Organizational Demotion and the Process of Bureaucratization

Demotion, a generally neglected topic in the literature, is rarely linked to the process of bureaucratization, though this link is clearly implied in Weber's ideal bureaucratic type. This paper, with data comprising the careers of 884 men spanning 80 years in the development of a bureaucratizing organization, attempts to show that (1) demotion as a sanctioning process was utilized increasingly in the bureaucratization of the organization, that (2) dismissal declined, that (3) the various social types among the members were differentially subjected to demotion over time, and that (4) this was due partly to the organization's bureaucratization. For future research, the data show a promising connection between bureaucratization and the demotion process.