Question

In a bureaucracy, a manager's formal authority derives from:

A. his or her social standing and personal contacts.

B. informal rule-of-thumb knowledge.

C. intuitive knowledge.

D. codifying the new methods of performing tasks into written rules.

E. the position he or she holds in the organization.

Answer 1

In a bureaucracy, a manager's formal authority stems from the position they occupy within the organizational hierarchy, adhering to clear divisions of labor and explicit rules.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a bureaucracy, a manager's formal authority derives from the position he or she holds in the organization. This hierarchy of authority within bureaucracies entails that each person in the organization has a specified position with certain responsibilities and must report to superiors, forming a clear chain of command. This structure is characterized by a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and impersonality, which means that the roles people play are important, not their personalities or personal relationships.

Thus, the correct answer to the student's question is: E. the position he or she holds in the organization.