Differences between the Machine and Professional Bureaucracies
The differences between the two organizations stem from the type of work that they do and thus the way they can distribute it among workers (division of labor) and subsequently coordinate its completion. Organizations configure themselves as machine bureaucracies when their work is simple; that is, when it is certain enough to be rationalized (or task-analyzed) into a series of separate subtasks, each of which can be prespecified and done by a different worker. Because it can be completely prespecified, simple work can be coordinated by standardizing the work processes through formalization, or the specification of precise rules for doing each subtask. Organizations configure themselves as professional bureaucracies when their work is complex; that is, when it is ambiguous and thus too uncertain to be rationalized and formalized. Because their work is too uncertain to be broken apart and distributed among a number of workers, division of labor in the professional bureaucracies is achieved through specialization . That is, in the professional bureaucracy (which typically does client-centered work) clients are distributed among the workers, each of whom specializes in the skills that are needed to do the total job with his or her assigned client cohort. Given this form of division of labor, complex work is coordinated by standardizing the skills of the workers, which is accomplished through professionalization , or intensive education and socialization carried out in professional schools.
