Weber on Bureaucracy

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Outline and discuss Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy. Max Weber was a German sociologist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research and sociology itself. The term bureaucracy came about in Weber’s studies which were published in 1947. It described a rational form of organisation that exists today to some extent in practically every organisation whether it is public or private. The rationality of bureaucracy is a central idea within Weber’s ideal. Weber concluded that these large-scale organisations were similar. They all had similar characteristic which made them all bureaucracies; management by rules, division of labour, formal hierarchal structure, workers hired on competence and written documents. Bureaucratic institutions were formed as a way to manage large scale collective action to increase organisation and coordination. Bureaucracies are formed in a hierarchal structure of authority in which commands flow downward and information flows upward. Weber noted additional features of rational bureaucracies that are simple extensions of the five already outlined. To ensure expert management, appointment and promotion are based on merit rather than favouritism and these appointed treat their positions as full time primary careers. Furthermore, Weber stressed that rational bureaucracies must be managed in accordance with carefully developed rules and principles and that decisions must be recorded so that rules can be reviewed. Only with those rules can the activities of hundreds of managers at different levels in the organization be predicted and co-ordinated. If we cannot predict what others will do, we cannot count on them. • The affects of bureaucracy are primarily more to be considered disadvantages than advantages. • However, clear rules and regulation mean that there is more control over the employees. • The

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