Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Professor:
Mohammed Alazzawi.
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber
(Max Weber)
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber
(Born: April 21, 1864 in Erfurt,
Germany – Died: June 14, 1920
in Munich, Germany from
Pneumonia) was a German
political economist and
sociologist who was considered
one of the founders of the
modern study of sociology and
public administration. He began
his career at the University of
Berlin, and later worked at
Freiburg University, University of
Heidelberg, University of Vienna
and University of Munich. He
was influential in contemporary
German politics, being an
advisor to Germany's
negotiators at the Treaty of
Versailles and to the
commission charged with
drafting the Weimar
Constitution.
Weber’s Six Major Principles
A formal hierarchical structure.
Management by rules.
Organization by functional specialty.
An "up-focused" or "in-focused" mission.
Purposely impersonal.
Employment based on technical
qualifications.
Predisposition to grow in staff "above the
line."
What is bureaucracy?
Weber perceived bureaucracy as a threat to basic
personal liberties; he also recognized it as the most
efficient possible system of organizing. He predicted
the triumph of bureaucracy because of its ability to
ensure more efficient functioning of organizations in
both business and government settings. Weber
identified a set of organizational characteristics.that
could be found in successful bureaucratic
organizations.
Rules and standard procedures enabled
organizational activities to be performed in a
predictable, routine manner. Specialized duties
meant that each employee had a clear task to
perform. Hierarchy of authority provided a sensible
mechanism for supervision and control. Technical
competence was the basis by which people were
hired rather than friendship, family ties, and
favoritism, which dramatically reduced work
performance. The separation of the position from the
position holder meant that individuals did not own or
have an inherent right to the job, which promoted
efficiency. Written records provide an organizational
memory and continuity and over time.
Although bureaucratic characteristics carried to an
extreme are widely criticized today, the rational
control introduced by Weber was a significant idea
and a new form of organization.
Origin of Bureaucracy
The word Bureaucracy stems from the
words “bureau” used from the early 18th
century in Western Europe not just to refer
to a writing desk, but to an office or
workplace, where officials worked. The
original French meaning of the word
Bureau was the baize used to cover desks.
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is the structure and set of
regulation in place to control activity,
usually in large organizations and
government. It is characterized by rule
following procedures, formal division of
responsibility, hierarchy and impersonal
relationships. In practice the interpretation
and execution of policy can lead to informal
influence.
Precision.
Speed.
Clarity in communication.
Reduction of friction.
Reduction of personal costs.
Disadvantages of Bureaucracy
Multiplication of administrative
functions
Vertical structure
Many levels of management
Much paperwork, routine and "red
tape"
Impersonal officials working to a
fixed routine without necessarily
exercising intelligent judgment.
Each department has its own agenda, and
departments don’t cooperate to help other
departments get the job done.
The head of a department feels responsible
first for protecting the department, its people
and its budget, even before helping to achieve
the organization’s mission.
There is political in-fighting, with executives
striving for personal advancement and power.
Ideas can be killed because they come from
the "wrong" person. Ideas will be supported
because the are advanced by the "right"
person.
People in their own department spend much
of their time protecting their department’s
"turf."
•People in other departments spend so much time
protecting their "turf" that they don’t have time to do the
work they are responsible to do.
• They are treated as though they can’t be trusted.
• They are treated as though they don’t have good
judgment.
• They are treated as though they won’t work hard unless
pushed.
• Their work environment includes large amounts of
unhealthy stress.
• The tendency of the organization is to grow top-heavy,
while the operating units of the organization tend to be too
lean.
• Promotions are more likely to be made on the basis of
politics, rather than actual achievements on the job.
Information is hoarded or kept secret and used as
the basis for power.
Top managers are dangerously ill-informed and
insulated from what is happening on the front lines
or in "the field."
Data is used selectively, or distorted to make
performance look better than it really is.
Internal communications to employees are
distorted to reflect what the organization would like
to be, rather than what it really is.
Mistakes and failures are denied, covered up or
ignored.
Responsibility for mistakes and failure tends to be
denied, and where possible, blame is shifted to
others.
Decisions are made by larger and larger groups, so
no one can be held accountable.
•Decisions are made based on the perceived desires
of superiors, rather than concern for mission
achievement.
• Policies, practices and procedures tend to grow
endlessly and to be followed more and more rigidly.
• Senior managers become so insulated from the
realities of the front line that they may use
stereotypical thinking and out-of-date experience in
making decisions.
• Quantitative measurements are favored over
qualitative measurements, so the concentration is
on quantities of output, with less and less concern
for quality of output.
• Both employees and customers are treated more
as numbers than people. Personal issues and
human needs are ignored or discounted.
Conclusion
Bureaucracy is often accused of robbing
the human spirit and robbing organizational
participants of their freedom and dignity by
eliminating official business love, hatred
and all purely personal, irrational and
emotional elements.