CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF JHARKHAND

TERM PAPER
Concept of Bureaucracy

Submitted To Course Instructor Submitted By Student

Dr. Ashok Nimesh Vivek Raj

Assistant Professor, DCTCL LLM
Central University of Jharkhand, Registration No.
Ranchi 21250403020
Session 2021-23

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

An enterprise of such a magnitude as this research on ““Concept of Bureaucracy” could

only fructify in such a short span of time due to the coalescing of able guidance and support
of many learned and able persons, whose efforts and cooperation, I as the researcher, with a
sense of gratitude, being duty bound too, acknowledge in no particular order. My deepest
gratitude and thanks to the Hon’ble Prof. Dr. Ashok Nimesh, Central University of
Jharkhand, an eminent professor and scholar gave enough time and space for free exchange
of ideas and, opinions greatly benefiting me in augmentation and critiquing of many of the
opinions which find their place in this work.

Despite the busy schedule and onerous academic responsibilities, she gave me ample time
whenever he was approached for his invaluable guidance. I am highly indebted to the library
staff to help me find the relevant books and journals, and other officials and office staffs,
who have also extended their help whenever needed. I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to all of my friends for their review and honest remarks. Last, but not the least my
eternal gratitude is due, to my loving Parents whose constant unflinching support, blessings
and encouragement both, temporal and emotional support, to meet any challenge with
confidence including, of this purposive academic exercise.

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 CONTENT

 Introduction

 What is Bureacracy?

 Max Weber

 Karl Marx

 John Sturat Mill

 Robert K Merton

 Elliot Jaque

 Concept of Bureacracy

 Origin of Word Bureacracy

 What is Bureaucrat?

 What is Good About a Bureacracy?

 What is Bad About a Bureacracy?

 What are the most common characteristics of a Bureacracy ?

 Conclusion

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Introduction

The term bureaucracy refers to a complex organization that has multilayered systems and
processes. The systems and processes that are put in place effectively make decision-making
slow. They are designed to maintain uniformity and control within the organization. A
bureaucracy describes the methods that are commonly established in governments and large
organizations, such as corporations. A bureaucracy is pivotal in the administration of the
entity's rules and regulations.

KEY POINT

 The word bureaucracy implies a complex structure with multiple layers and
procedures.

 The systems that are put in place under a bureaucracy make decision-making slow.

 Bureaucracies can render systems formal and rigid, which is needed when following
safety procedures is critical.

 The term bureaucracy is often criticized and deemed negative because of the
implication that procedures are more important than efficiency.

 The Glass-Steagall Act is a good example of effective bureaucracy in place in the

United States.

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. For instance, calling someone a bureaucrat implies they're
a government official while the term bureaucratic implies that procedures are more important
than efficiency. One common use of the word bureaucracy is the ability to make
impossibilities a reality.

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What is Bureaucracy?

The term or word bureaucracy has two parts-one is bureau which means an office
transacting particular business or a government department. Cracy denotes a particular
form of government. Hence bureaucracy implies a system of government in which most
of the decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives. So
bureaucracy is a form of government run or managed by some officer. Many people think
that bureaucracy is derived from French word bureaucratic which had wide circulation in
the French administration in the nineteenth century. But before nineteenth century the
French system of government was not acquainted with bureaucratic but only bureau
which meant covered writing desk. Subsequently the term gained wide circulation and
use in several parts of Western Europe especially Britain. Again, several states and
administrative systems have accepted it and used it for the management of their public
administration keeping the original meaning more or less intact. Several languages have
translated the English term.

For example, in Bengali, bureaucracy denotes ―amlatantra‖. Even in other Indian

languages this term is used. It means the rule or administration of state or government
employees. In older times the bureaucrats or government employees were termed as
employees of king or rajkarmachari. It is because in old times there was no existence of
elected governments. Sovereign power was vested in the hands of kings and they chose
few persons to run their administration. That is why they were called rajkarmachari.
Subsequently the kingship and the system of selecting government officials underwent
sea changes and one of such change is bureaucracy.

The term bureaucracy is very often used in pejorative sense. Bureaucrats‘ inordinate love
for law and to do everything according to law and unsympathetic attitude to people‘s
needs and problems. All have made it the centre of public criticism. Any decision or
action going against peoples‘ interest is termed bureaucratic. Non- accountability of
bureaucracy to general public, its hierarchical structure and no detachment from public

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have made it a centre of criticism. Therefore, pejorative connotation about it is regarded
by many an important feature.

Many social and political scientists have explained the concept of Bureaucracy. Max
Weber‘s idea of state was that ‗a state is a compulsory association which successfully
claims a monopoly of legitimate use of force within a given territory.‘ State alone
possesses power, authority & legitimacy. Weber concluded that it is the legitimate
authority of state to exercise power over its people.

Administration / Bureaucracy exercises its authority i.e. power of command. Max Webers
idea of Bureaucracy is based upon his notion of rational legal authority.‘ Bureaucracy,
therefore, should have certain definite organisational structures, principles &
characteristics. Weberian model of bureaucracy finds a central place. Max Weber is the
first thinker who has systematically studied the bureaucracy. He has provided a
theoretical framework and basis for understanding bureaucracy. Max Weber’s analysis
influenced many modern writers on bureaucracy. Weber, apart from bureaucracy, wrote
on various aspects of the society ranging from history, religion to legitimacy and
domination.

Max Weber

Max Weber (1864-1920) was born in western Germany. He studied law at the university
of Heidelberg. He joined University of Berlin as an instructor in law. He wrote a number
of papers on law, and social, political and economic factors prevalent during that time.
His major writings were, ‘The Theory of Economic and Social Organisations’, ‘General
Economic History’, ‘Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism’ (1904). He studied law
and economics and he became a specialist in the interpretation of religious doctrines and
he was a notable biblical scholar. He had a thorough grasp of ancient Roman
administration, medieval trading companies and the modern stock exchange. He became
a specialist in comparative history of urban institutions. He also made a special study of

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social and psychological conditions of productivity in a West German textile mill. He
studied methodology of social studies.

Weber always preferred knowledge obtained through practical experience than library
research. His writings reflect the social conditions of Germany of his time. He saw the
decline of liberalism and threat to individual in the bureaucratisation of the society.
Unification of Germany under Bismarck and elimination of liberal middle class
movement convinced Weber that the great goal could be achieved through power
policies.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx theorized about the role and function of bureaucracy in his Critique of Hegel's
Philosophy of Right, published in 1843. In Philosophy of Right, Hegel had supported the
role of specialized officials in public administration, although he never used the term
"bureaucracy" himself. By contrast, Marx was opposed to bureaucracy. Marx posited that
while corporate and government bureaucracy seem to operate in opposition, in actuality
they mutually rely on one another to exist. He wrote that "The Corporation is civil
society's attempt to become state; but the bureaucracy is the state which has really made
itself into civil society.

John Stuart Mill

Writing in the early 1860s, political scientist John Stuart Mill 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. Nevertheless, he believed this form
of governance compared poorly to representative government, as it relied on appointment
rather than direct election. Mill wrote that ultimately the bureaucracy stifles the mind,
and that "a bureaucracy always tends to become a pedantocracy
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Robert K. Merton

American sociologist Robert K. Merton expanded on Weber's theories of bureaucracy in

his work Social Theory and Social Structure, published in 1957. While Merton agreed
with certain aspects of Weber's analysis, he also noted the dysfunctional aspects of
bureaucracy, which he attributed to a "trained incapacity" resulting from "over
conformity". He believed that bureaucrats are more likely to defend their own entrenched
interests than to act to benefit the organization as a whole but that pride in their craft
makes them resistant to changes in established routines. Merton stated that bureaucrats
emphasize formality over interpersonal relationships, and have been trained to ignore the
special circumstances of particular cases, causing them to come across as "arrogant" and
"haughty".

Elliott Jaque

In his book "A General Theory of Bureaucracy", first published in 1976, Dr. Elliott
Jaques describes the discovery of a universal and uniform underlying structure of
managerial or work levels in the bureaucratic hierarchy for any type of employment
systems.

Elliott Jaques argues and presents evidence that for the bureaucracy to provide a valuable
contribution to the open society some of the following conditions must be met:

 Number of levels in a bureaucracy hierarchy must match the complexity level of

the employment system for which the bureaucratic hierarchy is created (Elliott
Jaques identified maximum 8 levels of complexity for bureaucratic hierarchies).

 Roles within a bureaucratic hierarchy differ in the level of work complexity.

 The level of work complexity in the roles must be matched with the level of
human capability of the role holders (Elliott Jaques identified maximum 8 Levels
of human capability).

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  The level of work complexity in any managerial role within a bureaucratic
hierarchy must be one level higher than the level of work complexity of the
subordinate roles.

 Any managerial role in a bureaucratic hierarchy must have full managerial

accountabilities and authorities (veto selection to the team, decide task types and
specific task assignments, decide personal effectiveness and recognition, decide
initiation of removal from the team within due process).

 Lateral working accountabilities and authorities must be defined for all the roles in
the hierarchy (7 types of lateral working accountabilities and authorities:
collateral, advisory, service-getting and -giving, coordinative, monitoring,
auditing, prescribing).

The definition of effective bureaucratic hierarchy by Elliott Jaques is of importance not

only to sociology but to social psychology, social anthropology, economics, politics, and
social philosophy. They also have a practical application in business and administrative
studies.

Concept of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy was discussed prior to Weber’s writings. The invention of word bureaucracy
belongs to Vincent de Gourney, a French economist in 1745. He took the conventional
term ‘bureau’ meaning writing-table and office, and added to it the word derived from the
Greek suffix for the ‘rule’, in order to signify bureaucracy as the rule of officials. It
rapidly became a standard and accepted term in the conventions of political discourse.
(Clegg and Dunkerley, p.75). By the end of 19th century the term was widely held to
have been of German origin. J.S. Mill, an eminent political scientist included bureaucracy
in his series of analysis. Karl Marx also discussed about bureaucracy at certain places.
According to Marx, bureaucracy like a state itself is an instrument by which the dominant

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class exercise its domination over the other social classes. (Mohit Bhattacharya, p.52).
Hegel conceived the governing bureaucracy of public administration as a bridge between
the state and the civil society. Bureaucracy as an institution existed in China even in the
period of 186 B.C, public offices were in existence and persons for those offices were
recruited through competitive examinations even then.

Origins of the Word Bureaucracy

The concept of bureaucracy is fairly old, going back to the Han dynasty in China. But the
modern interpretation of the idea dates back to 18th century France.5

The 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. The use of these two words together combine to
loosely mean ruling by or from a desk or office.1 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.6

German sociologist Max Weber was one of the first scholars to use the term and expand
its influence. He described the concept in a positive 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.

What Is a Bureaucrat?

The term bureaucrat refers to someone who is a member of a bureaucracy. This can
allude to someone who is a government official or someone in a position of power, such
as a chief executive officer or board member of a company or another organization.

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What’s Good About a Bureaucracy?

Bureaucracies can help organizations run smoothly and efficiently. This allows large
organizations to streamline processes and bring order to systems and procedures.
Management becomes easier and processes become less chaotic. Bureaucracies tend to
include a division of labor with clearly defined roles. They also ensure that everyone is
treated equally and fairly, which means there is no bias toward any one entity. For
instance, the government makes everyone fill out the same (often cumbersome)
paperwork for benefits like student loans.

What’s Bad About a Bureaucracy?

Bureaucracies are often looked down upon because people view them as valuing
procedures over efficiency. Many people feel that rules and paperwork can pile up under
bureaucracies. This is often referred to as the red tape people and companies need to
overcome in order to achieve certain goals like establishing a business. Rules and
regulations can often be difficult to navigate and may even favor some people over
others, such as the wealthy.

What Are the Most Common Characteristics of a Bureaucracy?

Some of the most common characteristics of a bureaucracy include a hierarchy, rules and
regulations, and specialization. The hierarchy establishes scales of power—those with the
most power are at the top while individuals who have the least fall at the bottom. Rules
and regulations are typically formal and indicate how processes and functions are to be
conducted. Specialization entails the use of training to allow people to do their jobs
properly under the structure.

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Conclusion:-

A Bureaucracy is a way of administratively organizing large numbers of people who need

to work together. Organizations in the public and private sector, including universities
and governments, rely on bureaucracies to function. The term bureaucracy literally means
“rule by desks or offices,” a definition that highlights the often impersonal character of
bureaucracies. Even though bureaucracies sometimes seem inefficient or wasteful, setting
up a bureaucracy helps ensure that thousands of people work together in compatible ways
by defining everyone’s roles within a hierarchy.

Government bureaucrats perform a wide variety of tasks. We often think of bureaucrats

as paper-pushing desk clerks, but bureaucrats fight fires, teach, and monitor how federal
candidates raise money, among other activities.

The job of a bureaucrat is to Implement government policy, to take the laws and
decisions made by elected officials and put them into practice. Some bureaucrats
implement policy by writing rules and regulations, whereas others administer policies
directly to people (such as distributing small business loans or treating patients at a
veterans’ hospital). The task of running the government, and providing services through
policy implementation, is called Public Administration.

Even though many Americans dislike bureaucracy, this organizational model prevails
today. Whether or not they wish to admit it, most Americans either work in bureaucratic
settings, or at least deal with them daily in schools, hospitals, government, and so forth.
Hence, taking a closer look at the pros and cons of bureaucracy is important.

Although the vices of bureaucracy are evident (and are discussed in the next section), this
form of organization is not totally bad. In other words, benefits to the proverbial “red
tape” associated with bureaucracy do exist. For example, bureaucratic regulations and
rules help ensure that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes appropriate
precautions to safeguard the health of Americans when it is in the process of approving a
new medication.
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Bibliography/Webliography:-

1. Newspapers - Indian express, The Times of India , The Hindu

2. India UNICEF

3. http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/RTI1.pdf (official Website of

Ministry of Human Resource Development of India) The Gazette Of India, August

2009

4. The Right To Education by Melik Özden, Director of the CETIM's Human Rights

Programme

5. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/8116/12/12_chapter%203.pdf

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