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ABSTRACT In the last three decades, the politics of indigeneity have led to discrimination against and marginalization of non-indigenes as well as numerous violent conflicts between indigenes and non-indigenes in [...]

Pakistan inherited the British Weberian model at its birth in 1947 (Braibanti, 1966). The Weberian framework is the basis of the professional code of the Pakistani bureaucracy. The Framework highlights the importance of gender neutrality towards ensuring impartiality, promotion of merit and efficiency in organizations. The Pakistani bureaucracy has been categorized as being Weberian by recent research, and hence should be gender neutral. This paper examines if the Pakistani bureaucracy is indeed gender neutral. It inspects the gender norms prevalent in the context of the macro sociocultural environment in Pakistan and finds that these norms are reflected in women's position in the bureaucracy. Using the perceptions of male and female bureaucrats and ministers as symptomatic evidence, the research deliberates on how the socially determined status hierarchies interact with organizational rules and regulations to perpetuate gender bias and lack of gender neutrality within the bureaucracy. The paper concludes by reinforcing that the bureaucracy operates in a larger social and cultural environment, which is unable to be a socially transformative agent in the case of Pakistan, and hence, is not gender neutral and by consequence, not Weberian. Key Words: women, bureaucracy, Pakistan, organizations, social construction., Introduction The Weberian framework is considered to be the basis of the professional code of the Pakistani bureaucracy, having inherited the colonial British Weberian model at its birth in 1947 [...]

The complexity in value chains that arises from the cooperation of multiple stakeholders is of utmost importance for managers and organizational designers. In this context, theories of organizational design seek to address the practical problem of intentionally changing organizational structures and processes to enhance organizational performance. Successful cooperation largely depends on effective and efficient information flows. This paper reports on a research project using the design science research framework to develop a methodfor the analysis and design of information flows. Linking information flows to the concept of variety, the Viable System Model is applied as a theoretical foundation of the so-called Variety Engineering method. The design of method is reported, the procedure for its application is demonstrated, and it is accounted for how the method was evaluated in a set of field studies. Keywords: Business Engineering, Information Exchange, Information in Organizations, Information Structure, Organizational Communication, Organizational Complexity, Organizational Design, Organizational Effectiveness, Organizational Efficiency, 1. INTRODUCTION Value chains are struggling with increasing complexity of business processes (Schafermeyer, Rosenkranz, & Holten, 2012), as business processes become ever more complex and cut across inter-organizational boundaries and [...]

CREATED BY THE NATIONAL HOUSING ACT OF 1934, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was given the mission of ensuring that private lending institutions did not lose money in making home [...]

INTRODUCTION Historically, academics, journalists, and satirists have depicted government bureaucracies as particularly subject to administrative constraints, including 'red tape' or burdensome rules and procedures that hinder performance. General red tape [...]

Public administration continues to face an identity crisis that turns on the question of whether the animating principles of the discipline are to be discovered in the political foundations of a given regime, or whether they are to be found in more universal and transcendent principles of scientific management. Herbert J. Storing reframed the identity crisis as a problem arising from America's constitutional system of governance. In doing so, he created an important role for public administration in democratic governance. This role took the form of 'closet statesmanship' and, in practice, requires the exercise of prudential judgment that looks more like judicial decision making than scientific management. In summarizing Storing's writings, the authors convincingly argue that he has much to teach us about the ongoing debate regarding the role of the bureaucracy within America's 87,576 systems of government.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the understanding of the role of frontline employees in organizing public service delivery. Combining inspiration from organizational institutionalism and social theory of practice, this study offers an integrative understanding of frontline agency in organizational dynamics during the institutionalization of a public sector reform. Findings are presented from an ethnographic field study of frontline employees' strategies of adopting new structures of service work during the institutionalization of a public reform. The study illustrates how frontline actions provide the basis for both stability and change in the structures through which frontline work is organized. The agency exerted by frontline employees in institutionalization of reforms may have both equilibrating effects as well as deepen the gaps between the public sector and the public served.

Have procedural constraints on federal agency autonomy unduly hindered the ability of federal agencies to regulate in the public interest or to regulate in a timely manner? Scholars working in [...]

Legitimacy claims can only be made and processes of legitimation can only unfold in a specified context. This article uses Pierre Bourdieu's concept of the social field to name this context and to analyze the construction of the bureaucratic or public administrative field in the United States. Field is meant in a triple sense--public administration as a general, institutionalized field in the structure of government; public administration as a professional field; and public administration as an academic field of study. Thus, rather than the bureaucratic field, the relationship of these bureaucratic fields or an 'ensemble of fields' is analyzed to consider how each field both bounds its own legitimation struggles and draws from other fields for symbolic resources--what Bourdieu called symbolic capital--to establish its legitimacy and position. The multifield quality of public administration is used to show how the nature of the general bureaucratic field is distinct from other fields insofar as it purports to represent a universal, general interest. This difference is used to theorize a distinction between 'general' and 'specific' legitimation processes. Keywords: legitimacy; legitimation; public administration; Pierre Bourdieu

A study was conducted to examine inter-task interdependence, which is a significant operational determinant of inter-site interaction and communications in offshoring. Existing theories of interdependence are also analyzed to investigate the extent to which they provide guidance for understanding work segments that are offshored.

Surprising, unexpected events happen all the time which can be thought of and addressed in a variety of ways. On one hand, surprise can be something that is not desired, something suppressed or controlled for. Or, it can be something that is embraced, sought out or encouraged. Conceptually speaking, conceiving surprise in this fashion is not uncommon. Still, there seems to be an important piece missing from the many discourses on surprise. This paper offers some a possible framework to understand the experience of surprise in relation to a more complexified framing of the lived-experience. Specifically, by drawing upon principles from the complexity sciences, this paper considers the lived human experience of surprise as an emergent phenomenon that arises from a complex system., Introduction The phenomenon of surprise is typically understood to be a special event that happens to people where the surprising event may be thought of as a good or a [...]

As Richard Nathan pointed out in The Administrative Presidency 25 years ago, much contemporary policy making occurs through the execution of the laws and the management process. Thus, the conditions under which administrative power can be effectively exercised are important components of future research. In short, we must revisit an old question: Who controls the bureaucracy? This article sets out a research agenda for doing so by examining a set of related strategies that presidents have utilized in their efforts to assert control over the bureaucracy--namely, centralization, politicization, and reorganization--in the course of linking two strands of literature with significant overlap but little conversation between them: the largely quantitative bureaucratic control literature, and the largely qualitative 'politicized presidency' literature focused on presidential structures. Each strand, I suggest, can inform and enrich the other; both would benefit from better measures of inputs, outputs, and, crucially, the processes that connect the two and influence the success of policy implementation., A quarter century ago, Richard Nathan (1983) called renewed attention to the phenomenon of the 'administrative presidency.' In describing the strategies of the inner circles of Richard M. Nixon and [...]

A study was conducted to develop a communicative theory of the firm as an alternate view of intra-organizational power and extra-organizational relationships. It is argued that seeing the firm in textual terms presents a different view of its operations. Two propositions about the nature of organizational change in interfirm and stakeholder relationships are also presented.

A study was conducted to develop a proposal for a competence-based theory of the firm (CbTF). The theory, which is based on the fundamentals of market process theory, is independent of existing approaches to explaining the nature of the firm. The basics of the theory in terms of the philosophy of science are also examined.

A study was conducted to evaluate the development of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm from Birger Wernerfelt's own perspective. The metamorphosis of RBV in relation to the stage of development of the RBV, the assumptions that underlie the RBV, and the relationship between the RBV and other theories of the firm, is also examined.

A study was conducted to show that complex metaphors in organization theory are made up of primary metaphors that are usually grounded in our embodied experiences as human beings. It is concluded that metaphorical thought emerges from primary metaphors and evolves over time.

When legislative coalitions face uncertain political futures, they have an incentive to use agency design (McCubbins, Noll, and Weingast [McNollgast] 1987, 1989) to protect their policies from future elected officials [...]

This article examines how the values espoused by social movements become entrenched in political culture and spawn many new kinds of institutions, which in turn shape organizations far from movements 'original targets. We demonstrate the diffuse and indirect effects of social movements, and also show that the diffusion of social-movement values is often selective--some are retained, while others are discarded. Our empirical site is the Progressive movement and the early thrift industry in California. We draw on social-movement research and organizational theory to argue that a new ideal of thrift, bureaucratized cooperation among strangers, replaced the original idea of thrift, friendly cooperation among neighbors. This shift was possible only after the modernizing temper of Progressivism gave rise to two institutions, the news media and role-model organizations, that made bureaucracy culturally appropriate. The bureaucratization of thrift occurred even though it resulted in a centralization of power, which clashed with the Progressive ideal of equitably distributing power. Our study provides a compelling example of the fundamental revolution in American social organization in the twentieth century: the replacement of community-based groups by bureaucracies.

Perspectives on inequality differ greatly regarding whether the logic of bureaucracy undermines sex-based ascription in work organizations by reducing subjectivity in personnel decisions, or instead merely serves to obscure or 'scientize' inequality. Past research has tended to operationalize bureaucratization in terms of the adoption of formal procedures and structures; the authors argue instead that disagreements about whether bureaucracy promotes or ameliorates inequality and segregation have less to do with the contours of bureaucracy than with the underlying logic of bureaucratic organization. Accordingly, the authors assess the link between bureaucratic organization and labor-market ascription by characterizing the logics underlying organizational employment systems. Using data on young high-technology companies in California's Silicon Valley, they find evidence that bureaucratization improves employment prospects for women in core scientific-technical roles within these enterprises. They further explore path dependence in organizational logics and find that such logics, when adopted, have powerful enduring effects on labor-force composition. Keywords: bureaucracy; gender segregation; entrepreneurial organizations; scientific and technical roles; women and work

The contextual interpretation of the essay written by James G. March on the intellectual history of organization studies is presented.

The research done by James G. March in the field of organization studies is discussed, along with the evolution of organizations and organization studies.

The application of the organization theory for the episodic analysis of the proliferation of tacit knowledge, based on the relation between episodes and the contruction of tacit knowledge, is presented.

The views of Julian Orr on the study of organizational ethnography after the publication of the book,'Talking ABout Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job,' are presented. The enactment of the techniques of knowledgement by knowledge workers, and the work practices adopted by them, are examined.

The importance of Julian Orr's ethnographic study of the work practices of knowledge workers, for research on the relation between work, occupations, and organizations is examined. The trends of research on the organization theory are discussed.

Organizational coordination has traditionally been viewed from an organizational-design perspective where rules, modalities, and structures are used to meet the information-processing demands of the environment. Fast-response organizations face unique coordination challenges as they operate under conditions of high uncertainty and fast decision making, where mistakes can be catastrophic. Based on an in-depth investigation of the coordination practices of a medical trauma center where fast-response and error-free activities are essential requirements, we develop a coordination-practice perspective that emphasizes expertise coordination and dialogic coordination. We argue that expertise coordination practices (reliance on protocols, community of practice structuring, plug-and-play teaming, and knowledge sharing) are essential to manage distributed expertise and ensure the timely application of necessary expertise. We suggest that dialogic coordination practices (epistemic contestation, joint sensemaking, cross-boundary intervention, and protocol breaking) are time-critical responses to novel events and ensure error-free operation. However, dialogic coordination practices are highly contested because of epistemic differences, reputation stakes, and possible blame apportionment. Key words: coordination; teams; high-reliability organization; practice; expertise coordination; communities of practice, Introduction Coordination has been at the center of organization theory ever since March and Simon (1958) suggested that work in organizations could be coordinated through prespecified programs or mutual adjustment. [...]

The literature on the implications of electoral 'bureaucracy bashing' for public management is thin. This is partly because of the difficulty of defining basic terms and measuring results in meaningful ways. Using focus group data, this article explores how senior federal managers perceive campaign bureaucracy bashing and assess its consequences. The participants perceive that candidate-based bashing affects federal management on two levels: one emotional, the other programmatic. The emotional impact is pronounced, producing frustration and hostility from senior managers toward political candidates, political appointees, and the media. Senior managers report that bashing adversely affects policy implementation through low morale, poor recruitment, and training and by fostering an environment of distrust toward bureaucracy. Grounded in a diverse literature relating to public administration, the presidency, campaigns and elections, and political communication, this inquiry finds that senior managers confirm many of the speculations these works raise about how bashing affects public employees and public policy.

This article uses Kaufman's theory of competing bureaucratic values as a foundation for studying bureaucratic values in a developing society. It discusses civil service reform within a socio-bureaucratic-political exchange, as well as characteristics associated with bureaucratic values and ethnic federalism. The inherent conflicts between a civil service grounded in the values of bureaucratic neutrality, representativeness, or executive leadership and practices within a government structured on the basis of ethnicity are explored. Factors related to Ethiopia's postconflict status, which further complicate the governance environment, are identified, and building blocks for postconflict governance are suggested.

This article addresses perceived deficiencies in the study of representative bureaucracy by explaining and classifying the sources of passive representation's substantive effects. This classification is used to clarify existing empirical research and normative thinking on active representation. Doing so produces a more modest but more accurate interpretation of existing research findings and helps to indicate future research needs. It also reduces normative disagreement to a single source of substantive effects, namely bureaucratic partiality. Minority bureaucratic partiality is of dubious value for helping minorities, and bureaucratic partiality should generally be rejected. However, a passively representative bureaucracy increases in importance because of its other sources of substantive effects. This demonstrates the need to go beyond the passive-active distinction: It is more adequate and accurate to speak of representative bureaucracy and the sources of its substantive effects.

The literature on political control of bureaucracy reveals that bureaucracies are highly responsive to political forces. This paper argues that the political control literature misses evidence from other academic literature that bears directly on this phenomenon. Specifically, researchers need to consider the values of the bureaucracy in any effort to assess the degree of political control. An empirical test is presented using a data set from public education. Results show bureaucratic values to be far more influential in explaining bureaucratic outputs and outcomes than political factors. These findings suggest that a reinterpretation of previous empirical research is urgently in order.

In an address in 2003, Senator Kim Carr cited A.F. Davies' much-quoted observation that Australians have 'a characteristic talent for bureaucracy' (Carr 2003: 3). He referred to the achievements of bureaucrats like Nugget Coombs, then went on to discuss questions of accountability, values and political control in the Australian public service. How could the public service be responsive and responsible, and contribute to the maintenance of a democratic society, in today's world ? Certainly, these were core concerns of Davies, as Walter argues in an insightful article (1999). Davies, Walter argues, 'was concerned, throughout his career, with the links between bureaucracy and democracy' (1999, 25), fearful that the life-world is increasingly being structured by expertise, and in the domain of the experts, there is little room for individual voice, for passion, or for democratic control. Davies' concerns, and those of Carr and Walter, raise important questions about the way in which we understand the structure of government, the significance of our changing understanding for the democratic ideal, and the implications of these changes for social scientists.

In Seeing Like a State (1998), James Scott provides a comprehensive understanding of the optics of state power. He also shows how the bureaucratic logic of high-modernist official planning occludes the social and cultural worlds both of marginalized citizenries and of the bureaucrats themselves, and accurately pinpoints the pernicious reductionism that has accompanied the modernist state's self-proclaimed 'cult of efficiency.' As in his earlier work, however, Scott overgeneralizes the idea of 'resistance'; he also, and concomitantly, underestimates bureaucrats' complicity with local populations and the consequent modification of bureaucratic schemes (including the construction of national heritage) in actual practice. These absences reflect a relative lack of ethnographic specificity in the analysis as well as a partially uncritical endorsement of the master narrative of Western history. [Keywords: state, bureaucracy, modernism, complicity, heritage]

The Weber's model of bureaucratic control is an integral part of modern organizational theory. A study on the four decades of empirical research on this model to assess its general validity using meta-analytical techniques is presented.

The field of organization studies comprises of the two types of theory of firm, the 'why' and 'how' theories. If these two concepts are integrated into one parsimonious theory, the organization studies field will benefit immensely. Weber's work on bureaucracy focuses on this aspect. Using certain concepts of Weberian theory a neo-Weberian theory of firm is formulated.

The contributions of Max Weber were recognized after 30 years of his death. A study on the systematic reinterpretation of Weber's contributions in the present day and the still largely acknowledged foundation that Weber constructed for contemporary cultural studies is presented.

A study on the contributions of Max Weber to organizational theory from mid-century to the present day and the influence of shifts in orientation led to the fall of Weber's legacy is presented.

The contributions of Max Weber to organization studies and sociology are discussed.

A study on the social ontology and its influence on the analysis of organizations is presented. A contrast between individualism and societism, two important concepts of social ontological camps and underlying concepts of social theory is discussed. And finally contrast with other approaches in organizational theory such as system theories, etc are also analyzed.

Ethnographers have long been unhappy with the review of their research proposals by institutional review boards (IRBs). In this article, we offer a sociological view of the problems associated with prospective IRB review of ethnographic research. Compared with researchers in other fields, social ,scientists have been less willing to accommodate themselves to IRB oversight; we identity, the reasons for this reluctance, and in an effort to promote such accommodation, we suggest several steps to reduce the frustration associated with IRB review of ethnographic research. We conclude by encouraging ethnographers to be alert to the ways the procedural and bureaucratic demands of IRBs can displace their efforts to solve the serious ethical dilemmas posed by ethnography. Keywords: research ethics; institutional review boards; ethnography; research methods

The public bureaucracies of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain may be set apart from the rest of West European bureaucracies. Until the mid-1990s, the former were distinguished from the latter by certain interrelated structural characteristics. These characteristics were extended politicisation of the top administrative ranks; enduring patronage patterns in recruitment to the public sector; uneven distribution of human resources; formalism and legalism; and, with the exception of Spain, absence of a typical European administrative elite. The characteristics were related to the type of capitalism and political development in Southern Europe. South European bureaucracies have started evolving towards decentralisation and privatisation. However, convergence with the bureaucracies of other EU member-states is an open question., Perhaps paradoxically, the comparative study of modern bureaucracies has been less advanced in European countries associated with negative stereotypes of administrative performance. Such is the case of the countries of [...]

In documenting the merging of the State Committee for the Protection of the Natural Environment (Goskomekologiya) into the Ministry for Natural Resources (Minresursov), Peterson and Bielke (2001) made several predictions as to the merger's impact on environmental protection within the Russian Federation. Utilizing research undertaken approximately two years after the merger, this paper examines the reaction and response to these federal changes from a variety of actors at the regional level, using Samara Oblast as a case study. In so doing, it highlights the potential disparity and distance between decisions made at the federal level and their implementation locally. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: H10, O13, Q20. 1 figure, 26 references.

The research finds that both corruption and environmental policy have an effect on foreign direct investment to the United States.

The author proposes increased attention to integrating theories of bounded rationality with theories of organization.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to situate the predominant medical model of Evidence Based Health Care (EBHC) in a processual framework by construing the organization of health care [...]