John Meyer and Brian Rowan's (1977) findings about rules and procedures in organizations offer an important challenge to Max Weber's characteristics of ideal bureaucracy because:
A) they demonstrate the power of informal networks to all levels of organization.
B) they show that formal rules are not always followed by organizational members and thus are often a myth used to justify decision-making.
C) they demonstrate that formal rules are identical to the practices that members of the organization adopt.
D) they show that informal networks are more important than formal rules adopted by organizational leaders.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Meyer and Rowan's research showed that formal rules and procedures in organizations are not always followed by members of the organization, and that there is often a discrepancy between the formal rules and actual decision-making practices. This challenges Weber's idea of an ideal bureaucracy, which emphasizes the importance of formal rules and procedures as the basis for organizational decision-making.

John Meyer and Brian Rowan's (1977) Findings About Rules and Procedures