Office Space: Bureaucracy in the Workplace

Office Space: Bureaucracy in the Workplace The 1999 film, Office Space, characterizes an unhappy employee that works for a generic software company named Initech, which is structured as a bureaucracy. The main character, Peter Gibbons, eventually gets fed up by his job and the pressured environment in the workplace as a result of the bureaucratic environment. As a result of being fed up, Peter decides to rebel with the help of his two friends, Samir and Michael Bolton, and devise a computer program to steal from the company in small decimal amounts, but accidentally end up stealing a large amount. Meanwhile, the company decides to promote him while Peter is rebelling against the company. Bureaucracy, as defined by Max Weber, has six elements: first, the element of specialization of the job each worker does; second, bureaucracy has a rule of many by the few in which only one or a few people have rule of authority; third, bureaucracy has rules and regulations that the workers must follow; fourth, it is the characteristic of technical competence; fifth, it is the component of impersonality; finally, sixth, bureaucracy has formal written communication and official documentation. Webers characteristics of bureaucracy are shown to be in agreement with what is shown in the film. The first element is shown through the employees of Office Space. It is shown that each employee of Initech has a specific role that they contribute in the workplace. For example, Peter Gibbons, Michael Bolton, and Samir are all part of the computer programming component of the company while Lumbergh and the seven bosses that Peter has are part of the management component of the company. The purpose of having different people to complete different aspects of a company is to increase efficiency, however, the movie also shows that the computer programmers write the bank software to save space, such as taking out two digits (97 instead of 1997), but they have to go back into the program and change thousands of numbers so all of them only have two digits instead of four, which, in itself, is inefficient but it still emphasizes that only the computer programmers in the company have to do that, and that is what their job/contribution is in the company. The second element address that there is only one of few people that have rule of authority in the company, and in the film, this rulers would be Lumbergh and the seven other bosses that are part of management. But in these eight bosses, there is a hierarchy of management, giving the company a pyramid-like structure. The pyramid was Lumbergh up at the top, then Peter Gibbons, then Michael Bolton, then Samir, and then Milton, who would be at the very bottom of the food chain, with no authority in any situation or over anyone. This pyramid also contributes to the blatant difference in salary, as the film shows the employees general, family cars while Lumbergh had a Porsche in the same parking lot. Rules and regulations, as the third element of bureaucracy, are shown in the film in the very popular TPS Report scene of the movie in which Dom Portwood confronts Peter Gibbons: Dom Portwood: Hi, Peter. Whats happening? We need to talk about your TPS reports. Peter Gibbons: Yeah. The coversheet. I know, I know. Uh, Bill talked to me about it. Dom Portwood: Yeah. Did you get that memo? Peter Gibbons: Yeah. I got the memo. And I understand the policy. And the problem is just that I forgot the one time. And Ive already taken care of it so its not even really a problem anymore. Dom Portwood: Ah! Yeah. Its just were putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, thatd be great. All right! (credit: IMDB Office Space Quotes) This scene in the film is showing how Dom Portwood, the vice president reprimands Peter for not using the correct cover sheet on a report even though there had been a memo detailing the new procedure. Even when Peter said that it was a simple mistake and that he had a copy of the memo Portwood insists on sending another copy of the memo. This shows that the bureaucracy must follow a strict set of rules and regulations in order to be successful, and the management must make it clear that such mistakes will not be accepted in order to keep the important of rules and regulations high in priority. The fourth aspect of bureaucracy is the technical competence. In the movie, the two consultants are brought into the company to assess the efficiency and competence of each employee in the role that they are in, and they do this so the companys efficiency can be increased. This is interesting because it would seem that a company is run on many people, in many different departments, to successfully run a company, however they are laying off employees to increase efficiency, but that is really just the code phrase for downsizing. Peter, for example, is probably the antithesis of efficiency and competence because he says to one of the consultants that he stares at his desk and gets about 15 minutes of work done in an actual week. The fifth element is impersonality, which means that corporations and bosses dont actually consider getting to know their employees important. They, instead, write impersonal memos to their employees, and do not identify them as individuals. For example. Samir has been working in Initech for five years, and his name is still mispronounced. And the bosses, especially Lumbergh, are always just saying things like, did you see the memo, instead of addressing the person they are talking to. The final element is the need to officialize and formalize all documentation in the office. This also falls under the category of rules and regulations because the need to document everything is overemphasized, such as in the example in which Peter forgot a coversheet and how that little issue became over exaggerated enough for the vice-president to come and point it out. Examples of official documentation in Office Space include TPS reports, memos, files, and personal records of each employee that the company keeps, but nothing is really personal about that file just an impersonal set of information of each employee. Overall, the 1999 film cleverly points out the flaws of a highly bureaucratized work environment, and Webers Theory of Bureaucracy is also portrayed in the film. Teaching assistant: Developing child learning Teaching assistant: Developing child learning Historically, teaching assistants, or auxiliaries as they were sometimes formerly known, were non teaching adults who helped qualified teachers by carrying out day to day preparatory and administrative tasks and providing pastoral care to children. (Clayton. 1993) However, in 1998, the Local Government Chronicle published a summary of a Green Paper, (LGC, 1998), in which they outlined proposals for employing a greater number of support staff 20,000 by the year 2002 in order to provide more support for teachers. The summary also announced the governments suggestions for a more effective use of, and better training for, teaching assistants and other school support staff which, along with a subsequent OfSTED review, (2002a, p6) declared the need for training that would, match any proposed structure of qualifications and to facilitate career progression. The implementation of national occupational standards for teaching assistants, approved in 2001, and the HLTA status introduced in 20 03, (TDA, 2008) offered committed support staff the opportunity to progress and acquire the skills to become more accomplished educators. Working as a teaching assistant started to become a career and so began the real debate about the role of the teaching assistant. As with many job titles within the working environment, the title teaching assistant is often interpreted in a variety of ways but one common theme I have encountered, when questioning educational staff, is that all teaching assistants have the potential to be facilitators of learning and therefore are essential elements in the development of learning for children. How the facilitation is carried out, however, is less clear and open to individual interpretation by both employers and employees. In order to support the learning of all children, teaching assistants, like any educator, need to have a good understanding of how children learn. In the book, Teaching and Learning in the Early Years, Whitebread (2008, chapter 1) discusses Piagets ideas that children need to feel and hold control over their learning. Whitebread continues by exploring Vygotsys claims that it is the role of the adult to provide opportunities for social interaction and to support the child in moving out of their comfort zone or level of actual development and towards their potential via their zone of proximal development. To do this, a teaching assistant must understand how to promote curiosity amongst children while providing opportunities for discussion and exploration. With current class sizes in the region of up to 30 pupils, a class teacher will often be unable to engage in this vital aspect of developing childrens learning and so it is essential that supporting adults are equipped with the skills to scaffold learning and to provide opportunities for them to develop the language needed to be able to discuss and explain their ideas. (Bruner 1983, cited in Peabody Journal of Education, pp 64-66) Recently I was fortunate to be part of an initiative to promote reading amongst a group of reluctant pupils who had formulated an opinion that reading was a chore to be undertaken with animosity and only when instructed to do so. Upon investigation, it was obvious that these children had encountered a variety of barriers that had influenced their attitude and ability to read. My role was that of the enabling adult as described by Chambers (1991). By providing them with an opportunity to share and discuss each others reading experiences I was able to promote and inspire in them a willingness and enjoyment of reading. The outcome of this quickly became apparent in their understanding of written text. The children also began writing with enthusiasm, using their own knowledge and experiences; as a result, they had taken control of their own learning. The childrens vocal responses demonstrated that they felt empowered by the fact that they were directly responsible for the progress that t hey were making and they continue to enjoy our weekly discussions about their reading and progress. The children mentioned do not have special educational needs, as is often the case for pupils being supported by a teaching assistant. Children with SEN require a higher level of support and this has, traditionally, been provided by teaching assistants. (Alborz et al, 2009a) This has previously been an area for debate with The Daily Telegraph (2009) publishing an article claiming that research shows that, Pupils make less progress in classrooms where schools employ more teaching assistants. This article states that teaching assistants often support lower attaining pupils, resulting in them being less supported by a qualified teacher and to them making limited progress. The article does not, however, take into account the training of the teaching assistants. While reviewing the impact of workforce remodeling, a report by OfSTED (2004) stated that when a teaching assistant is appointed to work with carefully chosen pupils and is provided with the appropriate training to do so effective ly, the pupils make significant progress. This is, of course, as well as the obvious benefits of providing the teacher with more time to focus on other pupils. Having worked alongside several teaching assistants employed to support children with SEN I have witnessed the immeasurable benefit to the pupil and the class as a whole. The teaching assistants enabled the pupils to be included in a mainstream classroom and access the curriculum, while allowing the class teacher to support the majority of the pupils. Their support involved the re-enforcing of the whole class teaching, giving the pupil the confidence to participate in class discussions, simplification of vocabulary, offering praise and encouragement and feedback on the completed task. Following the lesson, the teaching assistant also provided the teacher with assessment and monitoring feedback to enable assessment of and for learning. This assessment has become a vital aspect of the role of the teaching assistant and supports the teacher and pupil by enabling differentiation and personalised learning to become every day practice. (OfSTED, 2002b) Guidance published by the NFER (2002, cited in Department for Education and Skills, 2005, p.22) found that when teachers and teaching assistants work in partnership, the results are a more effective level of teaching and learning. An example of this is a scenario I have experienced recently where a teaching assistant supported the learning of the majority of the class while the class teacher focused on the children with SEN. As a result of the teacher and teaching assistant having spent time working together to plan the lesson, the teaching assistant was able to support the learning objectives and assist pupils in their achievement of them. Teaching assistants can also, when included in the planning of a lesson, actively participate in the delivery of the lesson providing an alternative viewpoint or by playing a character in role. One such example was provided by my colleague who, upon realising that many of the pupils within the class had misunderstood a key concept, pretended to be confused and raised a hand to ask for clarification. As a result, pupils developed a clearer understanding of the lesson and therefore, the teaching assistant had played an important role in developing their learning. By implementing a combination of all of these approaches and with effective training and guidance, teaching assistants can provide invaluable support for all children within any lesson. Teaching assistants also support behaviour management within classes and can provide an alternative level of perception within the classroom. In daily Literacy lessons, I have observed a teaching assistant supporting a pupil with ADHD and have no doubt that without her presence, the class teacher would have to spend a large proportion of the lesson settling the child and addressing low level distractions. Personal experience has shown me that children with emotional or behavioural difficulties are often more responsive towards a teaching assistant with whom they can forge a positive adult / child relationship. This can contribute towards the social and emotional wellbeing of the child as outlined by Alborz et al. (2009b). Besides the opportunity to support childrens learning during lesson time, teaching assistants continue to carry out a multitude of administrative tasks in order to support the class teacher and the school as a whole. The National Agreement, (ATL et al. 2003, p.2), implemented as part of the governments workforce remodelling initiative, states that teachers should not spend their time carrying out administrative responsibilities that do not make full use of their skills and expertise but that these tasks should be carried out by support staff. The agreement outlines twenty-one tasks that teaching staff should not be required to carry out including the preparation of classroom resources, photocopying, the collection of monies for educational visit and the preparation and setting up of displays. These tasks must also, therefore, be considered the responsibility of the teaching assistant. Each and every one of the administrative tasks has an impact on the educational environment and ther efore contributes towards supporting the development of childrens learning. In practice, however, the need for teaching assistants to be more involved in the delivery of lessons surely means that they too will have less time for carrying out administrative duties which in turn might relay these duties back into the hands of the teachers. In my experience, teaching assistants often offer unconditional support for the school in which they are employed. Many carry out duties beyond their working hours providing curriculum enrichment activities and regularly being at the forefront of fund raising events. They frequently are able to provide a connection between local communities and their schools as they often live in close proximity to their workplace. This is a non essential yet valuable part of their role as it enables teaching staff to be aware of local issues and provides a link between parents and schools. (Lipsett, 2008) In conclusion, the role of the teaching assistant has evolved significantly over recent years and can offer committed individuals with a recognised career that is both progressive and rewarding. With appropriate professional development opportunities, a teaching assistant can give invaluable support to individuals and groups of pupils, teaching staff, parents and schools. By providing pastoral care, administrative support and personalised learning they can, as outlined in the Governments Every Child Matters initiative (DfES, 2003), promote enjoyment and achievement in a safe, nurturing environment; contribute to the academic and emotional wellbeing of all children; help them to become successful members of the school and wider community.