Question

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Question I.

According to Weber, there are some challenges and tensions between bureaucratic organizational structures within democratic systems of government. An illustration of this applies to hierarchy. In his article on bureaucracy, Weber emphasized heavily on hierarchy. Weber maintained that it is essential for democratic systems of government to have a hierarchy so that there is a clear chain of command. Those in high leadership roles governed, while those under them obey them. A challenge that is noted in regards to hierarchy can be applied to the United States. In the United States, federal judges and elected judges often hold high leadership positions and have the power to govern. The federal judges appointed by the president or elected judges voted in by the citizens of the United States may not be qualified for their positions. Weber stated, ‘The use of unqualified officials falls back up on the party in power at the next election’. This illustrates that nepotism may be practiced because people are being selected based on their political party affiliation and/or by who they know.

Additionally, another challenge between bureaucratic organizational structures within democratic systems of government is the flexibility of roles. Weber emphasized heavily that there should be no flexibility of roles and that everyone should know what their responsibilities entail. Weber asserted, “Precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of the files, continuity, discretion, unity, strict subordination, reduction of friction and of material and personal costs these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration.

Question II.

Technological developments have impacted organizations in the public sector in many ways. Technological developments have impacted organizations in positive, meaningful ways. For starters, technological developments have given people who work in public sectors the opportunity to continue their education and expand their skillset through technological or IT skills. Munro and Rainbird stated, “One way in which workers develop strategies to make their jobs more interesting is by expanding into related tasks and areas of activity and expanding their range of competencies''. Also, technological advances help organizations in public sector flow smoothly on all levels. For example, technological advances help with communication within an organization. If someone needed to communicate something important to the entire organization in a short time limit, a simple email or text message will suffice. Whereas in the past, people may have to resort to regular post or individually finding each person.

Technological developments have impacted organizations in the public sector in a negative way also. One of the negative ways in which technological developments have impacted organizations is that companies, organizations, universities, etc., are requiring all of their workers to be technologically competent, but yet not paying them enough for it. Additionally, another negative aspect is that it is harder for older generations, such as traditionalists, to keep up with technology versus millennials . Extra training, and money, will be needed to train workers who are unfamiliar with technological advances. These negative aspects within itself present challenges due to advances in technology.

The ideas postulated by Taylor in The Principles of Scientific Management do apply today. Taylor emphasized on efficiency and productivity. According to his ideas, workers are rewarded based on their levels of productivity. Taylor stated, “The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee”. Taylor’s ideas of efficiency and productivity can be applied to workplace settings, such as, factories since factories are responsible for churning out so many products within a certain time frame.

Question III.

Some of the residual elements of the “classical foundations” that are still found in contemporary public organizations include writings from Woodrow Wilson and Max Weber. Wilson maintained that it would be best to move public administration toward technocracy. Wilson’s concept still applies today because the people have a say in what laws are passed. The positive aspect of this is that people have a voice in today’s laws. The negative aspect of this is that not everyone may have the same opinion when it comes to new policies.

Meanwhile, Weber’s concepts of authority still stand today. “Charismatic authority is grounded in particular individual who exhibit exceptional personality or personal qualities”. Charismatic authority still apply in today’s society because there have been charismatic leaders in the United States. Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. are good examples of charismatic leaders since both of them have established goals and objectives that needed to be achieved. For example, Obama wanted to pass a healthcare act and he did that during his presidency. However, the negative aspect of Weber’s concept of charismatic authority is that over time, different leaders will take over. With different leaders, there will be different goals and objectives and that may cause instability in a system.