Max Weber's Characterisation Of Modern Bureaucracy
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Does Max Weber’s characterisation of modern bureaucracy help us in comprehending the workings of present day rational-legal organizations? Explain taking examples.
Max Weber, the German sociologist and political economist argued that urban administration is inevitably bureaucratic, replacing the preceding feudal culture in western societies. Being the fountainhead in the field, he has lead us to understand the presence of the system in not only in the government and army, but also in other contemporary institutions such as large-scale businesses, industries, trade networks, unions, the church, educational setups etc.
The indispensability of the bureaucracy as aforementioned is based on the Weberian conceptualization of ‘rationalization’ as mentioned in his book, Economy and Society . Herein he highlights the increasing growth and importance of formally and substantively rational institutions in modern times which allow for predictability and calculability. The emphasis is hence on the institutional rather than behavioral sense of the word.
With the assistance of an example, I would like to systematically emphasize on the relevance of the features and the accuracy with which Weber has described the characteristics of a bureaucracy. The example is that of The Central Jail of India, i.e. Tihar Jail located in New Delhi; the largest prison complex in Asia which was setup 1958
Firstly, such an organization would have a formal hierarchical structure, which involves the