What is the
true nature of bureaucracy?
Bureaucracy emphasizes the call for an organization to operate in a rational manner that effectively responds to an organization’s needs. It doesn’t rely on the selfish whims and caprices of managers and business owners.
An honest to goodness organizational bureaucratic setup has no room for nepotism, influence peddling and the like. For example, if a person wants to move upward or be promoted in the organizational hierarchy. Under the bureaucratic setup this person must work hard for that promotion. He/She must not employ anyone’s influence or help to be promoted.
According to
Max Weber there are five (5) characteristics of an ideal Bureaucracy:
1. Formal
rules and procedures that would ensure organizational order and uniformity.
2.
Specialization of Labor that ensures that workers know what are expected of
them in their assigned jobs.
3.
Impersonality, the hot stove rule applies here there’s no special treatment
whatsoever; organizational rules regulations and disciplinary actions are
impartially applied.
4. Career
advancement is exclusively based on merit. Selection of personnel to be
promoted are solely based on employees performance on the job and not based on
their connections in the organization.
5. Well defined
hierarchy; every position is clearly defined so that it will establish
responsibility and order since every worker in the organization will know where
he belongs.
These five (5)
are the true nature of a bureaucratic organization.
However, this
is not always the situation be it in private or government organization. Because
many of these organizations are being plagued by corruption and incompetence.
Why? Because they violate with impunity every characteristics of an ideal
bureaucracy.
However, it’s
not yet late to make things right, if we want organizations to run effectively and
be productive. We simply have to strictly follow Max Webber’s five (5)
characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
