Agility becomes Increasingly Preferable to Bureaucracy

Agility becomes Increasingly Preferable to Bureaucracy
Executives in organizations often have to decide between innovation and operational discipline. As a result, agile and bureaucracy are often seen as conflicting in an organizational setting. However, it can be observed that 21st-century organizations have to contend with volatility, change, and complexity issues (Rey et al., 2019). Agility becomes increasingly preferable to bureaucracy. The focus of this paper is to distinguish between the characteristics of bureaucratic organizations from those of an agile organization. Additionally, the paper offers examples of agile organizations, presents the benefits and drawbacks of agile and bureaucracy, argues for an agile community-oriented policing, and outlines the none steps of management by objectives (MBO).
Bureaucratic Versus Agile Organization
The differences between the characteristics of agile and bureaucratic organizations can be found in how each of these organizations is structured. First, agile organizations are perceived as living systems that are both dynamic and stable. The main characteristics of an agile organization include the focus on customers. Customer-centricity means that agile firms always look to adjust and adapt to market changes, which means adopting innovative technologies and embracing customer feedback. As a result, it can be argued that agile organizations are equipped for the future since they are always looking at what can be done to remain relevant in a changing environment. On the contrary, bureaucratic organizations are structured through formal hierarchies and operational discipline (Rey et al., 2019). In other words, the main focus is not on the customers but the rules and standard operating procedures. According to Rigby (2018), this feature is like an 'iron cage' that traps people inside and limits their potential. Bureaucratic organizations do not seek customer feedback or seek to innovate as they are more interested in the current formalities.
Another set of characteristics that distinguish between agile and bureaucratic organizations is specialization and division of labor, which is more common in bureaucracy than in agile firms. Due to formal procedures and hierarchies, the roles and tasks in bureaucratic organizations are often highly specialized and routine. On the contrary, agile organizations rely on a network of small and empowered teams, despite retaining the traditional hierarchy (De Smet et al., 2018). Rather than have fixed roles, agile teams are characterized by rapid learning and decision cycles that incorporate all members’ input. Collaboration means that agile firms create more value more effectively than bureaucratic ones. Open communication facilitates teamwork, as opposed to formal communication flows in a bureaucratic organization.
Examples of Agile Characteristics
An example of agile characteristics in an organization is intercultural communication. Open communication is a key feature of agile firms, whose scope extends to culturally diverse teams. In this case, intercultural communication in the team is manifested through a culture where members always explain and summarize what they mean by the statements they make. This is intended to ensure that memb...