Introduction

This essay is about the bureaucracy in an organization. The label bureaucracy today is not
something which an organization would want to have written over their flags. In most cases it
has a negative connotation. However, bureaucracy, originally conceived by Max Weber is
regarded as something which can improve the stability and efficiency within any organization.
This concept can be a very useful tool in the organizational design to improve the flow of
communication throughout the structure within an organization. For this purpose, this essay will
talk about the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC originating and based in Sri Lanka and now
having subsidiaries in Bangladesh. Essay will explain different bureaucratic practices within the
bank.
Just like other banks, Commercial Bank does not claim themselves as Bureaucratic but all
structure follows exactly the bureaucratic form.
Overview of the Organization
The Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd has been nominated as Sri Lankas best bank. With an
unblemished history of almost a century, it has been ranked number one for almost 12 successive
years by the New Yorks Banker magazine. In addition to this, it has been rated AAA by the
CRISL (Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd). The bank is equipped with all the modern
and up to date technology and also a very unique versatility as a very efficient service provider.
The mission of the bank is to re define the convenience in the financial services.
Over the period of time, Commercial bank of Ceylon has strengthened their side of retail banking
as well for which it has a name in all over Sri Lanka. In 2003, the Commercial bank of Ceylon
Ltd continued their operations and reached to provide services in Bangladesh. With up to 7
branches in Bangladesh, the subsidiary turned in the favor of the bank and proved to be a
successful stride of the bank in Bangladesh. [www.combank..com]
Mission and Vision of Commercial bank of Ceylon Ltd
Vision of the bank is to become the ban of excellence in commitments and service, were as the
mission is to deliver optimum value to their employees, customers and all the other stakeholders.

Organizational Structure of Central Bank of Ceylon Ltd

[Source:www.combank.lk/newweb/annualreports_html/data/stewardship/corporate_governance.html]

Organizational structure refers to the decision-making responsibilities within a structure. (Hill,

Charles W.L. 2003). According to my personal judgement and also based on facts and findings, I
believe that the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLCs management style is purely bureaucratic
management style. The entire organization practice is based on legitimate use of formal
authority and orders.
A bureaucratic structure of an organization basically has two major characteristics. First, the
organization is governed by a specific set of rules, laws and procedures as the basis of direction
and authority. Second, the structure of the organization is hierarchical which means, there is a
clear order levels of management where the people from lower level are answerable to the higher
level. (Albrow, M 1970)

Max Webers Model of Bureaucracy

Max weber, who was a German sociologist came up with a theory of authority structures and
described that all the organizational activity was based on authority relations. As per him, the
system could be characterized by a clearly defined hierarchy, division of labor, detailed rules and
regulations. (Weber, 1947).

Authority and Hierarchy

As shown in the organizational structure of CBC, it has a authority hierarchy which follows a
distinct process in order to do a task. Authority along the hierarchical structure regulates
accountability and also the superiority of every single employee of the CBC. All the decisions
are made by the top management of the bank. In the case of subsidiary in Bangladesh, all the
decisions are made in the main branch located in Sri Lanka. The span of authority goes down to
different managers in different departments. For example, counter manager to the Chief
operating officer and then all the way to the General Manager. Information flow is strictly
maintained throughout the hierarchy. In short, its a top to bottom down structure or a system.

Division of Labor
At the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, the manager has to follow the set rules and strategies
and all the activities with the senior level manager and then the bottom level managers need to
do the same with the employees at the end level. All the strategic decisions are taken by the top
level management. CBC has divided the work activities into eight main departments which are
Finance and Accounts, underneath it are Human resource department, IT department,
International Trade, Personal and corporate banking and also customer care department as well.
The basic objective of these departments is to serve in the interest of the customer and to achieve
the goal of the bank which is To be the Bank of Excellence in Service and Commitments . On
the operational level, the bottom level management has to take care of the day to day activities.
Finally all this needs to be delivered to the last person in the hierarchy which is the end customer
who will be benefited by the service.

Formal Selection
For any organization, recruitment and selection is considered to be a very healthy organizational
activity. Recruitment procedures in the commercial bank of Ceylon commence due to promotion,
turnover or even retirement. Banks philosophy is quite similar to any other companies which is
to hire the best performers in the industry and also to develop the talent within the house and also
retain it. Various procedures for recruitment are used. This include internal job watch to the
external sources. Prerequisite criteria for the recruitment is availability, need and most
importantly skill set. Age is also a factor. Anyone below 18 or above 30 will not be hired by the
Bank.
For different positions, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC hires employees by different
means. Junior level to senior level officers are usually hired on a need basis. Recruitment at this
level is made through interviews and written test. This is done by Drop in applications. The
minimum qualification is a graduate certificate. The recruitment of Probationary officers is done
on a planned basis. It depends on the requirement of people by the business. Selection and
recruitment is done from the recognized educational institutions and also through various
contacts. Whereas the recruitment of the Lateral Entry is done through publicizing through
newspapers. Candidates are usually selected after a in depth competency based interview.

Formal Rules and Regulation

Just like any other company, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC also have a set of formal rules
and regulations and as well as a code of conduct. All the financial terms, authority and the code
of ethics has been specified in their mandate.
Some of the major internal regulations include Banks code of ethics, where it is believed that
expected standard of behaviors and principles should be followed because it is very essential to
maintain the standards of employees and the managers. Other regulations include artivles of
association of the bank, board of directors working procedure, where the senior staff will
influence all the employees. Integrated risk management procedures, and process for internal
records etc. are also part of the regulation.

Impersonality
As the CBC as a set of very strong regulations and rules, it is impossible for them to breach
them. Any decision at the bank is taken as per the rules and regulations and absolutely not
according to personal consequences. Everyone from top to bottom level follows all the mandates
set by the bank. In contrast, organization benefits are way more important than the personal
benefits. Under such strong mandate, employees are encouraged to practice followership
techniques instead of leadership ones.

Career orientation
All the mangers working for CBC are highly career professionals and they train their
subordinates accordingly. Since the beginning, the employees are told to complete work on time,
follow the mandate strongly, maintaining the code of ethics and perhaps increase the productivity
for the company. Managers also brief about the salaries, promotion bonus/benefits and as well as
other facilities at the company.
Conclusion
The traditional bureaucracy might be an opportunity in order to overcome and analyze the
problems within an organization. However, its always advisable to ask various questions in the
course of the organizational design as to how is responsibility and as well as competence
distributed within the organization. Not just this but also to figure out which way the flow of
communication should be taking place and how the various aspects of the work documented are.
Nevertheless, Webers bureaucracy is still relevant to majority of the organizations in terms of
these questions. It is certainly unimaginable to see any organization that is completely free from
this concept of bureaucracy. (Scherm E,Pietsch G 2007 , p. 17)

References
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Weber, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 151-171.

Albrow, M 1970, 'Bureaucracy (Key concepts in political science)', Palgrave Macmillan,
London. Burns T, Stalker G 1961, The Management of Innovation, Oxford University

Press, London. Boisot, M ., Child, J. 1988 , The Iron Law of Fiefs:

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Leitl, M 2005, Was ist ... Brokratie? ,Harvard Business Manager, Vol. 12, p.13 M
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B, W eiss C, 2008, Agiles Projektmanagement, dpunkt.verlag, Heidelberg 2008 Scherm
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Vienna 2007