MEANING OF BUREAUCRACY The term Bureaucracy comes from the French word bureau which means office or desk and it combines this word with the Greek word kratos which means rule or political power. Although there were many who gave various definitions of bureaucracy but it was Max Webber a German sociologist who conducted a formal study on bureaucracy and his work led to the popularization of this term. The definition of bureaucracy given by Max Webber was “Bureaucracy is an organisational structure that is characterised by many rules, standardised processes, procedures and requirements, number of desks, meticulous division of labour and responsibility, clear hierarchies and professional, almost impersonal interactions between employees”.
Max
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As a result, lifetime employment is offered. It is expected from the members to pursue a career in the organisation. In return for this career commitment, employees are offered a tenure which means they will be retained in the organisation even if they burn out or their skills become obsolete.
ADVANTAGES OF BUREAUCRACY
1) Creativity thrives within a bureaucracy- Although a bureaucracy is considered as a large mass of rules and regulations; it also represents a place where responsibility is compulsory. People who work inside a bureaucratic system often have a higher level of qualifications than the general public, they have more self-direction, are more open-minded, and utilise their creativity in ways that promote the general good in comparision to those who are not bureaucrats.
2) Job security is provided- The structure of a bureaucratic system creates more job security than any other forms of oversight. If a worker obeys the rules and regulations that govern their position, then they will be rewarded with specific benefits and a fixed salary that will allow them to live the lifestyle they wish for. Health insurance, vacation time, and also a retirement pension can be included as part of the security a bureaucracy
According to Morgan he describes how organizations “are designed like machines, and their employees are in essence expected to behave as if they were parts of the machine” (Morgan, 13). Organizations that are “designed and operated as if they were machines are … usually called bureaucracies” (Morgan, 13). One of the benefits of having a bureaucracy is that it allows employees to work on one key function of the organization. It can enhance the organization’s internal controls and safeguard its assets by making people responsible to depend on others in order to carry out a specific
Although some might believe that bureaucrats are always trying to expand their agencies, researches have proved that is not always the case. Instead, they try to validate their position by doing a good job for the people.
Bureaucracy involves non-elected agents that are often seen as the “worker bees” of government such as those in civil service. They execute the law through an organized structure that maintains specific functions, rules, and procedures. They must not be taken for granted. One example of the use of regulations would be the FDA’s role to ensure American health through appropriate regulation of new medication. Through the effective hierarchal organization, duties are completed faster and more efficiently. Some also argue that bureaucracy decreases room for favoritism and all have equal opportunity. For example, all students applying for loans will have their application reviewed, thus creating an equal opportunity for all. Similarly, bureaucracy allows for the hiring of expert officials who show merit and gives the opportunity to be promoted. While they are not involved the process of policy
A bureaucracy is a way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need to work
Rights, the writings of the Enlightenment, and rights defined in the Magna Carta, the Bill Of Rights today consider being fundamental to America. As we have discussed a strength and weakness of the Constitution, there are discrepancies as well with that of a national policy implemented by the federal bureaucracy.
What I read about reducing the cost of the national bureaucracy was Under the Hood: The Cost of Bureaucracy by Allison Gofman. The major points of her article are that there are many different agencies, departments, and groups of people who deal with the same things throughout the government. With having many different groups of people dealing with the same issues, there isn't one federal bureaucracy. Instead, its a bunch of different groups with their own interests and own opinions on one topic. The article also states that "public bureaucracies are not designed for efficiency" and I can see why. The bureaucracies just want to have power and influence over decisions that their agency gets to make at later dates.
Bureaucracy was one of the most popular theories developed and is used in some modern organisations such as the NHS and the Police. Through the years bureaucracy has developed a bad reputation for de-humanizing jobs (Grey, 30) “In the ideal-type, people are no more than parts in a well-oiled machine –devoid of passion, prejudice and personality”, although some people prefer this structure (Handy, 22) “No one, it seems, approves of bureaucracy except, interestingly, lots of people in organisations who like to know where they stand.”
Americans depend on government bureaucracies to accomplish most of what we expect from government, and we are oftentimes critical of a bureaucracy’s handling of its responsibilities. Bureaucracy is essential for carrying out the tasks of government. As government bureaucracies grew in the twentieth century, new management techniques sought to promote greater efficiency. The reorganization of the government to create the Department of Homeland Security and the Bush administration’s simultaneous push to contract out jobs to private employers raises the question as to whether the government or the private sector can best manage our national security. Ironically, the criticism of the bureaucracy may be a product
The word “bureaucracy” has a negative connotation to many people. The fact is that our current system of government would not be able to survive without bureaucracies. The bureaucracy has become the “fourth branch” of the government, it has quasi-legislative and judicial powers and in it’s own field its authority is rarely challenged. The presence of these large, inefficient structures is necessary if the American people want to continue receiving the benefits that they expect.
In his book, Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies do and why they do it, James Q. Wilson’s main objective is to better define the behavior of governmental bureaucracy, believing traditional organizational and economic theory does not adequately explain their actions. Wilson believes that government agencies are doomed to be perceived as inefficient entities by the public. He gives examples of commonly held perceptions of bureaucracies and reveals how these are mostly misconceptions. He points to the environment of bureaucracy, where rules and procedures, dictate goals, along with context, constraints, values, and norms.
Bureaucrat is a dirty word to some people in modern society, so how can a bureaucracy be a good thing? Many Public Administration theorist, argue that bureaucracy is essential to the growth and expansion of the United States. Most of the criticism of the bureaucracy within the government is based on myth versus reality. Federal agencies play a critical and a valuable role within society and are indispensable to the operations of the federal government. Bureaucracy can be simply defined as the system in which decision are made by Public Administrators rather than elected officials (legislator) within the government. However, when the average citizen of just says the single word bureaucracy thoughts and images of evoked over how negative
Abstract: The theory of bureaucracy was proposed and published by Marx Weber (1947). Although there are some studies on this perspective were discussed before him, those theories did not form as systematic theory. After Weber, the issue of bureaucracy becomes a hot topic in the field of social organization. Almost all well-known scholars such as Martin and Henri have published their views on it. Bureaucracy adapted as the traditional organizational model during industrial society, essentially, bureaucracy could exist rational. This essay firstly will review the principle of bureaucracy in organization based on organizational design perspective. Secondly, it will analyze the strengths and weakness of
The word bureaucracy derived from “bureau” and “cracy”. The word “bureau” means office or desk and “cracy”means power or rule. Thus bureaucracy means desk government.
“Bureaucracy is becoming more and more independent and powerful and the rules governing the exercise of that power are not clearly defined; hence bureaucracy poses a threat to the democratic political structure and to the politicians who run it. And yet, a, powerful, independent bureaucracy is also necessary for the prevention of political corruption and for the safe guarding of proper democratic procedures.” Therefore having bureaucracy as party of the democracy it’s the best because it helps to maintain corruption, it’s also helps increasing the economy and social activities, helps with the delivering of services to the people. Examples of everyday bureaucracies include governments, armed forces, corporations, hospitals, courts. The people who
The word Bureau means office and Kracy means usage. So, bureaucracy refers to a form of social organization which is managed by strict rules and regulation and which has a goal of achieving technical superiority over any social organization. But