2 TYPES OF BUREAUCRACY - ENABLING AND COERCIVE

This article proposes a conceptualization of workflow formalization th at helps reconcile the contrasting assessments of;bureaucracy as alien ating to employees or as enabling them to perform their tasks better. Interpreting formalization as an organizational technology, we ruse re cent research on the design of equipment technology to identify two ty pes of formalization-enabling and coercive. Whether the impact of form alization on employees' attitudes is positive or negative is, we argue , a function of whether that formalization enables employees better to master their tasks or functions as a means by which management attemp ts to coerce employees' effort and compliance. We identify some forces that tend to discourage the enabling orientation to the benefit of th e coercive orientation, as well as some persistent countertendencies t hat encourage the enabling orientation, We suggest some ways in which this typology can be extended beyond workflow formalization to other f acets of bureaucracy such as internal labor markets, hierarchy, and th e role of staff functions..