Max Weber 

(born April 21, 1864, Erfurt, Prussia — died June 14, 1920, Munich, Ger.) is a German sociologist and political
economist. Son of a wealthy liberal politician and a Calvinist mother, Weber was a compulsively diligent scholar
who suffered occasional nervous collapses. Insights derived from his own experience inform his most famous and
controversial work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904 – 05), which examines the relationship
between Calvinist (or Puritan) morality, compulsive labor, bureaucracy, and economic success under capitalism .
Weber also wrote penetratingly on social phenomena such as charisma and mysticism, which he saw as
antithetical to the modern world and its underlying process of rationalization. His efforts helped establish sociology
as an academic discipline in Germany, and his work continues to stimulate scholarship. Through his insistence on
the need for objectivity and his analysis of human action in terms of motivation, he profoundly influenced
sociological theory. His voluminous writings, mostly published posthumously, include Economy and Society and
General Economic History (1923).

Bureaucracy is the collective organizational structure, procedures, protocols, and set of regulations in

A bureaucracy traditionally does not create policy but, rather, enacts it. Law, policy, and regulation
normally originates from a leadership, which creates the bureaucracy to put them into practice. In
practice, the interpretation and execution of policy, etc. can lead to informal influence - but not
necessarily. A bureaucracy is directly responsible to the leadership that creates it, such as a government
executive or board. Conversely, the leadership is usually responsible to an electorate, shareholders,
membership or whoever is intended to benefit. As a matter of practicality, the bureaucracy is where the
individual will interface with an organization such as a government etc., rather than directly with its
leadership. Generally, larger organizations result in a greater distancing of the individual from the
leadership, which can be consequential or intentional by design.

Weber described the ideal type bureaucracy in positive terms, considering it to be a more rational and
efficient form of organization than the alternatives that preceded it, which he characterized
as charismatic domination and traditional domination. According to his terminology, bureaucracy is part
of legal domination. However, he also emphasized that bureaucracy becomes inefficient when a
decision must be adopted to an individual case.

According to Weber, the attributes of modern bureaucracy include its impersonality, concentration of
the means of administration, a leveling effect on social and economic differences and implementation of
a system of authority that is practically indestructible.
Weber's analysis of bureaucracy concerns:

the historical and administrative reasons for the process of bureaucratization (especially in the Western
civilisation)

the impact of the rule of law upon the functioning of bureaucratic organisations

the typical personal orientation and occupational position of a bureaucratic officials as a status group

the most important attributes and consequences of bureaucracy in the modern world

A bureaucratic organization is governed by the following seven principles:

official business is conducted on a continuous basis

official business is conducted with strict accordance to the following rules:

the duty of each official to do certain types of work is delimited in terms of impersonal criteria

the official is given the authority necessary to carry out his assigned functions

the means of coercion at his disposal are strictly limited and conditions of their use strictly defined

every official's responsibilities and authority are part of a vertical hierarchy of authority, with respective
rights of supervision and appeal

officials do not own the resources necessary for the performance of their assigned functions but are
accountable for their use of these resources

official and private business and income are strictly separated

offices cannot be appropriated by their incumbents (inherited, sold, etc.)

official business is conducted on the basis of written documents

A bureaucratic official:

is personally free and appointed to his position on the basis of conduct

exercises the authority delegated to him in accordance with impersonal rules, and his or her loyalty is
enlisted on behalf of the faithful execution of his official duties

appointment and job placement are dependent upon his or her technical qualifications

administrative work is a full-time occupation

work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career

An official must exercise his or her judgment and his or her skills, but his or her duty is to place these at
the service of a higher authority; ultimately he/she is responsible only for the impartial execution of
assigned tasks and must sacrifice his or her personal judgment if it runs counter to his or her official
duties.