AZFOA Bureaucracy Essay PDF

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Bureaucracy essay for Grand Canyon University Principles of Sociology...

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AZFOA Bureaucracy Essay

Travis H. Keady Colangelo College of Business, Grand Canyon University SOC-102: Principles of Sociology Dr. Tim Larkin October 31, 2021

2 AZFOA Bureaucracy Essay Within a society, levels of power are going to be established naturally. The highly respected sociologist named Max Weber stated “In light of their prevalence and the increasing power they wield in today’s Western world, it is worth taking a closer look at the particular type of formal organization known as a Bureaucracy, which is a type of formal organization constituted to accomplish a specific goal, task, or production outcome in the most efficient manner (Weber, 1947). The purpose of this essay is to further explain and define what a bureaucracy is. To do so we will more greatly understand the five characteristics that make up a bureaucracy, as well as use a life experience of mine as data to understand the nature and function of a bureaucracy. When looking into a bureaucracy five characteristics make it operate efficiently. (Gorij & Meftah, 2014) The first characteristic that a bureaucracy has is clear hierarchical levels of authority with the work assignments flowing downward. Within this structure “workers are arranged by a ranking system in which each one is supervised by someone with a higher rank in the organization. Those further up in the hierarchy possess more power, as demonstrated by the fact that they have fewer supervisors.” (Larkin, 2015, para 18). This creates a pyramidical shape within the organization, as the fewer people at the top of the organization, and the majority at the bottom. Second, there must be a clear division of labor, which is sometimes referred to as specialization. This is where “Instead of being a ‘jack of all trades,’ the worker in a bureaucracy performs one specialized task.” (Larkin, 2015, para 19). This is essential so that each area of the organization makes sure to do its task, allowing for the organization to operate most efficiently. Third, there must be a clear written set of rules. (Weber, 1947) The emphasis on following rules and regulations is important so the workers can conduct their tasks quickly and correctly. The

3 fourth trait of a bureaucracy is written communication and records. “Instead of casual, informal conversations, the bureaucracy depends on formal written reports and memos, which are then stored.” (Gorij & Meftah, 2014). Having all communication in writing makes sure that people can not say that they did not hear the instructions, as there is a record that they did. A popular phrase within bureaucracies is “if it is not written down, then it did not happen.” The final trait of a bureaucracy is impersonality. This is where within an organization if someone is unable to adequately perform their duties, for any reason, the bureaucracy will replace them. “The impersonal nature of bureaucratic interaction puts rules and policy ahead of personal needs, with the common complaint against bureaucracies is that they do not care about people.” (Larkin, 2015, para 20). A bureaucracy that I am directly connected to is the Arizona Football Officials Association or the AZFOA. The AZFOA is a great example of a bureaucracy as it has all of the appropriate characteristics. Within the AZFOA there are clear hierarchical levels of authority, as well as clear divisions of labor. From the top of the organization going down, there is the Commissioner, President, Vice President, Board Members, Crew Referees, Certified Officials, New Officials. It is the job of the Commissioner to assign everyone to the games, meet with all of the coaches before the season starts, as well as oversee all of the regular and post-season football officials. The commissioner has the end say over all football rulings. The president works closely with the commissioner in assigning games, as well as deal more with the organization of meetings and coordinate with the other members at the top. The vice presidents’ responsibilities include working with the schools so that the officials get paid, working to recruit more officials, and expanding the organization. The board of the AZFOA has a large responsibility and is made up of a group of fourteen officials. It is their job to handle any

4 complaints or issues that come up within the organization, make sure that the commissioner, president, and vice president are working in responsible manners which back the goals and mission of the AZFOA, as well as vote on matters which concern the organization. The Referee of a crew is the official on the field that wears a white hat and is the leader of that crew. The referee has the end say when on the field, such as rules implications, timing matters, and even has the authority to end the game if deemed necessary. Then there are the Certified officials, which are almost at the bottom of the organization. Being a certified official you are assigned better games, you are eligible to officiate the playoffs and have sonority over the new officials. This brings us to the people at the bottom, the new officials. The new officials are those who are in their first three years of officiating, and their responsibilities are to show up to the games you assigned and do your best. The AZFOA being the bureaucracy that it is has a couple of sets of written rules that must be followed and allow for everyone to officiate correctly. The first set of written rules that the AZFOA has is a set of Bylaws that everyone within the organization must adhere to. The second set of written rules that must be followed is the football rules book. We all must follow the same rule book so that we are applying the same rules when working. Another bureaucracy trait that the AZFOA has is its written communication and records. Whenever an official is assigned to a game, the official is sent an email. This email gives them the option to either accept the assignment or decline it. If the assignment is accepted an email of confirmation is sent to their email, and likewise, if they decline the assignment, they will get a confirmation email of the decline. This helps the AZFOA be sure that there is no miscommunication, and that all the assignments are documented. Also, when the officials are paid for their games, it is all sent electronically to their accounts, so that all of it is tracked and accounted for. The final

5 characteristic that the AZFOA has which makes it a bureaucracy is the impersonality factor or if. They will always make sure that every position within the organization is filled, whether it is you or someone else. To wrap it up, the formal organization known as a bureaucracy is intended to assist a group to accomplish their specific goals or production outcome most efficiently. For that to happen the organization must conform to the five traits of a bureaucracy which are clear hierarchical levels of authority, a division of labor, written rules, written communication, and records, as well as impersonality. The AZFOA which I am directly connected to is an organization that has all of the characteristics of a bureaucracy.

6 References Gorji, M. bagher, Meftah, N., Gheisari, F., Zamani, A. asghar, & khosravinia, M. (2014). Explaining the relationship between the characteristics of administrative bureaucracy and job exhaustion of National Bank city of Gorgan. International Journal of Scientific Management & Development, 2(6), 204–212. Larkin, T. M. (2015). Sociological beginnings. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.) Our social world: An introduction to sociology. Available from http://lc.gcumedia.com/soc102/oursocial-world-an-introduction-to-sociology/v1.1/ Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and economic organization. Glencoe, IL: Free Press....