AN ASSIGNMENT ON BUREAUCRATIC

LEADERSHIP STYLE
By
The entire group members
And submitted to
MISS OKON EKEI
(course lecturer)
In partial fulfilment of the course requirement for the
award of a bachelors degree in civil engineering
August, 2018.
WHAT IS BUREAUCRACY?

It is a form of administrative system used by both public and private ins

titutions.
It is a government body that is composed of non-politicians but who are
appointed to help in policy-making and be in charge of administrative t
asks in government agencies.
In government, bureaucrats implement policies, write rules and
regulations and administer them on people, among others. In
organizations, bureaucracy structure is divided into different levels,
from frontline employees up to the upper management. While there are
countries doing well with this kind of structure, there are also groups
not in favor of this system.
ADVANTAGES OF BUREAUCRACY
1. Central authority in bureaucracy makes it effective in organiz
ing.
Advocates for bureaucracy have positive views on having hiera
rchy in an organization. They say that since there is a chain of c
ommand, there will be specific roles and tasks for people involv
ed in the departments. This way, management will be able to m
onitor the performance of the people in lower ranks. Also, with
strict regulations and policies that need to be observed, there is
a big possibility that duties will be carried out in a systematic a
nd timely manner. Following these set of rules before decision
making ensures choices and steps are ideal and well selected.
2. It supports the hiring of specialized officials.
Supporters of bureaucracy prefer the idea of designating appoin
ted officials who have the educational background and expertis
e on the agency they will assigned to. These bureaucrats also ha
ve the training and skills particular to their designation. This en
sures these non-elective members know what they are doing an
d will be able to maximize their knowledge and apply their skill
s. As a result, tasks are effectively carried out. Another point pr
oponents express in connection with officials having specializat
ion is the possibility that there will always be solutions to issues
since problems which cannot be handled by an officer will be es
calated to an individual who is also competent.
3. It follows Standard Operating Procedure.
Proponents of bureaucracy look at these formalized
rules to bring about efficiency and predictability in
results. In this set-up, officials are to follow instruc-
tions and procedures step by step in handling tasks
and situations. This way, outcomes will be within
the specified range.
4. It sets no room for favoritism.
People in favor of bureaucracy claim that with the regulations a
nd procedure to be followed in order to achieve results, the risk
s of favoring some individuals over others will be minimal if no
t none at all. A scenario mentioned is one of a student applying
for a loan. There is a systematic process involved and certain re
quirements to be met to get an approval. With skipping a step or
one of these requirements lacking, the process will not be able t
o move forward. With bureaucracy, all will be treated fairly and
will undergo the same procedure regardless of affiliation to any
of the officials in the particular agency.
5. It allows for merit-based hiring and promotion.
For a non-elective member of a government agency, he or she should be
qualified and pass the qualifying exams to be employed or appointed as
well as climb the hierarchy. This means that whoever is appointed has t
he knowledge, expertise and skills to handle the job. No one will be con
sidered simply because he or she is a relative or a friend of a high-ranki
ng official in the agency.
6. It plays an important role in policy making.
Although civil servants do not make policies, they gather the data forwa
rded to the political executive. They are also responsible for formulatin
g several alternative policies and determine the pros and cons of each. I
n turn, the political executive will choose one policy which will then be
used as an alternative.
DISADVANTAGES OF BUREAUCRACY
1. It can hamper achievement of results in time.
Critics are arguing that with the certain steps needed to carry ou
t tasks and the need to follow a chain of command to proceed, l
ots of time can be lost especially if decisions and results are nee
ded immediately. If a government is run by bureaucrats and ther
e is a chain-of-command, a certain decision like military defens
e can result to unfavorable outcomes since an action cannot be
carried out without different personalities or officials in the hier
archy have approved such. This makes the process slow, accord
ing to proponents.
2. It breeds boredom and can affect productivity.
Opponents are criticizing the repetitive tasks in specialized jobs. They
claimed that in time, it can bore members of the organization or agency.
They added that even in a business which uses bureaucracy, employees
might not be able to withstand doing the same work daily. The routine
might just be too much from them and may result to absenteeism and le
ss productivity.
3. It results to passive and rule-based human beings.
Another disadvantage being pointed out by some people who do not lik
e a bureaucratic structure say that the strict rules and regulations impose
d in bureaucracies seem to remove the freedom of an individual to act
and discern on his or her own because of certain restrictions. This
according to some, is not beneficial.
4. It can result to inefficiency.
In bureaucracy, there is less competition since hiring and
promotion is based on merits and qualifications. Moreov
er, once a civil servant is appointed, he or she has a fixed
salary, works on specialized tasks and cannot function ou
tside the sphere of the department he or she belongs to. S
ome people see this as unproductive and a disadvantage b
ecause it can demoralize civil servants who belong in a b
ureaucracy.
CONCLUSION
A bureaucracy structure might be considered Bureaucratic.
Bureaucratic leadership is where the leader plays it “by the book Everything
must be done according to procedure or policy. He/she has to provide clear i
nstructions so that everyone knows exactly what they are doing to insure the
safety of everyone around them, this may be used in a situation involving bo
mbs, or hazardous chemicals where everything must be done perfectly.
Bureaucratic leadership means everything being done according to procedur
e or policy.The person in charge must follow all instructions and rules accor
ding to the book. Everything is done in an exact, specific way to ensure safet
y. This would be used in the fire service because its all about safety, if the jo
b is not done exactly right then people lives are at risk.
CONCLUSION contd.
For bureaucratic leadership there are advantages as well as disadvantag
es. The advantages being; everything gets done the way it should be an
d nothing is left undone. Ther disadvantages are; resentment from the w
orkforce towards the manager over their management style, particularly
if it is seen to be more autocratic than democratic.
Bureaucratic and laissez-faire are also opposite leadership styles. Burea
ucratic is very systematic; likes doing everything correctly and ordely,
where as laissez faire is more relaxed and free flowing where there isnt
a specific order to do things in. I think both of these leadership styles ar
e affective becasue bureaucratic gets the work done as it is meant to be
done, but laissez-faire still gets the work done just in a more relaxed ap
proach, so i dont think there is a right or wrong style out of the two.