Question

sociology: What is a bureaucracy? Discuss the characteristics of bureaucracy as well as the dysfunctions. How do bureaucracies create both a positive and negative impact upon members of society?

Answer 1

Bureaucracy is defined as 'a system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives'. This means that in bureaucracry the elected candidates have no pwer for taking major decisions. It is the state that takes the decisions and uses the executives to implement them. The structure of a bureaucracy is called a hierarchy, a succession of tiers from the most menial worker in the organization to the highest executive. Each level has clearly defined authority and responsibilities. Then there are formal rules and areas of specialization. Workers in a bureaucracy perform specialized tasks that call for training and expertise. Trained personnel can accomplish their jobs efficiently. The downside of specialization is that bureaucrats often cannot (or refuse to) "work out of class" — that is, take on a task that is outside the scope of their job description.

Bureaucracies may have positive effects on employees. Whereas the stereotype of bureaucracies is one of suppressed creativity and extinguished imagination, this is not the case. Social research shows that many employees intellectually thrive in bureaucratic environments. According to this research, bureaucrats have higher levels of education, intellectual activity, personal responsibility, self‐direction, and open‐mindedness, when compared to non‐bureaucrats.

Another benefit of bureaucracies for employees is job security, such as a steady salary, and other perks, like insurance, medical and disability coverage, and a retirement pension.

Bureaucratic authority is notoriously undemocratic, and blind adherence to rules may inhibit the exact actions necessary to achieve organizational goals.

Thus, bureaurcracy has both pros and cons.