Bureaucracy is a sociological concept of government and its institutions as an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Organizational structure is the way in which the interrelated groups of an organization are constructed. ... You all suck, except the man at the top. ... Social relation refers to a multitude of social interactions, regulated by social norm, between two or more people, each having a social position and performing a social role. ...

Examples of everyday bureaucracies include governments, armed forces, corporations, hospitals, courts, ministries, or schools. Armed forces are the military forces of a state. ... http://www. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... A ministry is a department of a government, led by a minister. ... Japanese secondary school students in uniform. ...

Max Weber on bureaucracy

Max Weber has probably been one of the most influential users of the word in its social science sense. He is well-known for his study of bureaucratization of society; many aspects of modern public administration go back to him; a classic, hierarchically organized civil service of the continental type is—if basically mistakenly—called "Weberian civil service". Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. ... Terms like SOSE (Studies of Society & the Environment) not only refer to social sciences but also studies of the environment. ... Public administration is, broadly speaking, the implementation of policy within a state framework. ... A civil servant or public servant is a civilian career public-sector employee working for a government department or agency. ... Continental may refer to: The adjective of continent, such as in continental Europe, continental breakfast, or continental climate; The culture of the continental nation states of Europe, inasmuch as it contrasts with the culture of Anglo-Saxon England; Continental Motors, an aircraft engine manufacturer in the United States; Continental AG...

However, contrary to popular belief, "bureaucracy" was an English word before Weber; the Oxford English Dictionary cites usage in several different years between 1818 and 1860, prior to Weber's birth in 1864. The term can characterize either governmental or nongovernmental organizations and comes from the French word bureaucratie, from bureau "office, desk" and the greek suffix -kratia "power". It was first used by 18th century French economist Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay (1712-1759). The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... An economist is someone who studies Economics. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Weber described the ideal type bureaucracy in positive terms, considering it to be a more rational and efficient form of organization than the alternatives that preceded it, which he characterized as charismatic domination and traditional domination. According to his terminology, bureaucracy is part of legal domination. However, he also emphasized that bureaucracy becomes inefficient when a decision must be adopted to an individual case. Ideal type, also know as pure type, or idealtyp (in the original German), is an typological term invented by sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). ... This article needs cleanup. ... Traditional authority (also known as traditional domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to the tradition. ... Rational-legal authority (also known as rational authority, legal authority, rational domination, legal domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. ...

According to Weber, the attributes of modern bureaucracy include its impersonality, concentration of the means of administration, a leveling effect on social and economic differences and implementation of a system of authority that is practically indestructible.

Weber's analysis of bureaucracy concerns:

• the historical and administrative reasons for the process of bureaucratization (especially in the Western civilisation)
• the impact of the rule of law upon the functioning of bureaucratic organisations
• the typical personal orientation and occupational position of a bureaucratic officials as a status group
• the most important attributes and consequences of bureaucracy in the modern world

A bureaucratic organisation is governed by the following seven principles: For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... The rule of law implies that government authority may only be exercised in accordance with written laws, which were adopted through an established procedure. ... The sociologist Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification in which he defines status class (also known as a status group) as a group of people (part of a society) that can be differentiated on the basis of non-economical qualities like honour, prestige and religion. ...

1. official business is conducted on a continuous basis
2. official business is conducted with strict accordance to the following rules:
   1. the duty of each official to do certain types of work is delimited in terms of impersonal criteria
   2. the official is given the authority necessary to carry out his assigned functions
   3. the means of coercion at his disposal are strictly limited and conditions of their use strictly defined
3. every official's responsibilities and authority are part of a vertical hierarchy of authority, with respective rights of supervision and appeal
4. officials do not own the resources necessary for the performance of their assigned functions but are accountable for their use of these resources
5. official and private business and income are strictly separated
6. offices cannot be appropriated by their incumbents (inherited, sold, etc.).
7. official business is conducted on the basis of written documents

A bureaucratic official:

• is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct
• he exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties
• his appointment and job placement are dependent upon his technical qualifications
• his administrative work is a full-time occupation
• his work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career

An official must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service of a higher authority; ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.

Criticism

As Max Weber himself noted, in reality no ideal type organisation can exist. Thus the real bureaucracy will be less optimal and effective than his ideal model. Each of Weber's seven principles can degenerate:

• vertical hierarchy of authority can became chaotic, some offices can be omitted in the decision making process, there may be conflicts of competence;
• competences can be unclear and used contrary to the spirit of the law; sometimes a decision itself may be considered more important than its effect;
• nepotism, corruption, political infighting and other degenerations can counter the rule of impersonality and can create a recrutation and promotion system not based on meritocracy but rather on oligarchy;
• officials can try to avoid responsibility and seek anonymity by avoiding documentation of their procedures (or creating extreme amounts of chaotic, confusing documents)

Even a non-degenerated bureaucracy can be affected by common problems: Nepotism means favoring relatives because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities. ... Meritocracy is a system of government based on rule by ability (merit) rather than by wealth or social position. ... Oligarchy is a form of government where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ...

• overspecialisation, making individual officials not aware of larger consequences of their actions
• rigidity and intertion of procedures, making decision making slow or even impossible when facing some unusual case, and similarly delaying change, evolution and adaptation of old procedures to new circumstances;
• a phenomenon of group thinking - overzealousy, loyalty and lack of critical thinking regarding the organisation which is perfect and always correct by definition, making the organisation unable to change and realise its own mistakes and limitations;
• a phenomenon of Catch-22 (named after a famous book) - as bureaucracy creates more and more rules and procedures, their complexity raises and coordination diminishes, facilitating creation of contradictory rules;

In the most extreme examples, bureaucracy can lead to the treatment of individual human beings as impersonal objects. This process has been criticised by many philosophers and writers (Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Hannah Arendt). Catch 22 can refer to: A book by Joseph Heller, or the movie based on the book; see Catch-22. ... Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... George Orwell George Orwell was the pen name of British author Eric Arthur Blair (June 25, 1903 – January 21, 1950). ... Hannah Arendt in her early adulthood Hannah Arendt (October 14, 1906 - December 4, 1975) was a German political theorist. ...

See also

• Parkinson's law
• Peter principle
• Red tape
• Yes, Minister
• Sonatine Bureaucratique