The concept of bureaucracy

The concept of bureaucracy was initially formulated in the early 1900-ies by the German sociologist Max Weber.

The characteristics of a rational bureaucracy are:
1. A clear division of labor, which leads to the emergence of highly qualified specialists in each position.
2. A hierarchy of levels of management in which each lower level is controlled by the parent and is subordinated to it.
3. The presence of an interconnected system of generalized formal rules and standards to ensure uniformity of implementation of the staff, of their responsibilities and coordination of various tasks.
4. Spirit of formal anonymity with which the officials perform their duties.
5. The implementation of employment in strict accordance with the technical qualification requirements.
6. The security of employees from arbitrary dismissals.

Thus, bureaucratic ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE is characterized by a high degree of division of labor, developed hierarchy control, chain of command, the numerous rules and conduct standards and employment process is requiring for business and professional qualities. Weber called this structure "rational", since it is assumed that decisions taken by the bureaucracy have an objective character.
Bureaucracy is often called classical or traditional organizational structure. Most organizations today are variants of the bureaucracy. The reason for such a long and pervasive use of bureaucratic structure is that its characteristics are well suited for most industrial companies, service organizations and all types of public institutions. However, bureaucratic structures have been criticized for their inability to innovate and lack of sufficient staff motivation.
One of the major criticisms has been formulated by the sociologist R.K. Merton. In his view, the difficulties encountered in the bureaucratic structures are associated with exaggerated importance of standardized rules, procedures and rules to ensure proper implementation of the staff of its tasks, querying other parts of the organization, as well as interaction with customers and the public. This leads to the fact that the organization loses the flexibility of behavior, because all the questions that arise here and problems are solved on the basis of precedents. Gradually thorough search for alternatives begins to decline.
Another negative feature of bureaucratic structures, according to Katz and Kahn, is the "lack of ability to spontaneously and in a new way to respond to environmental conditions, that is essential for the effective functioning of the organization."