Preview

Max Weber's Contribution to Educational Administration

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
915 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Max Weber's Contribution to Educational Administration
Educational administration, according to Van der Westtuizen (1999:36) is…………In this case the government should take care of this through the necessary legislation providing for the proper functioning system. This will also entail legislation which provide for the matters such as the necessary decentralization, financing, maintenance of facilities, teacher training, compulsory education, differentiated education and general control over education. Weber contributes to the educational administration through his Weberian Bureaucratic Model, in which bureaucracy is defined as a concept in sociology and political science referring to the way that administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules are socially organized.

Max Weber in his Bureaucratic model considers the structure of offices and management of organization such as schools as both public and private. He tries to construct a stereotype of an educational organization through the use of five characteristics that he deems should be possessed in a school. He also ventures his discussion into the characteristics of a bureaucratic official which to be thought as a bureaucratic, should qualify these characteristics. A person possessing such characteristics is then judged as a qualified and appropriate in office. However, if dispossessed of these characteristics, he is not fit for such position in office.

Wayne (1978:111) opines that Weber introduces five important characteristics of a functional educational bureaucracy. Weber first requires educational organizations to have a consistent system of abstract rules which have normally been intentionally established. And administration of laws should be held to consist in the application of these rules to particular cases and systems of rules should cover the rights and duties inherent in each position, so as to coordinate activities in the hierarchy. This system should also provide continuity of operations when there are changes in personnel. However, rules



Bibliography: Anderson, J. G. 1968. Bureaucracy in Education. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Van der Westtuizen, P. C. (ed.) 1999. Effective School Management. Pretoria: Haum Tertiary Wayne, K. H. 1987. Educational Administration: Theory Research and Practice. New York: Random House

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Max Weber's model of Bureaucracy was proven to solve issues within the administrative system. This model was created by Max Weber (1864-1920), who was a German sociologist. He created different characteristics found in bureaucracies that would affect decision-making, control resources, protect workers and…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Test #1

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages

    2. Why is Max Weber’s characterization of bureaucracy considered the essential building block for understanding the formal institutional structures of public administration?…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Project Schedule

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bureaucracy consists of an organization characterized by: specific job functions and a strict vertical hierarchical structure. Bureaucratic structure introduced a shift in the archetype of society just before the 19th century. Max Weber, known for his thoughts on capitalism and bureaucracy, contributed greatly to this archetype. The classic bureaucratic model, according to Weber, is described as having such characteristics as: political neutrality, vertical structure, specific job responsibilities, and well-written impersonal documentation, which is used to ensure functional reliability. (Weber M. , 1978) This essay will concentrate on the vertical structure and the rigid tasks and knowledge of the bureaucratic model, to show that an organization can become too big and rigid to be effective in daily tasks.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Congress and Bureaucracy

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bureaucratic organizations are typically characterized by great attention to the precise and stable delineation of authority or jurisdiction among the various subdivisions and among the officials who comprise them, which is done mainly by requiring the organization's employees to operate strictly according to fixed procedures and detailed rules designed to routinize nearly all decision-making. Some of the most important of these rules and procedures may be specified in laws or decrees enacted by the higher “political” authorities that are empowered to set the official goals and general policies for the organization, but upper-level (and even medium-level) bureaucrats typically are delegated considerable discretionary powers for elaborating their own detailed…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Virtually all current institutions, inclusive of schools, have the attributes of the Weberian Model of Bureaucracy, which consist of a distribution of labour and specialization, a systematic command of authority, rules and regulations, and a vocation assimilation. Ballantine further asserts that schools are distinctive bureaucratic structures, because of their diverse functions and makeup. As a social system, the school is differentiated by an interrelation with an obviously distinct group of people, segregation from its environment, a multifaceted system of social interactions, and its own exclusive framework.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea that public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties is debatable, and dependent on the type of specific duties they have. Max Weber made it clear when he defined the roles for public administrators to discharge their duties. The original model of public administration spread all through the industrialized world at that time and assisted in the relative success of the industrialized economies. Guy Peters also summarized the principles of the original model by listing the major characteristics of that model. Apolitical civil service; rules and hierarchy; permanence and stability; institutional civil service; internal regulation; and finally internal and external organizational quality are all in Peters’ works.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1947, sociologist Max Weber studied and identified key traits that originated from the idiom “bureaucracy”. At the age of 18, Weber joined the military after attending…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I. There is the principle of fixed and official jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules.…

    • 654 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bureaucracy, a theory introduced by Max Weber, is defined as being a procedure created to promote efficiency and effectiveness in an organisation. Most early theories were also concerned with the modes of creating high levels of efficiency and effectiveness. It is suggested that Max Weber 's theory of bureaucracy is most relevant and his concerns still echo in organisations today. This review is an attempt to validate this statement. In this paper, firstly, I will mainly look at some of the ideas of bureaucracy such as those of division of labour, formal rules and procedures, hierarchy of authority. Using evidence from journals and a book on division of labour, I will then proceed to the appraisals and counterarguments of the above concerns and also look at the limitations of bureaucracy and why it is considered as 'red tape '. In both the appraisals and counterarguments, I will compare Weber 's theory of bureaucracy with other theories such as the Contingency theory and the theories introduced by Henry Fayol, who other members of society believe that his works stand the test of time. Lastly, I will point out why Weber 's theory of bureaucracy still qualifies as having have stood the test of time.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lenenburg, F. C. (2010). The Demise of Bureaucracy and Emergent Models of Organizational Structure. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from National Forum: http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C.%20The%20Demise%20of%20Bureaucracy%20Schooling%20V1%20N1,%202010.docx.pdf…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Max Weber's Theory focuses on the bureaucracy of the organization. It shares many similarities with Fayols theory but places a higher emphasis on the rules within an organization. According to Weber, rules must be set and followed by everyone in the organization without exception. He also places importance on having a rational authority in the organization that employees can turn to. Bureaucracy has its good sides, however the communication between the higher management and those of low are…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Johnston, K, B. (August 17, 2010). Bureaucratie Form According to Max Weber — His Six Major Principles. In busting bureaucracy. Retrieved August 9, 2010, from http://www.bustingbureaucracy.com/excerpts/weber.htm.…

    • 1842 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Public Administration, one should look at the views of Max Weber and of the more modern…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bureaucratic organisations are based upon rules and hierarchy of the structure where poor employee motivation, inertia are common. According to Max Weber, bureaucratic structures are the most efficient models. The structure is centralised with well-defined line of authority with clear rules and regulations. Only one way flow of decision making and communication is followed by the leaders. Only formal relations are present based on positions and not on personalities.…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Abstract: The theory of bureaucracy was proposed and published by Marx Weber (1947). Although there are some studies on this perspective were discussed before him, those theories did not form as systematic theory. After Weber, the issue of bureaucracy becomes a hot topic in the field of social organization. Almost all well-known scholars such as Martin and Henri have published their views on it. Bureaucracy adapted as the traditional organizational model during industrial society, essentially, bureaucracy could exist rational. This essay firstly will review the principle of bureaucracy in organization based on organizational design perspective. Secondly, it will analyze the strengths and weakness of bureaucracy made by Weber, focusing on Weber’s contribution for large contemporary organization design their structure and consider the attitude of those organizations toward bureaucracy: confirmed, rejected, adapted or added to. Finally it will consider the performance of bureaucracy organization in modern society with examples.…

    • 3354 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays