Critique of the Theory and Practice of Bureaucracy

• Main Author: Liudmyla Demchenko
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Grani 2019-08-01
• Series: Aspekti Publìčnogo Upravlìnnâ
• Subjects: bureaucracy; government; public administration; informal organization,; post-bureaucratic model; critique; shortcomings; rationality
• Online Access: https://aspects.org.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/596

The article examines the critical views on the bureaucracy of political philosophers and experts in the field of public administration, from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day. The emphasis is on the fact that phenomenon and concept of bureaucracy is one of the most discussed and analyzed within the science of public administration. Despite the historical stability and evolution of the theoretical foundations of bureaucracy, the latter is increasingly criticized by researchers. The analysis of critical sources of bureaucracy as a scientific model and the practical organization of a public administration confirms the idea of the non-relevance of bureaucratic management mechanisms in the context of modern, dynamic social transformations. The goal of the paper is to comprehensively analyze critical assessments of the bureaucracy at the level of theory and practice, to systematize the dysfunctional characteristics of the bureaucracy as a form of administration. The analysis of the papers of such scholars as Ch. Barnard, Ch. Goodsell, R. Hummel, R. Merton, M. Meyer, etc. shows that the disadvantages of the bureaucratic model of public administration include its mechanistic character, absoluteness of rationality, antihumanism, and formalization of procedures. Today, most scholars recognize the need to establish a post-bureaucratic (postmodern) model that recognizes the primacy of a person (citizen) over the state apparatus, the need for his / her active involvement in public policy, efficiency and effectiveness as the main criteria for the quality of public administration activities, etc. Another form of critique of bureaucratic practice is the researches of gender scholars. These critical remarks, above all, are due to the rejection of the rationalist-modern form of organization, as a definitely male center.