If the organization has to deal with complex situations with complex tasks, a centralized structure is effective. A bureaucratic structure is possible if formalization is possible, based on the task predictability. The appropriate structure must combine standardization with decentralization, which are the characteristics of professionalized bureaucracies. Professional bureaucracy is proof that organizations can be bureaucratic without being centralized. Their operational work is stable, leading to “predetermined or predictable, in effect, standardized” behavior.
Professional bureaucracy
It bases coordination among its members on the standardization of skills achieved through training and socialization. Professionals work with a certain independence from their colleagues and are linked to their clients. Examples of this type of structure are a hospital or a university. The professionalized bureaucracy It is an organization that bases its operation on the standardization of behaviors and procedures, which is achieved through the design of tasks by specialists and supervision.
The standardization of behaviors and procedures is achieved thanks to the professionalization of its members, which means that a good part of the standardization is established by associations and professional groups and not by the organization. In mechanical bureaucracy, hierarchical authority predominates, in professionalized bureaucracy the authority of the expert is more important. This is a group of professionals who have specialized knowledge, skills and techniques that they can apply to certain situations to resolve client demands. One of the key operating processes It is the process of diagnosing, classifying or categorizing the situation that allows determining the set of specific skills and techniques to use to solve the client’s problem. Perrow (1970) points out that people are categorized and placed into classes because they would require enormous resources by treating each case as unique and susceptible to exhaustive analysis. The categories allow us to develop without having to make continuous decisions at every moment. Type of organizations that resolve the uncertainty of their environment by classifying clients based on the services they demand, that is, a categorization based on market demand that coincides with a categorization of the functions of the professionals who serve it ( functional categorization).
The key personnel are the professionals, as they perform the central tasks. The staff is quite strong. Other parties such as analysts technological systems, middle managers or managers have a less relevant role. These organizations present very decentralized structures in their horizontal and vertical aspects. Part of the power (based on the quality of the expert) and the decision-making capacity remains at the level of the workers (professionals), who must solve the specific problems of their clients. When making decisions, professionals take as a basic reference point the standards and instructions of professional associations to a greater extent than those established by the organization itself.
The loyalty of the professional is divided and he experiences conflicts when having to meet the demands of the organization and those of his professional group. He usually identifies to a greater degree with his professional group than with the organization in which he works. Professional bureaucracies tend to adopt democratic structures in which control remains at the most basic levels of the organization. Workers control part of the decisions related to their own work and also seek to have collective control of the administrative decisions that affect them, such as those related to hiring, promotions or allocation of resources, they are also called “collegiate organizations”.
Although the power of professionals is notable, the manager or managers do not always have little power. The professional, administrator or manager, although he cannot directly control the members of the organization, performs functions and roles that give him considerable indirect power within it. He must resolve multiple conflicts between the different members that usually arise from classification processes, which are not always adequate and effective in determining all cases.
These managers are directly responsible for external relations and representation of the organization and play an essential role in obtaining resources. Direct dedication to administrative matters grants them de facto power over other colleagues mainly engaged in tasks of a professional nature. They will remain in this power as long as they serve the objectives and interests of the majority of the members or those who have more power.
Mechanical bureaucratic structure
Described by Weber, is found in organizations that are characterized by repetitive, simple, and highly standardized work processes. They have a great proliferation of rules and norms and a formalization of communication through established channels. They show large work units at the lower level, a centralized power and decision-making structure, and a considerable administrative component with a clear distinction between line and staff. The different types of members within these organizations have specific characteristics.
The workers They carry out their task in a highly rationalized workflow with a clear division of tasks that are coordinated thanks to strong formalization and direct supervision. Types of coordination and the nature of the task that allow the formation of large work units.
He administrative component is widely developed. It is made up of a significant number of people who try to solve problems that may arise so that the “productive machine” does not stop: supervisors who fulfill 3 functions: resolve problems that arise among workers, work in collaboration with technology and planning, facilitating the passing of information up and down (providing information to bosses and making rules, changes, etc. known to subordinates); Technology analysts and planners are essential since the organization fundamentally depends on the standardization of the work process, through the analysis and planning of tasks as a basic coordination system. Planning that introduces a large number of rules and regulations and a good dose of control, which has a fundamental role as it allows reducing uncertainty so that the bureaucratic machine works without interruptions and resolving the conflicts that it can easily cause.
Woodward (1965) points out that the network of relationships best for production is not necessarily the best for people. If the technical purposes are well taken care of, the result will be a commercial success, if the social goals are well taken care of, the results will be a satisfied and cooperative staff. Technical purposes may be better served through conflict and pressure and it cannot be said that the most effective firms were those that had better relationships and closer identification between staff and the company.
The managers They are responsible for achieving efficient functioning of the organization as a whole, searching for and studying new procedures and improvements for production, as well as conflict resolution and direct supervision as a basis for coordination of the different departments at the various levels. higher because at these levels formalization is insufficient for coordination. They occupy the only positions that require extensive and generalized knowledge compared to the specialization of the other members. They concentrate most of the formal power and are responsible for establishing general strategies and plans. The assumptions of this planning are: its completely rational nature, the clear differentiation between strategy formulation and its implementation. Managers formulate their plans and subordinates implement them, within a means-end scale until their realization by workers.
Mechanical bureaucracy has an inflexible configuration. It is designed for a single purpose and may be efficient at it, but it is unable to make large changes to adapt to disparate complex situations. The mission of the different parts is to reduce and control changes in the environment to ensure that the machine works properly, by reducing uncertainty and resolving possible problems that may arise from it.
Characteristics of this type of structure
They are only possible in a stable and simple environment. Working in complex environments cannot be rationalized into simple tasks and dynamic environments cannot be easily predicted or standardized. Generally found in mature organizations. They must be broad enough so that repetition and standardization is possible and “old” enough so that they have been able to develop the rules and procedures that they must use. They usually present a regulatory technical system, since it is this that allows the work to be designed so that it can be carried out in a repetitive and standardized process.
Mass production is the most characteristic technological system. External control, control that favors centralization and formalization and these are the main design parameters of a bureaucratic structure of a mechanical nature. Government administrative departments that have a greater degree of external control are structured according to these characteristics. Organizations with mechanical bureaucratic structures are organizations to carry out stable tasks, not to solve new problems. It is effective in a series of specific and clearly defined jobs, not in introducing innovations or adapting to new, dynamic and unpredictable environments.
They are designed like machines, to carry out a series of predetermined and clearly defined tasks as efficiently as possible. But they are not useful for carrying out any other type of task and solving new situations that arise.
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