Children Support Agency Case Study - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2615 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Information Systems Essay Type Case study Level High school Did you like this example? Children Support Agency Case Study Introduction The use and potential benefit to system developers is examined by use of the Semiotic Framework method in the case study information supplied regarding the Children Support Agency (CSA). Analysis of Semiotic Framework The framework as described by Kangassalo et al (1995) (1) refers to the work of Stamper (1987) (2) as it applies to information systems, and distinguishes the four levels of properties as empirics, syntactic, semantics, and pragmatics. This is likened to a semiotic ladder running from the physical world to the social (business) world. The semiotic framework consists of two main components, these being the human information functions and the IT platform considerations. These are both split to three sub-components. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Children Support Agency Case Study" essay for you Create order Social World, developer actives would be: To determine how best to match the negative responses of some staff to new technology with the high expectations of others, by designing a system which takes account of both To ensure the legal aspects such as compliance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) (2) are addressed. To ensure contractual information is protected in transmission. To meet the cultural standards held by those who work in an organisation whose purpose is to support disadvantaged young people. Issues are: Lack of computer literacy among some CSA staff, its status as a charity will probably restrict funding available for the system, feelings of protection for financial data versus lack of (apparent) concern voiced about personal data of vulnerable young people. The wish to accommodate training in IT for young people, without concern that this may lead to opportunities for any who have anti-social tendencies to affect the overall operation of the system by having access. The lack of realisation that todays young people in the age range 12 to 24, whether from a deprived or difficult family background may be conversant with the use of computers. _________________________ 1. Kangassalo et al, (1995), p 358. 2. Stamper et al, (1987), p 43-78. 3. Data Protection Act 1998. Pragmatics, developer activities would be: To attempt resolution between conflicting attitudes in conversation which were expressed about the value of the system, and consider capital and revenue funding for the new system. Issues are: To determine how the system would be supported, and responsibility for the support. Semantics, developer activities would be: To attempt to model the syntactic structures, which are by nature, the technical concerns, to the semantic which concern the world are matched, in a machine-independent manner. Issues are: Security concerns, which are people-related, with system issues, which are software dependent. Syntactics, developer activities would be: The formalisation of documentation of the system specification, and outline the programming requirements. This is the bridge between the conceptual and the formal rules governing system development. Issues are: The documentation may only be understood by the IT people who create the system Empirics, developer activities would be: To estimate the number of data fields required, their volume, the speed with which they require to be transmitted, and the overall performance as perceived by the user. Issues are: Limited information available, combined with inability of potential users to express these attributes. Physical World developer activities would be: To analyse of existing systems, networks, hardware and software. Estimation of storage and retention of data requirements, physical condition of room housing system equipment and communications, power supply, entrance restrictions to sensitive areas, policy on removal of media from buildings, printout handling, access by young people to IT equipment. Issues are: Replacement of existing communication links, introduction of encrypted traffic, offsite storage of backups, disaster recovery, software licences, fire detection and suppression, volumes of data transmitted and stored. To separate young peoples IT equipment. System requirements specification Hass et al (2007) (4) explains requirements analysis and specification as the activities involved in assessing information gathered from the organisation involved regarding the business need and scope of the desired solution. The specification is the representation of the requirements in the form of diagrams and structured text documents. Tan (2005) (5) describes the use of a rich picture as ‘a structural as opposed to a ‘pictorial description. It allows the practitioners to use any form of familiar symbols to depict activities and events, plus taking into consideration, conflicting views. The definition of a use case (Seffah et al 1999) (6) is a simplified, abstract, generalised use case that captures the intentions of a user in a technology and implementation independent manner. Use case modelling is today one of the most widely used software engineering techniques to specify user requirements. Dittrich et al, (2002) (7) suggest a new approach to developmen t they term ‘systems development as networking. They go on to suggest the key questions to ask is ‘How do systems developers recruit and mobilise enough allies to forge a network that will bring out and support the use of the system. Unified Modelling Language (UML) is described by Arrington and Rayhan (2003) (8) as a method, employing use case and activity diagrams for requirements gathering. They state that use case serves as a view of the overall use of the system, allowing both developers and stakeholders to navigate the documented requirements. _________________________ 4. Tan (2005), p67. 5. Seffah et al (1999), p21 6. Dittrich et al, (2002), p 311. 7. Arrington and Rayhan, (2003), p28. 8. Hass et al, (2007), p 4. Rich Picture People Activities Current system Future system Use Case Diagram See Appendix A Primary Scenario The likely outcome when the project specification is delivered is that the funding body will agree to the bid, but subject to some changes, which will reduce the overall cost. This will involve a degree of compromise in the design of the new system. Suggestions may be made to re-enter the Excel data and to delay the phasing out of the financial system. This would mean a phased project with an all-encompassing solution left to a later stage. The impact may be additional effort on the part of CSA staff. The system needs to be delivered in phases, with core functionality first. The successful delivery of core components will assist acceptance. A key component is the security of information stored and transmitted, as much of it is of a sensitive, personal nature. The protection of information will require conforming to the requirements of the DPA (1). Due to the number of area offices, with few staff, the data repository will require to be centralised, probably at HQ. This is for simplification of backups, which will require to be weekly full, stored offsite, and daily incremental with the last day stored on site. Communications between HQ and branches requires to be encrypted, and e-mail will require protected Internet access. Anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing and spam filtering software will be required, and a firewall introduced between the Internet-facing component and the main system. Rigid field input will be required to avoid erroneous numbers or characters. Menus will be restricted to selected functions and denied to others, and Admin level (privileged) control will be able to access all menus. The training for IT clients will need to be on a separate network segment from the main systems. Compatibility between the existing financial system and the new system will need to be established, and the system will require the capability to import Excel data. The system will be required to replace the functionali ty of the Excel data. Questions Developer questions to CSA staff: How much funding is available for the proposed system and who are the stakeholders? What facilities for computer systems exist at HQ: power, space, fire suppression, telecoms, operating staff, storage required, and records retained? Who will support the new system when delivered? What configuration does the finance system have: hardware, operating system, application software, network links, storage, number of users, support? Will staff time be available for training? Will only CSA staff use the new system and will they use it from home? Will there be allocation of CSA staff for user acceptance? Discussion of requirements analysis tools The usefulness of the semiotic framework is that it offers the system developer an insight into the attitudes and feelings of people who will use the proposed system. This aids the developer, in that he/she is more likely to pay attention to the human-computer interface (HCI) aspects of the system. This should, if properly delivered, make the new system easier to use, and consequently, be received with more enthusiasm, than might otherwise be the case. A key message that core aspects should be delivered first, rather than the full functionality required, may win more converts than might otherwise be the case. Also revealed by the use of the Semiotic Framework was the attitude of some of the staff, who sees the requirement for the new system as superfluous to their ‘real work, and consequently wish no contact with it as they are too ‘busy. This helps the developer, as it brings home the need for the employment of techniques to make the system simple to use and not forbidding in terms of error messages to may produce due to inexperience. What the round of interviews in the case study revealed was some conflicting attitudes among CSA staff. A key example was mention of the need for protection of financial information, but the requirement to protect personal data of clients of the CSA, some of whom may have criminal records, was not mentioned. Given that failure to protect this type of information could lead to more harm to the individual than any help they may receive from the CSA, this is cause for concern, and seems to indicate that some of the CSA staff have lost sight of the organisations mission in life. The interview process resulting in the case study report produced a lack of vital information any system developer would require to produce a workable system. Basic items were not uncovered. As an example there is no information on number of users, estimates of amount of data to be stored, how long it is to be retained, and wha t kind of systems are in use at the moment. The availability of capital and revenue information was not discovered, and it may well be that the funding will be dependent upon the proposed design in terms of capital and revenue costs to operate. The use of rich picture and case diagram illuminates the overall view of the required system, allowing the developer and the recipients of the system to see the whole picture and gain a better understanding of the likely finished product. It also simplifies the dependencies and collaboration required in a pictorial from which makes the ‘big picture easier to understand. The importance of the Semiotic Framework is that it helps shed light on areas which the developer, using traditional systems development methodologies, may neglect. It concentrates the mind on the human-computer interface required, and influences the design attributes which need to be built in, in order to gain user acceptability. Taking the step-wise approach down through the levels, brings home to the systems developer, the need to start with the social needs, which focuses on the human aspirations (or not) of the proposed system. Working through the Pragmatics is very revealing of the contradicting attitudes of the potential users in conversation, and should lead to the developer making compromises between technical elegance in the design and being able to obtain a favourable reaction from at least a majority of the eventual users. The scope of the system required to be developed has not been revealed during the case study, which impedes the ability of the developer to estimate size and nature of the hardware or software required. The Syntactic level assists the design in that it forces concentration on the logical handling of data input, with system response to incorrect entry, being handled not with abrupt error messages, but more friendly advice messages and suggestions on data re-entry. This tracks back to the importance o f human reaction learnt from the Social Word level. The software chosen should be influenced by the Pragmatics influence in that the choice should reflect the fact that the CSA is a charity, and both hardware and applications should be in the affordable range for an institution dependent upon charitable funding. The Empirics portion of the framework should include the estimation of required system performance, speed of telecommunications, volume of data to be stored, and response times of the system. In the CSA case study there is no information which can be used to project such requirements, so the developer would be required to utilise an educated guess, based only on the existing finance system, which could be measured, or practical experience. Some of the required information may be gathered by contact with whichever vendor delivered the existing finance system. The framework also draws attention to peripheral items, such as the Excel spreadsheet, which may well contai n valuable data, not subject to strict input criteria, and possibly not backed up. The Physical World portion of the framework focuses the developers mind on what will be acceptable to the users in terms of speed of response, the time and effort potentially to be saved, and the type of reporting of information capabilities of the system. It emphasises that there needs to be demonstrable benefits in the way of management information, and therefore capability to respond, which would otherwise have been unavailable. From a system developers point of view, this is probably the section he/she would feel most comfortable with, as it consists of tangibles, which can be translated into MIPS, baud rated, gigabytes, and other terms which IT developers are expected to be completely conversant with. Probably the most difficult aspect of the framework for the developer is the Semantics level. The reason for this is that it tends towards the abstract, and system developers as a breed , operate mostly in a practical, exact, measureable fashion. They act as a translator between the business requirements as expressed by the stakeholders and eventual users, and the technical people who deliver code, hardware and communications to realise the stated needs. The developer has to perform a balancing act between what is sometimes conflicting requirements and technical possibilities. This required the ability to converse with, and understand, both participants in the overall project to deliver the required system. The use of the Semiotic Framework leads the developer to address these issues and attempt to develop a clear understanding of the CSA business activities, as opposed to trying to force fit them into a prejudged idea of the system. The developer may reflect that the application of the Semiotic Framework forces undue attention on the people-related aspects of system engineering, to the detriment of a design which embodies good technical practice and the n ecessary protective aspects required complying with any legal implications. Against this, the aim of developers to attain elegance and efficiency in design may be meaningless to the users of the system, whose main concerns are to assist in the capture of information, its ease of retrieval and the management information it can produce. In short, how it can help improve the users work practices and make life easier for them. References Arrington, C.T., Rayhan, S.H., (2003), Enterprise Java with ULM, Second Edition, Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indiana, USA, p28. Clarke,S., Elayne, (2003), Socio-technical and human cognition elements of information systems, Idea Group Inc, p 8. GOOD Diagram. The Data Protection Act Available from: https://www.ico.gov.uk.what_we_cover/data_protection.aspx. Hass, K.B., et al, (2007), Getting it Right, Management Concepts, p 4. Kangassalo, H.,et al, (1995), Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases, IOS Press, p 358. Seffah, A. et al, (2005), Human-Centered Software Engineering –Integrating Usability in the Software, Springer, p 21. Stamper,R.et al, (1987, Critical Issues in Information Systems research, Wiley, Chichester, p 47-78. Tan, J.K., (2005), E-health Care Information Systems, John Wiley and Sons, p 67. Tipton, H.F., Krause, M., (2007), Information Security Management Handbook, Edition 6, CRC Press, p1290-186-587

Ethics And Supply Chain Case Study - 1647 Words

Ethics and supply chain By VARUN PRAKASH @03021576 Abstract Supply chain is a major part of a business. It is a huge network which involves suppliers, customers, retailers, distributors and transporters. Supply chain is all about getting right goods at right place at a right price and at a right time .Time plays a very important role in any business .Time is money .Suppliers and customers are the two major participant’s .Demand and supply plays a very important role for a company’s profitability. Every company looks for profitability .In order to gain a competitive advantage over another company costs must be lowered throughout the chain by driving out unnecessary expenses and they also should take†¦show more content†¦The customers and the suppliers are classified on different tiers. Here the importance level differs .They are ranked depending on their performance or the product they supply. As we all know supply chain is all about distributing a product or service ‘‘from the supplier’s supplier to t he customer’s customer.’’ This can be done efficiently if the firms focuses on working with their immediate suppliers and customers to satisfy the end customers. In order to get a proper idea about the end customers demand detailed market research and analysis has to be carried out .This can be made easy by sharing information among the channel partners .The issue of unethical and illegal activities in the business environment is one that no business can afford to take lightly .An unethical behavior can cost a company a lot .It will have a bad influence on the growth of the company .Intense competition ,corruption high taxes have made most of the companies susceptible to unethical behavior . The companies following unethical behavior may not last long. Ethics involve environmental safety, labor rights, working with honesty and integrity etc. Ethics to be followed The organization has to ensure the safety, health and well-being of their workers, no matter where their workers are employed. The employees must not use their positions for personal

Bureaucratic Management Free Essays

string(199) " top management and subordinates are expected to comply with orders of superior authorities without questioning something which has led to many people branding the type of management as dictatorial\." Bureaucratic management refers to a management style in which strict adherence to law and rules is emphasized, hierarchy is followed and flexibility is not tolerated but rather the following of laid down procedures. Such a style is lacking in terms of ‘enterprising’ freedom and rarely do employees produce or perform to their maximum. In this paper, the bureaucratic management style will be discussed with an aim of highlighting the main characteristics of the bureaucratic style. We will write a custom essay sample on Bureaucratic Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now Secondly an effort will be made in order to establish where the bureaucratic management owes its origin from as well as what factors contributed to the development of the management style. After careful assessment of the system, the author hopes to make a balanced assessment on the appropriateness of the system as well as to briefly compare it to other management systems. As well as discussing the post-bureaucratic management, this paper will highlight the main characteristics of post-bureaucratic tradition as well as making a judgment on its suitability to today’s business and to asses whether it has replaced bureaucratic management. However in this paper neither of the management styles is supported but on the contrary the author raises pertinent issues on the characteristics identified as well as merits. According to, Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005. 62-100. ) how values, power, rules and discretion are interconnected determines the performance of the organization and are core to bureaucratic management. Organizational structure forms in bureaucratic management a very critical role. In bureaucratic management, organizational structure is usually rigid and relations amongst workers are determined by their respective positions in the organization something which makes the style very impersonal. Bureaucracy can be said to promote and advocate for the protection of the individual from organizational discrimination something which is favorable especially due to the fact that, too much vulnerability of a manager to the superiors in the organization may not augur well for managers. In such an environment, management is not affected by secondary factors such as ethnicity, class, gender, economic status and race as rising to such positions does not call for one to be loyal to any senior authority but rather to follow the proper and laid down organizational rules. The above is very crucial for smooth functioning of organizations and makes bureaucratic management very ideal management style. While bureaucratic management instills order and control in an organization, abuse of bureaucracy by managers is always a possibility in bureaucratic management. Although it is counterproductive, bureaucratic management can thrive where staff is keen on following the laid down procedures. Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005. 99-108) argues that bureaucracy is too restrictive and rule bound although such claims have been echoed by other critics of bureaucratic management who argue that the above arises due to the fact that, it is based on equality before law, ones qualifications for management positions as well as the fact that it is based on liberal norms, such as equal representation and equal opportunities for all those who qualify. In addition, modern bureaucratic management has tended to encourage gender mainstreaming in the offices. While civilization was a major catalyst for the evolution of bureaucratic management, some have questioned the claim arguing that bureaucratic management at its best fails to be responsive to the fast unfolding scenario of civilization. A major characteristic of bureaucratic management is the fact that they are rule-driven. In fact, organizations which use bureaucratic management style are known to follow properly laid down procedures for executing any function and deviation from such is detrimental and could cost the â€Å"offender his/her job†. Therefore, bureaucratic management depends on strict rule interpretation in order to determine what should be done and not done as well as to determine the way forward for the organization. Although there is a clear need nowadays for organizations to be market responsive, bureaucratic management rarely achieves that goal something which can explain why such organizations are fast being avoided by an increasing number of business enterprises and a quite a substantial number of public offices and departments. Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, (2005. 56-79. ) warns that the crave to migrate from bureaucratic management to other market responsive management styles may at the long run not achieve the change desired but rather serve to cause a further craving for further management reforms. He further notes that a good understanding as well as knowledge of bureaucracy is necessary if success is to be achieved in management. It’s easiness to implement stems from the fact that since it is naturally founded and deep rooted in the rule of law, it becomes easy for subjects to relate with it and therefore it naturally attracted traditional managers as the ideal type of management in most situations. On top of that, subordinates are more likely to adhere to rules and procedures under bureaucratic management because of the authority the system accords to supervisors over subordinates as compared to other systems which do not accord much power to superiors (Ackroyd, 2002. 80-123). Bureaucratic management mainly conforms to hierarchical structures which have clear defined roles and responsibilities for every single employee in an organization and hence well defined and curved out duties for every single employee. The system also encourages the adherence to rules and therefore career growth, promotions are easy to sort out as every one is often aware of all that is required by the organization in order to be promoted. Like wise, recruitment follows the traditional jobs filling methods in which superiors appoint or interview subordinates for staffing. Bureaucratic management can cause limitation of individual’s freedom in some cases but that is necessary especially in military organizations which deal with security matters very sensitive and needing much control. Whilst bureaucratic management is grounded on principles aimed at regulating its application it at the same time causes the management to curtail freedom of worker to conduct individual affairs under the desired privacy. In bureaucratic management rules are designed to meet the wishes of the top management and subordinates are expected to comply with orders of superior authorities without questioning something which has led to many people branding the type of management as dictatorial. You read "Bureaucratic Management" in category "Management" The fact that it emphasizes the division of businesses into hierarchical thus putting the organization under strict lines in which authority and control is the goal makes the style to loose supporters in the modern business environment. In addition bureaucratic management favors a system whereby, duties, rules and procedures are generally fixed something which is fast loosing support in post bureaucratic management tradition evident in most organizations today. In bureaucratic management, a lot of emphasis is put on experience and qualifications for one to be employed and it is characterized by the supervision of lower and subordinate officers by the higher office. Bureaucratic management is monocractical while office workers or state servants are expected to follow the laid down rules (Clegg, Kornberger, and Pitsis, 2005. 56-79). Another major characteristic of bureaucratic management is that it is characterized by impersonal relationships amongst the workers in the organizations. It is also characterized by the formal division of labor. In the USA evidence of bureaucratic management is seen in the functioning of the government, the Department of Defense as well as in schools and large corporations. Bureaucratic management is different from other forms of management such as scientific management in that the latter is more concerned with the association between employees and machines. Other management theorists such as Henri Fayol advocated for administrative management in which emphasis is laid on management functions as well as the roles of managers in the functioning of organizations through the principles of management. Bureaucratic management therefore entails a system whereby the bureaucratic manager at the helm passes judgment and his/her will is followed without compromise. In bureaucratic system, the will of the boss is the authority and their words final and not subject to any challenge. Bureaucratic management does exist even in democratic environment but it calls for a careful balancing in order to achieve positive growth of organizations in terms of functionality of the different departments as well as to ensure orderliness. While bureaucratic management advocates for mandatory adherence to laid down laws and rules as well as procedures, whenever failure to do so happens, it is met with punishments according to the laid down punishment laws. Bureaucratic management has been accused as a system which discourages one’s freedom space and also for not doing anything to tap the potential in people. Although such accusations are not necessarily true, bureaucratic management cannot be termed as good or bad but rather should be viewed as sometimes the most ideal when some situations prevail. History of bureaucratic management Bureaucratic management can be traced back to military and religious leadership which preceded the emergency of big businesses and organizations ( ). In the pre industrial era when trade was not well organized and little or no industries existed, the need for management existed. Public order was a necessity and therefore there was a need for governments to guarantee that. One method of management came to be very popular especially due to its ability to ensure the smooth running of activities. That called for establishment of law as most of the management then depended on adherence to strict and well laid out rules. Naturally only a bureaucratic management could augur well for managers who did not enjoy today’s access to management tools nor the advantage of technology un like today’s mangers and therefore bureaucratic management which puts little demands on the managers was viewed as the ideal system of management. In the 18th century, the subject of bureaucracy was studied in depth even by fathers of sociology such as Max Weber who supported its adaptation in management due to its suitability to management of large organizations. He contended that for effective management of large organizations, managers needed to be empowered and protected from environmental threats and the only way to do so was to have a management style which was simple but effective. In the 18th century, bureaucratic management gained much acceptance especially from the religious organizations, governments and military due to attributes such as the fact that it is easy to execute functions under bureaucratic management, and the belief that the system is logical as well as the fact that it advocates for procedures. The above factors were favored in order to achieve the smooth running of organizations. In terms of religion, there were in the ancient times religious clergy who due to the role they played in religious festivals were functioning in strict bureaucratic management. The development and division of society into social classes and the widening gap between state and society therefore creating the need for control, enforcement of law and order, introduction of tax collection, all this called for another group known as ‘officials’ to fill the gap of overseeing activities in both public and private business all contributed to the introduction of bureaucratic management. Post-Bureaucratic Management The twin issues of power and knowledge management are crucial for a post-bureaucratic management system ( ). The fact that in any given organization there is quite a number of contradicting elements, such as human beings with different needs from the organization, the organizational goals which the same human beings must achieve calls for effective organizational management so as to address needs at all levels. While human beings constitute a very important part of the organization, that they must be managed in order to play their roles effectively is a fact that cannot be wished away. Human beings as a key resource in any organization must be managed in every way possible to achieve organizational goals as well as a positive organizational culture, a positive working environment and the achievement of the objectives of the organization. Characteristics of post bureaucratic management. Post bureaucratic management encourages employee participation. Post bureaucratic tradition advocates for a business environment whereby employees are empowered to contribute in terms of ideas and skills towards the growth and development of the organization. The bureaucratic management style is considerate of the fact that, people are talented differently and rather than suppressing the potential in individuals, management is supposed to discover and nurture any special skills as well as capabilities in the workers or staff through programs such as training and refresher courses. The above is only possible in an environment whereby management encourages its employees to participate fully in the decision making process. In a modern world in which technology especially information technology and internet has changed drastically how business is carried out as well as how people interact, bureaucratic tendencies are fast becoming outdated. The above is a clear sign of a fast changing business world and this is pointing to the fact that time for post bureaucratic management tradition has come. That fact is further strengthened in view of the concept of globalization which favors the communication structure in many organizations to shift from vertical to horizontal as time plays a crucial role in determining how profitable a company is likely to be. Team work is also another characteristic of post bureaucratic management. While most bureaucratic management systems are a one man show in that, the manager and the superiors are the brains behind every innovation the organization aims to achieve, post bureaucratic management advocates strongly for team spirit. There are numerous benefits associated with team work the most important of all is the synergetic effect that results when staff in an organization function as a whole rather than individuals. Another pointer to the fact that today’s managers have shifted from bureaucratic management to a post bureaucratic management system is the fact that most organizations have dropped the rigidness earlier associated with the decision making process as evident in bureaucratic management in favor of a more flexible decision making system. Today most organizations take less time to make decisions and resolves issues which under the bureaucratic management system would take weeks to settle. The above can be attributed to the involvement of many people in the decision making process as opposed to leaving the function of decision making and deliberations to a small clique of managers. The above coupled with the popularity of being flexible is gaining ground and many organizations are dropping that culture whereby decision making process was inflexible. Open discussion as well as deliberations of issues. In bureaucratic management, management reserves the right to discuss any issues which arise. However in post bureaucratic management, management encourages the participation of all employees in the system before any changes are incorporated. This has become very popular especially with employees as more and more feel important to the organization something which boosts employee motivation to work. Today that trend is evident as the use of market research as well as surveys has become very popular as management of most organizations tend to seek for the input of all employees before any major changes are instituted in the organization. It tries to nurture employees into an intellectual capital. There is a growing trend of organizations to nurture and even shop for talented employees in post bureaucratic management. This is in sharp contrast to bureaucratic management in which to fill some vacancies, one has to undergo some rigorous process in the organization so as to achieve promotions. Evidently, an organization’s culture, its systems, as well as the process of effecting change are very crucial for organizations nowadays. Therefore today’s managers play a very important role in management of organizations. While in bureaucratic management, the use of mediation apparatus, theories of management, business tools, the use of decision support systems and also other tools such as white boards is not very common, in the recent times that have become a key part of management process. That is yet another pointer to the fact that, organizations are drastically shifting to post bureaucratic management tradition and practices. With analytical business tools such as SWOT analysis, balanced scorecard, porters 7 principles and PEST analysis constantly being applied by business that points to yet a drifting away pattern from bureaucratic management to post bureaucratic management. Post bureaucratic management is based in the belief that the production of knowledge is a process which can be learnt and perfected while bureaucratic management proponent believe that it production of knowledge is a social practice in which individual people performance rather than teams is more important. There is clear evidence today that, organizations are laying more importance to team work and communal spirit rather than individual effort. Post bureaucratic management is the undisputed and ideal management system that can save organizations from the effects of today’s business challenges as well as solve and counter challenges of this global knowledge based economy in which the rate of discoveries, innovativeness and the crave to be ahead of others is forming the centre piece of organizations. The amount of administration related duties in the contemporary society is evidence enough for the continuing relevance of bureaucratic management in the post-modernism era. There is an increased relevance businesses are attaching to division of labour coupled with the growth of multinational companies with extremely enormous sales turnover. Future without Bureaucratic Management Many have experimented with the idea of a future without bureaucratic management in that there will be a minimal need for supervision due to a highly responsible and self disciplined society. Although the above argument leaves more on socialism ideals it is however a feasible possibility. Modern bureaucratic management has been applauded for being impersonal. Comparison between bureaucratic management and post bureaucratic management The advent of mass production catalyzed the introduction of post bureaucratic management due to the high demand put on the organizations in terms of production as well as the need for routines and procedures in production. The advancement of technology has led many to imagine that bureaucracy would be abandoned. However the truth of the matter is that no matter how high technology has contributed to the mechanization of production the need for workers is still very evident. This is due to the fact that still people are needed to operate the technological equipment in the design of the computer systems so central to today’s organizations as well as to oversee the process of production. Therefore, bureaucracy remains very relevant in the post-bureaucratic era. Bureaucratic management is characterized by high costs making it a less ideal management Accusations against bureaucratic management it is rigid in decision making hence slowing down the decision making process. The fact that officials feel threatened by lack of adherence to rules may affect unity of the organization as suspicion is likely to arise. Bureaucratic management has been accused of being insensitive to morals. Bureaucratic leadership does not encourage empowerment of followers. Bureaucracy leads to a lot of dependency on a few people to chart the way forward for an organisation even when it is clear that contribution of subordinates may matter. Bureaucratic management suppresses talent and while it may augur well for governments its effectiveness for private business is questionable. Bureaucratic management is accused of being inflexible and that it is argued that it would affect economic growth were it to be implemented in wholesome therefore compared to entrepreneurship and in a capitalistic setting bureaucratic management may not be ideal in some cases. While bureaucratic management advocates for high levels of accountability, post-modernism management dwells on employee capability unlike bureaucratic management which emphasizes on employee competence. While bureaucratic management lays emphasis on age in terms of who is allocated the more complex work and is likely to be promoted, post-modernism lays more emphasis on the capability of people to analytically resolve matters inspite of experience or their age. Bureaucratic management lays emphasis on the organizational design, that is structure in terms of roles and responsibilities, on top of that, the mode adopted by an organization in as far as decision making process is concerned as well as the style of human resource management is concerned it is very rigid for bureaucratic management. The governance of human resource in post-modern management is accommodative. Post-modernism management puts a lot of emphasis in cultural relevance to organisation management but bureaucratic management comes short of this. Bureaucratic management lays emphasis on value such as responsibility, loyalty and accountability as well as adherence to fixed rules ad regulations. Bureaucratic management puts more emphasis on the existence of formal authority to superiors. Bureaucratic demands for obedience of higher authority. In bureaucratic management, emphasis is laid on the monopolization of information by the top hierarchy. Promotion process is clear, thus moving up the corporate ladder is something which follows certain pre-set patterns. The decision making process is often pegged on fixed steps. There is emphasis on equality at work, because of emphasis on vertical communication there are clear set boundaries which are very hard to break in bureaucratic management. Post-bureaucratic Management emphasizes on role of dialogue amongst people as opposed to the authority imposing their word and therefore consensus is achieved through involvement of dialogue. Unlike in bureaucratic management whereby internal trust is not critical, post-modern management thrives on high level of loyalty from subordinates. The migration from bureaucratic management has been occasioned by the introduction of market reforms. In addition, it is not easy to permeate boundaries as vertical communication is highly valued unlike in post bureaucratic management where there is a high degree of information sharing. The decision making process in post-bureaucratic management is highly flexible. Unlike in bureaucratic management in which things remain the same for long periods, in post modern management change is often welcome. Bureaucratic management has been accused of lacking in terms of motivation to employees. Conclusion From the above discussion it is evident that bureaucratic management is totally irrelevant relevant to today’s management. It has for long been used in both public and private management. The major characteristics of bureaucratic management identified above are, that is highly pegged on rules and roles, adherence to strict procedures, and it is hierarchical, that it does not call for loyalty as well as the fact that it is not flexible. On the other hand post bureaucratic management is more flexible, it advocates for loyalty and internal trust, it is permeable and not rigid, it is not hierarchical and finally it encourages open discussions in as far as decision making process is concerned. References Ackroyd, S. (2002. 80-123). The Organization of Business, Oxford. OUP. Clegg, S. R. , M. Kornberger, and T. S. Pitsis (2005. 56-79). Management and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, London: Sage Word Count: 3,697 words. How to cite Bureaucratic Management, Essays