97-462: Bureaucracy ( / b j ʊəˈr ɒ k r ə s i / ; bure- OK -rə-see ) is a system of organization where decisions are made by a body of non-elected officials. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials. Today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution, whether publicly owned or privately owned. The public administration in many jurisdictions
194-594: A centralized form of management and tends to be differentiated from adhocracy , in which management tends more to decentralization . Although the term bureaucracy first originated in the mid-18th century, organized and consistent administrative systems existed much earlier. The development of writing ( c. 3500 BC) and the use of documents was a critical component of such systems. The first definitive example of bureaucracy occurred in ancient Sumer , where an emergent class of scribes used clay tablets to document and carry out various administrative functions, such as
291-478: A decentralised system of government often has significant separation of powers and local self-governance . Centralisation of authority is the systematic and consistent concentration of authority at a central point or in a person within the organization. This idea was first introduced in the Qin dynasty of China. The Qin government was highly bureaucratic and was administered by a hierarchy of officials, all serving
388-556: A monarchy . In the 1920s the German sociologist Max Weber expanded the definition to include any system of administration conducted by trained professionals according to fixed rules. Weber saw bureaucracy as a relatively positive development; however, by 1944 the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises opined in the context of his experience in the Nazi regime that the term bureaucracy
485-412: A "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing rationalization of human life traps individuals in a soulless " iron cage " of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational control. Weber's critical study of the bureaucratization of society became one of the most enduring parts of his work. Many aspects of modern public administration are based on his work, and a classic, hierarchically organized civil service of
582-426: A centralized, bureaucratic government. The form of government created by the first emperor and his advisors was used by later dynasties to structure their own government. Under this system, the government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) established a complicated bureaucracy based on the teachings of Confucius , who emphasized
679-399: A certain task can be fulfilled through a system of coordinated division of labor . Economic approaches to organizations also take the division of labor as a starting point. The division of labor allows for (economies of) specialization . Increasing specialization necessitates coordination. From an economic point of view, markets and organizations are alternative coordination mechanisms for
776-480: A collective actor?). By coordinated and planned cooperation of the elements, the organization is able to solve tasks that lie beyond the abilities of the single element. The price paid by the elements is the limitation of the degrees of freedom of the elements. Advantages of organizations are enhancement (more of the same), addition (combination of different features), and extension. Disadvantages can be inertness (through coordination) and loss of interaction . Among
873-463: A correct vote (however correctness is defined). The problem is that if the average member is subsequently worse than a roll of dice, the committee's decisions grow worse, not better; therefore, staffing is crucial. Parliamentary procedure, such as Robert's Rules of Order , helps prevent committees from engaging in lengthy discussions without reaching decisions. This organizational structure promotes internal competition . Inefficient components of
970-610: A disjuncture: either the toppling of the ruling bureaucracy by means of a political revolution, or capitalist restoration led by the bureaucracy: The fall of the present bureaucratic dictatorship, if it were not replaced by a new socialist power, would thus mean a return to capitalist relations with a catastrophic decline of industry and culture. Writing in the early 1860s, political scientist John Stuart Mill theorized that successful monarchies were essentially bureaucracies, and found evidence of their existence in Imperial China ,
1067-476: A group of peers who decide as a group, perhaps by voting. The difference between a jury and a committee is that the members of the committee are usually assigned to perform or lead further actions after the group comes to a decision, whereas members of a jury come to a decision. In common law countries, legal juries render decisions of guilt, liability, and quantify damages; juries are also used in athletic contests, book awards, and similar activities. Sometimes
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#17327767668481164-453: A local level. At the apex of this system was the Shah, with total power over the state, legitimized by his bloodline as a sayyid , or descendant of Muhammad . To ensure transparency and avoid decisions being made that circumvented the Shah, a complex system of bureaucracy and departmental procedures had been put in place that prevented fraud. Every office had a deputy or superintendent, whose job
1261-408: A major portion of his waking hours working for organizations. His need to identify with a community that provides security, protection, maintenance, and a feeling of belonging continues unchanged from prehistoric times. This need is met by the informal organization and its emergent, or unofficial, leaders. Leaders emerge from within the structure of the informal organization. Their personal qualities,
1358-399: A manager may be confronted by an emergent leader who can challenge his role in the organization and reduce it to that of a figurehead. However, only the authority of position has the backing of formal sanctions. It follows that whoever wields personal influence and power can legitimize this only by gaining a formal position in the hierarchy, with commensurate authority. An organization that
1455-620: A multitude of inferior officers lay heavy on each territory." After the Empire split, the Byzantine Empire developed a notoriously complicated administrative hierarchy , and in the 20th century the term Byzantine came to refer to any complex bureaucratic structure. Uzun Hasan's conquest of most of mainland Iran shifted the seat of power to the east, where the Aq Qoyunlu adopted Iranian customs for administration and culture. In
1552-427: A narrow version of institutions or represent a cluster of institutions; the two are distinct in the sense that organizations contain internal institutions (that govern interactions between the members of the organizations). The study of organizations includes a focus on optimising organizational structure . According to management science , most human organizations fall roughly into four types: These consist of
1649-598: A national academy where officials would select candidates to take part in an examination of the Confucian classics , from which Emperor Wu would select officials. In the Sui dynasty (581–618) and the subsequent Tang dynasty (618–907) the shi class would begin to present itself by means of the fully standardized civil service examination system , of partial recruitment of those who passed standard exams and earned an official degree. Yet recruitment by recommendations to office
1746-418: A number of disciplines, such as sociology , economics , political science , psychology , management , and organizational communication . The broader analysis of organizations is commonly referred to as organizational structure , organizational studies , organizational behavior , or organization analysis. A number of different perspectives exist, some of which are compatible: Sociology can be defined as
1843-827: A particular purpose. The word in English is derived from the Spanish organisation, which itself is derived from the medieval Latin organizationem and its root organum was borrowed whole from the Latin word organon , which means tool or instrument, musical instrument, and organ . There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including corporations , governments , non-governmental organizations , political organizations , international organizations , religious organizations , armed forces , charities , not-for-profit corporations , partnerships , cooperatives , and educational institutions , etc. A hybrid organization
1940-403: A professor at Bryn Mawr College , Woodrow Wilson 's essay The Study of Administration argued for bureaucracy as a professional cadre, devoid of allegiance to fleeting politics. Wilson advocated a bureaucracy that: ...is a part of political life only as the methods of the counting house are a part of the life of society; only as machinery is part of the manufactured product. But it is, at
2037-465: A selection committee functions like a jury. In the Middle Ages, juries in continental Europe were used to determine the law according to consensus among local notables. Committees are often the most reliable way to make decisions. Condorcet's jury theorem proved that if the average member votes better than a roll of dice, then adding more members increases the number of majorities that can come to
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#17327767668482134-613: A solid general education to enable inter-departmental transfers, and promotion should be through achievement rather than "preferment, patronage, or purchase". This led to implementation of His Majesty's Civil Service as a systematic, meritocratic civil service bureaucracy. In the British civil service, just as it was in China, entrance to the civil service was usually based on a general education in ancient classics, which similarly gave bureaucrats greater prestige. The Cambridge-Oxford ideal of
2231-427: A substantial amount of influence to preserve the current political system because they are primarily focused on defending the country and the state from threats from both within and beyond. Since these institutions frequently operate independently and are mostly shielded from politics, they frequently have no affiliation with any particular political party or group. For instance, loyal British civil officials work for both
2328-425: Is decentralisation , where authority is shared among numerous different groups, allowing varying degree of autonomy for each. The term has a variety of meanings in several fields. In political science , centralisation refers to the concentration of a government's power—both geographically and politically—into a centralised government , which has sovereignty over all its administrative divisions . Conversely,
2425-668: Is "functional" and assures that each type of expert in the organization is well-trained, and measured by a boss who is a super-expert in the same field. The other direction is "executive" and tries to get projects completed using the experts. Projects might be organized by products, regions, customer types, or some other schemes. As an example, a company might have an individual with overall responsibility for products X and Y, and another individual with overall responsibility for engineering, quality control, etc. Therefore, subordinates responsible for quality control of project X will have two reporting lines. The United States aerospace industries were
2522-427: Is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private sector simultaneously, fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. A voluntary association is an organization consisting of volunteers. Such organizations may be able to operate without legal formalities, depending on jurisdiction, including informal clubs or coordinating bodies with a goal in mind which they may express in
2619-473: Is a stronger form of influence because it reflects a person's ability to enforce action through the control of a means of punishment. As most organizations operate through a mix of formal and informal mechanisms, organization science scholars have paid attention to the type of interplay between formal and informal organizations. On the one hand, some have argued that formal and informal organizations operate as substitutes as one type of organization would decrease
2716-602: Is an example of bureaucracy, as is any centralized hierarchical structure of an institution, including corporations , societies , nonprofit organisations , and clubs . There are two key dilemmas in bureaucracy. The first dilemma revolves around whether bureaucrats should be autonomous or directly accountable to their political masters. The second dilemma revolves around bureaucrats' responsibility to follow preset rules, and what degree of latitude they may have to determine appropriate solutions for circumstances that are unaccounted for in advance. Various commentators have argued for
2813-410: Is by merit or seniority. Each employee receives a salary and enjoys a degree of tenure that safeguards him from the arbitrary influence of superiors or of powerful clients. The higher his position in the hierarchy, the greater his presumed expertise in adjudicating problems that may arise in the course of the work carried out at lower levels of the organization. It is this bureaucratic structure that forms
2910-561: Is characterized by: Weber listed several preconditions for the emergence of bureaucracy, including an increase in the amount of space and population being administered, an increase in the complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out, and the existence of a monetary economy requiring a more efficient administrative system. Development of communication and transportation technologies make more efficient administration possible, and democratization and rationalization of culture results in demands for equal treatment . Although he
3007-495: Is established as a means for achieving defined objectives has been referred to as a formal organization . Its design specifies how goals are subdivided and reflected in subdivisions of the organization. Divisions, departments, sections, positions, jobs , and tasks make up this work structure . Thus, the formal organization is expected to behave impersonally in regard to relationships with clients or with its members. According to Weber's definition, entry and subsequent advancement
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3104-474: Is held by a few individuals. Centralisation of authority has several advantages and disadvantages. The benefits include: Disadvantages, on the other hand are as follows: As written in V.I. Lenin’s book, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism , "The remarkably rapid concentration of production in ever-larger enterprises are one of the most characteristic features of capitalism." He researched
3201-464: Is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular group within that organisation. This creates a power structure where the said group occupies the highest level of hierarchy and has significantly more authority and influence over the other groups, who are considered its subordinates. An antonym of centralisation
3298-682: Is the state which has really made itself into civil society." Leon Trotsky developed a critical theory of the emerging Soviet bureaucracy during the early years of the Soviet Union. According to political scientist Thomas M. Twiss, Trotsky associated bureaucratism with authoritarianism , excessive centralism and conservatism . Social theorist Martin Krygier had noted the impact of Trotsky's post-1923 writings in shaping receptive views of bureaucracy among later Marxists and many non-Marxists. Twiss argued that Trotsky's theory of Soviet bureaucracy
3395-425: Is usually framed by formal membership and form (institutional rules). Sociology distinguishes the term organization into planned formal and unplanned informal (i.e. spontaneously formed) organizations. Sociology analyses organizations in the first line from an institutional perspective. In this sense, the organization is an enduring arrangement of elements. These elements and their actions are determined by rules so that
3492-742: The Ashanti Empire was built upon a sophisticated bureaucracy in Kumasi , with separate ministries which saw to the handling of state affairs. Ashanti's Foreign Office was based in Kumasi. Despite the small size of the office, it allowed the state to pursue complex negotiations with foreign powers. The Office was divided into departments that handled Ashanti relations separately with the British , French , Dutch , and Arabs . Scholars of Ashanti history, such as Larry Yarak and Ivor Wilkes , disagree over
3589-667: The Qing dynasty collapsed, marking the end of China's traditional bureaucratic system. A hierarchy of regional proconsuls and their deputies administered the Roman Empire . The reforms of Diocletian (Emperor from 284 to 305) doubled the number of administrative districts and led to a large-scale expansion of Roman bureaucracy. The early Christian author Lactantius ( c. 250 – c. 325) claimed that Diocletian's reforms led to widespread economic stagnation, since "the provinces were divided into minute portions, and many presidents and
3686-537: The Russian Empire , and the regimes of Europe . Mill referred to bureaucracy as a distinct form of government, separate from representative democracy. He believed bureaucracies had certain advantages, most importantly the accumulation of experience in those who actually conduct the affairs. Nevertheless, he believed this form of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on appointment rather than direct election. Mill wrote that ultimately
3783-409: The mohrdar , who affixed the state seal; and the marakur ' stable master ' , who supervised the royal court. Through the use of his increasing revenue, Uzun Hasan was able to buy the approval of the ulama (clergy) and the mainly Iranian urban elite, while also taking care of the impoverished rural inhabitants. The Safavid state was one of checks and balance, both within the government and on
3880-531: The British model also took personal physique and character into account. Like the British, the development of French bureaucracy was influenced by the Chinese system. Under Louis XIV of France , the old nobility had neither power nor political influence, their only privilege being exemption from taxes. The dissatisfied noblemen complained about this "unnatural" state of affairs, and discovered similarities between absolute monarchy and bureaucratic despotism . With
3977-464: The Catholic Church, he pointed out that bureaucracy is only appropriate for an organization whose code of conduct is not subject to change. He then went on to argue that complaints about bureaucratization usually refer not to the criticism of the bureaucratic methods themselves, but to "the intrusion of bureaucracy into all spheres of human life." Mises saw bureaucratic processes at work in both
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4074-495: The Chinese. The governments of China, Egypt, Peru and Empress Catherine II were regarded as models of Enlightened Despotism, admired by such figures as Diderot, D'Alembert and Voltaire. Napoleonic France adopted this meritocracy system and soon saw a rapid and dramatic expansion of government, accompanied by the rise of the French civil service and its complex systems of bureaucracy. This phenomenon became known as "bureaumania". In
4171-594: The Conservative and Labour parties. However, on occasion a group might seize control of a bureaucratic state, as the Nazis did in Germany in the 1930s. Organization An organization or organisation ( Commonwealth English ; see spelling differences ), is an entity —such as a company , or corporation or an institution ( formal organization ), or an association —comprising one or more people and having
4268-609: The Continental type is called a "Weberian civil service" or a "Weberian bureaucracy". Social scientists debate whether Weberian bureaucracy contributes to economic growth . Political scientist Jan Vogler challenges Max Weber's characterization of modern bureaucracies. Whereas Weber describes bureaucracies as entailing strict merit recruitment, clearly delineated career-paths for bureaucrats, the full separation of bureaucratic operations from politics, and mutually exclusive spheres of competence for government agencies, Vogler argues that
4365-525: The First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang . The Qin dynasty practised all the things that Han Feizi taught, allowing Qin Shi Huang to own and control all his territories, including those conquered from other countries. Zheng and his advisers ended feudalism in China by setting up new laws and regulations under a centralised and bureaucratic government with a rigid centralisation of authority. The acts for
4462-555: The Iranian areas, Uzun Hasan preserved the previous bureaucratic structure along with its secretaries, who belonged to families that had in a number of instances served under different dynasties for several generations. The four top civil posts of the Aq Qoyunlu were all occupied by Iranians, which under Uzun Hasan included: the vizier, who led the great council ( divan ); the mostawfi al-mamalek , high-ranking financial accountants;
4559-480: The advantages of using the other one. For instance, if parties trust each other the use of a formal contract is unnecessary or even detrimental to the relationship. On the other hand, other scholars have suggested that formal and informal organizations can complement each other. For instance, formal mechanisms of control can pave the way for the development of relational norms. Centralized Centralisation or centralization (see English spelling differences )
4656-482: The apparatus used by the British government to subjugate Ireland as "the Bureaucratie, or office tyranny, by which Ireland has so long been governed". By the mid-19th century the word appeared in a more neutral sense, referring to a system of public administration in which offices were held by unelected career officials. In this context bureaucracy was seen as a distinct form of management , often subservient to
4753-438: The associated bureaucracy. Politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan gained power by promising to eliminate government regulatory bureaucracies, which they saw as overbearing, and return economic production to a more purely capitalistic mode, which they saw as more efficient. In the business world, managers like Jack Welch gained fortune and renown by eliminating bureaucratic structures inside corporations. Still, in
4850-418: The basis for the appointment of heads or chiefs of administrative subdivisions in the organization and endows them with the authority attached to their position. In contrast to the appointed head or chief of an administrative unit, a leader emerges within the context of the informal organization that underlies the formal structure. The informal organization expresses the personal objectives and goals of
4947-665: The bureaucracy stifles the mind, and that "a bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy." The fully developed bureaucratic apparatus compares with other organisations exactly as does the machine with the non-mechanical modes of production. –Max Weber The German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) was the first to study bureaucracy formally, and his works led to the popularization of this term. In his essay Bureaucracy , published in his magnum opus , Economy and Society in 1921, Weber described many ideal-typical forms of public administration , government, and business . His ideal-typical bureaucracy, whether public or private,
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#17327767668485044-466: The civil service was identical to the Confucian ideal of a general education in world affairs through humanism. Well into the 20th century, classics, literature, history and language remained heavily favoured in British civil service examinations. In the period of 1925–1935, 67 percent of British civil service entrants consisted of such graduates. Like the Chinese model's consideration of personal values,
5141-404: The demands of the situation, or a combination of these and other factors attract followers who accept their leadership within one or several overlay structures. Instead of the authority of position held by an appointed head or chief, the emergent leader wields influence or power. Influence is the ability of a person to gain cooperation from others by means of persuasion or control over rewards. Power
5238-443: The development of production and decided to develop the concept of production as a centralised framework, from individual and scattered small workshops into large factories, leading the capitalism to the world. This is guided by the idea that once concentration of production develops into a particular level, it will become a monopoly, like party organisations of Cartel, Syndicate, and Trust. Most businesses deal with issues relating to
5335-501: The discovery of a universal and uniform underlying structure of managerial or work levels in the bureaucratic hierarchy for any type of employment systems. Jaques argues and presents evidence that for the bureaucracy to provide a valuable contribution to the open society some of the following conditions must be met: Like every modern state, a liberal democracy is highly bureaucratized, with numerous sizable organizations filled with career civil servants . Some of those bureaucracies have
5432-587: The earlier Chinese model. By the mid-19th century, bureaucratic forms of administration were firmly in place across the industrialized world. Thinkers like John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx began to theorize about the economic functions and power-structures of bureaucracy in contemporary life. Max Weber was the first to endorse bureaucracy as a necessary feature of modernity, and by the late 19th century bureaucratic forms had begun their spread from government to other large-scale institutions. Within capitalist systems, informal bureaucratic structures began to appear in
5529-408: The early 19th century, Napoleon attempted to reform the bureaucracies of France and other territories under his control by the imposition of the standardized Napoleonic Code . But paradoxically, that led to even further growth of the bureaucracy. French civil service examinations adopted in the late 19th century were also heavily based on general cultural studies. These features have been likened to
5626-413: The execution of transactions . An organization is defined by the elements that are part of it (who belongs to the organization and who does not?), its communication (which elements communicate and how do they communicate?), its autonomy (which changes are executed autonomously by the organization or its elements?), and its rules of action compared to outside events (what causes an organization to act as
5723-414: The first to officially use this organizational structure after it emerged in the early 1960s. A hierarchy exemplifies an arrangement with a leader who leads other individual members of the organization. This arrangement is often associated with the basis that there are enough to imagine a real pyramid, if there are not enough stone blocks to hold up the higher ones, gravity would irrevocably bring down
5820-692: The forces of change brought on by the Industrial Revolution propelled many countries, especially in Europe, to significant social changes. However, due to the conservative nature of the Tsarist regime and its desire to maintain power and control, social change in Russia lagged behind that of Europe. Russian-speakers referred to bureaucrats as chinovniki ( чиновники ) because of the rank or chin ( чин ) which they held. The government of
5917-527: The form of corporate power hierarchies, as detailed in mid-century works like The Organization Man and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit . Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations, a powerful class of bureaucratic administrators termed nomenklatura governed nearly all aspects of public life. The 1980s brought a backlash against perceptions of "big government" and
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#17327767668486014-449: The form of a manifesto , mission statement , or implicitly through the organization's actions. Organizations may also operate secretly or illegally in the case of secret societies , criminal organizations , and resistance movements . And in some cases may have obstacles from other organizations (e.g.: MLK's organization) . What makes an organization recognized by the government is either filling out incorporation or recognition in
6111-629: The form of either societal pressure (e.g.: Advocacy group ), causing concerns (e.g.: Resistance movement ) or being considered the spokesperson of a group of people subject to negotiation (e.g.: the Polisario Front being recognized as the sole representative of the Sahrawi people and forming a partially recognized state .) Compare the concept of social groups , which may include non-organizations. Organizations and institutions can be synonymous, but Jack Knight writes that organizations are
6208-477: The good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only", and that the British must reform their civil service by making the institution meritocratic . Influenced by the ancient Chinese imperial examination , the Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854 recommended that recruitment should be on the basis of merit determined through competitive examination, candidates should have
6305-418: The implementation are needed after delegation. Therefore, the authority for taking the decisions can be spread with the help of the delegation of the authority. The centralisation of authority can be done immediately, if complete concentration is given at the decision-making stage for any position. The centralisation can be done with a position or at a level in an organisation. Ideally, the decision-making power
6402-425: The importance of ritual in family, relationships, and politics. With each subsequent dynasty, the bureaucracy evolved. In 165 BC, Emperor Wen introduced the first method of recruitment to civil service through examinations. Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) cemented the ideology of Confucius into mainstream governance by installing a system of recommendation and nomination in government service known as xiaolian , and
6499-443: The individual membership . Their objectives and goals may or may not coincide with those of the formal organization. The informal organization represents an extension of the social structures that generally characterize human life – the spontaneous emergence of groups and organizations as ends in themselves. In prehistoric times, man was preoccupied with his personal security, maintenance, protection, and survival. Now man spends
6596-578: The late 18th century, the ratio of fiscal bureaucracy to population in Britain was approximately 1 in 1300, almost four times larger than the second most heavily bureaucratized nation, France. Thomas Taylor Meadows , Britain's consul in Guangzhou , argued in his Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China (1847) that "the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to
6693-509: The latter makes for progress and improvement." American sociologist Robert K. Merton expanded on Weber's theories of bureaucracy in his work Social Theory and Social Structure , published in 1957. While Merton agreed with certain aspects of Weber's analysis, he also noted the dysfunctional aspects of bureaucracy, which he attributed to a "trained incapacity" resulting from "over conformity". He believed that bureaucrats are more likely to defend their own entrenched interests than to act to benefit
6790-460: The management of taxes, workers, and public goods/resources like granaries. Similarly, Ancient Egypt had a hereditary class of scribes that administered a civil-service bureaucracy. In China , when the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) unified China under the Legalist system, the emperor assigned administration to dedicated officials rather than nobility, ending feudalism in China, replacing it with
6887-518: The mid-18th century. Gournay never wrote the term down but a letter from a contemporary later quoted him: The late M. de Gournay... sometimes used to say: "We have an illness in France which bids fair to play havoc with us; this illness is called bureaumania." Sometimes he used to invent a fourth or fifth form of government under the heading of "bureaucracy." The first known English-language use dates to 1818 with Irish novelist Lady Morgan referring to
6984-463: The modern world, most organized institutions rely on bureaucratic systems to manage information, process records, and administer complex systems, although the decline of paperwork and the widespread use of electronic databases is transforming the way bureaucracies function. Karl Marx theorized about the role and function of bureaucracy in his Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right , published in 1843. In Philosophy of Right , Hegel had supported
7081-488: The monumental structure. So one can imagine that if the leader does not have the support of his subordinates, the entire structure will collapse. Hierarchies were satirized in The Peter Principle (1969), a book that introduced hierarchiology and the saying that "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." In the social sciences, organizations are the object of analysis for
7178-434: The necessity of bureaucracies in modern society. The German sociologist Max Weber argued that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and rational way in which human activity can be organized and that systematic processes and organized hierarchies are necessary to maintain order, maximize efficiency , and eliminate favoritism. On the other hand, Weber also saw unfettered bureaucracy as a threat to individual freedom , with
7275-436: The organization as a whole but that pride in their craft makes them resistant to changes in established routines. Merton stated that bureaucrats emphasize formality over interpersonal relationships, and have been trained to ignore the special circumstances of particular cases, causing them to come across as "arrogant" and "haughty". In his book A General Theory of Bureaucracy , first published in 1976, Elliott Jaques describes
7372-736: The organization starve, while effective ones get more work. Everybody is paid for what they actually do, and so runs a tiny business that has to show a profit , or they are fired. Companies that utilize this organization type reflect a rather one-sided view of what goes on in ecology . It is also the case that a natural ecosystem has a natural border – ecoregions do not, in general, compete with one another in any way, but are very autonomous. The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline talks about functioning as this type of organization in this external article from The Guardian . By:Bastian Batac De Leon. This organizational type assigns each worker two bosses in two different hierarchies. One hierarchy
7469-487: The overwhelming majority of existing public administrative systems are not like this. Instead, modern bureaucracies require only "minimal competence" from candidates for bureaucratic offices, leaving space for biases in recruitment processes that give preferential treatment to members of specific social, economic, or ethnic groups, which are observed in many real-world bureaucratic systems. Bureaucracies are also not strictly separated from politics. Writing as an academic while
7566-507: The potential of trapping individuals in an impersonal " iron cage " of rule-based, rational control. The term bureaucracy originated in the French language : it combines the French word bureau – ' desk ' or ' office ' – with the Greek word κράτος ( kratos ) – ' rule ' or ' political power '. The French economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay coined the word in
7663-557: The power of this sophisticated bureaucracy in comparison to the Asantehene . However, both scholars agree that it was a sign of a highly developed government with a complex system of checks and balances . Instead of the inefficient and often corrupt system of tax farming that prevailed in absolutist states such as France, the Exchequer was able to exert control over the entire system of tax revenue and government expenditure. By
7760-492: The pressure of being under surveillance and had to make sure they governed in the best interest of their leader, and not merely their own. The Ottomans adopted Persian bureaucratic traditions and culture. Defunct The Russian autocracy survived the Time of Troubles and the rule of weak or corrupt tsars because of the strength of the government's central bureaucracy. Government functionaries continued to serve, regardless of
7857-459: The private and public spheres; however, he believed that bureaucratization in the private sphere could only occur as a consequence of government interference. According to him, "What must be realized is only that the strait jacket of bureaucratic organization paralyzes the individual's initiative, while within the capitalist market society an innovator still has a chance to succeed. The former makes for stagnation and preservation of inveterate methods,
7954-408: The role of specialized officials in public administration , although he never used the term bureaucracy himself. By contrast, Marx was opposed to bureaucracy. Marx posited that while corporate and government bureaucracy seem to operate in opposition, in actuality they mutually rely on one another to exist. He wrote that "The Corporation is civil society's attempt to become state; but the bureaucracy
8051-399: The ruler's legitimacy or the boyar faction controlling the throne. In the 17th century, the bureaucracy expanded dramatically. The number of government departments ( prikazy ; sing., prikaz ) increased from twenty-two in 1613 to eighty by mid-century. Although the departments often had overlapping and conflicting jurisdictions , the central government, through provincial governors,
8148-405: The same time, raised very far above the dull level of mere technical detail by the fact that through its greater principles it is directly connected with the lasting maxims of political wisdom, the permanent truths of political progress. Wilson did not advocate a replacement of rule by the governed, he simply advised that, "Administrative questions are not political questions. Although politics sets
8245-410: The science of the institutions of modernity ; specific institutions serve a function , akin to the individual organs of a coherent body. In the social and political sciences in general, an "organization" may be more loosely understood as the planned, coordinated, and purposeful action of human beings working through collective action to reach a common goal or construct a tangible product . This action
8342-413: The service in question cannot be subjected to economic calculation, bureaucratic management is necessary. He did not oppose universally bureaucratic management; on the contrary, he argued that bureaucracy is an indispensable method for social organization, for it is the only method by which the law can be made supreme, and is the protector of the individual against despotic arbitrariness. Using the example of
8439-532: The specifics of centralisation or decentralisation of decision-making. The key question is either whether the authority should manage all the things at the centre of a business (centralised), or whether it should be delegated far away from the centre (decentralised). The choice between centralised or decentralised varies. Many large businesses necessarily involve some extent of decentralisation and some extent of centralisation when it begins to operate from several places or any new units and markets added. According to
8536-585: The tasks for administration, it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices". This essay became a foundation for the study of public administration in America. In his 1944 work Bureaucracy , the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises compared bureaucratic management to profit management. Profit management, he argued, is the most effective method of organization when the services rendered may be checked by economic calculation of profit and loss. When, however,
8633-423: The theories that are or have been influential are: A leader in a formal, hierarchical organization , is appointed to a managerial position and has the right to command and enforce obedience by virtue of the authority of his position. However, he must possess adequate personal attributes to match his authority, because authority is only potentially available to him. In the absence of sufficient personal competence,
8730-636: The translation of Confucian texts during the Enlightenment , the concept of a meritocracy reached intellectuals in the West, who saw it as an alternative to the traditional ancien regime of Europe. Western perception of China even in the 18th century admired the Chinese bureaucratic system as favourable over European governments for its seeming meritocracy; Voltaire claimed that the Chinese had "perfected moral science" and François Quesnay advocated an economic and political system modeled after that of
8827-408: The word is used very often to blame complicated rules, processes, and written work that are interpreted as obstacles rather than safeguards and accountability assurances. Socio-bureaucracy would then refer to certain social influences that may affect the function of a society. In modern usage, modern bureaucracy has been defined as comprising four features: Bureaucracy in a political theory is mainly
8924-527: Was "always applied with an opprobrious connotation", and by 1957 the American sociologist Robert Merton suggested that the term bureaucrat had become an " epithet , a Schimpfwort " in some circumstances. The word bureaucracy is also used in politics and government with a disapproving tone to disparage official rules that appear to make it difficult—by insistence on procedure and compliance to rule, regulation, and law—to get things done. In workplaces,
9021-661: Was able to control and regulate all social groups, as well as trade, manufacturing, and even the Eastern Orthodox Church . The tsarist bureaucracy , alongside the military , the judiciary and the Russian Orthodox Church , played a major role in solidifying and maintaining the rule of the Tsars in the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721) and in the Russian Empire (1721–1917). In the 19th century,
9118-466: Was essential for a study of Soviet history and understanding the process of capitalist restoration in Russia and Eastern Europe. Political scientist, Baruch Knei-Paz argued Trotsky had, above all others, written "to show the historical and social roots of Stalinism" as a bureaucratic system. One of the predictions made by Trotsky in his 1936 work, The Revolution Betrayed , was that the USSR would come before
9215-447: Was not necessarily an admirer of bureaucracy, Weber saw bureaucratization as the most efficient and rational way of organizing human activity and therefore as the key to rational-legal authority , indispensable to the modern world. Furthermore, he saw it as the key process in the ongoing rationalization of Western society . Weber also saw bureaucracy, however, as a threat to individual freedoms, and ongoing bureaucratization as leading to
9312-537: Was still prominent in both dynasties. It was not until the Song dynasty (960–1279) that the recruitment of those who passed the exams and earned degrees was given greater emphasis and significantly expanded. During the Song dynasty (960–1279) the bureaucracy became meritocratic . Following the Song reforms, competitive examinations took place to determine which candidates qualified to hold given positions. The imperial examination system lasted until 1905, six years before
9409-455: Was to keep records of all actions of the state officials and report directly to the Shah. The Shah himself exercised his own measures for keeping his ministers under control by fostering an atmosphere of rivalry and competitive surveillance. And since the Safavid society was meritocratic, and successions seldom were made on the basis of heritage, this meant that government offices constantly felt
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