Characteristics of a Bureaucracy People usually hold negati

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
   When we think of the term bureaucracy, a variety of unpleasant images come to mind. In order to develop a more useful and objective definition of bureaucracy, we must turn to the writings of Max Weber. Weber viewed bureaucracy as a form of organization quite different from the family-run business. He argued that every bureaucracy--whether its purpose is to run a day care center, or army--will have five basic characteristics. In our lecture today, we’ll take a brief look at these characteristics.
   The first characteristic Weber identified is division of labor. Specialized experts are employed in each position to perform specific tasks. Thus, the president of the United States need not be a good typist. A lawyer need not be able to complete an income tax form. By working at a specific task, people are more likely to be- come highly skilled and carry out a job with maximum efficiency. This emphasis on specialization is so basic a part of our lives that we may not realize that it is a recent development in western culture.
   Although division of labor has certainly been beneficial in the performance of many complex bureaucracies, in some cases it can lead to trained incapacity; that is, workers become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems. Besides, specialization is especially disastrous for the person who loses a job during layoff. The third problem is that division of labor may actually contribute to sex discrimination by creating unnecessary and inappropriate distinctions between female and male employees.
   The second characteristic Weber found for bureaucracy is hierarchy of authority. Bureaucracies follow the principle of hierarchy; that is, each position is under the supervision of a higher authority. Large medical groups, for example, have boards of directors, executive committees, and administrators.
   Recent research suggests that bureaucracy may be a positive environment for women at the lower but not the upper echelons of the hierarchy. It is believed that many traits traditionally associated with women are conducive to participation in a bureaucratic organization. However, women may find their career progress hindered because they function more as facilitators than as innovators, and then are not viewed as aggressive enough to serve in higher management posts. Consequently, although traditional feminine values may be functional for women in the lower levels of bureaucratic structure, they appear to become disfunctional as women aspire to greater power and prestige
   What will be the third feature, then? That’s written rules and regulations. Rules and regulations, as we all know, are an important characteristic of bureaucracies. Idcslly, through such procedures, a bureaucracy ensures uniform performance of every task This prohibits us from receiving an extra $20 at the bank, but also guarantees us that we will receive essentially the same treatment as other customers. If the bank provides them with special services, such as monthly statements or investment advice, it will also provide us with those services.
   Through written rules and regulations, bureaucracies generally offer employees clear standards as to what is considered an adequate performance. In addition, procedures provide a valuable sense of continuity in a bureaucracy. Individual workers will come and go, but the structure and past records give the organization a life of its own that outlives the services of any one bureaucrat.
   Of course, rules and regulations can over-shadow the larger goals of an organization and become disfunctional. If blindly applied, they will no longer serve as a means to achieving an objective but instea4 will become important in their own right. This would certainly be the case if a hospital emergency room physician failed to treat a seriously injured person because he or she had no valid proof of United States citizenship. Robert Merton has used the term goal displacement to refer to overzealous conformity to official regulations.
   The fourth characteristic on Weber’s list is impersonality. He wrote that in a bureaucracy, work is carried out without hatred or passion. Bureaucratic norms dictate that officials perform their duties without the personal consideration of people as individuals. This is intended to guarantee equal treatment for each person; however, it also contributes to the often cold and uncaring feeling associated with modern organizations.
   We typically think of big government and big business when we think of impersonal bureaucracies. Interestingly, during the most turbulent years of the 1960s, student activists bitterly protested the bureaucratic nature of the American university.
   Employment based on technical qualifications is regarded as the last feature of bureaucracy. Within a bureaucracy, hiring is based on technical qualifications rather than on favoritism, and performance is measured against specific standards. This is designed to protect bureaucrats against arbitrary dismissal and to provide a measure of security. Promotions are dictated by written personnel policies, and people often have a right to appeal if they believe that particular roles have been violated. Such procedures encourage loyalty to the organization.
   Unfortunately, personnel, decisions within a bureaucracy do not always follow this ideal pattern. According to the Peter principle, talented persons receive promotion after promotion until, sadly, they finally achieve positions that they cannot handle.    Well, with that we’ll end today’s lecture. Today we talked about the five features of bureaucracy, namely division of labor, hierarchy of authority, written rules and regulations, impersonality, and qualification-based employment. Hope this discussion can trigger your exploration of the intricacy of bureaucracy. Thank you, and see you next time.