Bureaucracy: Theory and Implications in Modern Society

This paper explores the bureaucratic theory of management and its impact on modern society. It discusses the administrative class, hierarchy, division of labor, official rules, impersonal relationships, and keeping official records. The theory has had important implications especially in the business world.

Running head: BUREAUCRACY
Bureaucracy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

BUREAUCRACY 2
Bureaucracy
Introduction
Bureaucratic theory of management was developed by Max Weber. The theory
provided a way of managing many people who must work together. According to Bernstein
(2017), many organisations in the contemporary society still depend on the theory for their
functioning. This includes universities and governments. In bureaucracy, employees are hired
based on their competence. The salaries are also determined through the position a person
holds. Promotion is done depending the excellence of service that an individual portrays. The
roles of each position are clearly defined so that every employee understands their role very
well. Modern scholars have argued that this theory should not be used due to disadvantages
such as inflexibility. The theory is however used in many organisations to guide the
operations. This paper is going to focus on the bureaucratic theory and how it has impacted
social life. this will be done through looking in to the specific components of the theory.
The first feature of the bureaucratic theory is that there is an administrative class.
These are usually full-time employees and are employed based on competency. These
persons are foreign to the company in the sense that they are not the owners of the company.
Weber suggested that the owners should not necessarily be the managers or the
administrators. Instead, people who are qualified in carrying out administrative duties should
occupy those positions based on the competence. This has been applied in most of the
organisations in the contemporary society. Since the goal of any business venture is to
maximize profits, many organisations hire those people who are qualified to occupy the
administrative posts. The result is usually that the business is likely to operate optimally and
compete favourably. In situations where the owners occupy the administrative/managerial
role without the appropriate expertise, the businesses are usually at the danger of making

BUREAUCRACY 3
losses and being pushed out of market. It can therefore be concluded that the theory has had
important implications especially in the business world.
The theory also stipulates that organisations should have a hierarchy. This feature
proposes that they are various positions which are ranked in a descending scale from the top
to the bottom (Waring, 2016). In organisations where bureaucratic management is used, the
offices follow such a hierarchy. This means that every lower office is subject to control by a
higher office. The hierarchy is very well organised. Such a hierarchy is very important in
ensuring that roles are clearly defined and that is proper supervision and flow of activities. If
all individuals were to relate at the same level, then there would likely be chaos and
confusion in the organisations. This is because it would be practically impossible for one to
give the other orders/instructions. The bureaucracy solves this however by providing a
system where power is vested at different levels. If something is going wrong in lower levels,
a higher level can investigate into the issue and give appropriate directions. This has been
very important in helping maintain order in organisations. The order has then created an
enabling environment for the business to thrive and maximize profits.
The other feature of the bureaucratic management is that there is division of labour.
This means that the employees are hired based on their specializations. In the modern society,
there are many speciality professions (Van, 2014). To ensure that the business performs
optimally, the organisation employs people to occupy jobs that they have specialised at. The
assumption is that every individual can best perform if they roles that are delegated to them
rhyme with their area of specialisation. For this reason, it is hard to find an individual who
performs many roles in a bureaucratic management. This also ensures that employees live in
harmony with each other since each understands what they are supposed to be doing and
therefore there is no unnecessary confusion and overstepping of boundaries between roles. In
addition to ensuring harmony and peaceful coexistence among the workers, division of labour

BUREAUCRACY 4
also ensures that there is no work that left undone. Let us take the case of hospital workers as
an example. The doctor diagnoses, the pharmacist prescribes medication, the nurses
administer medication (where necessary) and the nutritionist counsels on the diet. It follows
that each professional understands their role which reduces conflicts.
The other feature is that of official rules. Organisations develop a set of rules to
ensure optimum functioning of the company. The rules also contain the punitive measures
that would be carried out on a person/employee who does not comply to the rules. It would be
very chaotic to operate in a situation like that of anarchy. This would mean that people may
report to the work when they want, do what they want and leave that that they do not want
etc. This would greatly harm the organisation and probably lead to tis closure. Rules come in
handy to provide directions that are necessary for optimum functioning. For instance, they
indicate clearly the time for reporting and departing. Such rules should always appreciate the
unique needs that people/employees go through. For instance, they should provide what
should happen in case an employee falls sick. The rules have played a great role in ensuring
discipline and optimal performance. In the modern days, business organisations have realised
the importance of observing a code of ethics. To avoid any conflict and ensure that the
business image is good, they provide a code of ethics that the employees should observe. In
nutshell, rules/policies are importance in guiding the operations of a business. In situations
where an issue arises and there lacks a law governing it, the higher management is tasked to
make an appropriate rule/policy (Nachmias and Rosenbloom, 2018). The rule would apply in
case situation occurs again in future.
Another element of bureaucratic management is impersonal relationships. In the work
environment, employees are expected to maintain professional relationships (Hummel, 2014).
This implies that the only type of relationships that should be entertained are those that
contribute to efficient working and achievement of the business goals. This element may

BUREAUCRACY 5
seem unreasonable since human beings are emotional by nature. This means that they prone
to getting angry, excited, sad and other emotions that may impact on their work and how they
relate to other employees in the organisation. To overcome the challenge of improper
misunderstandings and reduce personal relationships in the workplace, modern businesses
employs various strategies. These include continually reminding their employees of the
business goals and their importance role in achieving it. They also find ways of motivating
the workers so that they look forward to working rather than having a feeling of necessary
obligation. Extensive studies have revealed that it is very important for employees to
maintain professional relationships in their workplace as it greatly contributes to business
success.
The final element to be discussed is that of keeping official records. The decisions and
activities of the business organisation are recorded formally through extensive use of filing
systems. Such a move is very important in ensuring that future reference can be made easily.
This has become easier and efficient in the contemporary society due to the use of computers
and information technology. This has also played a great role in ensuring that people are
accountable. If a problem is noted somewhere, it is easier to retrieve information about what
may have gone wrong. Proper record keeping is also necessary to account for finances in the
organisation (Bratton and Gold, 2017). If there were to be no recording, it would mean that
there wouldn’t be any reference for the future. This may create confusion and other negative
consequences since human beings are forgetful and relying on memory may lead to errors.
In conclusion, the Bureaucratic theory of management was developed by Max Weber.
It has impacted the modern business and social life immensely. It has gone a long way in
ensuring that people are hired bases on their competency which promotes fairness. The
division of labour has played a very important role in ensuring that every worker knows what
is expected of them. The result is that there no conflicts in the work place and there is

BUREAUCRACY 6
harmonious coexistence among the workers. Official rules ensure that there is order in
business organisations. It provides ways of dealing with anyone who goes against the set
rules/policies. It plays an important role in ensuring that there are no confusions and that
things are clear. In a situation where there arises a situation and there is no rule relating to the
same, the issue is taken up by the higher management which forms a rule that would apply in
case there is a re-occurrence of such an issue in future. It is important to maintain official
relationships in the workplace. Formal relationships ensure that employees channel their
energy towards achievement of the goals of the business organisation. It is also necessary to
maintain official records for future reference.

BUREAUCRACY 7
References
Bernstein, E. S. (2017). Making transparency transparent: The evolution of observation in
management theory. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 217-266.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Hummel, R. P. (2014). The Bureaucratic Experience: The Post-Modern Challenge: The
Post-Modern Challenge. Routledge.
Nachmias, D., & Rosenbloom, D. H. (2018). Measuring bureaucratic representation and
integration. In Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service (pp. 39-50).
Routledge.
Van der Voet, J. (2014). The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public
organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure.
European Management Journal, 32(3), 373-382.
Waring, S. P. (2016). Taylorism transformed: Scientific management theory since 1945. UNC
Press Books.

BUREAUCRACY 8