Criminal Justice: Policy, Planning and Management - Essay Example

Scientific management evolved when the mass production was adopted at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mass production required optimized and effective utilization of human capacities and advocated conformance to one best method of doing a job. Scientific Management intends to improve productivity and efficiency of human resources by viewing them in a mechanistic model. The behavioral patterns of personnel, at the workplace, are viewed as functioning of a machine. The maximum prosperity of the organization is coupled with the maximum prosperity of the employee (Taylor, 1911).

Taylor (1911) thus recognizes the fact that the interests of the organization and those of the employee are not antagonist but are the same. Bureaucracy was a natural outcome of the nineteenth century rise of capitalism. Capitalism sought maximization of profits through minimization of inputs. This required bureaucratic and hierarchical controls over men, material, and machines. Max Weber (1864-1920) developed the concept of bureaucracy based upon the model of profit maximization through minimization of inputs.

It is a model characterized by rigid hierarchical controls, formal divisions of powers and authority, based upon competences. Bureaucracy is known for its rigid adherence to the rule book and codes of practice. The three key drivers of organizational bureaucracy are rationality, impersonality and efficiency. Division of powers and formal communications are cornerstones of bureaucracy. An informal organization is characterized by absence of formal structures of control and authority. Ideas are generated, plans are made, decisions are taken, and jobs are executed in an informal atmosphere, through pre-eminence of social relationships and models based upon informal networks, in a set-up, outside of organizational flow-charts.

The employees enjoy a culture of shared beliefs, knowledge, and