Weber's Ideal Bureaucracy
NAME: Sherry-Ann S. Jacobs
COURSE CODE: SOCI1002
COURSE NAME: Sociology for the Caribbean
E-TUTOR: Mr. Lance Gibbs
DATE: June 14, 2012
QUESTION:
"Weber 's ideal bureaucracy worked well for large organizational structures in the 20th century. Globalization, with its changing patterns of work, has presented new challenges for the efficiency of this type of approach to modern organizations in the Caribbean." Evaluate this statement.
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Max Weber (1864-1920) was one of the main developers of the idea of bureaucratic management in the late nineteenth century. He advocated doing away with systems of management that were based on traditions and personal connection, and replacing them with systems in which roles existed independently of the individuals who occupied them.
In light of this, bureaucracy is defined as ‘the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department; administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.’ “To fully appreciate and understand the work of Max Weber, one therefore has to keep the historic context in mind, and not "just" see his work as a caricature of bureaucratic models.” Max Weber lived in a time when many theorists were working on improving the efficiency of industrial processes. According to Jagg Xaxx, Weber advocated a management system that emphasizes clearly defined roles for management and labor. This system is designed to do away with excess and superfluous interaction, movement and communication in order to maximize productive work. The development of this theory can be seen as the reflection of an era in which machines were assuming the workload across many industries and becoming an integral part of people 's lives, making them more receptive to the idea of a workplace as a giant machine. Prior to the dawn of the age of bureaucracy, social and financial roles were
COURSE CODE: SOCI1002
COURSE NAME: Sociology for the Caribbean
E-TUTOR: Mr. Lance Gibbs
DATE: June 14, 2012
QUESTION:
"Weber 's ideal bureaucracy worked well for large organizational structures in the 20th century. Globalization, with its changing patterns of work, has presented new challenges for the efficiency of this type of approach to modern organizations in the Caribbean." Evaluate this statement.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Max Weber (1864-1920) was one of the main developers of the idea of bureaucratic management in the late nineteenth century. He advocated doing away with systems of management that were based on traditions and personal connection, and replacing them with systems in which roles existed independently of the individuals who occupied them.
In light of this, bureaucracy is defined as ‘the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department; administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine.’ “To fully appreciate and understand the work of Max Weber, one therefore has to keep the historic context in mind, and not "just" see his work as a caricature of bureaucratic models.” Max Weber lived in a time when many theorists were working on improving the efficiency of industrial processes. According to Jagg Xaxx, Weber advocated a management system that emphasizes clearly defined roles for management and labor. This system is designed to do away with excess and superfluous interaction, movement and communication in order to maximize productive work. The development of this theory can be seen as the reflection of an era in which machines were assuming the workload across many industries and becoming an integral part of people 's lives, making them more receptive to the idea of a workplace as a giant machine. Prior to the dawn of the age of bureaucracy, social and financial roles were
References: Borgatti P. Stephen. (April 02, 2002). Bureaucracy. Retrieved on June 13, 2012 from: http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/bureau.htm Xaxx Retrieved on June 11, 2012, from: http://www.ehow.com/info_7753640_modern-management-theory- max-weber.html Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy Social change and Modern Organizations. Unit 4. Retrieved on June 11, 2012, from: http://courses.open.uwi.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=37534 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES Signature: S. Jacobs Date: June 14, 2012