SOC-102 Bureaucracy Essay PDF

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1 Cherie Grigsby SOC-102 07/26/2020 Professor Frank Smith Bureaucracy Essay Today’s society is comprised of many different bureaucratic institutions that are intricately developed to maintain control and the consistency of an organization. When most people think of the word bureaucracy, the first thing that comes to mind is the government agencies and the divisions within the constitution. Focusing on the definition of bureaucracy will aid in observing it within our daily lives, workplaces, churches, and other frequented social institutions. Although bureaucracies are often associated as a governmental practice, at its core, it is an organizational structure that is multilayered with built processes that successfully achieve a common goal. This essay will discuss an social structure that I am directly affiliated with explaining the hierarchical levels of authority, division of labor, written rules, written communications, and records. First, the organization that will be examined is my current employer United Healthcare. Within the company, there is a clear division of labor, starting with the individuals who hold topranking positions such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David S. Wichmann. The primary function of a CEO is to make large-scale decisions and manage the operation of the company as a whole. If the CEO were the only position in the institution, there would be little to no progress made, and it would not be as successful. According to Larkin (2015), the role of someone who performs a specific task is called specialization, which means that they are only tasked with certain jobs within a social structure. In order to have a prosperous business, there have to be

2 others within the hierarchy that help further the corporation’s plan. In observing my department, which is Part D Appeals and Grievances, some individuals hold ranking titles that oversee departmental operations as a unit. The Director of Appeals role is to manage over twenty-five teams, ensuring their quality, metrics, scores, satisfaction, and other key components satisfy the requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the individuals she reports to as well. Our Business Manager is more involved in daily operations since she has multiple Senior Managers who report to her regarding their team’s current status and any roadblocks experienced that would impede on the department’s goals for the year. There is a division of roles that are built within the company that allows workers to focus on specific tasks (Dear & Scott, 2018). Secondly, there are common sets of written rules within a business that gives insight into the company’s mission statement, policies, culture, and values which are often included in the new hire employee handbook. The information contained in the manual that covers basic expectations, such as attendance, clothing attire, safety, and security, which gives a new hire all of the information they need to know about the organization, clarifies their rights and responsibilities while employed with the business. In every company, there are written rules and regulations outlines that all employees must adhere to that promote consistency in job duties and expectations. These rules and regulations are referred to as Standards Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are mandated for employees to follow. The SOPs give step by step instruction on how to handle scenarios, what information is required, and breakdown complex routine operations. When a coordinator does not refer to an SOP for guidance and uses their common knowledge, they run the risk of being accessed a defect and face disciplinary action. SOPs are often revised to assist with the understanding of the outlined process and overall cohesiveness of

3 the process to achieve efficiency, uniformity of performance, and the quality of cases being worked by coordinators. Although our quality team constructs the SOPs, the rules and regulations are filtered down by those who maintain authority in the company; therefore, reporting is conducted to ensure everyone is in accordance with CMS expectations and requirements since we hold government contracts. The reporting that is done yearly gives the individuals in high-ranking positions specific data to gauge if we are meeting our numbers as anticipated, which impacts our healthcare scorecard as a business. Finally, there is a popular term that is used often in the workplace, and that is “it is not personal; it is just business.” The statement means that the company is not built on relationships, friendships, or any other kinship as a business thrives on the absence of emotion. When emotion is removed at a business standpoint, it ensures that rules and regulations are consistently enforced throughout the institution. Impersonality establishes equal treatment of each employee by placing controls in the forefront by focusing on specific duties and responsibilities as opposed to the individuals holding the title. The impersonality found in bureaucracies often leads to complaints of unfair treatment, feelings of alienation, and separation in relationships (Mao, Chen, & Hsieh, 2009). One of my key concerns when starting with a new company is employee satisfaction, management involvement, collaboration, and overall engagement with staff. If impersonality is the primary focus of a business, employee morale will be lowered. Everything is based on the needs of the company as opposed to those who keep the business afloat, which can cause internal conflict and dissatisfaction. In summary, bureaucracies are set in place to help achieve an organizations mission and goal. The separate tasks in which the bureaucratic corporations are built to ensure each group requirement has a set of roles, expectations, duties, and jobs that assist with the functionality of

4 an organization. By dividing labor, companies can separate employees based on skills and specializations ranging from the top- hierarchical to lower-ranked positions. While written rules, communication, and records aid clear and transparent expectations, policies, and standards of operation. Finally, impersonality is obtained by the absence of emotion and allows the focus to be solely on business and no personalization. Without rules and regulations, companies would be at risk of demise at the hands of their staff and subject to public scrutiny due to lack of control and ethics. There are pros and cons to operating a business as a bureaucracy, but transparency and consistency are fundamental if success is the goal.

5 References Larkin, T. (2015). Sociological beginnings. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.) Our social world: An introduction to sociology. Available from http://lc.gcumedia.com/soc102/our-socialworld-an-introduction-to-sociology/v1.1/ Dear, M., & Scott, A. J. (2018). Urbanization and Urban Planning in Capitalist Society. Routledge. Hsiao-Yen Mao, Chien-Yu Chen, & Ting-Hua Hsieh. (2009). The Relationship between Bureaucracy and Workplace Friendship. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 37(2), 255–266....