Max Webers Ideologies on Organisations - Essay Example

Max Weber’s Ideologies on Organisations

For a long time, political economy as a branch of social science has been used when studying relationships between organisations and also between the market and a country (Veseth, n.d). This can be translated as understanding the management of an institution while at the same time taking into account both the internal and external factors that may influence its operations. With this, there has been proof of significant transformations and the emergence of great political economists from various regions of the world. All had a common goal of studying the function of the society and try to enhance its structure and performance. Political economists have various views but concur on given beliefs and ideologies. They aimed at studying and understanding the different economic strategies used and the related practices which range from the economic interaction between the various fields and the application of the views and ideas that challenge the previous practices. The economist, therefore, relates this to the strategies making rational decisions.

Among the well-known political economists is Max Weber. He was a German nationality well known for his contributions in the fields of sociology, political economy and that of administration (Boundless.com). Between 1800 and 1900, Weber was focussed more on the bureaucratic activities of an institution and the state as a whole. As viewed by Weber, society’s activities were dictated by culture and beliefs which defined the procedure of performing tasks thus portraying it as a bureaucratic unit. Using Taylor’s management theory, Weber expounded more and pointed out on the importance of reduced variance and uncertainity. This was to shift more attention on the establishment of definite lines on how to govern and control an organisation. From this, it can be argued that Weber championed for the formation of hierarchy in organisations so as to distribute the power it willed. The theory acknowledged the significance of specialisation and division of labour.

It was not in organisations that Weber’s interest was specifically channelled, but also its role in the economic and political arena. His arguments hence tried to portray its consequences and its role in connecting the society in the current changing times. He was of the opinion that bureaucracy was the key to the expected change and that it will be more efficient than other organisational forms. Bureaucracy can, therefore, be defined as a way of managing the daily functioning of an organisation which includes the implementation and application of policies and processes intended to ease on how complex institutions function (Boundless.com). A properly laid out chain of command will distinguish the authority willed by an institution .an organisation is composed of people from different walks of life who are bound together by a common goal (Gale, 2007). They established so that they can deliver services to the public and every person is assigned a specific role. Individuals occupying high offices are bestowed with more authority and responsibilities from whom their juniors rely on for guidance and direction. As cited by Kanter (2011), organisations are central to the provision of a better livelihood to its staff and the achievement of societal objectives rather than just the generation of income. It should be noted that the output should not only gauge an organisation but the strategies it implements to enable it to achieve the desired results.

Large bureaucratic institutions are all over the society as they apply the concepts Max Weber developed. It being a concern in the political economy, the bureaucracy has attracted more attention on its implementation and aiding the normal day to day running of organisations. Peeping at the theoretical views of Max Weber, previous studies tried to elaborate the fundamentals of bureaucracy. The standards set by Weber outline bureaucracy as a standardized method of making a decision (Campbell, n.d). It is important to acknowledge that the presence of civil service in most countries is unanimously pointed out by scholars as an effort of separating public administration from the political activities and ideologies. However, the discharge of services has adequately outlined the efficiency of the bureaucratic structure thus delegating the operational functions in regards to the expected outcome and not basing the action on political morals (Nistotskaya, Cingolani,2014).

The academic community has accepted the notion that a functional government has the capability of sustaining the social structure of its institutions (Rothstein 2011) but the lingering question, what comprises this same government that strives to improve the welfare of its subject (Fukuyama 2013). The impact of bureaucracy has been studied to establish the effect it has on an organization’s functioning. As with the case of a modern bureaucratic organization, a section of the scholars defends the delivery of service basing it on genuine recruitment procedure and job security. It aims at alleviating human suffering, maximizing profit and also stamping out corruption among others (Cingolani et al. 2013, Cornell 2014, Dahlström et al. 2012).

The literature on the impacts of social Bureaucratic structure has dominated the field of political economy, warranting for comparisons and case studies on organisations that believe on the ideologies coined by Max Weber. Over the recent years, we have witnessed the establishment of various institutions and others undergoing restructuring to implement Weber’s theory on Bureaucracy. An example of such an organization is the police force which needs to employ the ideologies for it to be rational and relevant in the society. The police force is always seen as trying to achieve a greater output while at the same time minimizing the cost of operation. Among the boreoarctic traits exhibited by the police administrations are, specialization of duties (records departments, patrols, among others) centralization of power (headed by a director or police chief) and meritocracy. The police force is known to run various department performing different tasks and as pointed out by Weber, defining of roles and assignments within the management structure leads to standardisation of the work formalities (Mullins, 2011). Among the advantages of the bureaucratic model is top management team has control on how the force is run. This model has long been practiced in the police agencies where it was experienced the most around the 1950s (TAPTSI, 2013). It emphasized on the hierarchical structure characterised by a central point of power that is tasked with the mandate of policy formulation and implementation.

Another example of the bureaucratic activity would be the paying of taxes using forms. There are several guidelines and procedures which direct an individual on what ought to be filled, where and how, backing Weber’s argument on bureaucracy. The police agencies are distinct and well known for their bureaucratic practices. Implementing Weber’s ideas, the police agencies can be seen as one of the organisations fully practicing bureaucracy. There is standard procedure for carrying out operations, diversification, and duty specialisation and also the assigning of roles to specific officers depending on their qualifications and hands on experience. Bureaucracy also maximizes efficiency and improves the performance of its staff towards upholding and maintaining law and order. It can thus be noted that a properly defined hierarchy portrays the institution’s authority towards its members and also the surrounding environment. The departments usually have a fixed number of officers who report to their immediate superiors who act as their supervisors who in turn reports to the officer above them on the command ladder. In a way, this manages the task force and also holds everyone accountable for their actions. This setting makes it easy to report, record and efficient completion of paperwork in accordance with a given department. The management is also able to assign tasks based on the function of a unit.

The police units are quasi-military (they have similar characteristics as the military). Most of the times they are in uniforms and carry guns with them. One can distinguish their ranks with the medals attached to their uniforms, and they also have orders flowing one way, from the management to the lowly ranked officer. Weber believed that bureaucracy is result oriented and formulated by an organization based on its beliefs and objectives. Police operations are not based on personal opinions but rules and guidelines that state the duties and responsibilities of an officer. Ranks and offices hold a given respect and thus competition amongst the officers to climb the hierarchical ladder which further stresses on the earning of positions on merit rather than being ascribed to one. Weber was of the view that the system need not be impersonal or biased against its staff based on either wealth or their influential power.

As practiced by the agencies, cases are considered confidential and should not be carried home or be shared with an unauthorised personnel. This practice echoes Weber’s views that official and personal activities are like water and oil and therefore should not be mixed thus the need for clear boundary separating the two. Similarly, office property remains office property and should not be let out of the premises; this also eliminates incidences of interferences on the ongoing cases. The belief that decisions are crucial to the process of administration has led to the developed interest in making decisions (Blom & Carraro, 2014). Typically, people relate to each other basing on how one interprets the actions of the other and how it is of help to them. Responsibility can thus be equated as acting towards what is mutually defined (Barkan, 2012). Additionally, those in bureaucratic organisations are limited to the job requirement and procedures. There are cases where a crime may not be investigated yet it is known to have occurred. In their defence, the law enforcement agency can argue that there was no formal report forwarded to them, and therefore, they cannot make a follow-up. Rational thinking is a new way that found a way into the existing societies irrespective of whether Weber presented his facts correctly or not, this led to the societal transformation on how it conducts its activities. The resultant course is the integration of bureaucracy into the society.

On that note, this type of organisation has unique characteristics thus making bureaucratic setup as the best alternative for complex institutions. Its effectiveness in control and coordination of activities makes it more relevant. However, this option is seen as dehumanising an organisation. There is also empirical proof showing that separation of other events from the professional relations works as a way of curbing corruption. If the institution emphasizes more on merit and discards personal or political influences, it will assist in the fight against corruption (Dahlström, Lapuente &Teorell,2011). The police among other organisations are regularly seen restructuring their administrative designs so as to find better ways in running its activities without interference.

Bureaucracy may be significant in the outlining foundation of the existing change in the way of interaction between people working together. In his ideologies, Weber pointed out that, Social relationships tend to cloud judgement and practical decision-making process thus compromising the work environment. As standard with the law enforcement agencies, it is against the regulations to harbour friendships on a more personal level which can lead to relationships. Penalties and Disciplinary actions are attached to this in reminding the officers that it is ethically wrong.

The current society is in every way different from the previous cultures, and also, there is no guarantee that it will be the same in the future. Change in the people’s mode of thinking and their attitudes over the past years has diverted attention away from personal interactions to focus more on performance. Most of the workers in related government institutions were referred to as ‘clock watchers’ (keep tabs of everyone in the workplace, the time they report and leave work). However, with the current changes in the society, most of these workers are dedicated more to the assigned tasks rather than what they will earn at the end of a given period. With the current transformations, the institutions are not an everyday repeat of the same routine. Employment of the bureaucratic system allows for the application of different result oriented techniques thus reduction on the practicing of monotonous routine.

Through bureaucracy, there has been societal transformation whereby the workforce’s energy has been harnessed and channelled towards the achievement of goals and objectives. As predicted by Weber, bureaucratic system wields a significant power that it will be able to replace the previously existing organizational forms and fill in as a dominant structure. True to the prediction, that is the case currently. Bureaucracy is not only to the law enforcement agency but also in other institutions like schools and hospitals. These agencies are not tasked with the maintenance of law and order but due to their bureaucratic practices they have some characteristics in common, and their operations are almost similar. Weber viewed the operation of the modern organisation as dependent on rationality. Bureaucracy is a dominant practice in the current institutions and societies. With the aid of proper administration, it is possible to carry out corporation’s plan and activities on a larger scale. Max Weber saw to it that bureaucracy was refined and more stable and simple to integrate into society so as to overcome hurdles. Referring to the discussed characteristics; an organisation can easily realise its objective and plan on more efficient procedures. The growth of power within the organisation points out to the influence brought about by the bureaucratic model. In addition to this, all the organisations in different sectors of the economy are seen practicing bureaucracy.