Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The concept of bureaucracy typically refers to a particular way of organizing the administration of human affairs. It can refer either to a structure of offices, as when we characterize an organization as bureaucratic, or to a process of formulating and implementing policy, as when we say a decision is made by following bureaucratic procedures. As an organization and form of social action, bureaucracy always embodies power and is charged with making binding decisions. It thus conveys some of the original French meaning of the word bureaucratie , combining the idea of office and office holders ( bureau ) with the notion of rule or power (the Greek term kratia ). Though the term bureaucracy is a modern invention, the phenomenon of bureaucratic rule was important in ancient civilizations. Historians have noted its social and political significance in ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilization, both agrarian societies relying upon the effective management of fragile irrigation systems. In China the educated elite of Mandarin administrators supported dynastic rule for centuries, establishing a written language, a practice of documentation, and a literary tradition. In western societies the concept of bureaucracy gained currency with the emergence of the modern nation-state, initially in France just prior to the Revolution of 1789. The cadre of trained officials provided the French absolutist ... log in or subscribe to read full text