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Public Administration: Weber's theory of bureaucracy · The Ideal Type and Legal-Rational Authority

The defining features of Weber's ideal-type bureaucracy, the authority it rests on, and the costs Weber and his critics saw in it.

Public Administration · 23 questions

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1. What is an "ideal type" in Max Weber's method?

  1. An average of many real organizations
  2. The best possible way to run an agency
  3. An analytical model that accentuates key features
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Answer: An analytical model that accentuates key features

An ideal type is a deliberately one-sided construct used to compare reality against; it is neither a moral ideal nor a statistical average.

2. A real ministry hires staff through family connections. What does this mean for Weber's ideal type of bureaucracy?

  1. The ministry deviates from the model
  2. The ministry is not an organization
  3. The ideal type has been disproven
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Answer: The ministry deviates from the model

Ideal types are measuring rods: real cases are expected to differ, and the gap shows how far an organization is from bureaucratic administration.

3. In Weber's model, why does each office have a fixed area of jurisdiction?

  1. So officials can choose their own tasks
  2. So duties and powers are set by rules
  3. So citizens can pick which office serves them
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Answer: So duties and powers are set by rules

Fixed jurisdictions define in advance what each office may and must do, preventing overlap and arbitrary reach.

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