From bureaucratic to post‐bureaucratic: the difficulties of transition
Journal of Organizational Change Management
ISSN: 0953-4814
Article publication date: 1 January 2006
Abstract
Purpose
Modern bureaucracies are under reconstruction, bureaucracy being no longer “modern”; they are becoming “post” bureaucratic. Defining the post‐bureaucratic organization as a hybrid form provides insight into the intrinsic difficulties involved in the refurbishment of large complex organizations. The purpose of this paper is to examine these difficulties empirically.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the case of an Australian public sector agency, subject to “corporatization” – a metamorphosis from a strictly public sector outlook to one that was imputedly more commercial. It focuses on the transition from personnel management to strategic HRM in the HR function.
Findings
A series of difficulties affected these changes: difficulties in inventing a new identity; differences in perception of that identity; organizational philosophy towards strategic HRM; unsuitability of extent networks; and identity conflicts. Two factors emerge as the core explanation for the difficulties encountered: the “stickiness of identity” and the difficulties associated with network development.
Originality/value
The paper outlines the difficulties experienced in the putative “refurbishment” of a large public sector agency as it made its way to “corporatization”.
Keywords
Citation
Josserand, E., Teo, S. and Clegg, S. (2006), "From bureaucratic to post‐bureaucratic: the difficulties of transition", Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 54-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/09534810610643686
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited