Automation and Bureaucratic Structure

Most studies of automation in organizations show its effects on human relations, but they neglect changes in formal organizational structure. Data from a study of 254 city, county, and state departments of finance show that the data-processing sections are quite different from other parts of organizations: they have more levels of hierarchy, a wider span of control for first-line supervisors, fewer employees under the direction of higher supervisors, and fewer supervisory responsibilities for members who are nomianlly in supervisory positions. These findings suggest that the consultant's role and horizontal channels of communications are institutionalized in automated organizations. The implications of these findings for classical organizational and human relations theories are discussed.