Assessment 1

Task 4: The bureaucratic model

Asma Abdalla
H00298183
EDU 4103
Managing Innovation and Change

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Organisational models

The bureaucratic model

A bureaucracy is a type of formal organisation which has certain characteristics aimed at making
it work efficiently. For example, large companies and government offices are often run along
bureaucratic principles because they have many people working in then doing lots of different
jobs. Managing all these people is made easier by having strong centralised control with a
hierarchy of administration. This means that power and authority are given to individuals in
accordance with their status and role at each level with the decision-making being controlled
by rules and regulations. In this way, decision-making is depersonalised insofar as it comes from
the official rank of the individual rather than him or her.

Now read p47-48 of Bush to get an idea of these features of bureaucratic organisations.
1- Hierarchical authority.
2- Writing roles and regulations.
3- Division of labour.
4- Impersonal relationships.

Education systems and schools are large and complex organisations. Even a primary school with
say, 500 students and 20 staff, is extremely large compared to the offices of most businesses or
to most factories. It is not surprising therefore that bureaucratic principles have been
commonly applied in the running of schools by many modern societies. Power and authority rest
normally with the Ministry of Education whose officers make decisions to be passed down to
schools.

If you were the Minister of Education, can you list a few reasons why you would be in favour of
some or all of these bureaucratic characteristics to assist you in running the education system of
your country? Pages 48-50 of Bush may help you with this. Generally, bureaucratic organizations
have a responsible management category for preparing member coordination activities and they
divide the tasks of the school on the basis of expertise. The depart mental structure in schools
is an obvious manifestation of division of labour.

In the light of your own experiences, how far would you describe the education system of the
UAE as bureaucratic?
First, The education system in the United Arab Emirates is a four-tier system which are nursery ,
kindergarten, primary and secondry.Also, In UAE, Education is free and necessary for all Emirati
children aged four years and over. Education in UAE is provided free of charge to every Emirati
citizen aged four years and over. Moreover, in UAE ministry of education are following
bureaucratic authority because bureaucratic model probably the most important of the formal
models.

Limitations of the bureaucratic model

Considering that bureaucratic principles were seen as the means to achieve efficiency, it is
ironic that the terms bureaucracy and bureaucratic are most widely used nowadays to describe
organisations which are slow and cumbersome with too much official processing or “red tape” -
in other words, those which are inefficient. This is because the features of bureaucratic
management can have both positive and negative effects.

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Bush outlines some of the disadvantages of the bureaucratic model as it is applied to schools on
pages 50. Read about these before going on to complete the following:

1- There is a danger that the process of administration can become more important than the
goals of the school. More time, resources and energy can become devoted to management
than to the education of children. Can you give any examples of this from your own
experience?

Theories of educational leadership and Management play bureaucratic features, including

rules, including rules, staff hierarchies and complex procedures. The bureaucratic model certain
advantages for educational but there are difficulties in applying it too enthusiastically to schools
because of the professional role of teachers. For example, if teachers do not „ own‟ innovations
but are simply required to implement externally imposed changes, they are likely to do so
without enthusiasm , leading to possible failure.

2- Fixed rules and regulations can prevent the kind of flexibility required to make
improvements in teaching and learning. For example:

Teachers should follow the curriculum because she don‟t have the chance to change the
curriculum because she have the rules that must followed without making any changes this
might be bored for the teacher because she will not be able to be creative in teaching
because she have to follow the Fixed rules and regulations and there will not be any
improvements in their academic learning . For example, For the rules and regulations to
succeed, they must put them into practice and see there is improving in teaching and
learning and if there is not improvement in teaching or do not suit the children teachers
should be able to change the rules and regulations to make improvements in teaching and
learning.

.3- Another difficulty in applying this model to schools rests with the people working in them.
Read what Bush has to say about this at the top of page 50 and on pages 62-66. Explain this in
your own words:
This type includes certain advantages for education but there are difficulties in applying it too
enthusiastically to schools because of the professional role of teachers. For example, if
teachers do not „ own‟ innovations but are simply required to implement externally imposed
changes, they are likely to do so without enthusiasm , leading to possible failure.

4-Setting goals in a school can be difficult. In a manufacturing business, goals might be centred
on increasing production, lowering operating costs and maximising profits. In a school however,
although a goal might be to increase average 4-examination scores, education involves much
more than this and contains elements which are not easily measured or quantified. Discuss this
issue for a few minutes.
The bureaucratic model certain advantages for educational but there are difficulties in
applying it too enthusiastically to schools because of the professional role of teachers.
For example, if teachers do not „ own‟ innovations but are simply required to implement
externally imposed changes, they are likely to do so without enthusiasm , leading to
possible failure.

5. Decision-making in a school can present problems in any kind of top-down

administration. In dealing with production levels in a factory, for example, it is relatively easy
for the managers to make rational decisions. In dealing with education and its application to
children, the issues are a lot more complex. Teachers and school principals, collectively or
individually, often have to make decisions about what is best for the children under their care.
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These decisions are not always rational nor can they always be based on prescribed criteria.
More often, they are based on personal professional experience applied to situations which may
have an infinite number of variations. Decisions made under such circumstances are often more
subjective/emotional rather than rational. Discuss this and give a few examples of when this
could happen.

Top-down management is the most common approach to organizational management. Management often
happens from top to bottom when goals, projects and tasks are defined among your organization's leaders,
Moreover, Top-down management is mostly Successful by leadership because Leadership is ascribed to
the person at the top of the hierarchy, this individual sets the tone of the organization and
establishes the major official objectives. The leader is seen as the hero who stands at the top of
a complex pyramid of a power, his job is to assess the problems , consider alternatives , and
make rational choices and to solve problems and fend off threats from the environment. The
leader is expected to play a key part in policy – making , and adoption of innovations is assumed
to follow.

6.In addition, it cannot be assumed that teachers act as individuals making decisions consistent
with their official roles. We read earlier about how individuals and groups within an
organisation act in an informal way as a result of personality, friendship groups and their own
individual personal and professional needs. Far from being the dispassionate decision-makers
remote from outside influences and acting within the prescribed parameters appropriate to
rank, teachers often act individually or collectively, in accordance with their own preferences,
values and professional judgement.
How might a group of teachers react if a school principal handed down a directive which they
did not feel they could support professionally? Can you give an example?

They might get together to look for ideas and suggestions for implementing the principal's
decisions and search for different ideas and suggestions from other teachers from different
schools for implementing the principal's decisions.

To conclude, think about the following quote concerning leadership in bureaucracies and decide
how far a school principal fits this description.

Under the bureaucratic model, the leader is seen as the hero who stands at the top of a complex
pyramid of power. The hero‟s job is to assess the problems, consider the alternatives and make
rational choices. Much of the organisation‟s power is held by the hero and great expectations are
raised because people trust him to solve problems and fend off threats from the environment.
(Bald ridge et al 1978 in Bush 2011 page 59)

Leadership is ascribed to the person at the top of the hierarchy, this individual sets the tone of
the organization and establishes the major official objectives. The leader is seen as the hero
who stands at the top of a complex pyramid of a power, his job is to assess the problems ,
consider alternatives , and make rational choices and to solve problems and fend off threats
from the environment. The leader is expected to play a key part in policy – making , and
adoption of innovations is assumed to follow.

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