2. Introduction A German sociologist Max Weber was the first person who describe about the term bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is a means to create efficient institution staffed with trained experts who work permanently, whose jurisdiction is prearranged by laws and regulations, and whose responsibility comprises of applying plain broad rules to specific circumstances (Weber, 1946). Even though bureaucratic administration principles were functioning efficiently for many years since its inception, it is claimed that inadequate to meet the current demands of citizens. Therefore, the New Public management (NPM) approach was developed in UK to substitute the traditional model of public administration in 1980s and 1990s as a response to the insufficiency …show more content…
However, it is now being substituted by other model (New Public Management) because it is no longer pertinent to the demands of a rapidly changing society. 2.2 The Emergence of New Public Management in Developed countries Since the 1980s vast change initiatives has been undertaken in the public sector of the developed countries. The inflexible, hierarchical and bureaucratic form of Public management which was common during the twentieth century is shifting to more flexible, market-oriented form of public management. This dramatic shift alters the role of government and the relationship between government and citizens. Traditional public administration has been questioned in practice, and the acceptance of new public management means the rise of a new model in public sector management (Hughes, 1998). The claim that bureaucracies are inefficient is the main driving factor for the New Public Management (NPM) come to exist in the 1980s.Though the public sector continues in its inflexibility, bureaucracy, expensiveness and inefficiency, the private sector was obliged to transform itself radically because of the sever competition confronted at the global level and explore new opportunities (Deal and Kennedy, …show more content…
The first one is giving more autonomy to professional public sector experts. The second one is setting explicit goals targets and indicators which can help to measure performance objectively. The third is putting more stress to control outputs rather than process and procedures. The fourth one is disaggregation of the parts of the public sector into agencies that work together with user-pays principles. The fifth characteristics is fostering competition within public sector and creating a quasi-markets environment by employing tendering process. The sixth one is adopting private sector style management practice in the public sector. Lastly, it stresses on search of efficiency and doing more with less (Hood,
Often, when the discussion of American bureaucracy is broached in conversation, those holding these conversations often think of the many men and women who operate behind the scenes within the government. This same cross section of Americans is looked upon as the real power within the federal government and unlike the other branches of government, has little to no oversight. A search of EBSCO resulted in the following definition, an organization “structure with a rigid hierarchy of personnel, regulated by set rules and procedures” (Bureaucracy, 2007). Max Weber believed that a bureaucracy was technically the most efficient form of organization, one structured around official functions that are bound by rules, each function having its own specified competence (2007). This wide ranging group of Americans has operated within the gaps, behind the scenes, all under the three core branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The division of government into three branches and separate powers gives each branch both exclusive powers and some additional power...
This essay will discuss the mainstream and critical perspectives of bureaucracy and post-bureaucracy. It will begin by examining the characteristics of bureaucracy and then compare the mainstream and the critical views. Post-bureaucracy will then be discussed using the same structure.
Max Weber, a German sociologist believed bureaucracy to be the ideal organisation. Bureaucratic organisations have existed for hundreds of years. Dynastic China and ancient Rome are two empires that incorporated bureaucracy into their core structure. Much of their success and expansion can be attributed to the use of effective bureaucracy. As great as these empires were at their peak, ultimately they collapsed and fell into ruin. While it may be seen as the logical approach to controlling and ruling a large amount of people, at the end of the day bureaucratic organisations will not succeed.
According to Greenwood and Lawrence (2005), Weber believed that all organisations need to be managed impersonally on the basis of a specific set of rules. Weber (1978) was convinced that authority should be based on a person’s job and not on his/her personality. The main idea of the bureaucracy theory lies in the fact that authority should be passed from one individual to another as one of them left his/her job and another took it (Houghton, 2010; Law, 2011). Hence, bureaucracy can be defined as “management by the office or position rather than by a person or patrimonial” (Styhre and Lind, 2010, p. 109). It was believed by Weber that bureaucracy is the most effective and efficient form of any organisation since “the decisive reason for the advance of the bureaucratic organisation has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form of organisation” (Weber, 2009, p. 75). This superiority is achieved due to a well-defined line of authority and clear and strict rules (Styhre and Lind, 2010).
When Weber analyzed bureaucracies, he developed an ideal type model, which consisted of six essential features. These features described how bureaucracies function and develop. The features Weber identified are as such: specialization; hierarchy; written rules and regulations; impartiality; impersonality; recordkeeping. These features are essential to upholding the purpose of efficiency bureaucracies were created for.
Bureaucracy is an organizational design based on the concept of standardization. “It is characterized by highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, very formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command” (Judge & Robbins, 2007, p.
Whenever we talk about ‘Bureaucracy’, it is most likely that audience heard this in past, knew something about it and found able to locate its area of application in concurrent industrial organizations and Government departments. In this sense, bureaucracy has really reached to peoples of different strata of society though they differ in perception based on their past experiences with bureaucracy.
In the future I would like to see myself, as a continuously promoted public official who could possibly become a pro-active politician in today’s demanding political arena. To achieve this, I would like to gain more knowledge which can help me reach intellectual maturity to the latest practices adopted in the field of Public Administration. My desire for self-development in this area and curiosity to learn past and contemporary developments in different societies will help me to solve the problems easily.
Public Administration involves the development, implementation and management of policies for the attainment of set goals and objectives that will be to the benefit of the general public. Since Public Administration involves taking decisions that affect the use of public resources there is often the question of how to utilize public resources for maximum public good. The National Association of Public Administration has identified four pillars of public administration: economy, efficiency, effectiveness and social equity. These pillars are equally important in the practice of public administration and to its success. This paper seeks to explain the role of each of the pillars in the practice of public administration.
This essay discusses the radical transformation of the principles and foundations of public administration from traditional to New Public Management. Firstly the essay will attempt to define the key terms of traditional public administration and the doctrine of New Public Management. Rabin J. (2003) explains that New Public Management embodies “a process in public administration that uses information and experiences obtained in business management and other disciplines to improve efficiency, usefulness and general operation of public services in contemporary bureaucracies.“Traditional Public Administration progresses from governmental contributions, with services perceived by the bureaucracy.
Public Managers are uniquely positioned to positively affect policy process due to their tenure, job security, absence of political pressure and expanded role in the society. The
...formance and efficiency, according to numbers of literature and studies in recent decades. Intensification of bureaucratic control is still widely spread and is supported by various examples and evidence which were found across different industries all over the world (McSweeney 2006). The emergence of service industry does impact on the change in modern management technique and leads to the rise of human capability and behaviour factors, as well as the significance of informal organisation and teamwork. Nevertheless, the ultimate objective of such approach is as an enhancement of control which in fact creates a more centralised management structure rather than decentralised. Therefore we can conclude that even though the approach of management have changed, the concept of bureaucratic control still remains and is something that cannot be fully abolished or replaced.
...ice of public administration will continue to change with the further advances in society. Already there are many of issues that tomorrow’s public administrators will be dealing with. These issues will be varied and complex and will concern the ongoing development of computers, possible advancements in health care and science, and even major social and legislative shifts.
Despite these criticisms, the reforms in public administration have had a widespread impact across this country and around the world. The principles underlying these reforms have enhanced government performance and accountability, public administration has employed various strategies to streamline management and enhance pubic service. It is important to keep in mind that while there may be significant improvement in productivity as a result of technological advances or reform, the most meaningful long-term gains will come about as a result of attention to the humans side of the organization. Successful public administration demands a successful balance between the concerns of the technical side of the agency and paying attention to people.
Max Weber, Henri Fayol and Luther Halsey Gulick all addressed issues, concerning how an overall organization should be structured, bureaucratic administration, while Frederick Taylor’s theory of scientific management concentrated on techniques for increasing production (Tomkins, 2005). This essay will focus on the disadvantages and the advantages, including the effective and efficient components, of bureaucracy in public management.