Max Weber Bureaucracy Essay

A bureaucracy is a way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need to work

Organization is based on several levels with each different authority. Information flows gradually from the bottom to the top level, as well as tiered command line from top to bottom. Hierarchical system as it was made into a rigid bureaucracy and made the decision-making process becomes fragmented because of the flow of information and commands only run vertically. For example, the organizational structure of the Ministry of Internal Transport of Sri Langka at least has seven levels of bureaucracy, from bottom to higher levels start from additional deputy director, deputy director, director, additional secretary, secretary, deputy minister, and minister. Such hierarchy is likely to cause substantial distortion, in terms of information delivery from the bottom to the top and in terms of translating messages or orders from

Political authority over the bureaucracy is not in one set of hands, but shared among several institutions

What is a bureaucracy? Tolbert and Hall (2009) describe in the text, a large formal organization with the characteristics of having, a division of labor, a hierarchy of authority, a set of written rules, resources that are clearly separated from home and the organization, and group of members who are appointed according to qualifications (P. 22). These were the key elements Max Weber, a German scholar described for an ideal type of bureaucracy.

The term bureaucracy was coined by a well-known sociologist named Max Weber in 1947. He used this term to describe corporations that held five main characteristics. These characteristics include, hierarchical authority structure, a division of labor, written rules, written communications and records, and impersonality and replaceability. In the modern day world, it is easy to see several bureaucracies in place, however, one bureaucracy that is personally close to all Grand Canyon University students is the institution of Grand Canyon University (GCU). This is a great example of a bureaucracy due to the fact that it embraces all five characteristics of a bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy refers to the system of government where most of the critical decisions regarding the operations of the government are undertaken by the state officials as opposed to the elected representatives. It is vital in enhancing the ways through which inclusivity is realized in the operations of the American government in the modern society.

Max Weber concluded that the formation of a government bureaucracy is critical to its success in administrating public goods and the interests of the government. The disadvantages and advantages are numerous on both sides of bureaucratic theory. One of the major cons of bureaucracy is the system of patronage. The patronage system is basically where the president appoints individuals to certain positions as Public Administrators as a reward for their service to them. This system of bureaucracy also supports the spoils system which runs along the lines of political parties. In this system all Public Administrators are fired by the new political party in office to ensure their ideals and agenda are promoted.

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.

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.”

With the creation of new states and the intervention of government in everyday life of citizens necessitated the need for ideal-type of bureaucracy. Everywhere whether in developed or developing nations, bureaucratic structure is a common phenomenon.

Weber states that organizations regulations are formed by few people and this people are the boss, administration employee who tends to have representation powers (Roth and Wittich, 1968). Weber states that the state tends to use bureaucracy on its people in order to establish authority. Bureaucracy is present in various areas in the environment and once bureaucracy is produced then it becomes difficult to

According to Miles et al. (1978, p. 547), an organization is both its purpose and the mechanism constructed to achieve the purpose. It means that the concept of organization is embracing both goals and all the elements that represent unique combination. Miles et al. (1978, p. 553) draws the conclusion that structure and the processes taking place inside the organization are closely aligned; it is hard to speak about one without mentioning the other. It is important to understand the conclusion drawn by Miles et al. (1978). It illustrates how the

Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit institutional rules and policies designed to outline how various work roles and responsibilities are delegated, controlled and coordinated. Organizational structure also determines how information flows from level to level within the company (investopedia.com, 2017). If one level or department does not undertake its function accurately the entire business suffers, because all the departments interrelated to each other. There are generally four types of organizational structure:

The division of labor dictates the degree to which responsibilities are subdivided into separate units. It is communicated through job descriptions, and ensures each employee has specific duties to perform based on their work experience, education, and capability.

Karl Marx believes that division of labour means a way in which workers of an organization were given a job at which they were good at or at which they had their specialty in. Max Weber viewed division of labour as an important element or characteristic of any bureaucratic organization that is functioning in the modern society. Emile Durkheim believed that division of labour was the outcome of a societal procedure that takes place within the structure of the society than the result of choices that have been made by individuals.