Bureaucracy and the Church of God

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Max Weber, German sociologist, social theorist, and economist, explicated the theory of bureaucracy in which he details the monocratic bureaucracy “as an ideal form that maximized rationality” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 48). He provided his most complete exposition of theory in his 1922 tome Economy and Society (Casey, 2004). This classic form of bureaucracy is characterized by the following (a) well-defined official functions; (b) specialization of function; (c) clearly defined hierarchy of offices; (d) rules governing performance, which require training to administer; (e) impersonal treatment of clients, in that all are treated equally; (f) merit as the basis of promotion or appointment; (g) compensation based on rank; (h) separation of personal and company assets and interests; (i) discipline and control of daily work; (j) files and record keeping for decisions, acts, and rules (Bolman & Deal, 2008; O’Connor, 2011). There are numerous shorthand versions of Weber’s theory including Harmon and Mayer (1986) in Organization Theory for Public Administration and Heady (2001) in Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective (O’Connor, 2011). The prime directive and raison d’être of the bureaucracy is to act as a bulwark against the forces of chaos, irrationality, and disorganization that constantly jeopardize an organization (Casey, 2004). In this sense, bureaucracy can be seen as necessary to the survival of groups. It is, however, a term that is vilified in popular culture, used pejoratively even by some researchers, and reviled as nearly blasphemous and certainly anti-democratic by many reform-minded persons. To the Weberian observer, in contrast, bureaucracy is not only as equal to all other organizational forms, but is ... ... middle of paper ... ...e. Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Casey, C. (2004). Bureaucracy re-enchanted? Spirit, experts and authority in organizations. Organization, 11, 59-79. doi:10.1177/1350508404039658 Nelson, R. E. (1993). Authority, organization, and societal context in multinational churches. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 653-682. Retrieved from http://web.edbscohost.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid-fd218266-afad-43b7-bfbb-5c53002cd06d%40sessionmgr14&vid=8&hid=19 O’Connor, T. (2011). Theories of bureaucracies. Retrieved from http://drtomoconnor.com/4090/40901lect02.htm Yeakley, R. (2011, February 15). Growth stalls, falls for largest U. S. churches. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-02-16-church_growth_15_ST_N.htm

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