Review the following scenario: You work for a formal organization in the United States that has an open, flexible organizational structure as described in Figure 5-5 on p. 126 of Society. You have a relative, Micah, who works for a formal organization with a conventional, bureaucratic organizational structure. Micah is interested in working for your organization, but he does not have the education or skill set to work there. He says he wishes that his company would adopt a flexible organizational structure, but doubts it is possible. You explain to Micah that you have been studying the evolution of formal organizations in your sociology class and that you would like to conduct some research to determine how formal organizations, such as the one Micah works for, are likely to evolve in the future.

• Write a 1,050- to 1,750-word paper summarizing your research results and cite 3 to 5 sources from the Online Library.

• Address the following areas in your paper:

• Elucidate how formal organizations have evolved over the past century. What differences were there in organizations a century ago, compared to today's organizations? What are the current trends in formal organizations?

• Review the characteristics in the Summing Up table on p. 121 in the text, and describe how each of the characteristics for formal organizations must evolve or change in Micah's organization to become more open and flexible. For example, how will activities or relationships need to change?

• Locate 3 to 5 articles or case studies in the Online Library that discuss future trends in formal organizations and predict whether these trends are likely to take place in the future. Explain your reasoning for each of the predictions.

• Make an overall prediction based on your research results: how are formal organizations, such as Micah's, likely to evolve in the future?