Characteristics Of Modern Bureaucracy

Max Weber was a German sociologist who first described the concept of bureaucracy, an ideal form of organizational structure. He defines bureaucratic administration as the exercise of control on the

The institutions and traditions of American life have contributed to the growth of adversary culture, which protects the personal rights of people and the expansion of those rights.

The Constitution is a plan to help the government help the people. There are many events that helped form the Constitution, but here are a few; Shay’s Rebellion, The Stamp, Sugar, and Quartering Acts, The Revolutionary War, and the First Constitutional Convention. The Constitution once worked for the United States, but we have since expanded. We have advanced technologically, we have a risk of an aristocracy, and the Constitution doesn’t give everyone representation.

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.

Some have seriously misinterpreted Weber and have claimed that he liked bureaucracy, that he believed that bureaucracy was an "ideal" organization. Others have pronounced Weber "wrong" because bureaucracies do not live up to his list of "ideals". Others have even claimed that Weber "invented" bureaucratic organization. But Weber described bureaucracy as an “ideal type” in order to more accurately describes their growth in power and scope in the modern world. His studies of bureaucracy still form the core of organizational sociology.

The environment and the state of affairs in which Max Weber developed the theory of bureaucracy were different from the present welfare states. Modern states are complex and difficult to maintain thus the validity of bureaucracy is questioned in the face of these challenges.

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

Weber’s bureaucratic approach focuses on the importance of hierarchy by putting great emphasis on the use of rules, procedures and making impartial personnel decisions when managing. He put great emphasis on the jurisdiction, explaining that work should be “divided according to type and purpose” staying within the correct working unit just as the organization’s rules and laws would state (Milakovich, et. al., 2013, p. 146). A hierarchy would be established with a chain of command clearly identifying a system of super- and

While he highlights a lot of positives, he also saw a lot of issues within bureaucracy. Webers’ bureaucracy is a bottom line model that values calculable decision making over all else. Within this model are the people, or parts, that can be replaced if they cause a decrease in productivity. The issue becomes that the rationalized view of bureaucratic systems is unable to see individuals and respond to individual needs. There is a format and if someone does not fit in, or if they begin to fall behind, there is no understanding or support. His argument is that the bureaucratization of our world has made it depersonalized.

Weber saw that modern officialdom functioned according to six principles: (1) Fixed and official jurisdictional areas which are ordered by rules, that is laws and administrative regulations. (2) Hierarchy and levels of graded authority where the lower offices are supervised by the higher ones. (3) Management is based on official documents (the files). (4) The officials have

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

Max Weber's theory of rationalization is an extensively studied theory within sociology. Weber’s theory uses the model of bureaucracy to symbolize the constant shifting ways of our society. Rationalization is the process of replacing rationally consistent rules for conventional or rather illogical rules within society. According to Weber, bureaucracy is the fundamental model of rational rule. They are extremely predictable, in both the job process but also labor production. Bureaucracies are more worried with the amount of production than the value of the product itself. Weber viewed this structure as ineffective and completely flawed.

Using the film Article 99, by Howard Deutch (CITE) I will be evaluating Weber’s two main claims in his theory about bureaucracy which are 1) bureaucracy is becoming more and more prevalent and 2) bureaucracy is becoming more efficient. In order to evaluate Weber’s claims I will be using examples from the film Article 99, and addressing two questions: 1) to what degree did the VA hospital in the film exhibit the characteristics of Weber’s “ideal type” of a bureaucracy?, and 2) taking the alternative, informal system Sturgess and his colleagues developed as an example of a non-bureaucratic structure, to what degree do I agree with Weber’s claim about bureaucracy’s “technical superiority over any other form of organization”? Weber argued that “the decisive reason for the advance of bureaucratic organization has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form of organization” (Bureaucracy 214). In other words, that organization’s which were run being one-hundred percent bureaucratic were more efficient; efficient meaning an organization that gets the job done quickly, with minimal waste and accomplish the goals of the organization. In the case of the film the goal of the hospital, was illustrated in the entrance of the hospital by the quote that read, “To care for them who have borne the battle” meaning that the mission of the hospital is to help all those veterans who have defended and secured our freedom. I will argue that Weber was incorrect about a

As society has grown over the years, people have continued to group themselves together in unique ways to accomplish certain goals. One of these formal groups, studied and named by Max Weber, is called a bureaucracy (Larkin, 2015). A bureaucracy is defined as “A type of formal organization, most often a governmental organization made up of nonelected members, the constituent parts of which are integrated to accomplish a specific goal, task, or production outcome in the most efficient manner” (Larkin, 2015). In American society, bureaucracies exist in countless forms and are found in almost every walk of life. As a student at Grand Canyon University, Associate Students of Grand Canyon University (ASGCU) is a formal bureaucracy that many students are familiar with on campus. ASGCU is the standing student government organization at GCU and meets the characteristics of a bureaucracy by having specialization, a hierarchical authority structure, emphasis on written rules and regulations to be followed, written communication, and an emphasis on credentials and technical competence.