Have you ever wondered how certain institutions are structured and the reasoning behind the process? The major contributor to the structure of institutions is the model of bureaucracy. The word bureaucracy is defined as “an organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently.” Max Weber was a major contributor to the model of bureaucracy and the bureaucratic process. Weber drew upon the many types of social action to predict a major shift in culture. The German researcher foresaw the move from traditionalism to the rationalization of Western civilization. The rationalization of western civilization is “a process whereby economists, politics, law, culture, and virtually all aspects of human social relations have come under the influence of instrumental-rational action.” (Instrumental-rational action or “means-end” action is a type of social action that places strong emphasis on rationally defining goals and ends).
Bureaucracy works as a machine. There are six key elements of bureaucracy. The first element is specialization. This is defined as “Highly specialized offices or departments with staff assigned highly specialized duties.” The second element is hierarchy of offices. The author states, “A chain of command with clear lines of authority characterizes both the relationship between offices and departments as well as the relationship among staff within any given office and throughout the organization. The third element is rules and regulations. “The organization seeks to operate in a highly predictable fashion guided by clear sets of rules and regulations (versus traditions and cultural norms). The fourth element is technical competence. In this “staff are recruited and evaluated over time (performance) based upon a clear set of criteria.” The fifth element is impersonality. This states, “Personal whims, feelings, connections, friendships, or prejudices should not impact how clients of an organization are treated. Bureaucratic fairness...