Bureaucracy, by Max Weber

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Recommended: Explain the characteristics of bureaucracy as propounded by Max Weber

Karl Emil Maximilian “Max” Weber was a German socialist, political economist, philosopher, historian, and author who is considered one of the principal architects of modern social science (Wikipedia, 2011). In 1889, Weber earned his doctorate in law by writing a doctoral dissertation on legal history entitled The History of Medieval Business Organisations (Wikipedia, 2011). Weber became a professor of economics at the University of Heidelberg in 1896, but after his father passed away he eventually resigned his professorship in late 1903 (Wikipedia, 2011). Weber served as director of the army hospital during the First World War, and eventually became a member of the worker and soldier council of Heidelberg in 1918 (Wikipedia, 2011). Weber returned to his teaching career at the University of Munich in 1919 (Wikipedia, 2011). While in Munich, Weber died in June of 1920 from pneumonia after contracting the Spanish flu (Wikipedia, 2011).

Critique

The purpose of this paper is to critique an essay written by Max Weber entitled “Bureaucracy”. Authors Walter E. Natemeyer and J. Timothy McMahon determined that Weber’s aforementioned essay on bureaucracy would be considered a classic piece of writing that should be included in the 2001 release of their book, Classics of Organizational Behavior. Max Weber articulated his concept of bureaucracy by proposing six principles that characterized bureaucracy (Natemeyer & McMahon, 2001). According to researchers, Weber’s essay is often read as “part of his social science, listing observable functions that turn a civil service into a reliable institution of state control: a bureaucracy” (Gale & Hummel, 2003). Weber’s original work, Essays in Sociology, was translated into Englis...

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...9). Retrieved February 11, 2011 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com

Natemeyer, W.E., & McMahon, J. T. (2001). Classics of organizational behavior (3rd ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc.

Sager, F., & Rosser, C. (2009). Weber, Wilson, and Hegel: Theories of Modern Bureaucracy. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1136-1147. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02071.x

Sørensen, J. B. (2007). Bureaucracy and entrepreneurship: Workplace effects on entrepreneurial entry. Administrative Science Quarterly 52, 387-412. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

Stanisevski, D. (2004). Economy and bureaucracy: Handmaidens of modern capitalism. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 26(1), 119-127. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

Wikipedia. (2011, February 8). Max Weber. Retrieved February 09, 2011, from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber

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