Notes: Bureaucracy | Sociology Mains Optional for UPSC 2024 PDF Download

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Bureaucracy 
Bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution 
Karl Marx 
• Marx was opposed to the bureaucracy 
• He saw the development of bureaucracy in government as a natural counterpart to the development of 
the corporation in private society 
• Marx posited that while the corporation and government bureaucracy existed in seeming opposition, in 
actuality they mutually relied on one another to exist 
John Stuart Mill 
He theorized that successful monarchies were essentially bureaucracies, and found evidence of their 
existence in Imperial China, the Russian Empire, and the regimes of Europe 
Mill referred to bureaucracy as a distinct form of government, separate from representative democracy 
He believed bureaucracies had certain advantages, most importantly the accumulation of experience in those 
who actually conduct the affairs 
Criticism of Bureaucracy 
• Bureaucracy is a form of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on 
appointment rather than direct election 
• The bureaucracy stifles the mind, and that "A bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy 
(bookish t he oris t s)” 
Max Weber 
• 1922 essay Bureaucracy published in his “Ec on om y and So ciety ” 
• Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally domination through knowledge 
• Bureaucracy as an Ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, and business 
• Bureaucratisation of society 
• As the most efficient and rational way of organizing 
• Bureaucratization - key part of the rational-legal authority 
• Weber does agree that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and (formally) rational way in which 
human activity can be organized, and that thus is indispensable to the modern world 
Weber listed several precondititions for the emergence of bureaucracy 
Page 2


 
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Bureaucracy 
Bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution 
Karl Marx 
• Marx was opposed to the bureaucracy 
• He saw the development of bureaucracy in government as a natural counterpart to the development of 
the corporation in private society 
• Marx posited that while the corporation and government bureaucracy existed in seeming opposition, in 
actuality they mutually relied on one another to exist 
John Stuart Mill 
He theorized that successful monarchies were essentially bureaucracies, and found evidence of their 
existence in Imperial China, the Russian Empire, and the regimes of Europe 
Mill referred to bureaucracy as a distinct form of government, separate from representative democracy 
He believed bureaucracies had certain advantages, most importantly the accumulation of experience in those 
who actually conduct the affairs 
Criticism of Bureaucracy 
• Bureaucracy is a form of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on 
appointment rather than direct election 
• The bureaucracy stifles the mind, and that "A bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy 
(bookish t he oris t s)” 
Max Weber 
• 1922 essay Bureaucracy published in his “Ec on om y and So ciety ” 
• Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally domination through knowledge 
• Bureaucracy as an Ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, and business 
• Bureaucratisation of society 
• As the most efficient and rational way of organizing 
• Bureaucratization - key part of the rational-legal authority 
• Weber does agree that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and (formally) rational way in which 
human activity can be organized, and that thus is indispensable to the modern world 
Weber listed several precondititions for the emergence of bureaucracy 
 
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 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
• The growth in space and population being administered 
• The growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out 
• The existence of a monetary economy requiring a more efficient administrative system 
• Democratization and rationalization of culture resulted in demands that the new system treats 
everybody equally 
Weber's ideal-typical bureaucracy is characterized by 
• hierarchical organization 
• delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity 
• action taken on the basis of and recorded in written rules 
• bureaucratic officials need expert training 
• rules are implemented by neutral officials 
• career advancement depends on technical qualifications judged by organization, not individuals 
There is 
• a rigid division of labor 
• a chain of command is established, restricted by regulations 
• there is a regular and continuous execution of the assigned tasks by qualified and trained people 
He is not an admirer of bureaucracy 
Weber 
• a threat to individual freedoms 
• the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing 
rationalization of human life traps individuals in a soulless "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational 
control 
Woodrow Wilson 
Essay "The Study of Administration" 
Argued for a bureaucracy as 
• A professional cadre 
• Devoid of allegiance to fleeting politics of the day 
• Raised very far above the dull level of mere technical detail 
Page 3


 
 www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses 
 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
Bureaucracy 
Bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution 
Karl Marx 
• Marx was opposed to the bureaucracy 
• He saw the development of bureaucracy in government as a natural counterpart to the development of 
the corporation in private society 
• Marx posited that while the corporation and government bureaucracy existed in seeming opposition, in 
actuality they mutually relied on one another to exist 
John Stuart Mill 
He theorized that successful monarchies were essentially bureaucracies, and found evidence of their 
existence in Imperial China, the Russian Empire, and the regimes of Europe 
Mill referred to bureaucracy as a distinct form of government, separate from representative democracy 
He believed bureaucracies had certain advantages, most importantly the accumulation of experience in those 
who actually conduct the affairs 
Criticism of Bureaucracy 
• Bureaucracy is a form of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on 
appointment rather than direct election 
• The bureaucracy stifles the mind, and that "A bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy 
(bookish t he oris t s)” 
Max Weber 
• 1922 essay Bureaucracy published in his “Ec on om y and So ciety ” 
• Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally domination through knowledge 
• Bureaucracy as an Ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, and business 
• Bureaucratisation of society 
• As the most efficient and rational way of organizing 
• Bureaucratization - key part of the rational-legal authority 
• Weber does agree that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and (formally) rational way in which 
human activity can be organized, and that thus is indispensable to the modern world 
Weber listed several precondititions for the emergence of bureaucracy 
 
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 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
• The growth in space and population being administered 
• The growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out 
• The existence of a monetary economy requiring a more efficient administrative system 
• Democratization and rationalization of culture resulted in demands that the new system treats 
everybody equally 
Weber's ideal-typical bureaucracy is characterized by 
• hierarchical organization 
• delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity 
• action taken on the basis of and recorded in written rules 
• bureaucratic officials need expert training 
• rules are implemented by neutral officials 
• career advancement depends on technical qualifications judged by organization, not individuals 
There is 
• a rigid division of labor 
• a chain of command is established, restricted by regulations 
• there is a regular and continuous execution of the assigned tasks by qualified and trained people 
He is not an admirer of bureaucracy 
Weber 
• a threat to individual freedoms 
• the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing 
rationalization of human life traps individuals in a soulless "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational 
control 
Woodrow Wilson 
Essay "The Study of Administration" 
Argued for a bureaucracy as 
• A professional cadre 
• Devoid of allegiance to fleeting politics of the day 
• Raised very far above the dull level of mere technical detail 
 
 www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses 
 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
• Administrative questions are not political questions 
• Politics sets the tasks for administration but it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices 
Robert K. Merton 
In “ S oci al Theory and Social Stru c t ure ” 
Dysfunctional aspects of bureaucracy 
• A "trained incapacity" resulting from "overconformity" 
• Bureaucrats more likely to defend their own interests than to act to benefit the organization 
• Bureaucrats took pride in their craft, which led them to resist changes 
• Bureaucrats emphasized formality over interpersonal relationships 
• Trained to ignore the special circumstances of particular cases, causing them to come across as "arrogant" 
and " ha ught y” 
Ritzer:  Mcdonaldisation i.e. increasing rationality leads to irrational outcomes. It is dehumanising 
Formal & Informal relations-Weber gave importance to formal relations within an organisation 
Peter Blau on the other hand, found that informal organization actually tend to increase the efficiency of workers 
instead of pulling it down. Informal networks bring life into the organisations 
Elton May o’s study of human relations: Study of Hawthrone works of GE, Chicago It came as a response to classical 
theory which laid emphasis on formal structure 
Arguments against bureaucracy (use it under formal or gn / webe r’s study of bureaucracy) 
• Robert K merton: Bureaucracy is rule ritualism which provides no space for creativity or own judgement. It leads 
to displacement of goals as rules become end in itself 
• Alvin Gouldner: Study inside industrial mine. How degree of bureaucratisation changes [gave three types- Mock 
(no smoking- but smoking allowed), representative centred (to solve differences), punishment centred ( no 
absenteeism ) 
• Burns and Stalker: argue that system should not be mechanistic like bureaucracy but organic 
• Robert Michels: In his political theory- ‘iron law of o li g a r chy’ he says that flow of power towards the top is an 
inevitable part of increasingly bureaucratised world. Bureaucracy is sworn enemy of individual liberty 
• Peter Sleznik- in his book ‘TV A and grass r oo ts’ argues organisations need to be flexible and restructure power 
in order to create more participatory and adaptive structure 
• Giddens: in defence of bureaucracy observes that as organisations expand in size, power relations become 
looser and there is increased decentralization in decision making. It is not possible to have a top down approach 
Page 4


 
 www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses 
 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
Bureaucracy 
Bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution 
Karl Marx 
• Marx was opposed to the bureaucracy 
• He saw the development of bureaucracy in government as a natural counterpart to the development of 
the corporation in private society 
• Marx posited that while the corporation and government bureaucracy existed in seeming opposition, in 
actuality they mutually relied on one another to exist 
John Stuart Mill 
He theorized that successful monarchies were essentially bureaucracies, and found evidence of their 
existence in Imperial China, the Russian Empire, and the regimes of Europe 
Mill referred to bureaucracy as a distinct form of government, separate from representative democracy 
He believed bureaucracies had certain advantages, most importantly the accumulation of experience in those 
who actually conduct the affairs 
Criticism of Bureaucracy 
• Bureaucracy is a form of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on 
appointment rather than direct election 
• The bureaucracy stifles the mind, and that "A bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy 
(bookish t he oris t s)” 
Max Weber 
• 1922 essay Bureaucracy published in his “Ec on om y and So ciety ” 
• Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally domination through knowledge 
• Bureaucracy as an Ideal-typical forms of public administration, government, and business 
• Bureaucratisation of society 
• As the most efficient and rational way of organizing 
• Bureaucratization - key part of the rational-legal authority 
• Weber does agree that bureaucracy constitutes the most efficient and (formally) rational way in which 
human activity can be organized, and that thus is indispensable to the modern world 
Weber listed several precondititions for the emergence of bureaucracy 
 
 www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses 
 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
• The growth in space and population being administered 
• The growth in complexity of the administrative tasks being carried out 
• The existence of a monetary economy requiring a more efficient administrative system 
• Democratization and rationalization of culture resulted in demands that the new system treats 
everybody equally 
Weber's ideal-typical bureaucracy is characterized by 
• hierarchical organization 
• delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity 
• action taken on the basis of and recorded in written rules 
• bureaucratic officials need expert training 
• rules are implemented by neutral officials 
• career advancement depends on technical qualifications judged by organization, not individuals 
There is 
• a rigid division of labor 
• a chain of command is established, restricted by regulations 
• there is a regular and continuous execution of the assigned tasks by qualified and trained people 
He is not an admirer of bureaucracy 
Weber 
• a threat to individual freedoms 
• the ongoing bureaucratization as leading to a "polar night of icy darkness", in which increasing 
rationalization of human life traps individuals in a soulless "iron cage" of bureaucratic, rule-based, rational 
control 
Woodrow Wilson 
Essay "The Study of Administration" 
Argued for a bureaucracy as 
• A professional cadre 
• Devoid of allegiance to fleeting politics of the day 
• Raised very far above the dull level of mere technical detail 
 
 www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses 
 www.SleepyClasses.com 
  
• Administrative questions are not political questions 
• Politics sets the tasks for administration but it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices 
Robert K. Merton 
In “ S oci al Theory and Social Stru c t ure ” 
Dysfunctional aspects of bureaucracy 
• A "trained incapacity" resulting from "overconformity" 
• Bureaucrats more likely to defend their own interests than to act to benefit the organization 
• Bureaucrats took pride in their craft, which led them to resist changes 
• Bureaucrats emphasized formality over interpersonal relationships 
• Trained to ignore the special circumstances of particular cases, causing them to come across as "arrogant" 
and " ha ught y” 
Ritzer:  Mcdonaldisation i.e. increasing rationality leads to irrational outcomes. It is dehumanising 
Formal & Informal relations-Weber gave importance to formal relations within an organisation 
Peter Blau on the other hand, found that informal organization actually tend to increase the efficiency of workers 
instead of pulling it down. Informal networks bring life into the organisations 
Elton May o’s study of human relations: Study of Hawthrone works of GE, Chicago It came as a response to classical 
theory which laid emphasis on formal structure 
Arguments against bureaucracy (use it under formal or gn / webe r’s study of bureaucracy) 
• Robert K merton: Bureaucracy is rule ritualism which provides no space for creativity or own judgement. It leads 
to displacement of goals as rules become end in itself 
• Alvin Gouldner: Study inside industrial mine. How degree of bureaucratisation changes [gave three types- Mock 
(no smoking- but smoking allowed), representative centred (to solve differences), punishment centred ( no 
absenteeism ) 
• Burns and Stalker: argue that system should not be mechanistic like bureaucracy but organic 
• Robert Michels: In his political theory- ‘iron law of o li g a r chy’ he says that flow of power towards the top is an 
inevitable part of increasingly bureaucratised world. Bureaucracy is sworn enemy of individual liberty 
• Peter Sleznik- in his book ‘TV A and grass r oo ts’ argues organisations need to be flexible and restructure power 
in order to create more participatory and adaptive structure 
• Giddens: in defence of bureaucracy observes that as organisations expand in size, power relations become 
looser and there is increased decentralization in decision making. It is not possible to have a top down approach 
 
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as size increases. Eg: Transnational organisations can be ethnocentric- where power resides in home country; 
polycentric- where it is shared or geocentric- where it’ s most flexible.