Convenience

Electronic Coordination
Advances in information technology are also providing
useful mechanisms for coordination. E-mail, for example, makes it easier for people to
communicate with one another. This communication, in turn, enhances coordination.
Similarly, many people in organizations today use electronic scheduling, at least some
of which is accessible to others. Hence, if someone needs to set up a meeting with two
colleagues, he or she can often check their electronic schedules to determine their avail-
ability, making it easier to coordinate their activities.
Local networks, increasingly managed by handheld electronic devices, are also making
it easier to coordinate activities. Bechtel, for example, now requires its contractors, sub-
contractors, and suppliers to use a common web-based communication system to
improve coordination among their myriad activities. The firm estimates that this
improved coordination technology routinely saves it thousands of dollars on every big
construction project it undertakes.
THE BUREAUCRATIC MODEL OF
ORGANIZATION DESIGN
Max Weber, an influential German sociologist, was a pioneer of classical organization
theory. At the core of Weber’s writings was the bureaucratic model of organizations.
27
The
Weberian perspective suggests that a
bureaucracy
is a model of organization design based
on a legitimate and formal system of authority. Many people associate bureaucracy with “red
tape,” rigidity, and passing the buck. For example, how many times have you heard people
refer disparagingly to “the federal bureaucracy”? Many U.S. managers believe that
bureaucracy
A model of
organization design
based on a legitimate
and formal system of
authority
172
Part 3:
Organizing
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bureaucracy in the Chinese government is a major impediment to U.S. firms’ ability to do
business there.
Weber viewed the bureaucratic form of organization as logical, rational, and efficient.
He offered the model as a framework to which all organizations should aspire—the “one
best way” of doing things. According to Weber, the ideal bureaucracy exhibits five basic
characteristics: