Characteristics of Bureaucracy by Max Weber - Essay Example

In modern managerial theory, unnecessary bureaucracy’s elimination forms a key concept, being a central issue in numerous political campaigns.

Specialty is the first characteristic of bureaucracy as outlined by Max Weber. Each employee has official jurisdictional and reinforced areas of work as shown by Office Space in the company Initech. Each clerk has a specialized job description, though some are ranked higher than others, making Weber’s hierarchy of offices the second characteristic of bureaucracy. Lumbergh in the movie was seen as Initech’s head. Weber’s theory would put him at the top of the pyramid. Bureaucracy according to Weber had several different levels of management but very few leaders in a pyramid fashion. With Lumbergh at the top, Peter Gibbons was right below him and was followed downwards by Michael Bolton, Samir, and Milton. His position at the bottom of the pyramid meant that Milton had no authority over any employee. Due to this pyramid management, employees hold grudges against higher-ranked employees. Lumbergh was particularly menial in his leadership role.

Bureaucracy should be regular and follow given rules and regulations. Workers at Initech were even instructed on the type of stapler to use and were required to regularly fill out TPS reports. They were expected to dress nicely except on Hawaiian shirt day, as well as regulate their radio usage, get to work on time, and park in designated spots. As Weber puts it, Initech used rules and regulations to thrive and operate in a completely predictable fashion. Weber argues that bureaucracy seeks the ultimate technical competence beyond following rules and regulations. Bob and Bob were hired by Initech to evaluate the technical qualification and specialization of its workers and thus needed to evaluate the effectiveness of all employees.

Bureaucracy is not interested in the employee as a person but rather in the employee’s technical competence. Impersonality is confirmed in a bureaucracy’s work area as Weber deduced. Lumbergh was not interested in making links with employees but would write impersonal notes to his favorite ones. Workers at Initech were uniformly processed and were not recognized much as members, with Weber explaining this as a characteristic of bureaucracy.

Lumbergh’s notes, and formal written communications, were Max Weber’s final characteristic of bureaucracy. Official documents formed the basis for management at Initech, as seen by the requirement to fill TPS notes for all employees. These formal links were a type of communication used by the company. Each employee had records or files kept by the company, confirming its value for formal written links.

Due to the presence of these characteristics in the company, the workers seem to be alienated by their work. As Karl Max explains in “Alienation in Work”, the direct benefits of Initech’s employees were not known to them, leaving them with no option but to work hard. Peter Gibbons insulted his work, terming it as a reason why each day was his worst, evidence of alienation from his work.

Human beings were not meant to feel confined and underproductive. Peter and the employees felt trapped in their cubicles, shown at one time by Lawrence screaming to Peter about a girl on television, to which Peter replied, “damn it Lawrence! Can you not just pretend we cannot hear each other through the walls?” Job security was the only motivation for the employees. As explained by Karl Marx in his essay, this forms strong proof that the employees at Initech felt alienated from their jobs.

Max Weber lists the elements of bureaucracy as a hierarchy of offices, specialization, technical deficit, strict regulation, and rule, and formal written communications. Office Space represents these elements humorously. The theory of privacy by Karl Marx is seen throughout the film. The movie Office Space depicts bureaucracy in an eye-opening way though seemingly in a cynical way. Read More