Bureaucracy Defined

Buzz, buzz, buzz. Look at all the busy little bees, working hard to keep everything
in the hive running smoothly and efficiently. They actually have much in common
with the American government's bureaucracy. The word 'bureaucracy' literally
means 'government with a small desk,' and it originated in France with reference
to the little desks used by the king's officials as they went about the king's
business. Today a bureaucracy is a large administrative organization that
handles the day-to-day business of a government or society. Here in America, the
government's bureaucracy operates on national, state, and local levels.

Bureaucracies have four key characteristics that make their resemblance to

beehives all the more apparent.

 A clear hierarchy - Bureaucracies have a firm chain of command. Every

worker has his or her own place in the chain, and everyone's work is
overseen by someone on the next level up. Power flows down from the top
of the hierarchy and diminishes as it approaches the bottom. Just think of
the beehive. The queen bee stands at the top, and each worker bee or
drone has its own place in the hive's chain of command.

 Specialization - Everyone in a bureaucracy has a specific job to do and

often becomes an expert at it. Bees have specific jobs, too, collecting
pollen, making honey, or populating the hive.

 A division of labor - In a bureaucracy, nearly every task is broken down

into its component parts, and different people work on different parts of
the task. Together they get the job done, just like bees in a hive who
divide their labor for maximum efficiency.

 A set of formal rules - These so-called standard operating procedures are

the clear, written instructions for each specialized job at every level of the
hierarchy. Workers who follow them can be sure that they are on the same
page as their colleagues and are doing their jobs properly. According to
beekeepers, bees, too, have a sophisticated system of communication
that keeps their hives running smoothly.