"Organizational Rules and the "Bureaucratic Personality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6231649 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barry Bozeman (0000-0002-8084-3379), Hal G Rainey |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 163 |
| Publication date | 1998-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2991751 |
| OpenAlex | W2314685895 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 45 |
| References cited | 11 |
Theory: Theories of the bureaucratic personality by Victor Thompson and Robert Merton hold that personal characteristics of certain bureaucrats make them prefer elaborate rules and regulations, so this study tests such a model. Yet some organizations really do need more rules, so the study also tests a bureaucratic organization model that predicts that characteristics of the organization determine members' preferences for rules. Prominent theories of bureaucracy also suggest that bureaucratic personalities should be more prevalent in public bureaucracies. Hypotheses: Personal characteristics of organizational managers determine their preferences for more rules, so managers higher on alienation and pessimism will perceive a need for more rules. Alternatively, organizational characteristics (such as layers of authority and number of records kept) determine managers' preferences for more rules, so that where there are low levels of such structural characteristics (e.g., few records kept), managers will perceive a need for more rules. Public sector managers should show more of the bureaucratic personality responses than private managers, and prefer more rules. Methods: Correlation and logistic regression analysis is used on data from the National Administrative Studies Project, a mail survey of managers in a wide variety of public and private organizations. Results: Both personal characteristics, such as alienation, and organizational characteristics, such as the number of records kept, show relations to preferences for more rules. Contrary to expectations and to much of the literature, managers in private organizations (mostly business firms) were more likely to prefer more rules than managers in public agencies
Alienation · Bureaucracy · Business · Personality · Personality psychology · Pessimism · Political science · Private sector · Public relations · Public sector · Sociology · Typology · Variety (cybernetics · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Psychology
Administrative logic of grassroots community epidemic prevention from the perspective of attention allocation
The Moderating Role of Personality on Municipal Managers’ Conflict Management Strategies
Gender Ramifications of a Weberian Bureaucracy
Value orientations and bureaucratic red tape
The multiple ways of behaving creatively in the workplace
Examining red tape in public and private organizations
The influence of red tape on bureaucratic behavior
Responsive bureaus, equity, and regulatory negotiation
Ownership, empowerment, and productivity
Taking Personality Seriously
Content Domain, Measurement, and Validity of the Red Tape Concept
Determinants of Information and Communication Technology Adoption in Municipalities
City Managers’ Job Satisfaction and Frustration
Explaining the Difference of Work Attitudes Between Public and Nonprofit Managers
State Budgetary Outcomes
Beyond Stereotypes
Middle Managers’ Upward Roles in the Public Sector
Can Bureaucracy Benefit Organizational Women
Counterbalancing Perspectives on the Current Administrative Telos of American Bureaucracies
Untangling the Relationship Between Red Tape and Job Satisfaction
Organizational Pathology Compared to What? Impacts of Job Characteristics and Career Trajectory on Perceptions of Organizational Red Tape
Formalization and consistency heighten organizational rule following
Of Bureaucrats and Passionate Public Managers
Exploring rule‐following identity at the frontline
Beyond the Rules
Bureaucratization in Public Research Institutions
Goal ambiguity and informal discretion in the implementation of public policies
A Bargain Half Fulfilled
Exploring Public Sector Communication Performance
An Organizational Echelon Analysis of the Determinants of Red Tape in Public Organizations
Public versus Private Managers
Unionization and Work Attitudes
The Unbureaucratic Personality
The Role of Organizations in Fostering Public Service Motivation
Bureaucratic Posture
Personnel Constraints in Public Organizations
Employers as Mediating Institutions for Public Policy
Regulatory Negotiation versus Conventional Rule Making
Rule Following and Discretion at Government's Frontlines
Public v. Private Perceptions of Formalization, Outcomes, and Justice
Organizational Confidence
Are Future Bureaucrats More Risk Averse? The Effect of Studying Public Administration and PSM on Risk Preferences
Red Tape and Public Employees
Of Fergusons
Discrimination, Complexity, and the Public/Private Sector Question
Perceptions of Public versus Private Sector Personnel and Informal Red Tape
Public Agencies and Private Firms
Sector Context and Performance
The powers of problem definition
Decision Making in Public and Private Organizations
The “Publicness Puzzle” in Organization Theory
Goals, Rules, and Effectiveness in Public, Private, and Hybrid Organizations
Who Governs the American Administrative State? A Bureaucratic-Centered Image of Governance
A Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Sector Entrant Quality
Reader in Bureaucracy
Bureaucratic Structure and Personality
| Unique citing works | 45 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,67 |
| Citation span | 1999 - 2026 (28) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 45 |