SOCL 2411 Lecture : Idus Bureaucracy Notes
Document Summary
Formal organizations--defined as large and complex social groups formally organized to facilitate achievement of group goals. Number of elements: organizations involve social relationships, individuals interact within the organization, individuals are not simply in random contact, organization includes parts of the population and excludes others, organization therefore has a boundary. Suggest organizations contain a hierarchy of authority and a division of labor in carrying out their functions. Used term to refer to form of administrative organization that, in his view, was capable of attaining the highest level of efficiency. See bureaucracy as a variable--some organizations are more bureaucratic than others, some parts of an organization are more bureaucratic than others. -authority inheres in office, rights and duties prescribed. Clear distinctions in weber"s work between traditional and bureaucratic structures. In weber"s view, bureaucracy is rational because each element of bureaucratic organization is deliberately designed to achieve a specific purpose. These characteristics, taken together, increase the efficiency of the organization.
