SMITHFIELD'S CUSTOM FURNITURE: It is 1901. Alicia Smithfield, daughter of the founder of Smithfield Custom Furniture, just inherited the company. She is the only surviving heir to the furniture empire her father built. Headquartered in upstate New York, the company has grown significantly over the past 60 years. Began in a shed built next to his log cabin, Jonas Smithfield's quality furniture developed a huge following among New York City's wealthiest residents. After being educated in the best business schools in Europe and America, Alicia has run the business side-by-side with her father for the past 15 years. When there were many issues confronting the business, a tree being felled took an unexpected route and brought Jonas' life to a surprising end. The company had just moved to a facility large enough to house its workers: 10 carpenters; 5 furniture designers; 5 wood finishers (varnish and dye experts); 10 machine operators to assist with the various equipment needed to cut the wood into various designs, polish and sand the wood; 5 mechanics to keep the vehicles (5 trucks) and boats (7) that transported wood from upstate New York and Canada to the work area in good repair; 15 lumberjacks who cut wood in nearby areas and moved it downriver by boat or over the rugged highway by truck; and 5 office personnel who assisted with filing, invoicing, drafting and responding to correspondence, handling customer inquiries, and performing other necessary office functions. More than half of these employees were hired in the past 5 years. Consultant: Max Weber Weber was concerned that authority was not a function of experience and ability, but won by social status. Because of this, managers were not loyal to the organization. Organizational resources were used for the benefit of owners and managers rather than to meet organizational goals. Weber was convinced that organizations based on rational authority, where authority was given to the most competent and qualified people, would be more efficient than those based on who you knew. Weber called this type of rational organization a bureaucracy. Weber identified six characteristics or rules of a bureaucracy, Hierarchical Management Structure, Division of Labor, Formal Selection Process, Career Orientation, Formal Rules and Regulations, and Impersonality. Weber thought bureaucracy would result in the highest level of efficiency, rationality, and worker satisfaction. In fact, he felt that bureaucracy was so logical that it would transform all of society. Unfortunately, Weber did not anticipate that each of the bureaucratic characteristics could also have a negative result. For example, division of labor leads to specialized and highly skilled workers, but it also can lead to tedium and boredom. Formal rules and regulations lead to uniformity and predictability, but they also can lead to excessive procedures and “red tape.” In spite of its potential problems, some form of bureaucracy is the dominant form of most large organizations today. The “pyramid” organizational structure, with responsibility split into divisions, departments, and teams, is based on principles of bureaucracy. It is used by nearly all large corporations. Weber’s idea that hiring and promotion should be based on qualifications, not social standing, is built into U.S. labor laws. Today, the term “bureaucracy” has taken on negative connotations. It is associated with excessive paperwork, apathy, unresponsiveness, and inflexibility. This is unfortunate, as Weber’s ideas have spread throughout the industrial world and transformed the way organizations are run and structured. Your school is probably structured as a bureaucracy. If you have shopped at a department store, it is a bureaucracy, and your city government is also a bureaucracy. Problem: One major issue confronting Alicia Smithfield is that while the company is financially successful, as it has grown from a small family-owned business to a large and complex enterprise, the organizational structure has not kept pace. Few formal rules exist, and the keeping and maintenance of records are haphazard. How can this issue be solved using Max Weber's background and theories?
SMITHFIELD'S CUSTOM FURNITURE:
It is 1901. Alicia Smithfield, daughter of the founder of Smithfield Custom Furniture, just inherited the company. She is the only surviving heir to the furniture empire her father built.
Headquartered in upstate New York, the company has grown significantly over the past 60 years. Began in a shed built next to his log cabin, Jonas Smithfield's quality furniture developed a huge following among New York City's wealthiest residents.
After being educated in the best business schools in Europe and America, Alicia has run the business side-by-side with her father for the past 15 years. When there were many issues confronting the business, a tree being felled took an unexpected route and brought Jonas' life to a surprising end.
The company had just moved to a facility large enough to house its workers: 10 carpenters; 5 furniture designers; 5 wood finishers (varnish and dye experts); 10 machine operators to assist with the various equipment needed to cut the wood into various designs, polish and sand the wood; 5 mechanics to keep the vehicles (5 trucks) and boats (7) that transported wood from upstate New York and Canada to the work area in good repair; 15 lumberjacks who cut wood in nearby areas and moved it downriver by boat or over the rugged highway by truck; and 5 office personnel who assisted with filing, invoicing, drafting and responding to correspondence, handling customer inquiries, and performing other necessary office functions. More than half of these employees were hired in the past 5 years.
Consultant: Max Weber
Weber was concerned that authority was not a function of experience and ability, but won by social status. Because of this, managers were not loyal to the organization. Organizational resources were used for the benefit of owners and managers rather than to meet organizational goals. Weber was convinced that organizations based on rational authority, where authority was given to the most competent and qualified people, would be more efficient than those based on who you knew. Weber called this type of rational organization a bureaucracy.
Weber identified six characteristics or rules of a bureaucracy, Hierarchical Management Structure, Division of Labor, Formal Selection Process, Career Orientation, Formal Rules and Regulations, and Impersonality.
Weber thought bureaucracy would result in the highest level of efficiency, rationality, and worker satisfaction. In fact, he felt that bureaucracy was so logical that it would transform all of society. Unfortunately, Weber did not anticipate that each of the bureaucratic characteristics could also have a negative result. For example, division of labor leads to specialized and highly skilled workers, but it also can lead to tedium and boredom. Formal rules and regulations lead to uniformity and predictability, but they also can lead to excessive procedures and “red tape.” In spite of its potential problems, some form of bureaucracy is the dominant form of most large organizations today. The “pyramid” organizational structure, with responsibility split into divisions, departments, and teams, is based on principles of bureaucracy. It is used by nearly all large corporations. Weber’s idea that hiring and promotion should be based on qualifications, not social standing, is built into U.S. labor laws.
Today, the term “bureaucracy” has taken on negative connotations. It is associated with excessive paperwork, apathy, unresponsiveness, and inflexibility. This is unfortunate, as Weber’s ideas have spread throughout the industrial world and transformed the way organizations are run and structured. Your school is probably structured as a bureaucracy. If you have shopped at a department store, it is a bureaucracy, and your city government is also a bureaucracy.
Problem:
One major issue confronting Alicia Smithfield is that while the company is financially successful, as it has grown from a small family-owned business to a large and complex enterprise, the organizational structure has not kept pace. Few formal rules exist, and the keeping and maintenance of records are haphazard.
How can this issue be solved using Max Weber's background and theories?
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