![]() ![]() ![]() (Table courtesy of Etzioni 1975)Īll formal organizations are, or likely will become, bureaucracies. Weber utilized the ideal-type to conceptualize bureaucracies as having a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and an atmosphere of impersonality (1922). Bureaucracies are not a new social phenomenon-they have been around for nearly a century! Today, people often complain about bureaucracies-declaring them slow, rule-bound, difficult to navigate, and unfriendly. This table shows Etzioni’s three types of formal organizations. High school and the workplace fall into this category-one joined in pursuit of a diploma, the other in order to make money. The third type is utilitarian organizations, which, as the name suggests, are joined because of the need for a specific material reward. These may include prison or a rehabilitation center. Coercive organizations are groups that are forced to join. The Audubon Society and a ski club are examples of normative organizations. As the name suggests, joining them is voluntary and typically done because people find membership rewarding in an intangible way. Normative organizations, also called voluntary organizations, are based on shared interests. Sociologist Amitai Etzioni (1975) posited that formal organizations fall into three categories. (Photo (a) courtesy of moonlightbulb/flickr Photo (b) courtesy of CxOxS/flickr) Girl Scout troops and correctional facilities are both formal organizations. Weber’s ideal-type is a model or a collection of characteristics that could describe most examples of the item under discussion. We will discuss bureaucracies as an ideal-type of organization. Sociologist Max Weber developed a conceptual framework to help us understand formal organizations and to work on moving from the particular (“I had this experience with my cell phone service provider”) to the general (“Formal organizations have similar characteristics such as…”). What is it like to track down a health insurance billing question? Have you ever tried to get technical support on a computer or cell phone? How long did it take and how many different times were you placed on hold? If you went back to the store where you purchased the device, were you asked to wait in line? Does your college or university have a streamlined process for questions related to advising or financial aid? From schools to businesses to healthcare to government, these organizations, referred to as formal organizations, often leave us feeling like a cog in a machine. Explain the different types of formal organizationsĪ complaint of modern life is that society is dominated by large and impersonal organizations. ![]()
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