Bureaucratic controls

Bureaucratic control is the use of rules, policies, and hierarchy of authority, written documentation, reward systems, and other formal mechanisms to influence employee behavior and assess performance. It is control through a system of rules and standard operating procedures that shape the behavior of divisions, functions, and individuals (Bateman-Snell, 2008). What are the pros and cons of bureaucratic controls such as rules, procedures, and supervision? The pros of rules, procedures, and supervision cause an organization’s personnel to focus on those behaviors that management requires or desires.

They provide employees with a set of day-to-day guidelines with which they can function. By observing the rules and procedures, people do what the system requires. In contrary, they can also result in rigid and inflexible behavior. Employees become accustomed to obeying the rules and doing nothing more. They often make the organization slow to react … and stifle creativity and innovation (Bateman-Snell, 2008). Would you rather work in an organization that uses teams and does not have supervisors?

Teams are cohesive units of people who enjoy the privileges of making decisions and continuously work to improve the organization. They help to align the organization around the functions and they have the ability to work toward a common vision. Teamwork is a concept where people work together effectively to achieve a common target, so teamwork is an important factor for the success of an organization. In times of change, managers and supervisors can be both the greatest ally and the greatest obstacle for change teams.

They are the closest to the employees who must adopt the new processes and behaviors associated with a project or initiative. In many cases, the work of managers and supervisors will also be impacted by a project. Getting managers and supervisors on-board and taking the lead in supporting employee change is crucial (Bateman-Snell, 2008). As much as it sounds good to work for an organization that uses teams without supervisors, I personally would not want to work for one.

Although I work well independently, I also enjoy working with teams, especially with a leader. The President of my organization believes in teamwork and often uses the cross-functional type of teams when working on various projects. Due to my position, I’m usually pulled to be one of the team members. Our teams are usually pulled together from various departments (e. g. Student Services, Academic Affairs, etc. ) to deal with specific service, issue, customer, problem or to improve a particular process.

We meet on a regular basis to analyze our customer (faculty, staff, students and other departments) needs, solve problems or find resolutions, provide departmental support, promote continuous improvement, and share information with each other. I’m very fortunate that my organization believes in teamwork. Bateman-Snell. (8th ed). (2008). Leadership. In Management: Leading and collaborating in a competitive world. McGraw-Hill. Bateman-Snell. (8th ed). (2008). Managerial control. In Management: Leading and collaborating in a competitive world. McGraw-Hill.