As someone with a background in organizational communications and public
relations, I was really taken by Weber's system of Bureaucratic
Management in comparison to the organizational system of a typical
television station, or in this case, a Telemundo affiliate station.
Weber
had clearly defined advantages to the "ideal" Bureaucratic system:
Division of Labor, Managerial Hierarchy, Formal Selection and Career
Orientation (Wren). In theory, any organization would strive to have
such characteristics in place, including the typical Telemundo affiliate
station. When people are actually put into place in this "ideal"
organizational scenario, well, this is where the challenges arise.
For
example, there are several departments within a typical television
station, each of them reliant on each other to ensure a station's daily
success. These departments consist of Traffic (programming and
commercial scheduling), Production (the actual production of station
promos and commercial spots), Sales, Master Control (the department that
ensures that programming is being broadcasted), and Marketing.
The
station Marketing manager is responsible for designing and executing
key activities that generate revenue and raise the profile of the
station. The role is clearly defined as per Weber's Bureaucratic system,
however the Division of Labor is not equal. Workers in different
departments take on extra responsibilities due to budget constraints and
the need to turn a profit, including the Marketing Department. The
added responsibility in this department is counter to Weber's idea that
Division of Labor would equal greater efficiency (Wren).
For
example, a station is participating in a live remote in order to execute
a promotion. One individual cannot execute the task alone. So to
compensate for missing members of the Marketing team (budget cuts),
workers from the sales force are called on to help with the execution.
Efficiency goes out the window because instead of selling and bringing
revenue into the station, the sales staff (a reluctant one) now has to
shift its focus. The trickle down effect is clear: Sales now has to stop
selling for a given amount of time, thus, effecting their opportunities
to earn commissions. This results in low morale. It also results in
workers deliberately "getting by" so that they won't be depended upon in
the future, which was a clear disadvantage to Weber's Bureaucratic
system (Wren).
This called to mind Frederick Taylor's idea on
workers that "underworked" (Wren), except rather than fearing that they
would lose their jobs if the task was completed, in the television
station scenario, people are worried that they'll be working more!
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Wren, Daniel A., Bedeian, Arthur G. (2009). The Evolution of Management Thought
(6th ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
By Nik
ReplyDeleteThe idea of 'getting by' or 'soldiering' is very intriguing to me. I have a real interest in the communication of ethics within an organization, and there is a fantastic non-verbal conversation that transpires between the workers and managers when soldiering happens. Maybe something to look at for a project? I have been in sales for 7 years now, and I have experienced soldiering every day in myself and in the people working around me.
By Justin
ReplyDeleteHi Phillip,
I wrote mine from the perspective of someone that's never been in a management situation and I find reading yours interesting because I think we both came to the same conclusion: how practical are these theories, not only in a time of cutbacks, like you mentioned, but everyone chipping in. Taylor's right man for the job ideas are tossed out the window. As you mention, a reluctant sales staff shifts gears and productivity for everyone drops. Although I wrote about my experience at my current job which doesn't provide that daily thought of layoffs (I'm not sure where the TV industry is) but I spent 5 years at a daily newspaper and the situation you describe is the exact same. I would find it hard to imagine it's easy to find any management theory that fits today's world.
I've learned a lot here in week 1, so who knows, maybe that question will be answered next week.
Justin
By Cynthia
ReplyDeleteThe concept of soldiering is interesting to me. I've been completely perplexed with someone who is dragging her feet on a re-branding project I think is boring. After reading this, I now wonder if she's soldiering, thinking that if she finishes this, she'll be terminated, when I'm thinking, "finish this so we can start something interesting." Will have to try some new ways of approaching the issue with her as a result of this reading.
Cynthia, I also found the concept of soldiering very interesting as applied to real-life work situations. I was unfamiliar with this concept prior this reading assignment; in fact, I first misinterpreted it as a more positive attribute such as persevering or forging onward to achieve one's goals. Did anyone else think the same way I did?
DeleteAfter reading this week's materials, the line between what I now call "soldiering" and being downright useless has definitely blurred. Since I think that most of us would admit that we've soldiered at one point or another, where does "taking it easy" end and "being a bad worker" begin?
DeleteInteresting post, Phillip. As you mention, Weber's bureaucracy is an ideal that could never exist in reality. It seems you have first-hand experience of this problem. If your organization were staffed correctly, do you think your bureaucracy could proceed as Weber theorized? Can you think of another structure that should be implemented in order to solve some of these problems? In week 3 we will talk about organizational structure, so keep this last question in mind while reading that material.
ReplyDeleteYou talked about lower morale and productivity among the sales staff because of lost commission while they're helping marketing, but does it affect marketing's morale, too? It seems like having marketing teammates with no marketing experience who are also bitter could throw another wrench in the gears of a productive workplace.
ReplyDelete