Regelorganisation

Regelorganisation, often translated as rule-based organization, is a form of organizational design that relies on predefined rules, formal procedures, and standardized work processes to govern behavior and decision-making. In regelorganisation, authority and tasks are codified in documented regulations, job descriptions, and process manuals, and execution follows these rules rather than improvised judgments. The approach aims to create predictability, consistency, and control across activities.

Key features include formalization, extensive documentation, clear separation between planning and execution, standardized workflows, and the use of information systems to enforce compliance. Rules typically cover responsibilities, sequences of actions, decision criteria, and quality or safety requirements. This form of organization is often accompanied by formal training, audits, and performance measurement tied to rule adherence.

Contexts of use encompass public administration, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and other service sectors where uniformity, traceability, and regulatory compliance are important. Advantages include improved reliability, easier onboarding, better quality control, and enhanced accountability. Disadvantages include rigidity, slower adaptation to change, increased bureaucratic overhead, and a risk that rule-following overshadows outcome-oriented problem solving.

Relation to other concepts includes bureaucracy, standard operating procedures, process management, and compliance regimes. See also: Bureaucracy, Standard operating procedure, Process management, ISO standards. For historians of management theory, regelorganisation is often discussed in relation to formalization and the trade-offs between control and flexibility in organizational design.