A society is composed of people who live interactively in the same territory and share a similar culture. In most cases, individuals in a society share a common culture and have a common origin. The type of society determines the social practices practiced in society, that is, different communities exhibit different ways of survival. For example, different communities have different economic, religious, and political systems. Over the past years, societies have evolved from primitive forms of life to advanced lifestyles. This advancement in lifestyle has come about with changes in the former structure of society and has incorporated newer ways of living. However, Max Weber, along with other philosophers, argued that the modern methods of life posed challenges to human happiness and well-being.
In the past decades, a philosopher and capitalist named Max Weber became the first person to define bureaucracy and was also the first to use the term 'bureaucratic'. According to his theory, bureaucracy refers to a formal organization. However, this organization is structured, and most of its activities may lack personality. This theory, closely to the Karl Max theory, studies the production of society in the economic sector. The features of bureaucracy include that there is a specialization of work. Work is administered depending on the individual's field of best performance. Also, there are defined rules and regulations that are made known to all the employees working in the organization. These rules have consequences for breaking them. Another feature of bureaucracy is that there is a hierarchy in the organization. The members of the highest level execute the commands that run the organization. Impersonality exists in bureaucracy. This means that all employees and customers are treated in the same manner.
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Bureaucracy has led to the transition of society from a primitive lifestyle to a more advanced lifestyle. However, some factors still leave room for criticism. For example, the rules in bureaucracy are inflexible as compared to the traditional way in which a leader distributed roles and could change them from time to time. Moreover, rules and regulations are overemphasized since non-compliance could lead to lower profits for the firm. Bureaucracy mainly deals with paperwork. This may be time-consuming, and a lot of resources could be invested to maintain the organization. During traditional societal work, people who work hard were recognized, however in bureaucracy, employees’ hard work and commitment are not recognized since they are all treated in the same manner, regardless of the dedication of individual employees. Moreover, similar to Karl Max's theory, bureaucracy can lead to a society in which some people are extremely wealthy while others are extremely poor. This is because people who lack any recognizable skill in the organizations that hire employees will remain jobless and will, in turn, become extremely poor as those with the necessary qualifications earn a lot of income. This may cause an imbalance in the economic status of the society.
The bureaucracy theory by Max Weber explains the state of employment in the current society. This has led to great development in the current state of the economy. It has also promoted formal education since a lot of people study to acquire the skill and knowledge required in the job market. Employment leads to improved standards of living. Most people in the 21st century consider having a job in order to earn income to cater to their daily basic needs. Although bureaucracy has led to the improvement of the standards of living, it also has various limitations. The loss of employment opportunities has caused a lot of poverty in society. Bureaucracy has led to increased corruption in society as people compete for job vacancies.
To sum up, Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy has been evident as society changed from primitive forms of survival to improved ways of survival. This theory, along with others, has a lot of impacts even in the current society, although they exhibit several limitations.
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