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UNIT 6 MAX WEBER’S THEORY OF
BUREAUCRACY
Structure 6.0 Learning Outcome 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Max Weber: His Life and Writings 6.3 Weber’s Bureaucracy: The Context 6.4 Theory of Bureaucracy 6.5 Max Weber on Authority 6.5.1 Components of Authority 6.5.2 Categories of People in Organisation 6.5.3 Types of Authority 6.6 Max Weber: The Concept of Bureaucracy 6.6.1 Features of Legal-Rational Bureaucracy 6.6.2 Features of Officials 6.7 Max Weber: Elements of Bureaucracy 6.8 Max Weber: Limits on Bureaucracy 6.9 Max Weber’s Bureaucracy: Criticism 6.10 Max Weber’s Bureaucracy: Relevance 6.11 Conclusion 6.12 Key Concepts 6.13 References and Further Reading 6.14 Activities
6.0 LEARNING OUTCOME
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
- understand the Weber’s contribution to the theory of bureaucracy;
- explains the types of authority;
- know the elements of bureaucracy;
- discuss the limitation of the bureaucracy; and
- analyse the criticism and relevance of Weberian model to the modern society.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
In the classical approach to administration, Weberian model of bureaucracy finds a central place. Max Weber is the first thinker who has systematically studied the bureaucracy. He has provided a theoretical framework and basis for understanding bureaucracy. Max Weber’s analysis influenced many modern writers on bureaucracy. Weber, apart from bureaucracy, wrote on various aspects of the society ranging from history, religion to legitimacy and domination. Weber was founder of modern sociology and a greatest scholar among the pioneers of administrative thought. He was one of the towering thinkers of the twentieth century. The Weberian ideal type bureaucracy continues to be the dominant paradigm in the public administration.
6.2 MAX WEBER: HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS
Max Weber (1864-1920) was born in western Germany. He studied law at the university of Heidelberg. He joined University of Berlin as an instructor in law. He wrote a number of papers on law, and social, political and economic factors prevalent during that time. His major writings were, ‘The Theory of Economic and Social Organisations’, ‘General Economic History’, ‘Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism’ (1904). He studied law and economics and he became a specialist in the interpretation of religious doctrines and he was a notable biblical scholar. He had a thorough grasp of ancient Roman administration, medieval trading companies and the modern stock exchange. He became a specialist in comparative history of urban institutions. He also made a special study of social and psychological conditions of productivity in a West German textile mill. He studied methodology of social studies.
Weber always preferred knowledge obtained through practical experience than library research. His writings reflect the social conditions of Germany of his time. He saw the decline of liberalism and threat to individual in the bureaucratisation of the society. Unification of Germany under Bismarck and elimination of liberal middle class movement convinced Weber that the great goal could be achieved through power policies. (Prasad. et.al. p.77)
accepted term in the conventions of political discourse. (Clegg and Dunkerley, p.75). By the end of 19th^ century the term was widely held to have been of German origin. J.S. Mill, an eminent political scientist included bureaucracy in his series of analysis. Karl Marx also discussed about bureaucracy at certain places. According to Marx, bureaucracy like a state itself is an instrument by which the dominant class exercise its domination over the other social classes. (Mohit Bhattacharya, p.52). Hegel conceived the governing bureaucracy of public administration as a bridge between the state and the civil society.
Bureaucracy as an institution existed in China even in the period of 186 B.C, public offices were in existence and persons for those offices were recruited through competitive examinations even then. (Prasad et. al. p.79).
The above discussion shows that there existed a bureaucracy much earlier to Weberian writings and also there were attempts to understand the bureaucracy by different writings. But the Weber is considered to be the first person to attempt at the systematic understanding of the bureaucracy.
6.5 MAX WEBER ON AUTHORITY
Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy is closely related to his ideas on legitimacy of authority. He worked on theories of domination, leadership and legitimacy of authority. Weber differentiated authority, power and control. To him, a person could be said to poses power, if in a social relationship, his will could be enforced despite resistance. Such exercise of power becomes controlled. Authority manifests when a command of definite content elicits obedience on the part of specific individuals. For Weber, ‘authority’ was identical with ‘authoritarian power of command’ (Prasad, et.al.p.77). Authority is state of reality where a person willingly complies with legitimate commands or orders because he considers that a person by virtue of his position could issue orders to him. Unlike in ‘power’ there is willing obedience on the part of clientele to legitimise authority.
6.5.1 Components of Authority
Weber identified five essential components of authority. They are: (1) an individual or a body of individuals who rule, (2) an individual or a body of individuals who are ruled,
(3) the will of the rulers to influence conduct of the ruled, (4) evidence of the influence of the rulers in terms of the objective degree of command, and (5) direct or indirect evidence of that influence in terms of subjective acceptance with which the ruled obey the command.
6.5.2 Categories of People in Organisation
The authority exists as long as it is accepted as legitimate by the ruled. Thus, an administrator or organisation can rule only when it has legitimacy. While explaining authority in various organisations, Weber concluded “all administration means dominance” (Prasad. et. al. p. 77). Weber categorised persons in the organisations in to four types: (1) those who are accustomed to obey commands, (2) those who are personally interested in seeing the existing domination continue, (3) those who participate in that domination, and (4) those who hold themselves in readiness for the exercise of functions.
6.5.3 Types of Authority
Since Weber believed that authority could be exercised as long as it is legitimate he divided the authority in to three types based on sources of legitimacy for each authority. Weber classified authority in to three ‘pure’ or ‘ideal’ types based on its claim to legitimacy. They are: (1) traditional authority, (2) charismatic authority and (3) legal-rational authority.
Traditional Authority
It rests on “an established belief in the sanctity of immemorial traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority under them”. (Bertram Gross, p.137). In this kind of authority a command is obeyed because of the belief in age-old customs, traditions, conventions and beliefs. Those who exercised authority does so under the rules that have always existed, but may also exercise personal prerogative. This is a pure type of feudal, patrimonial regime under which the organisation consists of household
It rests on “a belief in the legality of patterns of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands. Obedience is owed to the legally established impersonal order. It extends to the persons exercising the authority of office only by virtue of the formal legality of their commands, and only with in the scope of the authority of the office”. (Bertram Gross, p.139). Manifestations of legal authority are found in organisations where rules are applied judicially and in accordance with ascertainable principles valid for all members in the organisation. The members who exercise power under this authority are the superiors and are appointed or elected by legal procedures to maintain the legal orders. The organisation is a continuous process and all its members are subject to certain rules. Weber considers the legal authority as the most rational form of authority.
Obedience to the authority depends upon certain related believes. They are: (1) that a legal code can be established which can claim obedience from members of the organisation; (2) that, the law is a system of abstract rules, these rules are applied to particular cases, and the administration looks after the interest of the organisation with in the limits of the law; (3) that the man exercising authority also obeys this impersonal order; (4) that only ‘qua’ member does the member obey the law; and (5) that obedience is done not to the person who holds the authority but to the impersonal order which has granted him this position. (Martin Albrow, p.43).
Of all the three types of authority Weber considers the legal authority, not only the most rational authority, but also the most efficient form of authority. He considers bureaucracy as legal-rational type of authority.
6.6 MAX WEBER: THE CONCEPT OF BUREAUCRACY
Weber never defined bureaucracy. He only described it as “an administrative body of appointed officials”. (Prasad. et. al. p.80). He also described its characteristics. Bureaucracy includes explicitly appointed officials only leaving out the elected ones. Weber wrote a great deal about the place of the official in a modern society. For him, it has an increasingly important type of social role. As in the case of authority, Weber categorised bureaucracy in to (1) patrimonial bureaucracy found in traditional and charismatic authorities
and (2) legal-rational bureaucracy found only in the legal type of authority. Weber identified certain features of legal-rational bureaucracy.
6.6.1 Features of Legal-Rational Bureaucracy
The model of legal-rational bureaucracy described by Weber has the following features: (1) Official business is conducted on a continuous, regulated basis, (2) An administrative agency functions in accordance with stipulated rules and is characterised by three interrelated attributes; (a) the powers and functions of each official is defined in terms of impersonal criteria, (b) the official is given matching authority to carry out his responsibility and (c) the means of compulsion at his disposal are strictly limited and the conditions under which their employment is legitimate are clearly defined, (3) Every official and every office is part of the hierarchy of authority. Higher officials or offices perform supervision and the lower officers and officials have the right to appeal, (4) Officials do not own the resources necessary for rendering the duties, but they are accountable for use of official resources. Official business and private affairs, official revenue and private income are strictly separated, (5) Offices can not be appropriated by the incumbents as private property, and (6) Administration is conducted on the basis of written documents. (Prasad. et. al. p.81)
6.6.2 Features of Officials
Weber also discussed in detail, as a part of his model of bureaucracy, the features of officials. They are: (1) the staff members are personally free, observing only the impersonal duties of their offices, (2) they are appointed to an official position on the basis of the contract, (3) an official exercises authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is expressed through faithful execution of his official duties,
that adherence to rules originally conceived as a means, becomes an end in itself. Rules become more important than the goals of the organisation.
Sphere of Competence
It involves a sphere of obligation to perform functions, which have been marked off as a part of a systematic division of labour. It also implies provision of the incumbent with the necessary authority to carry out the functions.
Hierarchy
According to Weber every office and every official is a part of a hierarchy. Under this system the lower office functions under the control of higher office. He attaches greater importance to the principle of hierarchy in the organisation of office.
Separation of Personal and Public Ends
Weber pleads for separation of officials from their ownership of the means of administration. Officials cannot use his office position for personal ends. The office property is separated from personal property; at the same time the official is accountable for the use of office property.
Written Documents
Written documents are the heart of Weberian bureaucracy. All administrative acts, decisions and rules are recorded in writing. These documents make the administration accountable to the people and provide a ready reference for future action.
Monocratic Type
It means certain functions performed by bureaucracy cannot be performed by any other organisation. They monopolise certain functions and only the authorised official can perform that function, makes them monocratic in nature.
For all types of authority, Weber wrote “the fact of the existence and continuing functioning of an administrative staff is vital. It is indeed, the existence of such activity which is usually meant by the term organisation”. (Bertram Gross, p.139). Weber considered pure or monocratic bureaucracy is the most rational form of administrative staff. He further felt that “it is superior to any other form in precision, in stability, in the stringency of discipline and in its reliability. It thus, makes possible a particularly high degree of calculability of results for the heads of organisations and for those acting in relation to it. It is finally superior both in intensive efficiency and in the scope of its operations, and is formally capable of applications to all kinds of administrative tasks”. (Bertram Gross, p.139).
For bureaucratic administration is, other things being equal, always, from a formal technical point of view, the most rational type. According to Weber “for the needs of mass administration today, it is (bureaucracy) completely indispensable. The choice is only that between bureaucracy and dilettantism in the field of administration”. (Bertram Gross, p.140). Thus Weber believed that rational bureaucracy is technically superior and capable of attaining high degree of efficiency.
6.8 MAX WEBER: LIMITS ON BUREAUCRACY
Weber while emphasising on the necessity of bureaucracy was aware of the fact that, the bureaucracy has inherent tendency of accumulation of power. The sources of this power could be seen in the special knowledge, which the official poses. In the course of his duties he acquired a great deal of concrete information much of it artificially restricted by ideas of confidentiality and secrecy. Nevertheless he was convinced that bureaucratisation was inevitable and that bureaucrats gained power. Weber resisted any identification of bureaucracy with rule by officials.
In order to prevent the bureaucracy from acquiring powers Weber suggested certain mechanism for limiting the scope of systems of authority in general and bureaucracy in particular. These mechanisms fall in to five major categories. The categories are: (1) collegiality, (2) separation of powers, (3)
Another method of limiting bureaucracy is sharing of authority of bureaucracy with the elected representatives of the people. With this method it is possible to control the power of the bureaucracy. But here, there is a possibility of representatives being bureaucratised. However Weber thought that through this medium there was a greater possibility of check on bureaucracy.
Through all the above means Weber wanted to limit the powers of the bureaucracy.
6.9 MAX WEBER’S BUREAUCRACY: CRITICISM
The Weberian bureaucracy has attracted criticism from several corners. The criticism however revolves around the Weberian model, its rationality concept, administrative efficiency, formalism and the relevance of bureaucracy to the changing circumstances. Some of the very advantages of the bureaucracy claimed by Weber were turned against his own model.
Robert Merton and other sociologist have questioned the rationality of Weber’s model saying that it results in certain dysfunctional consequences. Merton says that the structure of the bureaucracy especially its hierarchy and rules can easily result in consequences which are detrimental to the attainment of objectives of an organisation. Merton emphasises that the bureaucracy means inefficiency.
Phillip Selznick, pointing to the division of functions in an organisation shows how sub-units setup goals of their own sometimes conflicting with the organisation as a whole. Both Merton and Selznick have shown that the structure of formal organisations described by Weber is insufficient as a description of how bureaucrats behave clearly brought out this limitation of Weber’s bureaucracy.
Talcott Parsons questioned the internal consistency of Weber’s bureaucracy. Weber expected the administrative staff to be technically superior as well as poses the right to give orders. Parsons thinks that, this itself is not always possible to ensure that the higher-level authority will be matched by equivalent professional skills.
Alvin Gouldner and others have raised the problem of compliance with the rules by members of an organisation not so much because of informal processes arising with in an administrative structure but to conditions out side the organisation which orient the behaviour of the member’s vis-à-vis the rules. This criticism highlights the influence of environmental factors on the behaviour of the officials, which was neglected by Weberian model.
Bendix, the biographer of Weber argued against the belief that it is possible to adhere to a rule without the influence of the general social and political values. Rudolf questioned the very conception of Weber’s model that administration was a rational machine and officials were mere technical functionaries.
Critics like Peter Blau questioned applicability of Weberian model to different places and times. Efficient administration is possible only when an individual is allowed to identify with the purpose of the organisation and to adopt his behaviour to the changing circumstances. Weber’s bureaucracy and its assumptions about the human behaviour may not be valid in non-western environment. Joseph La Palombara believed that the developing societies may find Russian or Chnes model of administration more effective than Weberian model.
Some scholars like H.C.Creel questioned the very idea that rational bureaucracy is a modern phenomenon. He pointed that almost all characteristics of Weberian model existed in China by 200 B.C.
Simon and Barnard have proved that administrative efficiency would be reduced if we follow Weber’s structural approach. It is possible to increase the efficiency in the organisations through informal relations than formal practices.
Critics questioned Weber’s claim of internal consistency of bureaucracy and its ability to attain maximum efficiency. Gouldner who tested Weber’s ideal type empirically found that it has internal contradictions such as tensions between the claims of expertise and claims of obedience based on discipline.
Simon and March who have included Weber in the classical thinkers like Gulick and Urwick felt that he too neglected the human behaviour in an
Hence, the bureaucracy of Weberian type continues to find its relevance even today.
6. 11 CONCLUSION
Weber can be considered as one of the eminent thinkers of twentieth century. Though he has written extensively on various subjects, his contribution to the theory of bureaucracy is highly valued. Today we can see it in practice in all the societies of the world. Weber being proved correct when he said that the societies once governed by the bureaucracy can never get rid of it. His ideas on authority, rationality of bureaucracy continues to be relevant for the present day society. Most of the time, those who criticise the Weberian model are not actually criticising Weber, but the present day bureaucracy, which reflect the changes that are taking place in the contemporary period. Bureaucracy might need certain reforms to make it more relevant to the society.
6.12 KEY CONCEPTS
Amateur Administration: It emphasises on involving non-professionals and interested individuals in the activities of the administration. Collegiality: Instead of one individual, a group of persons are involved in the decision making process. Impersonality: It is one of the features of Weberian bureaucracy. Here rules are objectively followed irrespective of the person.
6.13 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Albrow, Martin, 1985, Bureaucracy , Macmillan, London, 1985.
Ali, Shun Sun Nisa, 1977, Eminent Administrative Thinkers , Associated Publishing House, New Delhi.
Bhattacharya, Mohit, 1981, Public Administration: Structure, Process and Behaviour , The World Press Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata.
Braverman, Harry, 1979, Labour and Monopoly Capital , The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century, Social Scientist Press, Trivendrum.
Clegg, Steward & David Dunkerley, 1980, Organisation, Class and Control , Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
Gross, Bertram M., 1964, The Managing of Organisations , The Administrative Struggle, The Free Press of Glencoe, Collier-Macmillan, London.
Lakshmanna, C. and A.V. Satyanarayana Rao, 2004, Max Weber , in D. Ravindra Prasad, V.S. Prasad and P. Satyanarayan (Eds), Administrative Thinkers , Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
Prasad, D. Ravindra, V.S. Prasad and P. Satyanarayan, 2004, Administrative Thinkers (Ed), Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
Pugh, D.S., 1985, Organisation Theory (Ed), Selected Readings, Penguin Books, Middlesex, England.
6.14 ACTIVITIES
- What do you understand about the Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy? Explain.
- Do you think that the major elements of Weber’s bureaucracy are basically meant for bureaucratic efficiency? Discuss.
- Do you notice the existence of three types of authorities in present day Indian society? Please explain based on your experience.
