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Alexa Posey

ORGSTUDY 310

27 September 2019

Weber’s Model of Bureaucracy & Plug and Play Tech Center

The way organizations are run and structured affects their productivity and success. Max

Weber represented what he believed was the ideal type of bureaucracy through his model, which

stressed rigidity to ensure the productivity and success of organizations. Although Max Weber’s

model of bureaucracy applies to some organizations, it does not entirely apply to all of them.

Last summer, I was an intern at Plug and Play Tech Center, a company that invests in startups

and accelerates them by connecting them with large corporations in their respective industries.

Plug and Play conforms to Weber’s model as its employees are disciplined, specialized and

technically qualified for their roles, but the company differentiates from the model due to its

nonhierarchical structure and the familial nature of relationships between employees.

Weber’s theory of bureaucracy is partially useful in understanding Plug and Play as

employees are disciplined, qualified and specialize in specific roles, which promotes

accountability and productivity. First, according to Weber’s model, individuals in a bureaucracy

are under severe discipline and control (Weber 1947). This aspect of Weber’s model applies to

Plug and Play as employees are required to present their week’s work to the Chief Executive

Officer once a week in small-group meetings. These meetings allow the CEO to monitor each

employee’s productivity and ensure they are held accountable for their work. Additionally,

Weber states that in a bureaucracy, employees are technically qualified, specialized, committed

and promoted based on achievement, characteristics that also apply to Plug and Play and further
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enhance its productivity (Weber 1947). Although connections ease the hiring process, Plug and

Play employees are largely hired for their technical skills and abilities through resume inspection

and interviews. Plug and Play has distinct job roles, the main ones being ventures, sales and

community management. Each role requires different skills, and thus, individuals are hired for

their unique qualities. Due to the focus on hiring individuals specifically fit for each role, each

office has a “clearly defined sphere of competence” as employees specialize in and focus solely

on their one position (Weber 1947, 333).​ ​To add, due to the discipline, high expectations and

nature of job roles at Plug and Play (e.g 8-hour work days, 5 days per week) the majority of

employees are deeply committed to their role and consequently, do not have additional jobs

elsewhere. In other words, Plug and Play is typically an employee’s primary or sole occupation,

which, along with specializing in one role, maximizes productivity as employees are not dividing

their time and effort between multiple companies or job roles (Weber 1947).​ ​Lastly, Plug and

Play employees are promoted as a result of performing well and thus, demonstrating productivity

in their role, which conforms to Weber’s model. For example, to advance from a community

manager of one team to that of multiple teams, the worker would need to show high proficiency

in the role to a C-Level executive, as opposed to, for example, simply wanting a more involved

role. Overall, the discipline and employee-centered aspects of Plug and Play fit Weber’s theory

of bureaucracy and allow the company to operate controllably and efficiently.

Although Plug and Play partially conforms to Weber’s model of bureaucracy, the

nonhierarchical and familial aspects of Plug and Play differentiate the company from the model

and promote a leisurely work atmosphere—something that can be both beneficial and harmful

for an organization. First, according to Weber’s model, job roles are organized hierarchically and
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employees’ salaries are dependent on their role’s position in the hierarchy (Weber 1947). These

features of the model do not apply to Plug and Play as the company lacks a clear hierarchy of job

roles and not all salaries are fixed. Plug and Play has three C-Level executives which are

inherently ranked the highest, but aside from them, job roles are not clearly ranked

hierarchically. For example, employees working under ventures, sales or community

management are not explicitly ranked in relation to each other and have the same base salary.

Thus, although there are different job roles at Plug and Play, they are not ranked hierarchically,

which contributes to the company’s easygoing atmosphere. A less competitive environment can

foster more collaboration between employees. However, too much socialization can undermine

productivity. The friendly atmosphere of Plug and Play is notable and allows employees to

collaborate across teams. However, there were times when too much socializing became

distracting and decreased employees’ productivity. Also, salespeople are paid commission.

Rather than relying on a promotion to make more money, the more they sell, the more money

they make. Salespeople’s commission contrasts Weber’s description of the relationship between

one’s salary and hierarchical rank, and can be both positive and negative for an organization. On

one hand, commission is positive at Plug and Play as it provides salespeople with an incentive to

perform, but it also sparks jealousy in employees earning only a base salary. Lastly, due to the

familial atmosphere of Plug and Play, the company does not conform to Weber’s criteria of

“personally free” individuals (Weber 1947, 333). The CEO of Plug and Play is related to many

employees who, consequently, experience a blend between work and personal life. For example,

my previous team’s director is the CEO’s cousin; he experiences special treatment (e.g attending

exclusive board meetings) and the two discuss work matters outside of the office. As some
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employees are related to the CEO, they have little separation between their job and personal life,

conflicting with Weber on this topic. Although the family relationships create a feeling of

connectedness in the office and thus, contribute to Plug and Play’s easygoing culture, they can

hinder objectivity in decision-making which can be disadvantageous for an organization.

The hierarchical and technical qualification aspects of Weber’s theory are especially

outdated. First, there are many startup companies in today’s society due to emerging technology

and innovation. These companies start with a very small team, and thus, their job roles are

typically not organized hierarchically, which conflicts with Weber. Additionally, in the current

job market, it is not only what you know, but who you know. Today, having a connection to a

company makes it exponentially easier to get through initial rounds of cuts and subsequently, to

be hired. For example, the majority of my friends knew an employee at the companies they

interned for last summer. They were each qualified for their roles, but having a connection to the

company helped them stand out in the initial recruiting stages—something that is true for the

majority, if not all, companies today.

Altogether, Plug and Play Tech Center conforms to Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy

through its use of discipline and the nature of its job roles, but the nonhierarchical and familial

aspects of the company conflict with the theory. Weber’s description of the different aspects of

bureaucracy helps to understand not only Plug and Play, but all companies. Despite being

somewhat outdated, the theory is a useful tool to understand all organizations as it provides a

framework for analyzing how organizational structure impacts productivity.

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References

Weber, Max. 1947. ​The Theory of Economic & Social Organization​. New York: Oxford

University Press.