WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

SPECIAL PROJECT REPORT

ON
WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

SUBMITTED TO:
DR. AYAN HAZRA
FACULTY MEMBER IN SOCIOLOGY

SUBMITTED BY:
PANKAJ SHARMA
SEMESTER II, SECTION A,
ROLL NO. 100

SUBMITTED ON:
13 OCTOBER, 2016

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

UPARWARA POST ABHANPUR, NEW RAIPUR-493661(C.G)

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled Webers theory of Bureaucracy submitted to
the Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur is the original work done by me under the
guidance of Dr. Ayan Hazra, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur and this project
has not performed on the basis for the award of any Degree or diploma and similar project if
any.
Pankaj Sharma
Semester II
Section A
Roll No. 100

2 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I, Pankaj Sharma, feel myself elated, as it gives me immense pleasure to come with the work
on topic, Webers theory of Bureaucracy. Words fail to express my deep sense of glee to
my teacher, Dr. Ayan Hazra, who enlightened me on my every difficulty in completion of
task. I acknowledge the blessings and support which my mother and father gave in
finishing of this task.
I would like to forward my hearty thanks to my University and Vice-Chancellor for
providing all the necessary requirements which aided me to achieve my goal. I also
thank Librarian HNLU, Raipur, for assisting me and allowing me to use the library of the
University.
I feel a deep sense of thankfulness to all my seniors, my friends who helped me in achieving
my target.
Thank you,
Pankaj Sharma
Semester II
Section A
Roll No. 100

3 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Contents

Declaration
Acknowledgement
1. Introduction......................................................................................................5
1.1 Objectives of the study..............................................................................7
1.2 Research Methodology.............................................................................7
2. Characteristics of Bureaucracy........................................................................8
3. Factors contribution to the Bureaucracy........................................................11
4. Functional and Dysfunctional Aspects..........................................................12
4.1 Positive Function......................................................................................13
4.2 Negative function.....................................................................................14
5. Parkinsons Law & Peter Principle................................................................16
6. Evaluation of theory......................................................................................17
7. Invalidity of Bureaucratic org........................................................................18
Conclusion............................. .......................................................................19
Bibliography/ Webliography.........................................................................20

4 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

1. Introduction
A bureaucracy is a type of organisational structure that is found in many large-scale
organisations. It appears in both public and private organisations and is a structure that still
exists in the majority of industrial organisations in the world, despite being around since the
18th century. Ideally bureaucracy is characterised by hierarchical authority relations, defined
spheres of competence subject to impersonal rules, recruitment by competence, and fixed
salaries. The main aims of a bureaucracy are to be rational, efficient, and professional.
German sociologist, Max Weber was the most important student of bureaucracy, and he
described bureaucracy as technically superior to all other forms of organization. Weber did
not give an exact definition of what bureaucracy is, but he did attempt to identify what he
believed to be the main characteristics of this type of organisation. The term bureaucracy
finds its origin from the French word bureau which means desk, and a government which is
run from table is called a bureaucratic government. The word implies a particular system of
administration. In this form of the government there is concentration of power in the hands of
department.
According to Max Weber bureaucracy is a type of hierarchical organisations which is
designed rationally to co-ordinate the work of many individuals in pursuit of large scale
administrative tasks.
Talcott parsons: The relatively large -scale organisations with specialised functions....
loosely tend to be called bureaucracies.
Wallace and Wallace: Bureaucracies are large-scale formal organisation which are highly
differentiated and organised through elaborate policies and procedures in a hierarchy of
authority.
Bureaucracy is regarded as a political in the sense of an institutions which exercises
autonomic political power. Webers interest in the nature of power and authority and his
realisation of the inevitability of rationalisation in the operation of large-scale modern
organisations- led him to establish a theory of bureaucracy. Weber felt that the operation of
modern large scale enterprises or organisation in the political, administration, and economic
fields would be impossible without bureaucracy. Bureaucratic co-ordination of activities is
the distinctive mark of the modern era, he maintained.

5 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Bureaucracy refers to an instrument that has become indispensable for the rational
attainment of the goals of any organisation in industrial society. Bureaucracies can be
understood as large- scale formal organisations of the modern society with specialised
functions. Bureaucratisation and rationalisation go together, because bureaucracies are
organised according to rational principles. There are two types of bureaucracy such as
representative and neutral bureaucracy. The bureaucracy shows us how the delegation of
power run the organisation based on bureaucracy concept, the lower manager must followed
the top manager same with the main idea of delegation of power.1
Neutral bureaucracy: Neutral bureaucracy means do not support either group in dispute.
Neutral bureaucracy in terms of politics. They only perform their task in order to implement
policy without involving in politics. The public officers are choose based on their
qualification and skills unlike the representative bureaucracy. After they are choose, they will
be place in a department that suits with their qualifications. In our country, there are rules that
prevent our government officers from participate actively in politics or become member in
any political parties. For example there is a rule in public Instruction that forbids them from
participating in politics, they have to resign if they want to join politic.
Representative bureaucracy: Representative bureaucracy the public administrator acts as a
representative of the citizen and not as a neutral public officers. Representative bureaucracy
is based on believe that the ratio of every minority groups in every occupation in government
agency need to be equal as the percentage of the group population in the state. It is based on
the social justice concept which the public administrators are to represent the composition of
race ,ethnic and gender in the country so that the public policies can be conducted. This is
also based on principle that bureaucracy exists to provide public services and also to offer
vacancy and economic development to the citizens, the public position is viewed as a right
that should be divided among every group of people in the community.
If bureaucracy were always neutral in its values, always obeyed elected superiors, and
always limited its activities to the enforcement of public laws and rules, then most
controversies surrounding bureaucracy would melt away.2
1 Weber, M.: Wirtschaft, op. cit., 429.
2 Weber, M.:Wirtschaft, op. cit., 821. Emphasis added. Compare also with idem: Schriften, op. cit., 511
andidem: Wirtschaft, op cit., 29.

6 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

7 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Objectives of the study

This Project report deals with the sociological thought of Max Weber on Bureaucracy. He
was an eminent scholar. He suggested bureaucracy the best administrative form for the
rational pursuit of organisational goals.
To Examine the Webers theory of Bureaucracy
To Understand the Characteristics of Bureaucracy
To Emphasize the Ideas of Weber to the development of Bureaucracy
To Explain the Functional and Dysfunctional aspects of Bureaucracy

Research Methodology
This study has been carried out in a descriptive and analytical manner. Secondary and
published documented data has been collected through various sources and analyzed
accordingly. Many of the available literature and studies have also been consulted and
reviewed to make the study more objective. No field work has been carried out in the
development of this work.

8 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

2. Features (Characteristics) Of Webers Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is used in a broad as well as narrow sense. In a broad sense it refers to the totality of
personnel from departmental secretaries at the top to the clerks and peons at the bottom. In a
narrow sense, it refers to those important public servants who occupy the policy making and
supervisory positions in the system of administration. Weber has given a number of features of

bureaucracy. Accordingly, following features suggest the characteristics of bureaucratic

organisations.
1. Administrative Class:
Bureaucratic organisations generally have administrative class responsible for maintaining
coordinative activities of the members.
Main features of his class are as follows:
People are paid and are whole time employees,
They receive salary and other perquisites normally based on their positions,
Their tenure in the organisation is determined by the rules and regulations of the
organisation,
They do not have any proprietary interest in the organisation,
They are selected for the purpose of employment based on their competence.
2. Hierarchy:
The basic feature of bureaucratic organisation is that there is hierarchy of positions in the
organisation. Hierarchy is a system of ranking various positions in descending scale from to
to bottom of the organisation. In bureaucratic organisation, offices also follow the principle of
hierarchy that is each lower office is subject to control and supervision by higher office.
Thus, no office is left uncontrolled in the organisation. This is the fundamental concept of
hierarchy in bureaucratic organisation. This hierarchy serves as lines of communication and
delegation of authority. It implies that communication coming down or going up must pass
through each position.
Similarly, a subordinate will get authority from his immediate superior. However, this
hierarchy is net unitary but sub-pyramids of officials within the large organisation
corresponding etc. functional divisions exist.
Thus, there are offices with the same amount of authority but with different kinds of
functions operating in different areas of competence. For example, the Government
9 | Page
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

organisations, we can observe separate offices looking after particular functions. This
happens in business organisations too.
3. Division of Work:
Work of the organisation is divided on the basis of specialisation to take the advantages of
division of labour. Each office in the bureaucratic organisation has specific sphere of
competence.
This involves:
a sphere of obligations to perform functions which has been marked off as part of a
systematic division of labour;
the provision of the incumbent with necessary authority to carry out these functions;
and
the necessary means of compulsion are clearly defined and their use is subject to
definite conditions.
Thus, division of labour try to ensure that each office has a clearly-defined area of
competence within the organisation and each official knows the areas in which he operates
and the areas in which he must abstain from action so that he does not overstep the boundary
between his role and those of others. Further, division of labour3 also tries to ensure that no
work is left uncovered.
Thus, division of labour try to ensure that each office has a clearly-defined area of
competence within the organisation and each official knows the areas in which he operates
and the areas in which he must abstain from action so that he does not overstep the boundary
between his role and those of others. Further, division of labour also tries to ensure that no
work is left uncovered.

4. Official Rules:

3 Faylor, E.: The Division of Labour in Society, New York, 1933.

10 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

A basic and most emphasised feature of bureaucratic organisation is that administrative

process is continuous and governed by official rules. Bureaucratic organisation is the
antithesis of ad hoc, temporary, and temporary and unstable relations. A rational approach to
organisation calls for a system of maintaining rules to ensure twin requirements of uniformity
and coordination of efforts by individual members in the organisation.
These rules are more or less stable and more or less exhaustive. When there is no rule on any
aspect of organisational operation, the matter is referred upward for decision which
subsequently becomes precedent for future decision on the similar matter. Rules provide the
benefits of stability, continuity, and predictability and each official knows precisely the
outcome of his behaviour in a particular matter.
5. Impersonal Relationships:
A notable feature of bureaucracy is that relationships among individuals are governed through
the system of official authority and rules. Official positions are free from personal
involvement, emotions and sentiments. Thus, decisions are governed by rational factors
rather than personal factors. This impersonality concept is used in dealing with organisational
relations as well as relations between the organisation and outsiders.
6. Official Record:
Bureaucratic organisation is characterised by maintenance of proper official records. The
decisions and activities of the organisation are formally recorded and preserved for future
reference. This is made possible by extensive use of filling system in the organisation. An
official record is almost regarded as encyclopedia of various activities performed by the
people in the organisation.
7. Guidance by past procedures:
Bureaucrats are mostly guided by the past procedures. A good bureaucrat is one who always
tries to be upto date with the subject with which not only he is dealing at present but he may
be required to deal at any subsequent stage.
The characteristics stated above, cannot be found in any existing bureaucracy in their true or
complete form. Never before in history such bureaucracies existed. As Max Weber has said,
11 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

the concept of bureaucracy associated with these rules represents the ideal types. The
existing bureaucracies or any particular instance of a bureaucracy can only be compared with
or evaluated in relation to this ideal type. Weber was quite aware of the increasing importance
of the bureaucracies in the modern world.

3. Factors contributing to the development of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracies did exist in the ancient world in the great empires of India, China, Rome,
Greece, Egypt, and so on. They are found today, As Weber has rightly prophesied the
importance of Bureaucracies has reached immeasurable proportions in the modern world.4
The development of money economy guarantees a constant income for maintaining
bureaucracies through a system of taxation.
Modern industries and states which require a big army of administrative officials
necessitated bureaucracy.
Qualitative changes in the administrative tasks also led to bureaucratisation. Modern
states which claim themselves to be welfare states have to maintain an elaborate
system of transport and communication including mass media. They naturally tend
towards bureaucratic system.
Bureaucracy as a form of organisation seems to be technically superior to any other
form of organisation
Demand for objective experts: the modern culture demands the personally detached
and strictly objective experts. This nature of the modern culture encourages the
development of bureaucracy.
Mass Democracy: Modern political parties are functioning on a mass scale which
necessitates bureaucracies.

4 Udy, S. H.: Bureaucracy and development in Webers Organization Theory, in: American SociologicalReview
24 (1959), 791795.

12 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Concentration of material means : The development of big capitalist enterprise and

the giant public organisation such as the state or army require the modern bureaucratic
system.
Rational interpretation of law: modern states guarantee to their citizens equality
before law. It is a guarantee against arbitrariness. This has given rise to the
bureaucratic form of administration and judiciary.

4. Functional and Dysfunctional Aspects of Bureaucracy

4.1 Positive or Functional Aspects of Bureaucracy:

1. Bureaucracy provides opportunity for division of labour:
Some of the modern organisations consist of lakhs and millions of members. Such
organisations are institutionalised through bureaucracies.
2. Performance of complicated tasks:
Some of the complicated tasks of the modern society such as, conducting census, capturing
criminals, collecting taxes, arranging for voting in elections, etc. are more efficiently
undertaken in bureaucracy.
3. Performance of repetitive tasks:
Some of the modern bureaucracies, for example, industrial corporations, universities,
advertising agencies, etc. regularly repeat their work. Modern bureaucracies have been able
to perform that work without much difficulty.
4. Maintenance of law and order:
There are certain organisations [such as police, court, army, temple or church, religion,
college, etc.] that deal with peoples actions in a normative manner. Here the right type of
behaviour is to be encouraged and the wrong type is too regulated. Bureaucratic method is
better suited to do this.
13 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

5. Mobilisation of resources and their rightful usage:

The heads or the leaders of the state could mobilise and centralise material resources and
make necessary arrangements for their most effective use only through bureaucracy.
In feudal times, for example, power was dispersed in a variety of centres. Only through
bureaucratic machinery at present economic resources are being mobilised while in the premodern age they remained untapped or improperly managed.
Bureaucratic organisation is to Weber, the privileged instrumentality that has shaped the
modern polity, the modern economy, the modern technology. Just as a machine production is
superior to hand-made articles so the bureaucratic types of organisation are technically
superior to all other forms of administration.
6. Control of the waste of time:
In comparison with any other type of organisation bureaucracy has been found to be less
expensive, less conflicting and more efficient and useful.
Bureaucracies may have positive effects on employees. Whereas the stereotype of
bureaucracies is one of suppressed creativity and extinguished imagination, this is not the
case. Social research shows that many employees intellectually thrive in bureaucratic
environments. According to this research, bureaucrats have higher levels of education,
intellectual activity, personal responsibility, selfdirection, and openmindedness, when
compared to nonbureaucrats.5
Another benefit of bureaucracies for employees is job security, such as a steady salary, and
other perks, like insurance, medical and disability coverage, and a retirement pension.
4.2 Negative Aspects or Dysfunctional Aspects of Bureaucracy:

Bureaucracy has its own ugly face. It has its own demerits and Weber, the champion of the
theory of bureaucracy, was aware of this. Abraham and Morgan have stated: Having granted
5 Talcott Parsons, ed., Max Weber, The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, trans. by A. M.
Henderson and Talcott Parsons (Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press 194), 337.
14 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

its virtues and its unquestionable advancement of modern society, Weber was the first to
concede the vices of bureaucracy.
Some of the main drawbacks or dysfunctions of bureaucracy may be enlisted here.
1. Static Rules for Dynamic Situations:
The unchanging static rules of bureaucracy many a time fail in its very purpose of serving the
human needs. Bureaucracy becomes dysfunctional when the rules remain static even while
the social situations undergo fast changes.
2. Unnecessary Waste of Time and Red tapism:
Since there is a hierarchical arrangement in this system every paper or file is to pass through
several stages before a final decision is taken. This delay leads to waste of time and
sometimes to unwanted consequences.
3. Quarrel among Officials:
As Dahrendorf has pointed out junior and senior officials of bureaucracy always quarrel
among themselves lowering its dignity and efficiency. In fact, this quarrel among these
officials has necessitated the beginning of trade unions.
4. Blind Rules and Uncreative Officials:
Officials of the bureaucracy become rule bound and extremely formal. They act according to
the written rules, and verbally stick on to them. The uniform and rational procedures of
bureaucratic practice largely prevent spontaneity, creativity and individual initiative. The
impersonality of official conduct tends to produce specialists without spirit. Weber also
wrote: It is horrible to think that the world would one day be filled with little cogs, little men
clinging to little jobs and striving towards the bigger ones.
5. Ever Expanding Army of Employees:
Bureaucracy goes on expanding and new members are recruited regularly whether there is a
need for the same or not. Hence it becomes expensive at one time; officials who become

15 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

lethargic give more importance to their salary, promotion, increments, allowances, facilities,
etc. rather than to the services.
6. Human Relations are made to become Mechanical:
Too much of bureaucratisation leads to depersonalisation. As a result, human relations
become extremely mechanical devoid of human touch. Weber too had foreseen the
possibility of men trapped in their specialised routines with little awareness of the
relationship between their jobs and the organisation as a whole.
7. Bureaucracy unsuited to Face Emergencies:
Officials of the bureaucracy find it difficult to face an emergency situation. They search for
solutions only within the framework of existing rules and procedures and do not take the risk
of facing the challenges.
8. Bureaucracies become corrupt and puppets in the hands of the vested interests:
Since bureaucrats have vast powers, vested interests try to corrupt them and provide them all
temptations to get decisions in their favour. Ex.: The Tehalka Dotcom episode which has
rocked the Indian Parliamentary discussions during the recent days is an example in this
regard.
9. Bureaucracies tending to exist even after the achievement of their goals: Ex.:
Bureaucratic committee formed to offer famine relief or flood relief, or earthquake relief to
the people may continue to exist even after the settlement of the problem.
10. New Despotism:
It is said that bureaucrats are new despots. Since they have knowledge and expertise, they
wish that even decision should be taken to suit their whims and wishes.
11. Superiority Complex:

16 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Usually bureaucrats come from educated families and enjoy certain social prestige and
economic privileges. After joining services they enjoy more of it. They thus suffer from
superiority complex.

5. Parkinsons Law and Peter Principle

Bureaucratic authority is notoriously undemocratic, and blind adherence to rules may inhibit
the exact actions necessary to achieve organizational goals. One of bureaucracy's least
appreciated features is its proneness to creating paper trails and piles of rules. 6
Governmental bureaucracies are especially known for this. Critics of bureaucracy argue that
mountains of paper and rules only slow an organization's capacity to achieve stated goals.
They also note that governmental red tape costs taxpayers both time and money. Parkinson's
Law and the Peter Principle have been formulated to explain how bureaucracies become
dysfunctional.
Parkinson's Law, named after historian C. Northcote Parkinson, states that work
creates more work, usually to the point of filling the time available for its completion. That is,
Parkinson believed that bureaucracies always growtypically 6 percent annually. Managers
wish to appear busy, so they increase their workload by creating paper and rules, filling out
evaluations and forms, and filing. Then they hire more assistants, who in turn require more
managerial time for supervision. Moreover, many bureaucratic budgets rely on the use it or
lose it principle, meaning the current year's expenditures determines the following year's
budget. This provides a deep incentive to spend (even waste) as much money as possible to
guarantee an everincreasing budget. Parkinson's views remain consistent with those of
conflict theorists, who hold that bureaucratic growth serves only the managers, who in turn
use their increasing power to control the workers.
Approaching bureaucracies from yet another angle, the Peter Principle, named after
sociologist Laurence Peter, states that employees in a bureaucracy are promoted to the level
of their incompetence. In other words, competent managers continually receive promotions
until they attain a position in which they are incompetent. And they usually remain in this
position until they retire or die. The bureaucracy can only continue because competent
6 A discussion of Webers use of ideal types and its criticisms see Mommsen, W.: The Political andSocial Theory
of Max Weber, Cambridge 1989, chapter 8.

17 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

employees are constantly working their way up the hierarchical ladder.Parkinson's Law and
the Peter Principle, while fascinating social phenomena, are based on stereotypes and
anecdotes rather than on rigorous social science research.

6. Evaluation of theory
Webers model will be performed in those enterprises where change is not anticipated. Big
business houses and government departments use this type of organisation. Weber is credited
for attempting to develop Bureaucratic model for the first time.
Webers model has some drawbacks. It has rigidity, impersonality, excessive cost of control,
excessive dependence on superiors, tendency to ignore organisational goals. Inspite of these
limitations this model is very useful in large enterprises.

Problems in Bureaucracy:

Bureaucracy organisation has been considered once superior than ad hoc or temporary
structure. It has been termed as rational and ideal leading to efficiency. The efficiency in
bureaucratic organisation comes through rationality and predictability of behaviour because
everyone knows the consequence of his action become actually the action is undertaken.
However, bureaucracy has been criticised because of its inefficiency and has been termed as a
symbol of inefficiency. There are many dis-functional aspects of bureaucracy which is
referred to as bureau pathology.
Looking into the needs of modern organisations, bureaucracy has many shortcomings and is,
therefore, not suitable. The major problems of bureaucracy are because of the following
factors: invalidity of bureaucracy assumptions, goal displacement united consequences, in
human and closers-system perspective.

7. Invalidity of Bureaucratic Assumptions:

18 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

In fact, the source of bureau pathology lies in the invalidity of various assumptions of ideal
bureaucracy. Many authors have questioned the validity of bureaucracy. In most of these
cases, either the conditions are not found in practice, or even if found, may not result in
efficiency. Specially the following aspects of bureaucracy work against efficiency of the
organisation, though they are supposed to contribute to efficiency:
1. Rules are normally provided for guidelines but often they become source of inefficiency
because of too much emphasis on rules, their misuse, and peoples apathy from rules.
2. Rigid organisational hierarchy works against efficiency. It overemphasizes superiorsubordinate relationships unnecessarily which is detrimental to congenial organisational
climate.
3. In dealing with people, total impersonal approach cannot be adopted because people have
feelings, emotions and sentiments which affect decision. Thus, people cannot work totally
according to rules and prescriptions.

19 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

Conclusion
Max Weber, who was a German Sociologist, proposed different characteristics found in
effective bureaucracies that would effectively conduct decision-making, control resources,
protect workers and accomplish organizational goals. Weber asked how a leader can give a
command and have actions to be carried out. He answered the question by classifying claims
to the legitimacy in the experiences in the US.

Weber was struck by the role of

bureaucracy in a democratic society. The problem, as he saw it, was that modern democracy
required bureaucratic structures of all kinds in the administration of government and even in
the conduct of professional party politics. Handing over the reins to a class of unelected
experts however, threatened to undermine the very basis of democracy itself. In particular ,
Weber stressed two problems: the unaccountability of unelected civil servants and the
bureaucratic tendency toward inflexibility in the application of rules. But the theory of Max
Webers Bureaucracy got some criticism. Such as his theory make the decision making be
slow, Exploitation of position and power, rigid rules and uncreative and others .
Bureaucracy consists many advantages and disadvantages too. But, imagine the
consequence of that comprehensive bureaucratisation and rationalization which already today
we see approaching. Bureaucracy actually is a social organization which has specific features
and structural levels for units in an organization .

20 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

WEBERS THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

References
Websites

www.bustingbureaucracy.com
www.Reference.com
www.Cliffnotes.com
www.Maxweberstudies.org
www.Criticism.com
Books

Marianne Weber, Max Weber; A Bioigraphy, trans. Harry Zohn (New York: Wiley and Sons,

1975), p. 631. 9.
Bureaucracy," From Max Weber, eds. Gerth and Mills (New York: Oxford University Press,

1968), p. 234. 15.

"Structures of Power," From Max Weber, cited above, p. 165.
David Beetham, Max Weber's Theory of Modern Politics, pp. 86-87.
Durkheim, E.: The Division of Labour in Society, New York, 1933.

21 | P a g e
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY