Describing the Veterans Administration Medical Centers (VAMC) structure and organizational hierarchal system is from the top down based on the following information.
• bureaucracy: system of organization and control based on hierarchy, specialization, and formalized structures
a. features:
i. hierarchical authority: chain of command whereby officials and upper units have authority over lower units: Downward-"direct employees (subordinates) " Upward "reporting to management"
• Speeds action by reducing conflicts over power
• i.e. Employees do as they are instructed
ii. job specialization: precise division of labor between explicitly described job positions
• allows for efficiency by allowing workers to focus on one particular task or aspect of a task
related to division of labor
• i.e. All employees are hired using a specific job description: RN's can only perform the following duties etc.
iii. formalized rules: standardized procedures and established regulations for conducting operations
• allows workers to make quick judgments rather than evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
• Employees follow written policy and procedures
• Employees are provided a written "employee" handbook upon being hired.
• i.e. Nurses refusing to take a gift from a customer due to rules against it