Sociology Organisation Essay

ORGANISATIONS
Today our lives revolve around formal organizations than in previous eras. Formal organizations are large secondary groups. The size of these organizations makes relationships less personal and fosters a planned formal atmosphere. These organizations develop lives of there own so that members come and go but the positions and roles remain.

Types of formal organizations.
Amitai Etzioni (1975) classified organizations based on why people participate in them. Firstly there are Utilitarian Organisations which people join to get material rewards, for example your workplace. Joining these organizations is based on individual choice.
The second type is Normative Organisations. People join these to pursue goals they consider morally worthwhile. These include organizations such as Kiwanis, Girls Guide etc.
The third type is Coercive organizations. People are forced to join these organizations e.g. prisons, mental hospitals etc. These organizations are supervised by security personnel and people are not free to leave. Coffman’s total institution falls in this category. The types are not mutually exclusive for example a mental hospital is utilitarian for its employees but coercive for the inmates.

Bureaucracy
(Review previous notes)
Bureaucracy is an organizational model rationally designed to perform complex tasks efficiently (Macionis & Plummer –Sociology A Global Perspective).

(Review Max Weber’s features of bureaucracy):
Specialization
Hierarchy of offices
Rules and regulations
Technical competence
Impersonality
Formal written communication.
Meritocracy

These features are opposite to what would be found in a small group. Although in Weber’s bureaucracy everything is regulated, in actual organizations there is some informalitly. Even though power resides in offices and not individuals, the personality of leaders will have an effect, as well as the style of leadership. Although there is formal communication there will also be...