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Organizational Decision-Making Theory Term Paper

¶ … organizational decision making best explains decision making in an ideal-Typical Weberian bureaucracy? In a classical Weberian bureaucracy, decisions are made in an impersonal manner. People mean very little, in terms of the functionality of the organization. Processes rather than people are important. In a classical Weberian model, even when the personnel within the bureaucratic structure might change, the organization would still remain equally efficient. Subordinates follow the directions of their superiors, but technical qualifications, rather than favoritism determines promotions. This could be called 'bounded rationality,' or rationally operating to achieve optimal outcomes within imposed constraints and the limited knowledge available.

'Following the rules' in a blind fashion can be disastrous, if the rules are not set up correctly. But in the Weberian model of rationality, given that the rules are rational, legal, "reliable and clear" this "allows the subordinate more independence...

Subordinates have more power in bureaucracies than in other governing structures because they are not reliant upon currying favor with their bosses to get ahead, and "ideally can challenge the decisions of their leaders by referring to the stated rules -- charisma becomes less important. As a result, bureaucratic systems can handle more complex operations than traditional systems" ("Bureaucracy (Weber)," Babson College, 2012). Actions are deemed rational if they lead to value for the actor, and, in this case the 'actor' is deemed to be the organization as a whole. In Weber's rationalist model, actors within organizations are not presumed to have their own interests; rather they follow rules in a rational fashion to bring the intended process to an end.
Within the Weberian model, there is no allowance for limited rationality. For example, one common criticism of the security apparatus of the United…

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references, options, and outcomes, the influence of competing interests can create very different perceptions of what is rational.

Of course, it should be noted that Weber merely stated that bureaucracies pursued the best possible courses of rational actions for themselves, not for the world as a whole. But even that cannot fully explain why some organizations take actions that are profitable in the short-term (such as selling subprime loans) and fail to rationally anticipate likely negative long-term consequences that will harm the organization and cause it to implode because of the likely fall-out. Furthermore, decision-makers may not have optimal knowledge of 'the rules' and imperfectly follow them, causing the organization to behave irrationally in the absence of sufficient constraints (like laws on the banking industry).

Reference

"Bureaucracy (Weber)." Babson College. [27 Jul 2012]

http://faculty.babson.edu/krollag/org_site/encyclop/bureaucracy.html
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