As modernization was emerging, Weber considered bureaucracy to be one of the major forms of social organization. He identified the shift that was occurring from traditional forms of authority to more rational or logical forms of authority. This in hence led him to examine the ways in which our modern organizations in the political, administrative, and economic society operate. Weber defined bureaucracy as a body of administrative officials or offices and the procedures and tasks involved in a particular system of administration. To better analyze how the concept of bureaucracies work I use one of the units in the health care system- a hospital- in order to understand how they provide better functionality, efficiency and organization.
According to Weber there are seven essential components to bureaucracy. The first component is an office bound by rules and laws. In hospitals, each office holds positions that need to be filled with the necessary requirements and qualifications. Once the office has the position filled there are rules, laws and codes that the official needs to abide by in order to maintain the functionality of the position and to retain order as a whole.
The second component is that of the officials having specialized knowledge. In hospitals, not just anyone can perform surgery on a patient. The official has to have a highly specialized set of skills to accomplish a surgery successfully. Also, in order to prescribe any type of medications to any patient an official has to have the specialized knowledge in that specific area. Without the specialized knowledge require of hospital officials the general public would find it useless going to a hospital when they cannot obtain the right treatments for their visit.
Another of the components of bureaucracy is the hierarchy. Through the hierarchy everyone has a clear and established position. Officials know who they have to follow orders from and who they can give orders to. This provides a sense of organization and an organized division of labor. In this example, we have the medical director, the head of department, and the attending physician and so on.
A fourth component to Weber’s bureaucracy are the technical qualifications. This refers to the procedural and practical aspects for obtaining the specialized knowledge to be able to hold a specific position. For example, positions like that of doctors and nurses need to have a certain amount of years of education and experience in the medical field. Without the education and experience it is practically impossible to hold any type of position in any hospital.
A different component establishes that officials do not have the right to possess the materialistic things they work with. The things belong to the institutions, in this case the hospital. Hospital officials are not allowed to take their patients personal information home as well as doctors and nurses cannot take the hospital beds, the stethoscopes, or any other clinical utensil or machinery. Through this we are able to observe Marx’s idea of alienation from the product. Individuals are not allowed to keep what they produce or work with and therefore experience separation from the product.
One more of the components to bureaucracy are that offices holding positions not people. Each office is ascribed a specific position. For example, in a hospital when a certain nurse cannot cover one of the shifts he/she is supposed to then another nurse is assigned to that shift. The nurse is substituted by a different person with the same qualifications and specialization into the timeframe that needed to be covered. Bureaucracies keep working right as long as the position is filled.
The last component is that of rules being codified. Rules need to be explicitly written and recorded for everyone to see. There are different types of documents or contracts that specify the rules, laws and tasks that individuals are supposed to follow in order to maintain order.
The purpose of bureaucracies is to organize our societies. It is a system in which people learn to follow in order to receive the services they need. I believe a hospital is a good example of a bureaucracy and of why sometimes they are important and useful in our societies. Functionality, efficiency and good organization are some of the basic elements that every hospital should have. Even though bureaucracies leave people powerless, in some situations having a bureaucracy is the best system that can work for a society.
According to Weber there are seven essential components to bureaucracy. The first component is an office bound by rules and laws. In hospitals, each office holds positions that need to be filled with the necessary requirements and qualifications. Once the office has the position filled there are rules, laws and codes that the official needs to abide by in order to maintain the functionality of the position and to retain order as a whole.
The second component is that of the officials having specialized knowledge. In hospitals, not just anyone can perform surgery on a patient. The official has to have a highly specialized set of skills to accomplish a surgery successfully. Also, in order to prescribe any type of medications to any patient an official has to have the specialized knowledge in that specific area. Without the specialized knowledge require of hospital officials the general public would find it useless going to a hospital when they cannot obtain the right treatments for their visit.
Another of the components of bureaucracy is the hierarchy. Through the hierarchy everyone has a clear and established position. Officials know who they have to follow orders from and who they can give orders to. This provides a sense of organization and an organized division of labor. In this example, we have the medical director, the head of department, and the attending physician and so on.
A fourth component to Weber’s bureaucracy are the technical qualifications. This refers to the procedural and practical aspects for obtaining the specialized knowledge to be able to hold a specific position. For example, positions like that of doctors and nurses need to have a certain amount of years of education and experience in the medical field. Without the education and experience it is practically impossible to hold any type of position in any hospital.
A different component establishes that officials do not have the right to possess the materialistic things they work with. The things belong to the institutions, in this case the hospital. Hospital officials are not allowed to take their patients personal information home as well as doctors and nurses cannot take the hospital beds, the stethoscopes, or any other clinical utensil or machinery. Through this we are able to observe Marx’s idea of alienation from the product. Individuals are not allowed to keep what they produce or work with and therefore experience separation from the product.
One more of the components to bureaucracy are that offices holding positions not people. Each office is ascribed a specific position. For example, in a hospital when a certain nurse cannot cover one of the shifts he/she is supposed to then another nurse is assigned to that shift. The nurse is substituted by a different person with the same qualifications and specialization into the timeframe that needed to be covered. Bureaucracies keep working right as long as the position is filled.
The last component is that of rules being codified. Rules need to be explicitly written and recorded for everyone to see. There are different types of documents or contracts that specify the rules, laws and tasks that individuals are supposed to follow in order to maintain order.
The purpose of bureaucracies is to organize our societies. It is a system in which people learn to follow in order to receive the services they need. I believe a hospital is a good example of a bureaucracy and of why sometimes they are important and useful in our societies. Functionality, efficiency and good organization are some of the basic elements that every hospital should have. Even though bureaucracies leave people powerless, in some situations having a bureaucracy is the best system that can work for a society.