1. How has the context of work changed over the past century?
Western developed nations are undergoing a shift away from traditional, bureaucratic form. Bureaucracy has been the dominant form of organization for more than a century, but it has a bad reputation for being inefficient. It has also decreased the level of enthusiasm among the employees, resulting organizations which provide poor customer service and are not willing to change or create new innovations which are considered very important. “Furthermore, bureaucracies are considered effective in situations where large numbers of standardized operations are needed but it is argued that these conditions are increasingly rare in today’s business world, with even classic bureaucracies such as universities being forced to become more flexible to adapt to changing market conditions”

2. How do post-bureaucratic management practices differ from bureaucratic ones?
Hecksher (1994) devised a list of ideal characteristics for “post-bureaucracies” which stand in contrast to Max Weber’s “ideal bureaucracy”: * rules are replaced with consensus and dialog based on personal influence * responsibilities are assigned on merit rather than hierarchy * people are treated as individuals rather than impersonally * the boundaries of the organization are opened.
“Ritzer (1996) argues the world is becoming increasingly bureaucratic and for him there is no escape, with bureaucracy spreading first from the manufacturing industry to the service industry, and then to all areas of life. Harris and Hopfl (2006, p. 5) note that: while there can be little doubt that real and significant changes are underway, it has become apparent that there is no necessary trajectory of historic decline in the bureaucratic form. They argue that there is not a post-bureaucratic era, but adaptations of bureaucracy.”

3. What are