Max Weber
(1864-1920)
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Bureaucracy, power and control
Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally the exercise of control on the basis of
knowledge (Weber, 1947). For the sociologist, power is principally exemplified within organizations by the process of
control. Max Weber distinguished between authority and power by defining the latter
as any relationship within which one person could impose his will, regardless of any resistance
from the other, whereas authority existed when there was a belief in the legitimacy of that
power. Weber classified organizations according to the nature of that legitimacy:
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- Charismatic authority, based on the sacred or outstanding characteristic of the
individual;
- Traditional authority: essentially a respect for custom;
- Rational legal authority, which was based on a code or set of rules.
The latter is the predominant form of authority today, replacing the crude use of naked
power and historical practices. According to Weber rational legal authority is attained through
the most efficient form of organization: bureaucracy. He argued that
managers should not rule through arbitrary personal whim but by a formal system of rules. He
listed the beliefs which underlie rational legal authority:
- a legal code can be established which can claim obedience from members of the
organization
- the law is a system of abstract rules which are applied to particular cases; and
administration looks after the interests of the organization within the limits of
that law
- the person exercising authority also obeys this impersonal order
- only through being a member does the member obey the law
- obedience is due not to the person who holds the authority but to the
impersonal order which has granted him this position
Weber is usually described as having believed that bureaucracy is the most efficient
form of organization. In fact, Weber believed bureaucracy to be the most formally rational
form of organization. As such, Weber conceived of bureaucracy as being more effective than
alternative forms. In his day administration was based on written documents. This tended to
make the office (bureau) the focus of organization. He did not share the modern conception of
a bureaucratic organization as being slow, rigid and inefficient. His primary concern was to
establish ways of behaving which avoided the corruption, unfairness and nepotism characterizing
most 19th century organizations. Based on his ideas concerning the legitimacy of power,
Weber outlined the characteristics of bureaucracy in its purest form. Such an organization
is characterised by:
- '...a continuous organization of official functions bound by rules';
- Specialization: each office has a defined sphere of competence, involving division
of labour. The tasks of the organization are divided into distinct functions given to
separate offices. These functions are clearly specified so that the staff know exactly what
is expected of them. Job-holders are given the authority necessary to carry out their roles;
- A clearly defined hierarchy of offices: a firm system of supervision based on clear
levels of authority. Each official knows whom to report to with specified rights of control
and complaint procedures;
- Rules: a stable, comprehensive system of conduct which can be learned and may
require technical qualifications to understand and administer;
- Impersonality: no hatred or passion with equality of treatment for all clients of the
organization. Staff members are free of any external responsibilities and constraints. They are
able to attend to their duties in a fair and objective way;
- Free selection of appointed officials: selected that is on the basis of professional
qualifications, with proof shown by a diploma gained through examinations. They are appointed
rather than elected so that there is no question of bias or favour;
- Full-time paid officials: usually paid on the basis of hierarchical rank, the office
being their sole or major concern. Officials are appointed on the basis of a contract. They
have a monetary salary, and usually pension rights. The salary is graded according to the
position in the hierarchy. The officers can leave their posts, and under certain circumstances
employment can be terminated;
- Career officials: there is a career structure and a system of promotion based on
seniority or merit based on the judgment of superiors;
- Private/public split: separates business and private life. The official works in a
detached fashion from the ownership of the organization. The finances and interests of the
two should be kept firmly apart: the resources of the organization are quite distinct from
those of the members as private individuals. Officials may appropriate neither posts nor
the resources which go with them. A radical notion at a time when bribery was the norm and
officials regularly took a cut of any fee or payment due to their office;
- There is a strict, systematic discipline and control of the official's work.
Despite being based on the idea of formal rationality, Weber's concepts were idealistic. He believed that bureaucratic control would lead to a number of social consequences (Weber, 1947):
a a tendency to a levelling of the social classes by allowing a wide range of recruits
with technical competence to be taken by any organization;
b plutocracy, because of the time required to achieve the necessary technical
training;
c greater degree of social equality due to the dominance of the spirit of
impersonality or objectivity.
Key criticisms of classical organization theory
References:
Weber, Max (1947) The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. Translated by A. M. Henderson & Talcott Parsons,The Free Press.
