Question

It has been argued that bureaucratic control systems are a holdover from a time when businesses, products, technologies, and society itself ran, and changed, at a far slower pace than it does today. Due to the rapid growth of global competition, the acceleration of technological change, and the growing interconnectedness of individuals some believe that bureaucracies should be replaced by more agile and dynamic mechanisms. For example, statistical process control, one of a number of tools and methods W. Edwards Deming successfully advocated after World War II, strived to improve quality and productivity by removing sources of variation. Detractors assert that business in today’s agile world changes too quickly for statistical process control to be useful. Attack or defend the position that the basic ideas of bureaucratic control systems are still relevant in today’s world, and support your argument.

Answer 1

Bureaucracy is characterized as a control system that delays the changes and the features that are highly demanding in the organizations of today. The red-tapism in the system often slows down the entire process in an Organization, giving way to rigidity, lack of commitment and alienating itself from the rest operating in the industry. In changing times of today especially to keep pace with the rapid change in the customer preferences and technological advances, being slow in a system cannot be a choice, if an Organization has to catch up with such high demand in the market. However, having said that, the system is still holding relevance in today’s world for the following reasons:

• Not all organizations witness rapid changes. Certain observe simply the routine tasks operations. In such organizations, Bureaucracy may work well.
• The exceptional requirements in certain Organizations can only be met through Bureaucracy, more particularly in the times, where delegating too much of power to the lower rank employees, may prove to be detrimental to the Organization.
• Often, there could be conflicts of interests among the members in a given Organization. Bureaucracy can help deal with the same in more efficient manner than in any of the control systems.
• Not all Bureaucracy is unacceptable by its members, especially that in the lower level. The Bureaucrats can thrive to make a condition favorable for its stakeholders and members of the Organization and therefore creating a climate of trust and togetherness. With such Bureaucrats in place, the Organizational members shall stay motivated and get going.
• Also, it is not a proven fact that universally applies to all Bureaucratic organizations that this control system cannot keep pace with the fast-moving world. It can certainly catch with the contemporary organizations, making the suitable changes in itself across the Organizations in a manner that its cultural features match with the contemporary organizations’ features, maintaining high quality of labor force and taking care of the force especially that of the well-being of the workforce and strive for continuous improvement techniques within the organization.

Hence, despite its limitations, this control system can yet survive and be relevant in today's era.