Bureaucracies

Part 1
Dr Sai Khaing Myo Tun

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All realistic study of government
has to do with an understanding
of bureaucracy… because no
government can function without
it
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What is bureaucracy?

• A specific form of organization defined by

complexity, division of labour,
permanence, professional management,
hierarchical coordination and control,
strict chain of command, and legal
authority.

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What is bureaucracy?
Negative Images
• the words bureaucracy and bureaucrat are
typically thought of and used pejoratively
(disapproval).
• They convey images of red tape, excessive rules
and regulations, unimaginativeness, a lack of
individual discretion, central control, and an
absence of accountability.
• bureaucracies as inefficient and lacking in
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adaptability.
Max Weber (1864–1920)
• the German
sociologist
• the most technically
proficient form of
organization,
possessing specialized
expertise, certainty,
continuity, and unity.
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Characteristics of Bureaucracy
Five Main Characteristics
1. Jurisdictional Competency
2. Command and Control
3. Continuity
4. Professionalization
5. Rules

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Jurisdictional Competency
• a key element of bureaucratic organization
• jurisdictional competency refers to
bureaucratic specialization,
• all elements of a bureaucracy possessing a
defined role.
• The responsibilities of individuals broaden
with movement upward through an
organizational hierarchy. 7
 Jurisdictional Competency
• The organizational division of labour enables units and
individuals within an organization to master details
and skills and to turn the novel (fictional work) into
the routine.
• units or individuals may be unable to identify and
respond adequately to problems outside their
competency
• may approach all problems and priorities exclusively
from the purview of a unit's specific capabilities.
• can lead organizational units to shirk responsibility by
allowing them to define a problem as belonging to
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some other unit and thereby leave the issue
unattended.
Command and control
• clear lines of command and control
• authority is organized hierarchically
• responsibility taken at the top and delegated
with decreasing discretion below
• the capacity to coordinate and control the
multiplicity of units is essential
• Authority is the glue that holds together
diversity and prevents units from exercising
unchecked discretion.
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Continuity
• another key element of bureaucratic
organization
• Rational-legal authority necessitates
uniform rules and procedures for written
documents and official behavior.
• A bureaucracy's files (i.e., its past records)
provide it with organizational memory,
thereby enabling it to follow precedent
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and standard operating procedures.
Continuity
• standard operating procedures makes
organizations more efficient by decreasing the
costs attached to any given transaction.
• Organizational files record procedures,
antecedent behaviour, and personnel records.
They also allow an organization to be continuous
and, thus, independent of any specific
leadership.
• Without its records, it would be impossible to
maintain transactions grounded in legality. 11
Professionalization
• requires a full-time corps of officials whose
attention is devoted exclusively to its managerial
responsibilities.
• professionalization is vested in the corps of civil
servants whose positions have generally been
obtained through the passage of tests based
upon merit.
• Professionalization increases expertise and
continuity within the organization.
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Professionalization
• professionalization also carries potential risks
• Often the professional corps of managerial
experts itself becomes a covert (hidden) source
of power because it has superior knowledge
compared to those who are its nominal but
temporary superiors.
• By virtue of greater experience, mastery of
detail, and organizational and substantive
knowledge, professional bureaucrats may
exercise strong influence over decisions made by 13

their leaders.
Rules
• the lifeblood of bureaucratic organization
• providing a rational and continuous basis
for procedures and operations
• An organization's files provide the
inventory of accumulated rules.
• Bureaucratic decisions and procedures are
grounded in codified rules and precedents.
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Rules
• the existence of rules is characteristic of legal-
rational authority,
• ensuring that decisions are not arbitrary, that
standardized procedures are not readily
circumvented, and that order is maintained.
• Rules are the essence of bureaucracy but are
also the bane (curse) of leaders who want to get
things done their way instantly.

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Legal-rational organization
Max Weber
“bureaucracy has increased in power and size
because of its technical superiority over ant form
of organizations”
Legal-rational organization
“the rational and legitimate implementation of law
through bureaucracy”
Citizens accept the authoritative legitimacy of
public policy in the legal-rational state because
they know that government acts on the basis of 16
constitutionally prescribed procedures.
Weber’s Six Essential Characteristics of
the legal-rational organization
1) Official business is conducted on a continuous
basis, meaning essentially that the agency
exists year in and year out.
2) The agency operates according to specific rules,
thereby staying within legislative authority
3) There is a formal hierarchy of authority, with
power flowing from the top down in the
organization (relationships are depicted by an
organizational chart)
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Weber’s Six Essential Characteristics of
the legal-rational organization
4) Official and private businesses are strictly
separated.
5) Public offices are not the personal
possessions of their occupants
6) Official business is conducted on the
basis of documents. Thus, all important
transactions will have written records
(computer files) that leave a “paper trail”
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of their contents
Weber’s Emphasis

The important of formal hierarchy and

professional expertise that is exercised in a
reliable and calculable manner.
This form of organization is almost
indestructible
Despite the lost of individuals and
changes in the government, it will
continue to operate
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Thanks…

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