The nature and function of a bureaucracy
Subject: Sociology / General Sociology
Question
The goal of this assignment is for you to use your life experience as data to understand the nature and function of a bureaucracy.
In an essay of 1,000 words, describe an organization with which you are familiar and which appears to fit the characteristics of a bureaucracy, as listed in Our Social World: An Introduction to Sociology– chapter 6.
Your essay should incorporate the five items listed below and show that the organization bureaucracy meets each characteristic:
Clear hierarchical levels of authority with the work assignments flowing downward
A division of labor
Written rules
Written communications and records
Impersonality and replaceability
Conclude your essay with a paragraph that describes some ways in which this organization may be dysfunctional because of the bureaucratic way in which it is operated.
