MAX WEBER'S VIEW ON IDEAL TYPE BUREAUCEACY

The bureaucratic form of governance  is an inescapable and omnipresent phenomenon of modern organization and it is hailed for its perceived qualities.Such as merit, impartiality, neutrality , non-ambiguity, efficiency, economy , reduction of friction and of material and personal cost, unity, stricted subordination and so on.Despite of centrality of bureaucracy in organization, no serious effort was made to theorize bureaucracy.

Max Weber was the first to theorize the bureaucracy.Thus he is also regarded as the father of bureaucratic theory.He was a German sociologist and political economist who viewed bureaucracy in a positive light, believing it to be more rational and efficient.However Weber doesn't defines bureaucracy properly anywhere in his theory.According to Max Weber " Bureaucracy is an administrative body of appointed officials"

Since the word Bureaucracy is derived from the French word = BUREAU + KRATOS.

BUREAU = Office & KRATOS = public/Rule
➤ Thus we can say BUREAUCRACY is PUBLIC OFFICE.

FORMS OF AUTHORITY

1. TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY
• Derived from traditions.
• Example ;- monarchy of Britain and a tribal chief.

2. CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY
• Derived from the personality
• Example :- Adolf Hitler, V. Lenin.

3. LEGAL AUTHORITY
• Derived from law. Thus it is rational.
• Thus it is the best form of authority

Thus he has given the follow characteristic of bureaucracy having legal and rational authority:

• 1. Hierarchy of authority: it refers to an orderded system of superiority and subordination.
• 2. Division of labour: It means assigning different parts of official processes or tasks to different people in order to improve efficency
• 3. Rules-based authority: Bureaucracy is governed by the principle of prescribed official regulations, which are generally ordered by rules.
• 4. Written Documents: The management of a modern office is based on written documents in which the functions of official are clearly specified.
• 5. Specialised Office Management: Bureaucratic organisations are based on specialisation. Selection and promotion of officials based on technical qualifications,competence and performance of the candidate
• 6. Impersonality: The bureaucratic system is governed on the basis of rational standards, and not personal consideration.
• 7. Procedural Specifications: Clear-cut rules and regulation define the extent to which organizational members follow officially defined techniques in dealing with the variety of situations they face.
• 8. Career Public Servant: Official in the bureaucratic organization are expected to pursue a career in the organization.

CRITICISM OF MAX WEBER IDEAL TYPE BUREAUCRACY:

1. It has been characterized as the "Machine Theory" & a closed system model due to excessive concern for the formal structure of org and neglects environmental factors.
2. Critics claim that it is rigid, static & inflexible.
3. strict adherence of rules in itself, resulting in goal displacement.
4. It is influenced by the first world countries thus not suitable for the developing countries where the condition are entirely different

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