Introduction to Max Weber's Bureaucracy Theory
Bureaucracy theory was introduced by Max Weber, one of the greatest sociologists in the history of the early twentieth century. According to Max Weber, a bureaucracy is an administrative organization or system that enforces the rules of law in society. Bureaucracy is not only a rational system, but also an effective management system, and it has greatly promoted the industrialization of capitalism. On the one hand, bureaucracy meets the needs of complex industrial production models and management. It is better than some other types of social institutions in terms of accuracy, speed, and predictability (Weber & Andreski, Max Weber on capitalism, bureaucracy, and religion: a selection of texts, 1983). On the other hand, due to its impersonal and institutionalized features, it has been culturally recognized in the era of scientific rationality. Nevertheless, Weber claims bureaucracy has created an 'iron cage' dilemma. He believes that people are trapped by rationalization forces, such as control systems that chase efficiency and threaten people’s freedom. This article will introduce the three main attributes of bureaucracy and explain why Weber announced that it might become the 'iron cage' of humanity.
Key Characteristics of Bureaucracy According to Weber
In the first place, one characteristic of bureaucracy is the regular division of labor among participants. It clearly divides the responsibilities of each member in the company and fixes this division of labor in the structure of regulations. For example, if you want to apply for a course study at a university. There are lots of processes that you have to finalize. In the first place, you need to get some professional suggestions about course selection from the university advisement department. Then you need to choose your courses and register your personal details in the school system through the registration department. Next, you have to pay your tuition fee to the financial department. If you have trouble with money, you can also ask for financial aid. In the end, you will get the final confirmation from your course department. The university system is a very good example of division of labor. It basically divides work into small steps. Weber emphasized the relationship between specialization in the separation of labor and human reason in the organization (Weber, Economy, and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology., 1922). The practical significance of the division of labor is not only to improve efficiency but also to remove the personal privileges of a hierarchical society. Professional competence replaces personal allegiance. Powers and responsibilities belong to positions rather than individuals. These powers and responsibilities are fixed in the organization in the structure of legal systems.
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The Hierarchical System of Power in Bureaucracy
Another significant feature of bureaucracy is a hierarchical system of power. The positions in the bureaucratic organization form a pyramid-shaped hierarchy according to the power level and the 'command-obedience' relationship. At the bottom, pyramid are all the employees, and above that, there are supervisors and managers, and finally, on the top, it is the big boss. This hierarchy is different from previous social stratification. Previous social stratifications, such as kings, nobles, and free people, were designed according to their status. Hierarchy in bureaucratic organizations is structured according to organizational power.
Impersonality and Indifference: Core Aspects of Bureaucracy
In the end, impersonality and personal indifference is also very distinctive feature of bureaucracy. From Weber's point of view, bureaucracy is a regulatory system, not an individual system. Therefore, bureaucracy is exclusive. The operation of the organization is not transferred according to the will of the individual and is not subject to the affection of the individual. Another expression of rationalization is impersonality (Lutzker, 1982). Bureaucracy changed personal attachment and personal loyalty in traditional societies. Bureaucrats accepted superiors' orders and orders because they obeyed the laws and rules, not the charismatic appeal of the commander himself, or obeyed him because of his traditional status. Status is not subject to the social hierarchy determined by traditional customs. However, this bureaucratic organization, which completely excludes emotions, will turn the organization into a cold machine, which will cause human alienation (Maley, 2004). Weber also pointed out the shortcomings of bureaucracy, and he tried to explore the use of personal charm to correct the alienation of bureaucracy, but he did not finish the corresponding research.
The Dual Nature of Bureaucracy: Efficiency and Alienation
Even though bureaucracy obviously brings lots of benefits to society, some sociologists, including Max Weber himself, still hold a negative stand against bureaucracy. On the one hand, bureaucracy is the form, structure, and operating mechanism, manifested by highly rationalized laws, regulations, and institutions. Its rationality is a kind of instrumental rationality, which is specifically manifested as if it is a well-designed machine with a precise structural design so as to have a specific function of every component. The function is performed by the tight meshing and thread cooperation of all components. Therefore, efficiency is the core of bureaucracy, and legitimacy is the spirit of bureaucracy. First of all, bureaucracy centralize the authority and make organizing effective. In addition, it encourages specialization in jobs. These bureaucrats need to have professional skills to take the job. These undoubtedly increase efficiency for many organizations or companies. Such as the car manufactory assemble line. It is precise because of the bureaucratic system that each employee is corresponding for a small part of the work, and through the assembly line operation, the time required to manufacture a vehicle is greatly reduced. Also, any members of an organization act in accordance with this rule from the top leader of the organization to the ordinary staff. They obey the public rules, not individual actions, or personal preferences. This has a positive effect on breaking the strict hierarchy of the traditional agricultural world.
Specialization and Its Impact on Society and Individual Creativity
On the other hand, in the bureaucracy theory, efficiency is a very important part, it is all about order and organization. A very famous example was introduced by Henry Ford about building cars with an assembly line. In the assembly line system, each worker has a very specific task. One car is made by hundreds of workers but each worker only focuses on a very small part of the car. This is a very efficient way to build cars. You are able to make a huge number of cars with a very fast speed and pretty high-quality standard. In addition, the skill of each worker can be relatively low. Some workers only know how to put on the tires and some people maybe only have the capacity to bolt the engine to the frame. Other workers may be familiar with how to assemble the fuel tank in the car. This is the process of specialization. Weber claimed that the increasing specialization in their labor caused a negative impact on society. People could lose the spirit of creativity and enjoyment in their work (Paul J. DiMaggio, 2000). For example, a student enters the university to study engineering and his dream is to become a famous engineer, one day he can design a powerful car by himself. However, when he starts to study at the university, he has been told to study how to make a small component of the car. That is the need for a bureaucratic car manufactory. He needs to learn specific skills to get the job. During the process, he loses the spirit of creativity about how to design a car. Weber believes that the emergence of capitalism is the result of a process of rationalization, and rationalization is a process that must have occurred in human history.
The Iron Cage: Weber's Critique of Rationalization and Its Consequences
However, the process of rationalization also brings another problem: the iron cage. When we enjoy the benefits and convenience that rationalization brings to us, rationalization also brings us greater restrictions and constraints at the same time. Hierarchy is a negative product brought about by rationalization, and it is the embodiment of a reasonable life. The characteristics of bureaucratization are the division of labor system, the hierarchical system, the conventional system, the initial system, and the instrumentalization. Under management, everything has become more and more regular and systematic than before, but relatively speaking, human freedom has become smaller. It was like living in an iron cage. People feel less control over themselves. Life becomes predictable without surprise (Mitzman, 1970). Weber argues that rationalization will extend beyond production and labor and go into our homes and daily life. For example, we always associate home life with intimacy, personal connection and love, and even sexuality. Weber thinks that specialization and rationalization will spill over into home life. Nowadays things like pornography and other online ways of experiencing sexuality what was a personal intimate endeavor are now simply a product that we can purchase. We are hedonists but we do not have the same personal relationship. In the past, we went back home in after work to enjoy our time with our family and our children, but nowadays we just sit back to watch a movie or play online games. We do not have the same level of human connection as we did in the past. Entertainment is a product rather than a source of relationships. Because rationalization is an inevitable process, the hierarchy of human beings is unavoidable, and we will lose the human quality (dehumanize) in the hierarchy (Baehr, 2001). It has become a tool of organization, the world has become too rational, the ultimate meaning is missing, and life lacks layers, which is exactly the problem facing society today.
Conclusion: Reevaluating Bureaucracy for a Human-Centered Approach
To sum up, Weber introduced the idea of bureaucracy characterized as a fixed division of labor, hierarchical system of power, and impersonality. It does bring some merits to society, such as fixed division of labor and a hierarchical system of power establishing an effective system. Such as the example of the different university departments and the building car assembly lines. University helps the students solve different kinds of problems through different departments and a specific person. It obviously increases the efficiency and reduces the time of resolving students' issues. The assembly line of car manufactory can not only rise the speed of car making but also can guarantee the good quality standard at the same time. Impersonality also reduces social injustice, and the people obey orders from superiors due to the rules rather than orders from nobles because of their social status. However, Weber was concerned about the impact that bureaucracy may bring. First of all, everyone in society is like a component of the huge machine mechanism. People keep repeating the same job day by day. They could lose their spirit of creativity gradually. People are forced to be specialized and learn some specific skills to get a job. Specialization will no longer be a matter of pride or personal satisfaction. Too much specialization will make humans lose their personal meaning. Then people will not feel connected with their jobs anymore. In the end, the excess of rationality restricts individuals' minds. Weber's ultimate fear was that the rationalization of bureaucracy will spill over into all aspects of our daily lives. In the iron cage, we will become less human and more like robots. We may simply fulfill the role both at work and at home without real human enjoyment or spirituality (Weber, 'The Spirit of Capitalism and the Iron Cage,', 1905). Weber's analysis of bureaucracy and the iron cage is absolutely wonderful. However, his analysis relies too much on experience and ignores the requirement for the accumulation of economic facts. Bureaucracy should not be a management system that eliminates people but should be a people-centered system. It needs to highlight the subjectivity of people, and it needs to affirm the value of people and the role of human values. In this way, the objectivity and rationality of bureaucracy can transform into human subjectivity and moral priority, so that we can prevent the predicament of the “iron cage”.
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