Organisational Behaviour MM254: Post Bureaucracy Lecture Analysis

This report analyzes the concept of post-bureaucracy within organisational behaviour, drawing from a lecture by Yemisi Bolade-Ogunfodun. It begins with a review of traditional bureaucratic structures, including division of labour, functional specialization, hierarchy of authority, system of rules, and impersonality. The report then explores the dysfunctions of bureaucracy, such as goal displacement, working to rule, and mock bureaucracy, providing empirical evidence and examples to support these claims. It highlights how these dysfunctions challenge the notion of bureaucracies as rational and efficient systems. Finally, the report touches upon the rise of post-bureaucratic organizations and critical approaches to them, including the implications of these shifts. The lecture covers the advantages and disadvantages of bureaucracy, and how various studies have focused on the empirical study of bureaucratic organizations. The report concludes by examining the implications of the research evidence, which has questioned the value of bureaucracy given its drawbacks on worker motivation, customer service, and adaptation to change.