Thursday, April 9, 2009

Rational Bureaucracy in the American Red Cross

This essay describes the preconditions of rational bureaucracy and the features of bureaucracy in institutions. It then demonstrates the ways in which rational bureaucracy operates in the American Red Cross.
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3 comments:

  1. Super StacyApril 9, 2009 at 9:44 PM

    In Bureaucracy, Max Weber describes how rational bureaucracy started as a calling, or vocation, to work; therefore, one has a sense of duty to one’s office, or work position (198). Unlike feudalism where office-holding was used to exploit one’s private property for rents or emoluments, modern bureaucracy provides the official with a specific obligation, “a secure existence” (e.g. personal profit), and a source of status in the jurisdiction in return for loyalty to the particular bureaucratic system (199).
    There are six features of a modern bureaucratic institution. Organizations have a fixed jurisdiction to explain precisely the qualifications for each official’s duty, and fixed hierarchy of positions so that the activities of each official, mainly the subordinate ones, are regulated within the system so as not to have any loyalties outside it (196, 197). Management in a bureaucracy is through written documents (197), which separate the bureau from one’s private office, and through rules so that the official may only learn how to regulate business matters abstractly instead of regulating business through favors and privileges as in patrimonialism (198). Office management also provides thorough and expert training for the individual to specialize in their duty (198). Moreover, once the “office is fully developed”, the official may work to his/her fullest capacity (i.e. full-time) if in the bureau for long-term development (198).
    For a modern bureaucracy to take place, there are four historical preconditions that must be met. A money economy must have been established or else one would exploit their office for personal profit and enrichment (205). Another precondition is to have a concentrated means of administration (i.e. monocratic rule) to have the expropriation of collecting taxes under one official. Moreover, consistent, impersonal laws, or procedures, must already be implemented so that individual cases may be evaluated impartially. Lastly, a democracy must have already been established because only under a democratic rule can each case be treated equally according to the law without any regard to a specific individual; however, this does not imply ridding society of class inequality (219).
    Rational bureaucracy exists in the American Red Cross administration, specifically when it comes down to hierarchical organization and management through rules and documents. Firstly, the American Red Cross is divided into regions (e.g. Northern and Southern Region), and in the Northern Region are six counties each with various departments (e.g. International Services Dept, the Donor Resources Dept). Weber would assess this as a fixed jurisdiction because each department has a head coordinator with specific duties. That is, there is a coordinator for the Volunteer Services, Donor Recruitment, Donor Resources, and Community Preparedness for example. However, from the point of view of my position as the blood drive coordinator for Cal, the hierarchical organization is not clear because no single department is superior to another in this context. This compares to the “hierarchy of officers” that Weber lists under features of institutions in a rational bureaucracy.
    Blood donors are also subjected to this bureaucracy. There are strict rules to which they must adhere in order to donate blood, and these are written in an educational materials packet. Some qualifications include a minimum of 110lbs, having an iron count of 12.5 g/L. Some can be rejected if they have traveled to certain countries, is a male who has had a sexual male partner, have Creutzfeldt–Jakob (CJD) disease, and the list goes on. Weber would evaluate all these guidelines as management through rules, because a donor is either accepted or rejected on an impartial basis according to these strict guidelines. Lastly, each individual has a donor ID card, specific to a certain region (e.g. Northern vs. Southern); therefore, Weber would assess this as organization based on management through documents because the information of each donor is regulated by their ID card, which is a form of documentation, and can only be used in a certain region.

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  2. MattApril 10, 2009 at 3:14 PM

    I agree: the Red Cross is most certainly a bureaucracy! Your analysis of fixed jurisdiction and management through rules is spot-on. I question, however, that you leave out the discussion of expert training and full-time employment. Certainly many employees are full-time, but the analysis becomes more complicated because, as a volunteer, I would assume you're not full-time. Also, who is an expert and in what field? Does the organization certify volunteers or employees as experts in certain fields?

    Finally, I don't completely follow your argument that "from the point of view of my position as the blood drive coordinator for Cal, the hierarchical organization is not clear because no single department is superior to another in this context." I would imagine that everybody is directly accountable to somebody within the organizational structure.

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  3. Super StacyApril 12, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    I agree with you, Matt! Thanks for your insight! I just couldn't fit it all withint 2 pages, but there are full-time paid employees who go through detailed training in their particular department of the Red Cross. I'm only a volunteer, but I even see expert training operating in my club since volunteers have to be oriented to volunteer in the blood drives.

    There is a hierarchical organization in the Red Cross such as a "Board of Directors", C.E.O.s, executive positions, etc, but I work with officicals who have a lower standing (i.e. the coordinators), who don't appear to be accountable to any one official who I personally know from the Chapter. This is my point-of-view as a volunteer. I hope that made a little more sense!

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