# The Concept of Bureaucracy, an Empirical Assessment  ## Metadata - Author: Richard H Hall - Full Title: The Concept of Bureaucracy - Category: #Source/books - [Article]( x-devonthink-item://4CD136CC-D0BA-469F-8C64-9835D2E24BAE) ## Summary - Created early version of BMI to look at whether or not organisations were bureaucratic - Bureaucracy is on a scale across multiple dimensions, it is not a binary condition (as suggested by Weber)  - Hierarchy is most important metric in identifying a bureaucracy. - Self-reflective methodology has issues as this may be at variance to what actually occurs, or what the intended structures are. ## Highlights ### Background Six dimensions of bureaucracy: 1. A division of labor based upon functional specialisation 2. A well-defined hierarchy of authority duties of positional incumbents 3. A system of work situations 4. A system of procedures for dealing with work situations 5. Impersonality of interpersonal relations 6. Promotion and selection for based upon technical competence The non-bureaucratic organisation would be characterised by a relatively flat and often by-passed bureaucracy, simpler division of labour, and so on. ### Methodology It is recognized that the perceptions of participants of their organization may well be at variance with the officially prescribed structure. Note: Interesting that the methodology was a choice between observation and interview, supported by a scale. Created an early version of the [[Bureaucratic Mass Index]], based on the existing literature at the time: 1. Hierarchy of authority scale: "A person can make his own decisions without checking with anyone else" 2. Division of labor scale: "One thing people like around here is the variety of work" 3. System of rules scale: "The time for coffee breaks is strictly regulated" 4. System of procedures scale: "We are to follow strict operating procedures at all times" 5. Impersonality scale: "We are expected to be courteous, but reserved, at all times" 6. Technical competence scale: "Employees are periodically evaluated to see how well they are doing" - Total independence of scales was attempted but not achieved. - Managers and non-managers involved in the research. ### Results - Analysis of the matrix of rank correlation coefficients in Table 3 suggests that the "hierarchy" dimension may be the central dimension in the determination of the over- all degree of bureaucratization - Data suggests that the type of activity is highly related to the degree of bureaucratisation. [[The Structuring of Organisations|Mintzberg, H. (1979)]] would correlate. - "organisations that regularly deal with a large volume of customers or clients may help develop a high degree of impersonality". - "Certain problems that are typically ascribed to bureaucratic structures may in fact only exist when a particular configuration of the dimensions is present" - Bureaucracy may be appropriate for certain activities. ## APA Reference Hall, R. H., (1963). The Concept of Bureaucracy: An Empirical Assessment. The American Journal of Sociology, 69(1), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.1086/223508