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International Sociology
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The Rise of Post-Bureaucracy

Theorists' Fancy or Organizational Praxis?

Phil Johnson

University of Sheffield, phil.johnson{at}sheffield.ac.uk

Geoffrey Wood

University of Sheffield, G.T.Wood{at}sheffield.ac.uk

Chris Brewster

Reading University, c.j.brewster{at}reading.ac.uk

Michael Brookes

Middlesex University Business School, m.brookes{at}mdx.ac.uk

Theories of post-bureaucracy point to a breakdown of traditional modes of managerial authority in the face of a range of pressures commonly associated with globalization and technological advance. This may make for a proliferation of alternative practices and/or allow for a genuine sharing of power in the workplace, associated with higher levels of responsible autonomy. Based on the findings of a series of transnational surveys, this article confirms a tendency, over time, for organizations to make greater use of mechanisms to promote responsible autonomy, in a wide range of national contexts. This would seemingly support a central proposition of theories of post-bureaucracy: a tendency for organizations to delegate more power to employees over time, reflecting the breakdown of traditional bureaucratically ordered power relations. At the same time, however, the research highlighted an uneven and contested process of change, reflecting both the persistent effects of national, regional and sectoral modes of regulation, and the non-linear and episodic nature of organizational change.

Key Words: bureaucracy • organizational change • post-bureaucracy • responsible autonomy • varieties of capitalism

International Sociology, Vol. 24, No. 1, 37-61 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580908100246
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