...KKKKKK Criticism for Max Weber’s Bureaucracy Written by Dr. Wasim Al-Habil College of Commerce The Islamic University of Gaza Beginning with Max Weber, bureaucracies have been regarded as mechanisms that rationalize authority and decision-making in society. Yet subsequent theorists have questioned the rationality of bureaucracies. Which features of modern-day public bureaucracies are rational? Which are not? Buttress your argument with citations from organization and/or public administration theories. Introduction: Max Weber’s work about bureaucracy, translated into English in 1946, was one of the major contributions that has influenced the literature of public administration. However, Van Riper (1997) argues that the work of Weber on bureaucracy has no influence on American PA until the 1950’s. The word bureaucracy is derived from two words; “bureau” and “Kratos.” While the word “bureau” refers to the office the Greek suffix “kratia or kratos” means power or rule. Thus we use the word “bureaucracy” to refer to the power of the office (Hummel, 1998, 307). “Bureaucracy” is rule conducted from a desk or office, i.e. by the preparation and dispatch of written documents and electronic ones. Bureaucracy is borrowed by the field of public administration (PA) from the field of sociology. It was borrowed by PA in much a similar way that practices of business were borrowed from the field of business administration and economics. Weber (1946) presents...
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...supporting the many people affected by the disease. Based in Washington D.C., the ALS Association is comprised of a headquarters, association chapters at the local level, and a national network of certified treatment facilities. In existence for more than a quarter of a century, the organization was thrust in the spotlight and subjected to increased scrutiny with the wildly successful “ALS ice bucket challenge” that swept social media in 2014. Is the ALS a disciplined Weberian bureaucracy or an organic grassroots organization challenging hierarchy and bureaucratic rules as detailed in the Neo-Weberian model articulated by Charles Perrow? Analysis of the organization, along with the wild popularity and financial gain from the ice bucket challenge, reveals that the organization is a dynamic combination of both Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy and a collection of passionate individuals whose autonomous freedom catapulted the association’s funding and visibility. German sociologist Max Weber considered bureaucracy an ideal type- the most efficient and rational form- for the structure and management of organizations. He claimed that...
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... Weber’s name synonymous with bureaucracy Whether we live under most totalitarian despotism or under most liberal democracy, we are governed to considerable extent by some form of Bcy… De Gourney coined the term in 1745… Initially it meant Government by Officials… Marx’s critique of Bcy precedes Weber’s formulation… Bata K Dey views on Bcy… Structural, Behavioural, Purposive aspects Structural-> Value Neutral… Phenomenon associated with any large scale orgn Behavioural-> showing some functional and pathological symptoms Purposive-> Orgn that maximizes efficiency Rise of Bureaucracy Max Weber 1. Creation of Money Economy… System of rewarding Bcrats by land etc tended to turn Bcy feudal and led to its disintegration…. Money Economy permits payment of secure regular salaries 2. Emergence of Capitalist Economy… Created needs that only Bcratic. orgn. Could satisfy… Capitalism requires abd encourages government based on Bcratic. Orgn. Also not only govt. but pvt. Enterprise also started following Bcratic principles to enhance rationality… 3. Trend towards rationality in Western Countries… Protestantism, Devt. Of Science and Technology, Capitalism etc. 4. Democracy… Elimination of traditional rule of nobles and feudal elements and encouraging education and appointment to office on basis of Knowledge 5. Growth in Population… Larger orgn. Tend to assume Bcratic. Forms 6. Govt becam Complex… Like constructing waterways, provision of social services etc. 7. Modern forms of...
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...single prescribed method that will lead to achievement of goal; managers must be able to determine which procedure works as the best way at certain situation, within a certain group or levels. Managers must therefore have a proper understanding of different management theories which will serve them as a guideline in decision making. Introduction The evidence of management system can be seen even at the start of 3000BC (Robbins and Barnwell 2007) where written rules and regulations for governance and various management practices were introduced till 1500AD. Number of different theories started evolving to control the organization and direct towards goal by creating extensive laws and policies which included scientific management and Bureaucracy theory. Scientific management theory was the first theory in management history to be looked on as a science rather then something that is done by intuition. Fredrick W. Taylor was the most popular classical management theorist also known as “father of scientific management”. He believed that there should be a methodical way to manage a business. He Introduced time and motion studies and sought the most efficient ways to do a specific job....
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...Management Theory/Model/Strategy Taxonomy Jo Student BUS/325 March 5, 2012 Dr. David A. Smith Table of Contents Theory/Characteristic/Application (TCA) 4 Theory of Bureaucracy 4 Characteristic 5 Application 5 TCA #2 6 Characteristic 6 Application 6 TCA #3 6 Characteristic 6 Application 6 TCA #4 6 Characteristic 6 Application 7 TCA #5 7 Characteristic 7 Application 7 TCA #6 7 Characteristic 7 Application 7 TCA #7 7 Characteristic 7 Application 7 TCA #8 8 Characteristic 8 Application 8 TCA #9 8 Characteristic 8 Application 8 TCA #10 8 Characteristic 8 Application 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Management Theory/Model/Strategy Taxonomy Trained scholars may manifest thought into the outside world by manner of classifying ideas into ideology. Classification of categories, known as taxonomy, may help individuals, organizations, and countries to achieve objectives by maximizing productivity (Williams & Knicki, 2009). In like fashion, Martín-Peña and Díaz-Garrido (2008) established that theories, models, and strategies increased organizational value when implemented efficiently. The purpose of this research will explore the tenets of taxonomy protocol exhibited in three categories: (1) Theory, model, or strategy, (2) Characteristic, and (3) Application. Even though creating taxonomies requires an investment of time, categorizing topics into a logical format inspires individual assertiveness and organizational efficiency within a structured...
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...Max Weber's contributions to organizational theory. Max Weber (1864-1920), can be classified in the bureaucratic management branch of the classical school. Weber, the son of a prominent Bismarckian era German politician, was raised in Berlin and studied law at the University of Berlin. After assuming an appointment teaching law at the University of Berlin, Weber assumed teaching appointments in economics at the Universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Vienna, ending with his death after a bout with pneumonia. Weber's interest in organizations evolves from his view of the institutionalization of power and authority in the modern Western world. He constructed a "rational-legal authority" model of an ideal type bureaucracy. This ideal type rested on a belief in the "legality" of patterns of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority to issue commands (legal authority). Weber postulated the rules and regulations of a bureaucracy serve to insulate its members against the possibility of personal favoritism. According to Max weber Bureaucratic management approach emphasized the necessity of organizations to operate in rational way instead of following the “arbitrary whims” or irrational motions and intentions of owners and managers. He found different characteristics in bureaucracies that would effectively conduct decision-making, controlling resources, protecting workers and accomplishment of organizational goals. Weber Believes All Bureaucracies Have Certain Characteristics: ...
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...Introduction In all business and organizational activities is the behaviour of getting people together to complete required goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively, that's called management. Modern management was based on The Principles of Scientific Management (F.W. Taylor by 1911) and Administration Industrielle Et Générale（H. Fayol by 1916). Nowadays, the subject of management have more development and more theories than the past, meanwhile many theories' disadvantage was discovered. Main theories of management 1. Classical theory There are a lot of theories of management in the world; one of the parts is called classical theory. Basically, this theory is emphasis on purpose, formal structure, hierarchy of management, technical requirements, and common principles of organization. It’s also emphasis placed on planning of work, technical requirements of organizations, systematic methods of management, and assumption of rational and logical behavior. Meanwhile propose that associated with division of work tasks, clearly defined duties, control and co-ordination of work, hierarchy, formal rules. There are two major classical sub-groups: i. Scientific Management (F.W. Taylor, 1911) Scientific management also called Taylorism. In the beginning of The Principles of Scientific Management (F.W. Taylor by 1911), Taylor thought that to prove the best way of management is a real scientific subject. This subject are based on clearly defined...
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...managerial expertise and leadership. The ability to realistically plan, organise resources effectively and efficiently, co-ordinate and control resources in this every changing, complex, dynamic environment is at the forefront of quality managerial practices. Good management has demonstrated itself more important than ever, with the peak Global Financial crisis in 2008/2009 proving that the historical theory’s and innovations in managerial practices are absolutely paramount to thriving economic prosperity. It is through the functions, approaches included in the literature of Henri Fayol’s 1949 English translated General and Industrial Management, Henry Mintzberg’s studies into managerial roles and German sociologist and economist Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy that acknowledge and promote guidelines, expectations and accountability from managers. The extent, to which modern day management upholds and applies all three of these historical studies/ theories into modern management practices will be basis for coherent, strong, fully functioning and ultimately successful...
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...Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy? Johan P. Olsen Working Paper No.10, March 2005 http://www.arena.uio.no 1 Abstract The paper questions the fashionable ideas, that bureaucratic organization is an obsolescent, undesirable and non-viable form of administration, and that there is an inevitable and irreversible paradigmatic shift towards market- or network organization. In contrast, the paper argues that contemporary democracies are involved in another round in a perennial debate and ideological struggle over what are desirable forms of administration and government, that is, a struggle over institutional identities and institutional balances. The argument is not that bureaucratic organization is a panacea and the answer to all challenges of public administration. Rather, bureaucratic organization is part of a repertoire of overlapping, supplementary and competing forms co-existing in contemporary democracies, and so are market-organization and network-organization. Rediscovering Weber’s analysis of bureaucratic organization, then, enriches our understanding of public administration. This is in particular true when we (a) include bureaucracy as an institution, and not only an instrument; (b) look at the empirical studies in their time and context, and not only at Weber’s ideal-types and predictions; and (c) take into account the political and normative order bureaucracy is part of, and not only the internal characteristics of “the bureau”...
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...In sociology, the iron cage is a term coined by Max Weber for the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control. Weber also described the bureaucratization of social order as "the polar night of icy darkness".[1] The original German term is stahlhartes Gehäuse; this was translated into "iron cage", an expression made familiar to English language speakers by Talcott Parsons in his 1930 translation of Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.[2] This translation has recently been questioned by certain sociologists and interpreted instead as the "shell as hard as steel".[2][3] Weber wrote: “ | In Baxter’s view the care for external goods should only lie on the shoulders of the 'saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment.' But fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage."[4] | ” | Weber became concerned with social actions and the subjective meaning that humans attach to their actions and interaction within specific social contexts. He also believed in idealism, which is the belief that we only know things because of the meanings that we apply to them. This led to his interest in power and authority in terms of bureaucracy and rationalization. Rationalization and bureaucracy[edit] Weber states, “the course of development involves… the bringing in of calculation...
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...Arshia Shafiei Student No: 21273317 Dec 12, 2014 Critically evaluate the classical and human relations approaches of management theory. One of the most important human activities is managing. Since the development of the first human civilizations managing has been essential to accomplish aims and objectives and ensure the coordination of individuals Olum (2004). Management is defined as the combination of the skills and talents of individuals concerned with getting things done through people by taking into account the resources for profitable activities Pettinger (1994). In the early twentieth century, Henry Fayol defined management as the process of “forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling” Fayol (1949). Subsequently, Koontz and O’donell (1988) suggested the definition of management as “an operational process dissected by analyzing the managerial functions such as planning and organizing”. Over the last centuries management has been studied with the view of establishing what constitutes a successful manager Petinger (1994). The search for applicable principles of management initiated in the last years of nineteenth century in Europe and America Cole (2004). Like any other social practice, at the heart of management is theory that managers can deploy to achieve competition advantage and use more incisive interventions McAuley et al (2007). In addition the basic requirement of managers for meeting the challenges like competition, use of...
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...Jerosemin B. Gamboa ZSC 111 - 2ET Assignment: Give some proponents of sociology and their important contributions. Era/ Years | Proponent | Contribution | 1798 - 1857 | Comte, Auguste | August Comte is known as the founder of positivism and is credited with coininging the term sociology. Comte helped shape and expand the field of sociology and placed a great deal of emphasis in his work on systematic observation and social order. | 1818 – 1883 | Marx, Karl | Karl Marx is one of the most famous figures in the founding of sociology. He is known for his theory of historical materialism, which focuses on the way social order, like class structure and hierarchy, emerges out of the economic system of a society. He theorized this relationship as a dialectic between thebase and superstructure of society. Some of his notable works, like "The Manifesto of the Communist Party," were co-written with Friedrich Engels. Much of his theory is contained in the series of volumes titledCapital. Marx has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and in a 1999 BBC poll was voted the "thinker of the millennium" by people from around the world. | 1858 - 1917 | Durkheim, Émile | Social Fact, AnomieEmile Durkheim is knows as the "father of sociology" and is a founding figure in the field of sociology. He is credited with making sociology a science. One of his most famous pieces of work includes Suicide: A Study In Sociology, and another important work of...
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...The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0025-1747.htm GUEST EDITORIAL Guest editorial On the value of management history Absorbing the past to understand the present and inform the future David Lamond Sydney Graduate School of Management, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta, Australia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the value of management history as a contributor to the development of the theory and practice of management and, to the extent that it is necessary to absorb the past in order to understand the present and inform the future, consider what happens to the knowledge base when the surviving “contributions” to the knowledge base are partial and, indeed, erroneous. Design/methodology/approach – The articles that constitute this special issue form the launching-pad for this discussion, with the ideas presented here combined with previous research and commentaries on the issues raised. Research limitations/implications – In The Life of Reason, Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Managers looking for the “next big thing”, without being able to incorporate it effectively into their experience, and the experience of those who are long gone, are condemned to repeat not just the past, but also the mistakes of the past. Accordingly...
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...EARLY MANAGEMENT Organizations and managers have existed for thousands of years. The Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China were projects of tremendous scope and magnitude, and required good management. Regardless of the titles given to managers throughout history, someone has always had to plan what needs to be accomplished, organize people and materials, lead and direct workers, and impose controls to ensure that goals were attained as planned. Another example of early management can be found in the city of Venice, which was a major economic and trade center in 1400s. the venetians developed an early form of business enterprise and engaged in many activities common to today’s organizations. The venetians used warehouse and inventory systems to keep track of materials, human resource management functions to manage the labor force and an accounting system to keep track of revenues and costs. Two historical events significant to the study of management are work of Adam Smith, in his book,’ The Wealth of Nations’, in which he argued brilliantly for the economic advantages of division of labor (the breakdown of jobs into narrow, repetitive tasks). The Industrial Revolution is second important pre-twentieth-century influence on management. The introduction of machine powers combined with the division of labor made large, efficient factories possible. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling became necessary activities. There are six major approaches to management...
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...Classical theorists: August Comte: He was born on the 19th of January 1798, in Paris France. He was born in the shadow of the French revolution and as modern science and technology gave birth to the industrial revolution. During this time, European society experienced violent conflict and feelings of alienation. Comte spent most of his life developing a philosophy for a new social order amidst all the chaos and uncertainty. He rejected religion and royalty, focusing instead on the study of society which he named “sociology”. He broke the subject into two categories: i. Forces holding the society together(social statics) ii. Those driving social change(social dynamics) Comte wrote so many books which contains the outline of his thought such as: i. Positive philosophy(1830 -42) ii. System of positive policy(1851 -54) iii. Religion of humanity (1958) Comte gave birth not only to a specific methodology of studying knowledge and also analyzed the evolution of human thinking and its various stages. He developed a unilinear theory of evolution. According to Comte, individual mind and human society pass through successive stages of historical evolution leading to some final stage of perfection. The principle developed by Comte in the study of human thinking presumes gradual evolution and development in human thinking and it is known as the law of three stages of thinking. Comte’s law of three stages represents that there are three intellectual stages through...
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