how a bureaucracy works
the bureaucratic process lends itself to criticism and is synonymous with redundancy arbitrariness and inefficiency people often use terms like bureaucrat bureaucratic and bureaucracy in a negative context 2 for instance calling someone a bureaucrat implies they re a government official while the term bureaucratic implies that procedures are more important than efficiency but there is a more balanced way to look at a bureaucracy from a structural standpoint it stems from the effort to lead organizations through closed systems these systems are meant to be formal and rigid in order to maintain order perhaps the single most identifiable characteristic of a bureaucracy is the use of hierarchical procedures to simplify or replace autonomous decisions 1a bureaucrat makes implicit assumptions about an organization and how it operates one assumption is that the entity cannot rely on an open system of operations which is either too complex or too uncertain to survive instead a closed and rationally reviewed system should be implemented and followed procedural correctness is paramount within a bureaucracy bureaucracy vs governance vs administrationbureaucracy is not the same as governance or administration some administrative structures are not bureaucratic and many bureaucracies are not part of administrative structures so what s the difference the distinction lies in the objectives of each system bureaucracies ensure procedural correctness irrespective of the circumstances or goals governance includes processes procedures and systems that are implemented by an organization to an administration on the other hand directs organizational resources toward an objective goal such as generating profits or administering a service in modern industrial societies dual bureaucracies often exist between private companies and government regulatory agencies whenever a regulatory bureaucracy exists to impose rules on business activity the private company may create a bureaucracy to avoid violating such regulations bureaucracies are all around us for instance an oil company may establish a bureaucracy to compel its employees to complete safety checks when operating on an oil rig criticisms of a bureaucracybureaucratic structures tend to be backward looking identifying procedures that worked well in the past this backward perspective creates a conflict with entrepreneurs and innovators who prefer forward looking concepts and attempt to identify ways in which processes could be improved 4for example agile processes that make improvements through an iterative process characterized by self organization and accountability over time a rigid bureaucracy reduces operational efficiency particularly compared to rival organizations without large bureaucracies losses in efficiency are most pronounced in circumstances where bureaucracy is also used to insulate established power structures from the competition 4classic bureaucratic rigidity and protectionism are prevalent in the u s government for example firing poor performers is difficult because there is an arduous termination process that has been put in place examples of bureaucracyexamples of bureaucracy are all around us workplaces schools governments all typically have hierarchical structures with individuals filling positions based on skill or merit real or perceived in a harvard business review article james l heskett questioned whether bureaucracy is a good thing in government or private businesses the article describes bureaucracies as entities that focus on decision rights rather than decision making and states that they are not created to deliberate or think according to one reader reponse bureaucracies are far too often about themselves and expanding the power and influence of the people who head them 4other readers who served in government agencies defend the role of bureaucracy while recognizing that reforming bureaucracies could provide greater autonomy to decision makers another comment noted that the bureaucracy of the u s government was effective in its creation of the glass steagall act of 1933 which established the provisions for separating commercial and investment banking and the social programs created through the new deal the new deal was an initiative of president franklin d roosevelt also in 1933 whereby many social programs helped the united states to recover from the great depression 54origins of bureaucracythe concept of bureaucracy is fairly old going back to the han dynasty in china 6 but the modern interpretation of the idea dates back to 18th century france 7the term bureaucracy is a hybrid word whose roots go back to french and greek it s made up of the french word bureau which means desk or office and the greek term kratein which means to rule 8 the use of these two words together combine to loosely mean ruling by or from a desk or office the word was first officially in france used after the french revolution from there the word and concept spread throughout the rest of the world 719th century german sociologist max weber was one of the first scholars to use the term and expand its influence he described the concept of bureaucracy in a positive idealized sense and considered the ideal bureaucracy to be both efficient and rational he believed that bureaucracy clearly defined the roles of the individuals involved and helped narrow the focus of administrative goals for weber bureaucracy was key to capitalism since it allowed organizations to persist even as individuals come and go 9