The Subjects of Sociocracy - Article Example

In the article “In Praise of Hierarchy,” Jacques (1990), applauds managerial hierarchy as implemented in various types of businesses around the world. Jacques (1990) counters the longstanding belief that “hierarchy kills initiative, crushes creativity, and has therefore seen its day” (p. 2). He states that there is no place for flat organizations in the economy and business environment of the 1990s, and it could be agreed that this declaration rings true today. Tasks require completion in steps, with varying complexities (Jacques, 1990). Thus, a delegation of such low-competence tasks to lower levels only makes sense in developing those team members to climb the ranks within the organization.
Jacques (1990) describes what has gone wrong with managerial hierarchy in the past and what continues to go wrong during the 1990s and into the current organization. The resounding message in his description of poor hierarchy is a lack of accountability and value-added processes of managerial staff to the tasks of their subordinates (Jacques, 1990). For managerial hierarchy to function, as it is intended, organizations must learn the purpose of hierarchy. The various layers of management, from the individual who has been with the company for 1 day to the seasoned veteran who has been with the company for 15 years, must understand the reason for their spot on the totem pole (Jacques, 1990).

Week 10 Reading Summary
In the article “A New House with a 1950s Foundation,” Avery (n.d.) discusses W. Edwards Deming and how he aided Japan, in the country’s reconstruction of industry and economy, with his Theory of Profound Knowledge, 14 Points of Management, and his various process improvement ideas such as Statistical Process Control. While Toyota became the focal point of his theories, not many companies took to the successful theories and approaches to management that he introduced (Avery, n.d.).
In “Understanding Variation,” Halliday (n.d.) incorporates his ideas on variation with those of many prominent historical organizational philosophers and the proven effective Six Sigma concepts. The takeaway from this article is to pay attention to and understand, how variables affect processes, products, services, and the organization (Halliday, n.d.).
Burns and Stalker (1961) discuss the management of environmental changes in the article, “The Management of Innovation.” The terms “mechanistic” and “organic” are referred to when discussing management systems as a response to the changes in the environment. The goal, as Burns and Stalker identify is to manage change to manage the organization.
Ritzer (1983) compares the operation of successful fast food chains, like McDonald’s, to the efficient operation of a successful organization in the article, “The McDonaldization of Society.” Similar to a fast food restaurant, efficiency, predictability, calculability, the substitution of nonhuman technology, and control were the keys to rationalization in society during the 1980s when the article was written and remains applicable today. Ritzer (1983) confirms the fact that progressive rationalization, while it does bring positives, also hurts society.

Week 11 Reading Summary
In the article, “The Construct of the Learning Organization: Dimensions, Measurement, and Validation,” Yang, Watkins, and Marsick (2004) describe research findings from an instrument, Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire, developed to test multidimensional measures on the learning organization. Although there is a great deal of research and much attention on learning organizations, the authors of the article recognize the fact that there has not yet been a successful metric or tool for measuring success. Therefore, they intend to not only add to the growing amount of research available but to contribute a measurement tool for extensive research on the subject in the future (Yang, Watkins, & Marsick, 2004).
The authors define the learning organization as an organization that is adaptable, and can create alternate futures; meaning, as the organization progresses, successes and failures are monitored and strategies adjusted the future forward (Yang et. al., 2004). Read More