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This is a blog for a community of students in Mike Levien's sections of Sociology 101B: "Sociological Theory," in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, Spring 2009.
Theory Rocks!
This is the informal blog spot for Mike Levien's section of Sociology 101B. For the rest of the semester, we'll use this blog to clarify the work(s) of Durkheim, Weber, Foucault, de Beauvoir, MacKinnon, and Collins. Feel free to endlessly post, and don't forget: Theory Rocks!
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2009
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April
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- Bureaucracy in concrete
- Weber's Rational Bureaucracy within East Bay Conso...
- Bureaucracy and the Human Rights Campaign
- Military and Rational Bureaucracy
- The Spirit of Capitalism
- Rational Bureaucracy and Safe Passage
- Weber's Rational Bureaucracy in Maganda
- An Institution of Rational Bureaucracy
- Weber's Rational Bureaucracy and the Children's Sh...
- Rational Bureaucracy in Professional Baseball
- This short memo illustrates the fundamental featu...
- Rational Bureaucracy in The Western Hemisphere Ins...
- Bureaucracy in School
- Weber's Rational Bureaucracy in Public High Schools
- Rational Bureaucracy in the American Red Cross
- Weber' Bureaucracy in a Middle School Tutoring Agency
- Bureaucracy and the Men's Story Project
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April
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This essay will explain what a rational bureaucracy is, how it is organized, and the pre-conditions that must occur in order for a rational bureaucracy to be established. First of all, Weber believes that bureaucratic organization is the most efficient form of organization to pursue goals (pg. 214). He emphasizes that bureaucracy should consist of officials who have a sense of vocation. He stresses the importance of vocation, because officials should accept their specific obligations of faithful management and loyalty, and not establish any relationship to a person (pg.199). Furthermore, Weber explains that these officials should be appointed, have tenure for life, rewarded according to position, have high social esteem, and set for a career who move from lower position to higher position.
ReplyDeleteIn order to establish this organization, Weber believes that the following six institutional features must exist: (1) fixed jurisdiction; (2) hierarchy of position; (3) management through written documents; (4) expert training; (5) separation of home and office; and (6) management through rules. But most importantly, Weber states that money is crucial in order for bureaucracy to sustain. The allocation of fixed income to officials prevents them from collecting money through taxation, which helps bureaucracy to keep its internal structure. Also, Weber explains that concentration of the means of administration is important, because officials become full time wage labor without any access or control of the means of administration. Lastly, whether the democracy is another pre-condition of bureaucracy is debatable, since bureaucracy seems to have a leveling effect in itself.
I believe that military is one of the best institutions that one can use to demonstrate the bureaucracy that Weber describes. First of all, most enlistees, including myself, have a strong sense of vocation when we join the military. We have certain expectations and are aware of what we have to do in order to survive in the military. Also, the officials in the bureaucracy are very similar to the officers in the military. Officers have higher status compared to non-officer enlistees, and their monthly salary is higher than others. In addition, most military personnel are set for career, and promotion to next rank is one of the few rewards that they receive.
Furthermore, the institutional features of bureaucracy that Weber describes can be found in the military. First of all, the hierarchy of position in the military is obvious due to the rank structure, and each rank has different task to accomplish. So, the division of labor in the military is very clear. Also, there is a requirement of B.A. or B.S. degree if one wishes to enlist as an officer, which reflects to the expert training under the institutional features. In addition, written documentation plays very important role in the military, because everything you do since the day one is documented and filed. These documents are reviewed during promotion season, and only those with excellent record are appointed to next rank. But I must disagree that there is a separation of home and office in the military. Even though we go home at the end of the day, part of our obligation requires us to be on-duty at all time. And this allows us to respond faster to any emergency situation. For example, if military enforces new system where home and work is separated, military base in the east coast might not be able to react and help if something happens in the west coast due to time difference. This is one of the reasons why we are always required to be on-duty and ready to go on combat at any time.
Nice work in writing about Weber's theory of the bureaucracy and its application to the military, since it does seem like the perfect fit. I like the example you gave in the end to show how you must be 'on-duty at all time'.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Kenny! I like how you incorporated most of the aspects of bureaucracy to the military. The military seems like the ideal institution to analyze when discussing fixed jurisdictions, hierarchical positions, expert training, etc. Rules are essential in the military! How bureaucracy works is demonstrated quite interestingly. Thanks for sharing! What do you think are some bureaucratic dysfunctions that can occur in the military?
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