Practice question · Sort into groups
Weberian feature or bureaucratic pathology? Sort each observation.
Groups: Weberian design feature · Bureaucratic pathology
- Written rules applied identically to everyone
- Three signatures required to buy a stapler
- Clear hierarchy of offices and appeal
- An inner circle running a nominally democratic association
- Promotion by documented merit
- Staff optimizing the metric instead of the mission
Hints
- Every pathology is a design feature taken too far.
- Ask whether the observation describes the intent or its overgrowth.
Show the answer
Weberian design feature: Written rules applied identically to everyone, Clear hierarchy of offices and appeal, Promotion by documented merit
Bureaucratic pathology: Three signatures required to buy a stapler, Staff optimizing the metric instead of the mission, An inner circle running a nominally democratic association
Why
Every pathology is a design feature overgrown: rules become red tape, metrics displace goals, and the machinery’s operators become Michels’ oligarchy.
Practise Groups and Organizations
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More questions on Groups and Organizations
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