Bureaucracy

How it is used

In sociology the word is descriptive: Weber saw bureaucracy as the most efficient form of rational organisation but warned that it could become an 'iron cage'. In everyday English it usually sounds negative and means slow paperwork, also called red tape.

Example sentences

1. Weber listed hierarchy, written rules and specialised roles as key features of bureaucracy.

2. Hospitals and universities are modern bureaucracies with many layers of management.

Common collocations

• Weber's model of bureaucracy
• state bureaucracy
• bureaucratic organisation
• iron cage of bureaucracy

Related terms

• rationalisationThe historical process, described by Weber, in which tradition, emotion and magic give way to calculation, efficiency, rules and scientific reasoning in more and more areas of life.
• ideal typeA simplified model that brings together the typical features of a social phenomenon, used by researchers as a yardstick for comparing real cases.
• social institutionAn established and lasting set of rules, roles and practices that organises an important area of social life, such as family, education, religion, the economy or politics.
• powerThe ability of a person or group to achieve their goals or influence the behaviour of others, even when others resist.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• bureaucracy · Public Administration

More terms: Social Structure and Institutions

• social structure
• status
• social role
• ascribed status
• achieved status
• division of labour
• capitalism
• social network