The Mechanistic Mindset and Bureaucracy

In the rational mechanistic model of organization according to which bureaucracies are designed, the social system is viewed as a means to attain group goals and objectives. Changes in organizational patterns are thus viewed as tactics to improve the level of efficiency. In other words, employees are considered cogs in the machine. This runs contrary to the fact that individuals are searching more and more for meaning from their work.

In order to transform bureaucracies, we need to change the bureaucratic/mechanistic mindset to a socio-cultural systemic one. In this view, an organization is a complex system composed of purposeful human beings. When a purpose appeals to the moral conviction of employees, then they are capable of acting with conviction and self-determination without being micromanaged. And when organizations operate with a clear and well-aligned purpose, then they become great and influential.