3. The Ideal Type
• A heuristic device
• A conceptually pure but realistically
impossible construct
• Meant as a contrast to real-world
scenarios
• ‘Ideal type’ bureaucracy / rationality not
about efficiency ~ Weber
5. Organisations in THEORY are:
• Efficiently functioning systems
• Collectivities united by pursuit of common
goal
• Objective and systematically created
group(s) of people with clearly defined
and mutually compatible roles and
interests, working together to achieve a
consensual vision
19. Consulting Firm
• Jargon – ‘dingdongdingdong’
• Artifacts -
• Rituals – coffee-making, writing first proposal, first client
presentation, first oversease project, etc.
• Myths – who’s sleeping with who?
• Sagas – how Petronas project was won…
• Heroes – Kevin Hew (top Principal graduated from
Canada)
• Norms – the “friendly firm”
• Good / bad actions – winning project, pissed off partner’s
secretary
• Rewards and punishments – overseas trip, assigned to
department X, ‘scribal’ duty, unassigned, ‘training’
20. Banking Software Company
• Jargon – source-code
• Artifacts – boarding pass
• Rituals –
• Myths – intellect of Goh Peng Ooi
• Sagas –
• Heroes – country managers and project
managers
• Norms – late nights
• Good / bad actions – staying late, never
questioning project managers,
• Rewards and punishments – bonuses, cold
storaged
21. Private International School
• Jargon – sugar daddy,
• Artifacts – gifts for dignataries, new cars,
• Rituals – 6 hour meetings on Friday(!)
• Myths – events involving boss,
• Sagas – surviving lawsuit
• Heroes – anyone performing above norm
• Norms – no one questions leaders, talk about
vision in public,
• Good / bad actions – protocol for GOH,
• Rewards and punishments – cold storage,
overseas conferences
36. Marketization of the Firm
• Teams have their own P&Ls’, revenue
targets and even acquire businesses i.e.
they’re a “business within a business”
• Teams can reject the offerings of other
departments
• Teams encouraged to compete with
each other (for business) in the
department
• Teams seek outside sources of revenue