Max weber and bureaucracy

- a,.- JATEA BLAB1 K4Zf S,M.RIJL 15LL4hd UNIVERSITY

Max Weber and Bureaucracy

Public Administration & Governance Studies

AZIZUR RAHMAN Lecturer Dept. public admiuistration & governance studies Jatiya Kabi Kazi N m l Islam University Trishal, Mymenshing

Come- IntrdWion to Public A ~ ~ a a

Code- PA-117

Submitttd By:

Name

Md. Saidul Islam

Fariha Ahan

Rabin Sarkar

Tanjim Rasul

Fatema Kanij

Sumiya Akter

Tuhin Akter

Jasmin Akter Joly

Opu Ranjan Sarkar

Roll No.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Autobiography of Max Weber

Books of Max Weber

Authority, Organization, and Legitimacy

About Power

About Authority

Bureaucracy

Weberian Model of Bureaucracy

Elements

Do you agree Bangladesh Government follow the Weberian Bureaucracy Model?

Criticisms

Problems of Weberian Model of Bureaucracy

Conclusion

Reference

Max Weber and Bureaucracy b-

Abstract:

In the study of administrative science, the subject of bureaucracy occupies a significant palace, for this concept aims at explaining the power-control tandem in organized situations. Max Weber name became synonymous with bureaucracy

for he enjoys a unique place in the galaxy of social scientist who have attempted to explain the concept of bureaucracy.

Max Weber and Bureaucracy - Introduction

Weber's interest in the nature of power and authority, as well as his pervasive preoccupation with modern trends of rationalization. Led him to concern himself with the operation of modern large - scale enterprises in the political, administrative and economic realm. Bureaucratic coordination of activities, he argued, as the distinctive mark of the modern era. Bureaucracies are organized according to rational principles. Offices are ranked in a hierarchical order and their operations are characterized by'impersonal rules. Incumbents are governed by methodical allocation of areas of Jurisdiction and delimited spheres of duty. Appointments are made according to specialized Qualifications rather than ascriptive Criteria. Weber argued that the Bureaucratization of the modern has led to its depersonalization. Max Weber was continually beset by psychic torment. It is impossible to understand his work without reference to the inner conflicts that attended his intellectual production. But it would be inadvisable to focus here on all the details of Weber's psychic turmoil. The commentator should discriminate; otherwise he well succumb to what Hegel once called "psychology of the valet," the detailed analysis of small human particularities that do not touch upon a man's historical and intellectual significance. Weber's inner tensions stemmed largely from the tangled web of his relations with tangled web of his relations with his family as well as from his attempts to escape from the stultifying political atmosphere of the kaiser's Germany in which he lived and worked. His ambivalence toward authority in his personal life and his fascination with rationality and with the ethic of responsibility his attraction to inner worldly asceticism and his partial identification with the heroic life-styles of charismatic teachers-these and many other themes in his work have their source in his biography.

Autobiography of M a x Weber:

' Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber (2 1 April 1 864 - 14 June 1920) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist whose ideas profoundly influenced social theory and social research. Weber is oRen cited, with Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx, as among the three founders of sociology.

Karl Emil Maximilian Weber was born in 1864, in E m , Province of Saxony, Prussia (Western Germany). He was the oldest of the seven children of Max Weber Sr. and his mother Helene, weber Sr!s involvement in public life immersed his home in both politics and academia, as his salon welcomed many prominent scholars and public figures.

In 1882 Weber enrolled in the University of Heidelberg as a law student. ARer a year of military service, he transferred to the University of Berlin. Simultaneously with his studies, he worked as a junior lawyer. Weber continued his study of law and history. He earned his law doctorate in 1889 by writing a dissertation on "A Contribution to the History of Medieval Business Organization". Having thus become a Privatdozent, Weber joined the University of Berlin's faculty, lecturing and consulting for the government as an instructor and completed his second work called "Roman Agrarian History and its significance for Public and Private Law". He wrote a number of papers on law, focusing the attention on social political and economic factors prevalent at that time. He involved himself in politics, joining the left-leaning Evangelical Social Congress

In 1893 he married his distant cousin Marianne Schnitger, who was instrumental in collecting and publishing Weber's journal articles as books after his death.

In 1894, he became a Professor of Economics at Fidelburg University. In1 896 he accepted a position at the University of Heidelberg. In 1899 he left his teaching career. Weber and his wife travelled to Italy at the end of the year and did not return to Heidelberg until April 1902. After contracting the Spanish flu, he died of pneumonia in 1920, aged 56. Most of his Books were published after his Death.

Max Weber and Bureaucracy m

Boob of Max. Weber:

(1 896) 1950 The Social Causes of Decay of Ancient Civilization (1 904-1 905) 1930 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1906) 1946 The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism. Pages 302- 322 in Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. (191 5) 195 1 The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism. Glencoe (1916-191 7) 1958 The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism. (1917-1919) 1952 ~ncient ~idaism. (1 9 19- 1920) 1 950 General 'Economic History. (1921a) 1958 The City. (1921 b) 1958 The Rational and Social Foundations of Music. Carbondale: Southern Illinois (1922a) 1956 Wirtschaft und Gesellschafk Grundriss der verstehenden Soziologie. 4th ed (1 922b) 1957 The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. (1 922c) 1954 Max Weber on Law in Economy and Society. (1 9224) 1963 The Sociology of Religion. Boston: Beacon. (1922e) 1961 The Three Types of Legitimate Rule

Max Weber and Bureaucracy - Authority, Organization, and Legitimacy:

Among Webefs works on administration, his theories on domination, leadership and legitimacy merit special mention. He propounded these theories with a broad perspective, keeping in view religion and society and the way they would the patterns of leadership. Weber differentiated authority, power and control. For weber 'authority' was identical with the authoritarian power of command weber identified five essential components of authority:

An individual or a body of individuals who rule. An individual or a body of individuals who are ruled. The will of the rules to influence the conduct of the ruled and an expression of that will or command. Evidence of the influence of the rulers in terms of objective degree of command. Direct or indirect evidence of that influence in terms of the subjective acceptance with which the ruled obey the command.

He categorized the persons in organizations as under:

1. Those who are accustomed to obey command 2. Those who are personally interested in seeing the existing

domination continue because they derive benefits. 3. Those who participate in that domination in the sense that the

exercise of functions if divided among them; and 4. Those who hold themselves in readiness for the exercise of these

functions.

About Power:

There are some factors in Weber's life which need to be considered before attempting to analyses his writings. First, Weber's urge for analysis and systematized study, began at the age of thirteen. Second, Weber always preferred knowledge obtained through practical experience than library research. Third, Weber was progressive in outlook and yet conservative at heart. Fourth, Weber's writing reflects the social condition of Germany of his time. Weber saw the decline of that society. Unification of Germany under Bismark and elimination of liberal


middle-class movement convinced Weber that the great goal could only be achieved through power politics.

About Authority:

legal Authority:

Manifestations of legal authority are found in organizations where rules are applied judicially and in accordance with ascertainable principles valid for all members in the organization. The members who exercise the power are the superiors and are appointed or elected by legal procedures to maintain the legal order. The subject persons to the commands are legal equals who obey 'the law'

Traditional Authority:

Traditional authority derives its legitimacy from the acceptance of it since hoary past. The persons exercising authority generally are called 'Master' who enjoys personal authority by virtue of their inherited status. Their commands carry legitimacy because the customs but they can also give order based on their personal decision. Thus conformity with customs and personal arbitrariness are two characteristics of traditional authority. The persons who obey the orders here are called 'Followers

Charismatic Authority:

The power exercised by a leader-may be a prophet, a hero or a demogogue-Substantiating the claim by virtue of his magical powers or heroism or other extraordinary gift or qualities. Charisma and its acceptance-forms the basis of legitimacy in this system. The persons who receive the commands obey the leader because they believe in his extraordinary abilities rather than the stipulated rules or the dignity of a position. The charismatic leader selects his disciples or followers as his officials based purely on their personal devotion to him rather than on their special qualification or status.

Bureaucracy:

Max Weber says, ""Power is the chance to impose your will within a social context, even when opposed and regardless of the integrity of that chance."

Max Weber did not like the fact that employees were more loyal to their boss their organizations which therefore created a family-like structure. He instead believed in a more formal and rigid structure of organization known as bureaucracy

~ u k a u c r a c ~ is a non-personal view of organizations that follows a formal structure, where rules formal legitimate authority and competence are characteristics of appropriate management practices,

Weber asserted that bureaucratic forms of organization were more efficient than other systems of administration to the degree that they are able to depersonalized their rules and procedures and therefore, to achieve high levels of calculability in the decision-making process. This increase

"the more bureaucracy 'depersonalized' itself, i.e., the more completely it succeeds in achieving the exclusion of love, hatred, and every purely personal, especially irrational and incalculable, feeling h m the execution of official tasks. In the place of the old-type ruler who is moved by sympathy, favor, grace, and gratitude, modern culture requires for its sustainable external apparatus the emotionally detached, and hence rigorously 'professional'expert"-(Ibid,p427)

States w ~ ~ ~ i h tend I,, LU~IIIU~ policy drsd policing functions

to large populatlon5 ot belrevers

Economies whose main function is to distribute - ~ds and 1 coordinate functions

P I f he modern agency.

a t ; ". The military % m

Max Weber and Bureaucracy - Webertn Model af Burrllucracy:

The model of legal- rational bureaucracy designed by weber has following characteristies

(1) Official business is conducted on a continuous basis; (2) Every official and every office is part of an authority. Higher officials or

offices supervise while lower offices and officials have the right of appeal. (3) Officials do not own the resources necessary 65for rendering the duties,

but they are accountable for use of official resources. (4) Offices cannot be appropriated by the incumbents as private property

which can be sold and inherited (5) Administration is conducted on the basis be written documents.

Division of

1

Career orientation

Authority Hierarchy

Formal 1 qelection

Max Weber and Bureaucracy - In this model of bureaucracy Weber also discussed in detail the characteristics of the official which are as follows:

(1) He is personally free (and not a servant to anybody personally) and appointed to an official position on the basis of a contract.

(2) He exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is expressed through faithful execution of his official duties;

(3) His appointment and job placement depend upon his technical qualifications.

(4) His administrative work is his full-time occupation; and (5) His work is reworded by a regular salary and by prospects of regular

advancement in a lifetime career.

Elements:

In Weberian model of bureaucracy the main elements are:

Impersonal oraer

) Sphere of competence

Personal and public ends

Written documents - -

Vlonocratic type


The main elements are discussed in detail:

i. The Impersonal Order: In Weber's 'ideal type' construct of bureaucracy the most striking and 'impersonal order' should orient the actions of the bureaucrats both in the issuance of the commands to subordinates and their obedience to them.

ii. Rules: The fundamental characteristics of Weberian rational legal authority is the attribute of continuous organization of official functions bound by rules.

iii. Sphere of competence: According to Weber a specific sphere of competence involves a sphere of obligation to perform functions which have been market off as part of a systematic division of labour.

iv. Hierarchy: According to Weber the organization of offices follows the principle of hierarchy, that is, each lower office is under the control and supervision of a higher one.

v. Personal and public Ends: There is great amount of utility and relevance in Weber's ideal type as far as it pleads for the separation of administrative staff from the ownership pf the means of production or administration.

vi. Written Documents: The last principle Weberian bureaucracy is that "the administrative acts, decisions and rules are formulated and recorded in writing even in cases where oral discussion is rule or is even mandatory.

The most commendable part of the Weberian model is i ts insistence on the selection of technically qualified people. The other criteria for the official are the fixed salaries paid in money.

Do you agree Bangladesh Government follow the Weberian Bureaucracy Model?

The nature of Bureaucracy in Bangladesh shaped by irrational domination historically. In independent Bangladesh, Politicization of Bureaucracy as well as corruption in state bureaucracy emerged tremendously. 'Bureaucracy in Bangladesh is now caught in the tug-of-war between the major political parties, especially the party and their allies in power. Their transfer and posting to suitable locations and positions, their promotion, and career are now decided on the basis of their political loyalty.

There are three kinds of problems with Bangladesh's bureaucracy - First, as per Transparency International (TI) reports, Bangladesh is among the most corrupt countries in the world. The performance of the bureaucracy in Bangladesh is ranked the world's worst, along with those of India and Vietnam. Second, there are problems with the overlapping structure of bureaucracy, vague divisions between government functions and citizen obligations, and unclear political process of policy formulation. Third, there are problems with human resources quality

The f m of state bureaucracy in Bangladesh in the given ways- Measures of Legal Rational Bnre.aucracy I I Bureaucracy in Bangladesh dmtinctiveness of Bureaucracy Legal Framework (Management by rules)

A bureaucracy follows a consistent set of rules that control the functions of the organization. Management controls the lower levels of the organization's hierarchy by applying established rules in a consistent and predictable

Bangladesh -has no composite 'and unified 'rule of management in Bureaucracy Yet- Bureaucracy controlled by political parties, especially the party and their allies in power.

Written Rules and Regulation (Division of Labor)

Hierarchy (Formal hierarchical stmdure)

manner. Fixed division of labor among bureaucrats; who is doing what responsibilities; mixed up needs to be clearly spelled out - 1 of private and official

Principles of into a hierarchy of authority and follows a clear chain of command

As above and overlapping

bureaucracy creates illegal relation among oBciaIs and breakdown the chain of

in rules. An organization is organized

sphere of life. Politickation of

( ~ ~ m n n e l hired on grounds of technical competence)

required and work is assigned based on the experience and competence of the individual.

Appointment, the specification of task and

Principles of Appointments

place depends on personal interests and political relations.

' Recruitments of bureaucrats m&t take place on the basis of


Professional (Managers are salaried officials)

A manager is a salaried official and does own the administered unit. All elements of a bureaucracy are defined with clearly defined roles and respsibilities and are managed by brained and

Lack of skilled officials, Presence of corruption and nepotism.

Criticisms:

Documentation (Written documents)

Robert K. Merton:

Robert Merton (1952) criticizes Weber's bureaucracy by observing that the bureaucratic features, which Weber believes in enhancing rationality and efficiency, might actually be associated with irrationality and inefficiency. Merton concludes that bureaucracy contains the seeds of its own destruction. This part discusses the bureaucratic model of Max Weber fiom a critical point of view. It focuses on four main irrational limitations that bureaucracy has in terms of its ideal type, its negligence of informal organization, and its dehumanization as well as its tense relationship with democracy. In particular, Weber's bureaucracy does not consider the important role of the informal relationships that exist in any human organizations. In addition, many in public administration argue that the reality of bureaucratic discretion is a threat to democratic norms and practices that govem and rule the American community.

By considering the theoretical explanation of Bureaucracy and above discussion, we can say that Bangladesh Government cannot follow The Max Weber's bureaucracy properly.

experienced specialists. All decisions, rules and actions taken by the organization are formulated and recorded in writing. Performance to be governed on the basis of formal, universal, uniform, and stable rules.

Weak documentation process due to lack of accountability and cormption.

Max Weber and Bureaucracy - Talcott Parsons: Talcott Parsons questions the internal consistency of Webef s ideal type of bureaucracy. Parsons draws attention to the fact that Weber expects the administrative staff to be technically superior as well as possess the right to give orders. But this itself gives rise to conflicts within bureaucracy since it is not always possible to ensure that high position in the hierarchy of authority will be matched by equivalent professional skill. In such case the individuals working in an organization will face the problem of whom to obey the person with the right to command or the man with the greater expertise. Peter Blau: A number of critics like peter Blau believed that Weberian model of bureaucracy cannot be applied to administrations of different places and times. Blau felt that a fresh look has to be taken at the concept of rational administration. In a changing environment "the attainment of organizational objectives depends on perpetual change in the bureaucratic structure." That is why efficiency cannot be guaranteed by tethering the official to a set of rigid rules. According to Blau the efficient administrations is possible only when an individual is allowed to identify whit the purposes of the organization and to adopt his behavior to his perception of changing circumstances. Philip SeIznick: Phillip Selznick and others criticized Weber for his neglect of the power that a bureaucrat assumes whereby is "increasingly preoccupied with his own social position and in the end Subverts the professed goals of the organization by concentrating only on his own power position" No impersonal order can stop bureaucrats becoming power mangers and may even encourage clandestine motives in them. In a democratic setting it is also very difficult to a bureaucrat to be neutral and impersonal in the face to hectic political activity around him.


Problems of Webedan Model of Bureauemcy:

Weberian Bureaucracy organization has been considered once superior than ad hoc or temporary structure. It has been termed as rational and ideal leading to efficiency. The efficiency in bureaucratic organization comes through rationality and predictability of behavior because everyone knows the consequence of his action become actually the action is undertaken.

However, Weberian bureaucracy has been criticised because of its inefficiency and has been termed as a symbol of inefficiency. There are many dis-functional aspects of bureaucracy which is referred to as bureau pathology.

Looking into the needs of modern organisations, bureaucracy has many shortcomings and is, therefore, not suitable.

Inva fidi%y of bureaucra~y assumptions

In human and closers-system

perspective

~ o a l ' displacement

united consequences I

Conclusion:

Max Weber refrned the structure to a more stable, organized and easy-to- operate framework to avoid the problems of bureaucracy that Americans now associated with the federal big government. Based on the above six important characteristics, more effective decision-making and better results were aimed at. These principles and characteristics were widely received by both the public and private sectors, and the very basics of a bureaucratic system are actually based on these six principles proposed by Max Weber in his theory of bureaucracy.

Max Weber and Bureaucracy 6

Refference :

www.vourartic1elibrary.com www .wilcipedia.org The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation, Max Weber The Methodology of Social Science, Max Weber Bureaucracy, Martin Albrow

Education

Max weber and bureaucracy