motivational analysis of organizations

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If you work for a Bureaucrat:
■ Remember that the Bureaucrat tends to focus on performance that fits the system,
without asking whether it is the right performance. Help him or hereby asking
questions that will lead to a consideration of more creative responses.
■ As a Bureaucrat needs order and conformity, do not make him or her nervous by
being “weird.” It is difficult to work for a nervous boss, particularly if you are the
one who makes the boss nervous.
■ Serve as a buffer for your subordinates. Manage them to produce creative
responses without interference from your Bureaucratic supervisor. Do not make
your own problem your subordinates’ problem.
If Bureaucrats work for you:
■ Remember that Bureaucrats are better in staff jobs, not line jobs.
■ Make sure that they do not spin a web of stifling systems and structure around
others.
■ As Bureaucrats constantly complain about others who are violating the sanctity of
their systems, learn to ask, “So what?”
■ Reward them for developing and managing the most efficient administrative
processes. Define “efficient” as meaning the fewest possible staff requiring the
least amount of time from line managers.
8. Aristocrats are generally most evident when the organization’s primary products
and services are declining because of a lack of attention, investment, and creativity;
when organizational components are being eliminated and divested; and when cash is
desperately needed. At these times cynicism permeates all parts and levels of the
organization. Aristocrats increasingly surround themselves with expensive tokens of
their positions (“perks”) and view their primary mission as preventing further
organizational erosion. They have an aloof management style and do not like making
decisions. If forced to do so, they generally use a highly autocratic style. Their
organizations are burdened with excessive layers of management, poor communication,
little clarity of mission, low motivation, lots of internal warfare, and ineffective formal
structures.
If you work for an Aristocrat:
■ Quit.
■ If you cannot quit, consider the Aristocrat’s objectives but create your own
independently. Hope that the Aristocrat’s successor appreciates your efforts.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 19, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer