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INTRODUCTION

Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German Sociologist , who was

also one of the founding fathers of modern Sociology. His works were majorly centred

around power, authority, rationalization in society and religion. He is known for his two

major works – The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) and The Theory of

Social And Economic Organization (1920).

He developed the concept of Ideal types, which is a mental construct that acts as a gauge

scale to ascertain similarities and deviations in concrete cases. It provides a basis for

comparative methodology of studies which can be used to develop hypotheses. It is a tool to

understand the variability of the variability of the actual social and historical phenomena

along with serving as a source of construction of concepts. He distinguishes three kinds of

Ideal type,

1.Ideal type of historical particulars

2.Ideal type of Social reality

3.Ideal type of rationalization

The second type, that is the ideal type of social reality is centred around various elements of

social realty and one such social reality’s ideal type is constructed by Weber himself called

Bureaucracy. He mentions that bureaucracy is the purest type of exercise of legal authority.

He defines bureaucracy as an administrative set up characterised by specialisation, hierarchy

and system of rules. According to Weber, an organization characterized by labour division, a

clearly established hierarchy, comprehensive rules and regulations, and impersonal relations

are ‘ideal bureaucracies.’ He believed that a bureaucrat’s ideal type is the ultimate goal in

order to avoid any corruption. Bureaucratic organization can be found in both public and

private institutions.
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Max Weber prescribes six principles for an ideal bureaucracy. They are as follows:

1. Task specialisation (Specialization and Division of Labour)

2. Hierarchical layers of authority

3. Formal selection

4. Rules and requirements

5. Impersonal (Impersonality and Personal Indifference)

6. Career orientation

This case study analysis focuses on comparing and contrasting the characteristics derived

from the prescribed principles of an ideal bureaucracy by Max Weber with that of the

bureaucratic system of Maharishi Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary school, Chetpet.

About the organisation of study

Maharishi Vidya Mandir is a higher secondary school , affiliated to the Central Board of

Secondary Education (CBSE). The school is located in Chetpet, Chennai. It acts as the main

building of the MVM branch of schools which consists of 44 other schools. Though this

school is affiliated with CBSE but one must note that affiliation is not permanent, their

current affiliation status is provisional. Usually, CBSE grants three years of provisional

affiliation to schools and after completion of affiliation period, affiliation can either be

extended for next three-five year or it can be revoked based on fulfilment of the essential

conditions of the Affiliation Bye-Laws

Maharishi Vidya Mandir is alternatively also known as MVM. The school was established

in 1983. Maharishi Vidya Mandir is a Co-ed school managed by Maharishi Institute Of

Creative Intelligence. This 39-year-old Private school is 28th best school of India. English is
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endorsed language of communication in classrooms and Maharishi Vidya Mandir has

authorized English as medium of instruction and preferred textbook language as well.

Maharishi Vidya Mandir follows the National Council of Educational Research and Training

(NCERT) curriculum in its class rooms. NCERT is autonomous organization of the Union

Government of India and their curriculum framework is globally accepted.

Fig.1

An image of the school’s main block

Source: MVM official website https://www.maharishividyamandirch.com/

With Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy as the central point, the organisational system of

MVM is compared based on two main sources of information. One being the school’s official

website, the main source of information is derived from the unstructured interview conducted

on Ms.M.Dharani, who is a faculty member of the Kindergarten department, MVM.

Ms.Dharani has an experience of around 10 years in teaching at MVM. She is a direct

observant of the organisational structure at various levels and has kindly consented to

contribute information regarding the same. The following section compares the

characteristics of an ideal type of bureaucracy with the structure and organisation of MVM.
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ANALYSIS

Comparative study of MVM’S structure of organisation and Ideal bureaucracy

1.Fixed Official Jurisdiction

The rules and regulations that needs to be followed by each and every member of the school

right from the Principal to students are written down and documented. Jurisdiction at each

level is clearly filed. The code of conduct and the protocols at times of need are mentioned in

the Handbook of the school, which enables the staff and students to revisit the rules. Rules

regarding the dress code, timing of the school, examinations, pattern of assessment,

attendance, extracurricular activities and grievance redressal are clearly defined and made

known to the students and faculty members. At all levels, members of the organisation are

appointed as curators of these rules in the form of Department heads and Head Masters.

Breaking of these rules and regulations often result in severe consequences for both the

faculty and students. There are also certain unwritten laws followed by the school like

attending prayer meets and festival celebrations .

2.Heirarchy of Authority

Bureaucracy is divided into layers based on the power distribution. Each stratum consists of

its own level of authority and these layers are governed by the principle of super-ordination

and subordination. Holders of each strata have their own roles and responsibilities. They are

held accountable for them as well as the action of the position holders that fall below their

stratum.

MVM has clear hierarchy of authority that begins with the Chairman of the school. The

following flow chart illustrates the hierarchy of authority in MVM

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Fig 2

A figure representing hierarchy of authority in MVM

3. Division of labour

A stipulated system of division of labour is found here at both micro and macro levels. At the

micro level tasks within each department faculties are given their share of classes to handle.

At the macro level academic deans and Department Heads are given the duty of many

standards of classes put together. This clear segregation of tasks has significantly improved

productivity and reduced clashes in work. The system of chain of command is used for

passing on information to various levels. Usually a circular from the official is circulated

from one strata to the other.

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4. Supervision by higher officials

Each position is overseen by a position from the upper strata. This ensures proper

administration of rules and regulations at every level. For instance, the job of a teacher is

supervised by the Department Head and so on.

5.Appointment based on eligibility

Appointment of officials is based on a fixed eligibility criterion. For example, a Departed

Head is appointed only after completion of 10 years of experience working in the school,

while an assistant teacher is appointed based on the post-graduation degree, preferably in

bachelor of Education.

6.Maintenance of files

All databases of the students, teachers and other members are documented and filed. Efforts

are being taken to file all the achievements of the school, the teachers and especially the

students in different areas. Disciplinary records and academic records of many years are

stored and have been digitalised recently.

7.Appointment based on selections and not elections

Appointment of the officials are made by selections and not elections. It is usually the merit

or experience that is considered for the appointment. For the higher ranks, MVM generally

follows the principle of experience.

8. Office holding as vocation

All the position holders including the teachers are vocational employers. In fact, the teachers

are strictly forbidden from handling private tuitions for students. It is against the laws of the

school to work for any other institution.

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9. Fixed salary

All the workers are informed about their salary as soon as they are hired and the salary is

dispensed systematically every month. Since this is a private institution, there is no scheme of

pension for retired employees. The pay scale differs drastically based on the position of the

official. There are also other incentives and bonuses in light of festivals and other occasions.

There were shrinking of pay scales during the pandemic.

10. Tenure system

All the staff are recruited based on a tenure system. They are employed on a short- or long-

term period. The school fixes the age limit of 58 for the retirement of its employees, beyond

which active participation is not allowed. But they are allowed to be part of the inactive work

force.

11. Distinction between personal and private spheres and political neutrality

A clear demarcation between the public and private spheres of the employee is expected. It is

followed in most cases but there are discrepancies like teachers helping out students with

their personal disputes and family issues for the well being of the student. The objectivity of

the employee is expected and political neutrality is entertained.

12. Guidance by past procedures

Apart from the rules and regulations, the past procedures also act as guiding principles at

times. For instance, a model is initially designed to conduct a cultural event. The procedures

are passed through the lineage of officials in charge as a convention every year and is not

reformed every year.

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The following table summarises the analysis of MVM’s bureaucracy

s.no Characteristic of Bureaucracy Conformity to the

characteristic
(yes/no)
1 Fixed official jurisdiction Yes, but there are certain
unwritten rules.
2 Hierarchy of authority Yes

3 Division of labour Yes

4 Supervision by higher officials Yes

5 Appointment based on eligibility Yes

6 Maintenance of files Yes, but only significant data

7 Appointment based on selections and not elections Yes, but the head of management
is elected by the board members.
8 Office holding as vocation Yes

9 Fixed salary Yes, but during the pandemic

lockdown there was a cut down
of salary
10 Tenure system Yes, but inactive participation is
allowed
11 Distinction between personal and private spheres and political Yes, but unavoidable
neutrality circumstances make it
impossible.
12 Guidance by past procedures Yes

Table 1. A summary of the analysis on MVM’S bureaucratic system in comparison to

Webers’s ideal bureaucracy

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CONCLUSION

Considering the complexity of an educational institution like MVM, bureaucracy is an

efficient utilization of authority. It requires meshing of various people, that demands a

mechanism like bureaucracy. It is indeed a rational-legal authority system, but every coin has

two sides. The advantages include the clear-cut division of labour and maintenance of law

and order of the school. A lot of time is saved as the procedures and code of conduct are

clearly specified. It has undeniably reduced the probability of conflicts.

The flip side of bureaucracy in MVM should not be neglected. The rules are quite static while

the situation is dynamic. For instance, with the advent of online classes the faculties are not

left with any other option other than to permit the usage of device inside the classes. This

makes the situation prone to rule breakage. Too much emphasis on rules has brought in a rift

between the teachers and students. One such rule is that of campus language rule, which

restricts students and teachers from using any other language than English for

communication. This has depersonalized student-teacher as well as relationship among

teachers. The procedures for even the simplest tasks involve consent from authorities of

various levels. Even changing of seating arrangements and taking permission to leave early

requires consent from the higher authority concerned. This makes the process tedious.

Yet, bureaucracy is almost the only mechanism of exercising authority and maintaining an

organization. With efforts in the right direction, it can be made less problematic and more

efficient. Hence, we could see that though MVM follows the bureaucratic system, it is not

completely the ideal type. In fact, ideal type is a utopian idea given by Weber and can only be

nearly achieved.
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References
1.M.Abraham. (n.d.). Max Weber. In Contemporary Sociology: An Introduction to Concepts

and Theories Book by Francis M. Abraham (second, pp. 113–130). essay, oxford.

2.Mulder, P. (2022, October 20). Bureaucratic theory by Max Weber: Definition and

principles. Toolshero. Retrieved November 5, 2022, from

https://www.toolshero.com/management/bureaucratic-theory-weber/

3.Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Bureaucracy. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved

November 5, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/bureaucracy

4.Maharishi Vidya Mandir. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2022, from

https://www.maharishividyamandirch.com/