Bureaucratic theory
The bureaucratic theory of public administration owes its
existence to Max Weber and his magnum opus Economy and Society published in
1922. It was Weber who popularized the term and in his book gave a glimpse of
the extensive research he had carried out by studying ancient and modern states
to understand the working of the bureaucracies in different eras. Bureaucratic theory Before we
dive into the details regarding Weber’s ideas of bureaucracy, it would be
interesting to understand his background and education to appreciate his
philosophy and thoughts that run like a common thread all through his work.
Max Weber was a German political economist, Bureaucratic theory philosopher and
a social scientist who along with Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx is considered to
be one of the three founding pillars of sociology. Weber was a student of law
and history throughout his career and later joined the Berlin University as a
faculty and lectured and consulted for the Government. Weber was greatly
influenced by the Neo-Kantianism wave that swept Germany during the 1860s.
Heinrich Rickert the foremost scholars of Neo-Kantianism in Germany was a
professional colleague of Weber in the University of Freiburg.
The Neo-Kantianism or the Back to Kant movement of 1860s was
to revisit the theories of Immanual Kant the most important and influential of
Bureaucratic theory German philosophers and scholars of the 18th century. The scope of this article
is limited to throw light on Kant and his philosophies however it is advisable
to the readers to read a little about Kant and his work to get a better
understanding regarding Neo-Kantianism.
Influenced by Heinrich Rickert and Kant, Weber came to a
central core of his theories and that was Rationalization. Weber promulgated
rationalization in all areas of life like economy, politics, society, culture
and even religion. He went on further to say that Rationalization was the basis
of the modern western society. Having said that, let us now make an effort to
understand Weber’s work in the areas of social sciences.
In his seminal work Economy and Society, Weber goes to
extreme lengths to trace the evolution of bureaucracy and the State and their
relations with each other. He cites the Chinese and the African empires that
degenerated because of the lack of bureaucracy and methods of administration
and the ancient Roam Empire which disintegrated because of increasing
bureaucratization.
According to Weber, the need for bureaucratization in the
ancient empire state arises from the maintenance of armies, public finances and
most importantly power and politics. In the modern times however, the
complexity within the civilization is ever increasing and therefore the demands
from the administration are also getting complex.
Weber also emphasizes the importance of communication in
running the bureaucracy of a State and adds that they act as pacemakers and are
the prerequisites of the possibility of bureaucratic administration.
Trained bureaucracy is superior to other kinds of
administration in many ways like efficiency, accuracy or precision, unity,
discretion, continuation, cost and reducing overall friction in the government
functioning. Weber went on to characterize a bureaucratic state by certain
behavioral and structural features like:
Weber also came up with the term called Rational-Legal
authority which characterizes the modern liberal states. The tripartite
classification of authority proposed by Bureaucratic theory Weber explains that the states travel
from Charismatic Authority to Traditional Authority and finally arrive at
Rational-Legal Authority. The Rational-Legal Authority upholds that an
individual or an institution has powers emanating from the legal offices that
they hold. Once they leave, the power is lost as the power is associated with
the office and not the office holder.
The above Rational-Legal power lies at the core of the
modern bureaucracies and is practiced widely across the world. The writing of
constitutions and documents, establishing offices and institutions and holding
elections are all in conformity to this kind of authority practiced by political
systems in mature states.
Weber visited the United States in 1904 to study the U.S.
economy. It was here that he observed the spirit of capitalism. He noted that
capitalism in the United States encouraged competition and innovation. He also
realized that businesses were run by professional managers and that they were
linked through economic relationships. He contrasted this with capitalistic
practices in Germany where a small group of powerful people controlled the
economy. In Germany, tradition dictated behaviors. People were given positions
of authority based on their social standing and connections, and businesses
were linked by family and social relationships.
Weber was concerned that authority was not a function of
experience and ability, but won by social status. Because of this, managers
were not loyal to the organization. Organizational resources were used for the
benefit of owners and managers rather than to meet organizational goals. Bureaucratic theory Weber
was convinced that organizations based on rational authority, where authority
was given to the most competent and qualified people, would be more efficient
than those based on who you knew. Weber called this type of rational organization
a bureaucracy.
Weber thought bureaucracy would result in the highest level
of efficiency, rationality, and worker satisfaction. In fact, he felt that
bureaucracy was so logical that it would transform all of society.
Unfortunately, Weber did not anticipate that each of the bureaucratic
characteristics could also have a negative result. Bureaucratic theory For example, division of
labor leads to specialized and highly skilled workers, but it also can lead to
tedium and boredom. Formal rules and regulations lead to uniformity and
predictability, but they also can lead to excessive procedures and “red tape.”
In spite of its potential problems, some form of bureaucracy is the dominant
form of most large organizations today. The “pyramid” organizational structure,
with responsibility split into divisions, departments, and teams, is based on
principles of bureaucracy. It is used by nearly all large corporations. Weber’s
idea that hiring and promotion should be based on qualifications, not social
standing, is built into U.S. labor laws.