Evolution of Formal Organizations

Running Head : FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS

Formal Organizations : Evolution and History

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Formal Organizations : Evolution and History

Evolution of Formal Organizations

In the 19th century , the first large formal organizations were established in Europe . These formal organizations had its origin in the German military (Stark , 1995 . In to improve the efficiency of the German military , the German commanders decided to restructure the said organization . This restructuring of the German army was the direct result of the long period of peace experienced in Europe after the defeat of

Napoleon . The long period of peace provided the German commanders sufficient time to evaluate the deficiencies of the German army . The German commanders were quite aware of the vagrancies of another war . In such case , the booming European population would provide an obstacle in efficiently managing a large army . Added to that , mass production would demand more sophisticated means of managing resources Victory in war , as most Prussian (German ) generals noted , is decided by early preparation in war and of course efficiency in managing provisions . Thus , the Prussian generals concluded that the entire military command and institutions should be completely revised

The German army was built on a new type of system based on the principle of utilizing highly trained and interchangeable staff officers (Stark , 1995 . The officers were trained in a war academy for a specified period of time . Annually , about 120 officers were selected from the whole academy . This selection was based on competitive examinations , usually lasting about 2 days . Out of these 120 officers 12 would be selected to be trained for the General Staff . In peacetime these officers were obligated to study battle strategies , taking into account past battles . Tactical theories were also presented as part of the curriculum . All of these were done to overcome the inability of a single commander to direct a war fought with mass armies (Stark 1995 . The assumption here is clear : a single commander cannot efficiently manage a war effort because of his limitations . Several highly trained officers were needed to make strategic plans for launching offensives or attacks . Each officer would be responsible for the unit assigned to him . Each commander was assumed to have full flexibility and discretion over his unit (the central command though can intervene

The restructuring of the German military was imitated by organizations in the industrial sector . Capitalists assumed that mass production can only be achieved if the system of production is highly efficient and sophisticated . The system of production included the workers , the inputs , and the output . As such , providing different sets of management strategies for the three components of production would be efficient and cost-effective . Thus , organizations in the industrial sector used systematic , standardized techniques in managing its work force Objectives were set by rational principle . Added to that , the effects of interpersonal relationships were also reduced by putting all plans on a participation medium (all individuals comprising the management

This adoption of formal organizations of the industrial sector is called bureaucratization . Kilcullen (1996 , based on a reading of Weber 's works , enumerated 6 characteristics of bureaucracy : 1 organizational actions are based on written documents , 2 ) impersonality in the workplace , 3 ) high regard for vertical lines of authority , 4 utilization of systematic and standardized mediums for selecting potential employees , 5 ) division of an organization into smaller complex components , and 6 the use of rationality . Weber here associated bureaucracy with the early formal organizations both in the German military and industrial sectors . For Weber , these formal organizations were highly rigid in structure and necessary for managing a large work force . Rigidity took the form of differentiated and highly specified functions of individual workers and departments . It was expected that no individual or department could intervene to the roles of other departments unless it was specified in the organization 's by-laws . Added to that , Weber saw these organizations as the characterized by red tape Red tape connotes that an individual seeking service or favor would have to travel to different levels of authority (this characterized the government

Changes in Formal Organizations

In modern times , however , formal organizations are characterized by flexibility . Although a modern formal organization is still divided into smaller , complex components , each component can actually cooperate with each other in to achieve the specified goals of the organization Utilization of systematic and standardized mediums for selecting potential employees is usually left to the discretion of the head of an organization . For example , some CEOs of major corporations in the world today noted that impersonality does not contribute to overall increase in labor productivity . Reference to personal relationships in selecting employees partially increases the propensity of employees to work . This also increases the chance for an individual employee to create work bonds both with the managers and co-employees . Added to that , most social scientists today noted that the so-called high regard for vertical lines of authority ' is often restructured to suit the needs of an organization . Communication becomes blur as it travels vertically from one level of authority to the other thus , resulting in inefficiency . Today , some organizations emphasize horizontal lines of authority ' in to improve flexibility in decision-making

Trends in Formal Organizations (based on case studies

Unlike in the past , the form organization take are usually based on several principles (in the past only the principles of rationality and profit dominated the workplace . By utilizing other principles , it is assumed that the overall performance of an organization increases . Yule et al (2007 ) noted that several firms are currently redesigning their strategies in managing their workforce . Several managers observed that most employees view the organization as a danger-manifest place . Each worker believes (based on statistics ) that there is too-much risk associated in working in a formal organization (exposure to certain unaccounted abuses . Thus , some managers were forced to restructure their respective organizations . This restructuring was meant to increase the overall perception of safety ' in the organization . Dalton et al (1970 ) focused on the nature of authority lines in future formal organization . The authors observed that authority in organizations nowadays are becoming more dispersed . Specifically , consent or consensus in some cases becomes the basic principle of negotiation . Here we can juxtapose those future forms of formal organizations will be characterized by dispersion of authority to several key components or person in an organization . Blau and Scott (1962 ) noted that formal organizations today are characterized by dispersion of theoretical and practical (or technical ) knowledge . For one , it is impractical for a single person to utilize a large volume of information . Diversification of the use of knowledge is necessary for achieving efficiency

The prerequisites for the evolution of formal organizations into more flexible forms are already laid . Dispersion of knowledge and authority to key components or persons in an organization is a manifestation that formal organizations are currently in the process of evolution . For example , dispersion of knowledge is necessary in increasing the overall diversification function of an organization . Diversification connotes the differentiation of functions via flexible channels . If an organization evolves into a more diversified form , it becomes more efficient . This is the general rule of organizational behavior . The dispersion of authority is another aspect in improving the overall efficiency of an organization . It is generally noted by many social scientists that efficiency has several dimensions : increased labor productivity , flexibility in decision-making , dispersion of authority etc . Here we can juxtapose that dispersion of authority is an important aspect of efficiency . Thus , formal organizations in the future will be more flexible and efficient than its current forms

References

Blau , Peter and Richard Scott (1962 . Formal Organizations . Stanford University Press

Dalton , Gene et al (1970 . The Distribution of Authority in Formal Organizations . Vol . 35 (2 . American Sociological Review

Kilcullen , John (1996 . Max Weber on Bureaucracy . Macquarie University Retrieved on October 26 , 2007 from http /www .humanities .mq .edu .au /Ockham /y64l09 .html

Stark , Rodney (1995 . The Crisis of Growth : Inventing Formal Organizations . The Organizational Age . Retrieved on October 26 , 2007 from http /www .analytictech .com /mb021 /orgage .htm

Yule , Steven , et al (2007 . The role of management and safety climate in preventing risk-taking at work . Vol . 7 (2 . Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

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