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91-421: [REDACTED] The Singapore Civil Service is the bureaucracy of civil servants that supports the Government of Singapore . Along with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), statutory boards , and other independent government bodies, the civil service makes up the overall public service of Singapore. As of 2022, the civil service has about 87,000 employees. Thomas Friedman of The New York Times considers

182-406: A direttore generale (director-general), while the position of sottosegretario di stato (under-secretary of state) is a political one and ranks below the ministro segretario di stato (minister-secretary of state, the head of a ministry or department) or the vice ministro (deputy-minister), both political posts as well. The Japanese equivalents are the administrative vice-ministers. In Kenya,

273-558: 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

364-416: 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

455-428: 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

546-704: A corresponding number. The top civil service grades are grades 1 to 4, upon which ministerial salary is also pegged. Civil servants comprise four divisions: I (administrative and professional); II (management executives (MX)); III (Technical Support Scheme, Corporate Support Scheme, and Management Support Scheme); and IV (the Operations Support Scheme (OSS): manual workers and other unskilled labour ). Division I employees are divided into Staff, Superscale and Timescale grades, in order of seniority, with superscale employees consisting of permanent secretaries and directors as well as their deputies. In 2017,

637-611: 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 ,

728-444: A high pay is necessary to prevent corruption, attrition, and the influence of outside money in the public service, as well as to attract talent from the private sector. Civil servants need to declare casino visitation within a week if they went to 2 local casinos more than four times a month, or if they have bought an annual entry pass. Bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( / b j ʊəˈr ɒ k r ə s i / ; bure- OK -rə-see )

819-453: 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

910-664: A ministry is known as the permanent secretary . Permanent secretaries in each ministry used to be permanent in their postings. The current practice is to rotate them in various ministries every few years. The highest-ranking civil servant in Singapore is the Head of the Civil Service. The incumbent Head of the Civil Service is Leo Yip, who took office in September 2017. He also holds the position of Permanent Secretary at both

1001-623: 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

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1092-602: 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

1183-404: 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

1274-616: 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

1365-427: 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

1456-496: A term which is ordinarily translated as "chief executive officer. The official English translation for the government post is "Director General". Directors General of ministries are nominated by the relevant minister and confirmed by the Government, and serve at the pleasure of the ministers above them. In Italy, the highest civil service official in a ministry or department is either a segretario generale (secretary-general) or

1547-493: Is Chan Chun Sing . Chan is serving concurrently as Minister with the Ministry of Education (Singapore) . The salary of civil servants is organised into grades , with employees also being entitled to bonuses. The salary of Members of Parliament (MPs), Cabinet ministers, judges, the attorney-general, speaker, and auditor general are also based upon this scale. Salary grades generally begin with one or two letters, and end with

1638-691: Is a "deputy minister", who within a government ministry or department is outranked only by a Minister of the Crown . Federally, deputy ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Secretary to the Cabinet (the Head of Canada's civil service). They are considered to hold equal rank with Parliamentary Secretaries or Assistants – legislators appointed to assist Ministers in their duties – and are entitled to several privileges, including

1729-420: 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 is an example of bureaucracy, as

1820-571: 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

1911-494: Is called "secretary general". On the island state of Mauritius , which is a former British colony, there are a number of Permanent Secretaries who report to the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service . In the Prime Minister's Office there are 2 Permanent Secretaries, assisted by 3 Deputy Permanent Secretaries as well as 4 Assistant Permanent Secretaries. There are at least 147 Assistant Permanent Secretaries, 86 Deputy Permanent Secretaries and 37 Permanent Secretaries in

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2002-563: 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

2093-421: Is done only for ministers, "to reflect the ethos of sacrifice that political service involves", and does not apply to civil servants. The salaries of high-ranking civil servants in Singapore are some of the highest in the world, and are pegged to the salaries of the top-earning Singaporeans. This has led to some criticising the government for overpaying its employees. In response, the government has maintained that

2184-604: Is mainly 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

2275-683: 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

2366-742: 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

2457-551: The Cabinet Secretary of India or the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India when the latter is granted the rank of Cabinet Secretary (as has been the case under Prime Minister Narendra Modi ). In Indonesia, the equivalent position is called Secretary-General ( Indonesian : Sekretaris Jenderal , abbreviated Sekjen ), one of the highest-ranking permanent civil servants in a ministry, leads

2548-479: The Ceylon Civil Service , with a few exceptions such as the permanent secretary to the ministry of justice which would be an officer of the judicial service. Anandatissa de Alwis was the first person from the private sector to be appointed as permanent secretary. The Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 , changed the title to secretary to the ministry. Traditionally if the appointee is a serving member of

2639-670: 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

2730-537: 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

2821-410: 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

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2912-402: The public service , he or she would leave the service for the duration they hold the appointment. In the recent past it has been common for ministry secretaries to be appointed from outside the public service, with some on political grounds at the discretion of the president on the advice of the minister in charge. Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe became the first serving military officer from

3003-534: 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

3094-464: 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

3185-498: 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

3276-447: The Civil Service for a number of years on a bond , usually ranging from 4 to 6 years. Scholars must repay the bond if they choose to resign from the Civil Service before the completion of their mandated service. Many scholars who have remained in government have gone on to hold senior positions. Many Singaporean ministers are also drawn from the Civil Service, particularly from government scholars. The highest-ranking civil servant within

3367-567: 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. Permanent secretary In Australia, the position is called the "department secretary", “secretary of the department”, or “director-general of the department” in some states and territories. In Canada, the senior civil service position

3458-461: 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,

3549-675: The General Secretariat ( Indonesian : Sekretariat Jenderal , abbreviated Setjen ). These officers directly report to the minister in their respective ministry or to the respective leader in state bodies. In the Civil service of the Republic of Ireland , the position of Secretary General of a Department of State is almost identical to that of a Permanent Secretary in the British Civil Service , except that

3640-555: 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;

3731-504: The MPs and the speaker of Parliament , are ratios of the MR4 salary. While new ministers salaries start off at the MR4 grade, the prime minister may increase a minister's pay grade at his discretion. While the salaries of political leaders are generally fixed upon the pay grades, the salaries of civil servants may vary greatly. For example, the MR4 discount of being only 60% of the median top salary

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3822-548: The Singapore Civil Service to be one of the most efficient and uncorrupt bureaucracies in the world, with a high standard of discipline and accountability. It is also considered a key contributor to the success of Singapore since its independence. Other commentators have argued that the persisting dominance of the People's Action Party (PAP) on the civil service has led to complacency and groupthink , with

3913-610: The Strategy Group, and National Security and Intelligence Coordination (NSIC) under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Singapore Government also appoints a cabinet minister to take charge of the operational responsibilities in the public service division and its integrity of the service, where the minister is duly liable to the Parliament of Singapore as well. The current minister appointed to this designation

4004-483: 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

4095-441: 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

4186-669: 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,

4277-469: 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,

4368-462: The country's Public Service Commission and upon approval by the country's National Assembly , is appointed to office by the President. The Constitution of Kenya grants the President the power to re-assign a Principal Secretary. In Malaysia, a permanent secretary refers to the administrative head of a ministry in the states of Sabah and Sarawak . The administrative head of a federal ministry

4459-502: 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

4550-589: 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

4641-409: 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

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4732-758: The elite arm of the Civil Service – to rise up the ranks. In Sri Lanka , a "Secretary to the Ministry" (also known as Ministry Secretary or simply Secretary) is the administrative head of a ministry and is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka . The post of permanent secretary was created under the Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947 when Ceylon gained self-rule from Britain in 1948. Permanent secretaries were commonly appointed from

4823-477: The equivalent office is called "principal secretary", which is a position established by the Constitution of Kenya as an office in the country's civil service . Principal Secretaries serve as the administrative head of a state department within a ministry and are responsible for the department's daily affairs. A Principal Secretary is nominated by the President of Kenya from a group of persons recommended by

4914-576: The equivalent position is called Federal Secretary and is the highest ranking permanent civil servant in a federal ministry. In Singapore, permanent secretaries have to retire after a ten-year term even if they are younger than the official retirement age of 62. This was introduced in 2000 as part of the Public Service Leadership scheme, to provide opportunities for younger officers from the Administrative Service –

5005-574: The exception of departments within the Ministry of External Affairs , which are headed by Indian Foreign Service officers, all Secretaries to the Government of India are drawn from cadres of the Indian Administrative Service . These officers directly report to Ministers of the Union within their respective ministry, and oversee all day-to-day operations of their departments. Within the civil service, they are outranked only by

5096-694: 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

5187-528: 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

5278-429: The formal divisional categories were abolished. For most civil servants, the pay scale consists of ranges rather than specific fixed salaries, and the actual salaries of civil servants can vary widely depending on performance and other factors. (departmental services, statutory boards) (approx., SGD) (approx., SGD) (approx., SGD) (approx., SGD) (approx., SGD) The salaries of political appointments, such as

5369-638: The full separation of bureaucratic operations from politics, and mutually exclusive spheres of competence for government agencies, Vogler argues that 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

5460-478: 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

5551-426: 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

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5642-520: 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

5733-510: 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

5824-510: 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

5915-520: 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

6006-464: 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

6097-434: 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

6188-437: 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

6279-573: The position is not permanent, having a term of seven years. This limit was introduced by the Strategic Management Initiative of the mid-1990s, when also the title was changed from "Secretary". Irish government departments may also have a "second secretary", which is equivalent to the Second Permanent Secretary grade in the British civil service. In Israel, the equivalent office is called מנהל כללי ,

6370-532: The positions of secretaries under the second Tung Chee Hwa government. Since August 2005, the Office of the Chief Executive also has a permanent secretary. His ranking is, however, lower than most other permanent secretaries according to the pay scale. In India, the equivalent position is called "secretary to the Government of India" and is the highest-ranking permanent civil servant in a department. With

6461-510: 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

6552-559: 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

6643-492: 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

6734-459: 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,

6825-408: 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

6916-399: 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,

7007-405: 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

7098-413: 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

7189-704: The supporting ministries being resistant to alternative views and fundamentally unprepared for a change of government. The Civil Service was inherited from the British system. Since Singapore's independence in 1965, the Civil Service has been closely tied with the governing People's Action Party (PAP). One of the ways by which the service recruits Singaporeans is through the competitive Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarship. These full-ride scholarships are awarded to prospective undergraduate and post-graduate students based on their academic performance and extra-curricular activities; they are not need-based scholarships. Upon graduation, PSC Scholars are mandated to work in

7280-586: 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,

7371-699: The title is "director-general". Organisations with enforcement powers, such as the Inland Revenue Department and the New Zealand Police , are headed by commissioners. The New Zealand Customs Service is headed by the Comptroller of Customs. Civil service heads are officially employed by the State Services Commission , further separating them from the politicians who hold ministerial positions. In Pakistan,

7462-637: 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

7553-568: The use of diplomatic passports . In Germany, the equivalent office is called " Staatssekretär " (state secretary). It is not to be confused with the "parliamentary state secretary", who serves as deputy to a minister, often with a more specialised field of responsibilities. The parliamentary state secretary is always a political position, and not part of the civil service. In Hong Kong , heads of policy bureaux, secretaries, were filled by civil servants until their titles were changed to permanent secretaries in 2002, when political appointees filled

7644-612: The various Ministries of the Government of Mauritius . In New Zealand, the civil service head of a ministry is ordinarily entitled "chief executive", although there are still some positions which carry the title of secretary (Secretary of Education, Secretary of Justice, Secretary of Transport). In some cases (such as the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service , Ministry for Primary Industries, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Health)

7735-401: 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

7826-529: 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,

7917-661: 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,

8008-467: 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

8099-450: 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

8190-539: 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

8281-455: 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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