Bureaucracy
What is bureaucracy?
The word "bureaucracy" stems from the word "bureau", used from the early 18th century in Western Europe not just to refer to a writing desk, but to an office, i.e. a workplace, where officials worked.
1. A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
2. A state or organization governed or managed according to such a system.
3. An administrative or social system that relies on a set of rules and procedures, separation of functions and a hierarchical structure in implementing controls over an organization, government or social system. Large administrative staffs are most common in large organizations that need standardized rules and procedures or consistency across a wide range of business activities.
“Characteristics of Bureaucracy”
Bureaucracy refers to the management of large organizations characterized by hierarchy, fixed rules, impersonal relationships, rigid adherence to procedures, and a highly specialized division of labor.
Weber suggests the characteristics of bureaucracy as following :
1. There is the principle of fixed official jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules, that is, by laws or administrative regulations.
2. The principles of office hieararchy and of levels of grade authority mean a firmly ordered system of super and subordination in which there is a supervision of the lower offices by the higher ones.
3. The management of modern offices is based upon written documents (“the files”), which are preserved in their original or draught form.
4. Office management, at least all specialized office management – and such management is distinctly modern – usually presupposes thorough and expert training.
5. When the office is fully developed, official activity demands the full working capacity of the official, irrespective of the fact that his obligatory time in the bureau may be firmly delimited.
6- The
The word "bureaucracy" stems from the word "bureau", used from the early 18th century in Western Europe not just to refer to a writing desk, but to an office, i.e. a workplace, where officials worked.
1. A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
2. A state or organization governed or managed according to such a system.
3. An administrative or social system that relies on a set of rules and procedures, separation of functions and a hierarchical structure in implementing controls over an organization, government or social system. Large administrative staffs are most common in large organizations that need standardized rules and procedures or consistency across a wide range of business activities.
“Characteristics of Bureaucracy”
Bureaucracy refers to the management of large organizations characterized by hierarchy, fixed rules, impersonal relationships, rigid adherence to procedures, and a highly specialized division of labor.
Weber suggests the characteristics of bureaucracy as following :
1. There is the principle of fixed official jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules, that is, by laws or administrative regulations.
2. The principles of office hieararchy and of levels of grade authority mean a firmly ordered system of super and subordination in which there is a supervision of the lower offices by the higher ones.
3. The management of modern offices is based upon written documents (“the files”), which are preserved in their original or draught form.
4. Office management, at least all specialized office management – and such management is distinctly modern – usually presupposes thorough and expert training.
5. When the office is fully developed, official activity demands the full working capacity of the official, irrespective of the fact that his obligatory time in the bureau may be firmly delimited.
6- The