The last time you were at a hospital, it may or may not have come across your mind that there is a system set in place of who will see you as well as an order in which they’ll see you. It may look to some people, as a never ending sum of people to get through before the doctor actually gets to see them. But, hospitals must go through their procedures to ensure that that all the protocol that they have to follow gets completed in a timely manner as they have many patients that go in and out of their waiting rooms on a daily basis. Therefore, a hospital is a form of bureaucracy that would be approved by Max Weber.
Weber had felt that a structure was to be built that would form the most ideal form of a bureaucracy. This structure, included seven characteristics that would include what he felt was needed to have the proper amount of efficiency and solid construction to make certain that there was a ‘no escape’ feeling by those contained by it. This was a type of legal authority which was the ‘ideal bureaucracy’. He wasn’t turning a blind eye to all that could happen within this ‘no escape’ structure. He knew of the trouble that could develop. It is knowing this, but still believing in all the potential that an ideal bureaucracy could create, which made Weber’s belief that much more extraordinary.
The seven characteristics of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy consist of offices 1. that are bound by rules, 2. have special tasks, 3. are hierarchical, 4. carry special qualifications, 5. have staff that don’t own them, 6. are a part of the organization and 7. have rules recorded in writing.
Hospitals have many different hierarchies within them. There is a set of hierarchies that are purely on the administration portion. Then there are a set of hierarchies that apply to the personnel that have the direct contact with the patients. When it comes to Weber’s seven characteristics in the form of a hospital’s set up, they apply as follows, 1. The hospital has rules that the staff much oblige by in order to provide care as well as safety while curing their ailments. Many of these rules are how to treat patients, but there are also rules that they must follow regarding their fellow peers and how to act accordingly amongst them. 2. Different hospital offices have different tasks they complete. There may be one hospital office that is for optometry while another is for podiatry. These offices have these specialties which allow them to treat the ailments of patients with the appropriate equipment that is located within that office. 3. the hospital offices are organized within a hierarchical system. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people to see before a patient gets the opportunity to see the doctor. A patient may see an order of the admission secretary followed by a medical assistant, next the charge nurse and then their assigned nurse. Then the most important moment occurs, when the doctor gets to meet the patient. 4. Hospital offices carry special qualifications for many positions they have purely because there are people’s lives at stake and proper training needs to be achieved to provide the best treatment. There are different degrees to earn, computer systems to maneuver and equipment to operate well that make up these qualifications. 5. Hospital staff do not own any of the offices that they make up. The nurses do not own their offices or conference rooms nor do the admission staff that sit at their desks. 6. The hospital office is part of the organization and any one person, such as a nurse, can not own that position as it belongs to the organization. 7. the written rules are posted along the hospital walls for the public to read and have known to them especially since many of the rules involve the treatment of the patients. There are some rules that are amongst the staff that are meant to be posted in places were there are only staff’s eyes to view it. But the rules are recorded and put into writing.
These are the ways that Weber’s ideal bureaucracy describes what a hospital is similar to even in this day and age. Though it may not be the same in all hospital offices, the intention is to have what Weber envisioned for the efficient way for a bureaucracy to run.
Weber had felt that a structure was to be built that would form the most ideal form of a bureaucracy. This structure, included seven characteristics that would include what he felt was needed to have the proper amount of efficiency and solid construction to make certain that there was a ‘no escape’ feeling by those contained by it. This was a type of legal authority which was the ‘ideal bureaucracy’. He wasn’t turning a blind eye to all that could happen within this ‘no escape’ structure. He knew of the trouble that could develop. It is knowing this, but still believing in all the potential that an ideal bureaucracy could create, which made Weber’s belief that much more extraordinary.
The seven characteristics of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy consist of offices 1. that are bound by rules, 2. have special tasks, 3. are hierarchical, 4. carry special qualifications, 5. have staff that don’t own them, 6. are a part of the organization and 7. have rules recorded in writing.
Hospitals have many different hierarchies within them. There is a set of hierarchies that are purely on the administration portion. Then there are a set of hierarchies that apply to the personnel that have the direct contact with the patients. When it comes to Weber’s seven characteristics in the form of a hospital’s set up, they apply as follows, 1. The hospital has rules that the staff much oblige by in order to provide care as well as safety while curing their ailments. Many of these rules are how to treat patients, but there are also rules that they must follow regarding their fellow peers and how to act accordingly amongst them. 2. Different hospital offices have different tasks they complete. There may be one hospital office that is for optometry while another is for podiatry. These offices have these specialties which allow them to treat the ailments of patients with the appropriate equipment that is located within that office. 3. the hospital offices are organized within a hierarchical system. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people to see before a patient gets the opportunity to see the doctor. A patient may see an order of the admission secretary followed by a medical assistant, next the charge nurse and then their assigned nurse. Then the most important moment occurs, when the doctor gets to meet the patient. 4. Hospital offices carry special qualifications for many positions they have purely because there are people’s lives at stake and proper training needs to be achieved to provide the best treatment. There are different degrees to earn, computer systems to maneuver and equipment to operate well that make up these qualifications. 5. Hospital staff do not own any of the offices that they make up. The nurses do not own their offices or conference rooms nor do the admission staff that sit at their desks. 6. The hospital office is part of the organization and any one person, such as a nurse, can not own that position as it belongs to the organization. 7. the written rules are posted along the hospital walls for the public to read and have known to them especially since many of the rules involve the treatment of the patients. There are some rules that are amongst the staff that are meant to be posted in places were there are only staff’s eyes to view it. But the rules are recorded and put into writing.
These are the ways that Weber’s ideal bureaucracy describes what a hospital is similar to even in this day and age. Though it may not be the same in all hospital offices, the intention is to have what Weber envisioned for the efficient way for a bureaucracy to run.