ADVANCED ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY AND PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

Bureaucracy is an idea as well as an embodiment of a structural arrangement. It has been defended as a necessity and at the same time vigorously condemned. As a result of controversies surrounding it, bureaucracy has come to mean different things to different people.  A bureaucratic system is monastic with a single line of command and control. It is characterized by a hierarchy of superior and subordinate relations in which a person at the top assumes all authority and issues general orders to initiate actions. Orders reach the lowest subordinates through a series of layers or ranks. A status and reward system closely follows these hierarchies. Bureaucracy is an activity by a group of officials arranged on the basis of activity to be performed in an accountable & responsible manner. It is a hierarchical chain organized vertically, disciplined, and depending on the degree of centralization. In essence, bureaucracy is a rational distribution of activities in which there is complete authority to issue the command and, in a manner, laid down by the rules, Written documents and files are important elements in bureaucracy it is a system, which induces officials to be methodical, prudent and disciplined, and whose behavior is highly reliable. The obligation of an office and the relationship among officials are impersonal. Bureaucratic machinery rather than fueling development programmed through public service delivery is said to have hindered the growth expected due to excessive bureaucratization of administrative processes, coupled with corruption. Various kinds of the literature showed that the term bureaucracy refers to offices that perform a provision of public service delivery (including health and education) to the citizens. The main findings indicated that bureaucratic institutions have a considerable effect on public service delivery by increasing welfare and changing the economic status of the citizens.