Max Weber Bureaucracy

–max weber

the german sociologist max weber first formally study bureaucracy , works led popularization of term.. in 1922 essay bureaucracy,[1], published in magnum opus economy , society, weber described many ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, , business. ideal-typical bureaucracy, whether public or private, characterized by:

hierarchical organization
formal lines of authority (chain of command)
a fixed area of activity
rigid division of labor
regular , continuous execution of assigned tasks
all decisions , powers specified , restricted regulations
officials expert training in fields
career advancement dependent on technical qualifications
qualifications evaluated organizational rules, not individuals

weber listed several preconditions emergence of bureaucracy, including increase in amount of space , population being administered, increase in complexity of administrative tasks being carried out, , existence of monetary economy requiring more efficient administrative system. development of communication , transportation technologies make more efficient administration possible, , democratization , rationalization of culture results in demands equal treatment.

although not admirer of bureaucracy, weber saw bureaucratization efficient , rational way of organizing human activity , therefore key rational-legal authority, indispensable modern world.. furthermore, saw key process in ongoing rationalization of western society. weber saw bureaucracy, however, threat individual freedoms, , ongoing bureaucratization leading polar night of icy darkness , in increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in soulless iron cage of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control. weber s critical study of bureaucratization of society became 1 of enduring parts of work. weber many aspects of modern public administration based on work, , classic, hierarchically organized civil service of continental type called weberian civil service .