate companies, a CEO heads the company, with supreme authority. Power is then delegated down to the president, and then to separate business sectors within the company, and finally to separate divisions. One form of authority is line authority, which is direct supervisory authority from superior to subordinate. Authority flows in a direct chain of command from the top of the company to the bottom. This is possible because the chain of command represents an unbroken line of communication that allows each subordinate to report to his or her superior, extending through the entire organization. This should define the formal decision-making structure, allowing employees to know to whom they are accountable, and what to do when they have a problem. Span of control refers to the number of employees exist under the direction of one manager. Spans within effective organizations can vary greatly, it simply depends on the amount of complexity of the job, and the level of specialization required. In general, a wide span of control is possible with better trained, more experienced, and committed employees.

Staff authority, in comparison to line authority, is much more restricted. It is authority that is based on expertise, usually involving advising line managers. Staff members help and advise in decisions, but do not have the authority to make final decisions. Staff supervisors simply aid line departments in deciding what to do and how to do it. Ultimately, authority is delegated by position, and enables superiors to develop a deep-down reason for being, building the foundation and sustaining the ingredients for success.

Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity, usually seen in large organizations. It is characterized by standardized procedure, formal division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. Weber’s form of bureaucracy included rules and procedures, a hierarchical division of labor, and specialization. The range of legal authority is clearly specified, and activities are distributed as official duties. The standardized procedure is always followed, and should be enforced by superiors. Organization follows the hierarchical principle, where subordinates follow the orders of superiors; however, they do possess the right of appeal. Decisions and actions in a bureaucracy are governed by intentional abstract rules. These rules are established, comprehensive, and can be learned. Decisions are recorded in permanent files, an important factor in Weber’s bureaucracy. In theory, the bureaucracy differs from other methods of organizing work because it has a formal structure that allows for greater efficiency (in contrast to popular