Q. For Weber,
bureaucracy emerged as a neutral , hierarchically organized , efficient and
inevitable in contemporary society 15 M
Weber conceptualized theory of bureaucracy in 19th
century german society which was going through a political chaos. He considered
bureaucracy as a legal rational authority capable of delivering a stable
administration. Weber considered following as important characteristics of
bureaucracy
1.
Hierarchy
2.
Rule orientation
3.
Impersonality
4.
Role specificity
5.
Neutrality
6.
Anonymity
Hierarchically structured organization
facilitated in clear definition of roles and responsibilities for various
positions in an organization. Neutrality ensured that decisions were made on an
objective and rational basis. It insulated bureaucracy from political
executive. Bureaucracy with these characteristics delivered stable and
efficient administration in germany. Soon it was adopted by various countries. Hence
bureaucracy emerged as an inevitable and efficient form of administration in 19th
century.
However
over a period of time, the evils of bureaucracy like goal displacement, stratus
quoist orientation emerged. This led to rise of post bureaucratic organizations
to address the deficiencies in bureaucratic organizations. However certain
features of bureaucracy like impersonality, anonymity are still relevant to 21st
century society