Executive Summary Bureaucratic and Patron-Client Organizations

Executive Summary Bureaucratic and Patron-Client Organizations
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The bureaucratic organizations execute large-scale tasks through a highly organized structure. It consists of complicated hierarchy, intricate division of labor with positions allocated depending on one’s skills and competence (Abadinsky, 2010). Subordinates have defined responsibilities and they execute them on the basis of established rules and in a rigid and impersonal fashion. The rules are clearly defined in a code of conduct and superiors monitor subordinates to ensure strict adherence. Communication flows from the top through a chain of command to reach the bottom (Le, 2012). Lower ranking members are prohibited from making decisions without formally procured approval.
Bureaucratic organizations’ operations are similar to a corporation headed by a CEO and have a large scope of operations and highly experienced leaders. The police and military are good examples of bureaucratic organizations (Abadinsky, 2010). Criminal organizations based on the bureaucratic model use violence to enforce its code of conduct amongst the subordinates. The outlaw motorcycle gangs are a good example of bureaucratic organized crime. Such groups have a superior leader, defined chain of command, subordinates, a code of conduct, and defined roles for various subordinates that execute their responsibilities in a rigid and impersonal way (Le, 2012).
Patron-client organizations unlike bureaucratic organizations have no chains of commands. Instead of having formal written communication, patron-client organizations rely on personal forms such as face-to-face communication and telephone conversations where it is absolutely necessary. When a message is sent to a member of the decentralized network, the message reaches more people than the initial source know directly. This is because each person in the patron-client group is a point of contact in a web of networks. Clients in the network have a patron whose role is to offer protection and resources to all the clients in the network. In return, the clients o...