Is Bureaucracy Irrational? Reflect Critically Essay

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Is bureaucracy irrational? Reflect critically

In sociological theories, bureaucracy denotes either a means of management, or a particular kind of organization. Such organizations tend to have homogenous characteristics, including regularized procedure, the existence of a discretionary budget, a tendency to expand their resources continuously and progressively, and impersonal relationships with much competition for political position within the organization. 'Bureau', is a French word meaning desk; thus, 'Bureaucracy' in literal sense is to manage through a desk or office, so a form of organization heavily involved with written documents or in these days their electronic equivalent. Most economic theories of bureaucracy

Rational-legal leaders are obsolete that all steps have been followed prior to referring anything to the next level of authority. As such bureaucracies led by rational-legal authority are the most efficient way of implementing rules, as information is effectively recorded, studied, and applied in a consistent and reliable way to individual cases.
Important to the exact understanding of bureaucracy, we can see the key elements from Weber, who sets out an 'ideal type'. This is characterised by an elaborate hierarchical division of labour directed by rules which are impersonally applied. The organization is staffed by full-time professionals, who do not in any sense own the 'means of administration', or their jobs, or the sources of their funds, and live off a salary, not from income derived directly from the performance of their job. Usually public sector businesses such as Universities, hospitals, banks and Governments require this type of leader in their organizations to ensure quality, increase security and decrease corruption, since employees do not receive personal gains from any bias in their performance.
Bureaucracy can manifest itself in both the public and private sector. Historically public sector activity would have been led by a traditional leader. However with the rise of Governments and the demise of political importance of the monarch, we begin to see where stems the rise of bureaucracy. In the Middle Ages the King, (traditional authority),