Reference no: EM133460827

Question: Comment on the post below by responding with some of your own thoughts on these concepts discussed by Weber.

In light of the works of Weber, a large number of his theoretical contributions rests on bureaucracy. According to Weber, bureaucracy is an efficient way to run organizations (Hunter, 2023). Weber included various principles that tie into how bureaucracy plays out within an organization and how these principles allow organizations to run more productively. With that being said, Weber's concepts of bureaucracy can be directly related to many workplaces/organizations and how they operate today.

According to Weber, bureaucracy essentially includes "official functions, the sphere of competence, the principle of hierarchy, technical/administrative rules, administrative staff separated from ownership, as well as administrative acts, decisions, and rules which are recorded down in writing" (Hunter, 2023). Considering these principles, Weber believed they worked together in establishing bureaucratic organizations. As Weber believed bureaucracy was becoming more and more prevalent within organizations throughout the 20th century (Hunter, 2023), a vast amount of organizations/workplaces still function bureaucratically to this day. Examples of bureaucratic organizations include the police force, as well as colleges and universities (Kapisa, 2021).

According to Weber, the principle of hierarchy means that organizations are run with levels of authority, the superordinate, and the subordinate, with the lower levels having less authority than the higher levels (Weber et al, 1946 & Hunter, 2023). This is especially present within organizations today and those listed above. For example, within universities and colleges, there are several levels of management beginning with the Chancellor, then lower down are department heads, and all the way down to the shift handyman (Kapisa, 2021). Another example is within police departments which also operate hierarchically, in which police departments must follow orders from the higher levels of authority (Kapisa, 2021). Running organizations hierarchically can be considered a precursor for the following principles of bureaucracy. Whilst both universities and colleges as well as police departments operate hierarchically, those at the top have the most authority. With that being said, those at the top have the discretion to make decisions and create rules which fall on all lower levels of an organization, to which all these members must abide (Kapisa, 2021). Considering the examples above, these are only a few of the many organizations that operate bureaucratically today. A vast number of organizations operate hierarchically, with individuals at the top making decisions and implementing rules that all levels must follow, as well as the staff who are placed in a particular position depending on their skill level and who are also isolated from ownership. Therefore, Weber's 'ideal type' of bureaucracy is embedded in various organizations today, which he believed would ultimately enhance speed and precision within the workplace (Hunter, 2023).