Sociology Chap 7
Bureaucracy and Formal Organizations
Terms
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- humanizing a work setting
- organizing a workplace in such a way that it develops rather than impedes human potential
- self-fulfilling prophecy
- robert merton's term for an originally false assertion that becomes true simply because it was predicted
- capitalism
- an economic system characterized by the private ownership of the means of production, the pursuit of profit, and market competition
- (the) rationalization of society
- a widespread acceptance of rationality and social organizations that are built largely around this idea
- rationality
- using rules, efficiency, and practical results to determine human affairs
- peter principle
- a tongue-in-cheek observation that the members of an organization are promoted for their accomplishments until they reach their level of incompetence; there they cease to be promoted, remaining at the level at which they can no longer do good work
- traditional orientation
- the idea taht the past is the best guide for the present; characterizes tribal, peasant, and feudal societies
- goal displacement (goal replacement)
- the adoption of new goals by an organization
- corporate culture
- the orientations that characterize corporate work settings
- alienation
- marx's term for workers' lack of connection with the product of their labor; caused by their being assigned repetitive tasks on a small part of a product: this leads to a sense of powerlessness and normlessness; also used in the general sense of not feeling a part of something
- the iron law of oligarchy
- robert michaeks' term for the tendency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self-perpetuating elite
- voluntary association (voluntary memberships, voluntary organizations)
- a group made up of people who voluntarily organize on the basis of some mutual interest
- bureaucracy
- a formal organization with a hierarchy of authority and a clear division of labor; emphasis on written rules, communications, and records; and impersonality of positions
- formal organization
- a secondary group designed to achieve explicit objectives