Bureaucratic leadership is a type of leadership that consists of a rank of fixed duties and new rules for managing and decision-making. In other words, the leaders of this leadership style work according to the rooted rules and regulations by the higher authorities. This leadership style also focuses on the administrative needs of the organization.
What is Bureaucratic Leadership?
It is a type of leadership style in which the employees are made to follow certain rules and are assigned with tasks they need to perform by their superiors. This leadership style is similar to Transactional and Autocratic Leadership, in which the workers are not provided with much flexibility and not encouraged to produce innovative ideas regarding the organization. This leadership style is highly applicable to highly regulated organizations such as corporation or partnership businesses. This leadership style is still in use today, and may have an enormous impact. The teams and the departments of both public and private sectors apply the systems of management and decision-making.
Principles of Bureaucratic Leadership
There are six principles of bureaucratic leadership which was proposed by Max Weber. These are the fundamentals on which the bureaucratic leadership is built. The principles are mentioned with the descriptions below:-
1. Hierarchy
It is a type of system that shows the ranks of the departments in order. The departments may also be on the same position, receiving and providing instructions at the same time. This system is very beneficial for the employees as they will get to know and carry out the orders of the departments accordingly. The managers and the administrators need hierarchy in order to function efficiently and keep things organized. Another reason why having hierarchy is important is that it helps the managers to hold the employees responsible if anything goes wrong.
2. Job Specialization
It is a process by which the employees are trained through education, experience and awareness. It is done in order to make the employees professional of the tasks that they are assigned to. Job specialization is essential as it provides proficient workers to fulfill their job activities for a productive output. The skilled workers will then be able to train new employees by training them with the experiences and the struggles they went through to become professional in their tasks.
3. Division of Labor
The division of labor is required for progressing economically. It stimulates the efficiency and an effective output in an organization and decreases the total cost of the products due to the specialization elements. Each employee has a particular task and are organized by setting targets that increases productivity, promotes efficiency by distributing the tasks and responsibilities.
4.Procedures
Procedures are crucial for any type of organization and the steps to attain progression. This can be in form of business policies and provide instructions that are needed for the organization to run successfully. Procedures increase code of conduct in an institution, controls the performance of the employees, provides for service terms and enhance decision making, while promoting internal processes. The organizational and institutional procedures configure the important requirements of the action plan among employees. The workplace procedures and policies play key roles on handling certain issues and consent issues.
5.Recruitment on Merit
Recruitment on merit has been constantly applied to an organization that enhances professionalism. This concept promotes fairness, brings variation and demands honesty among the managers. This process involves taking decisions to employ and must be selected based on the qualification of the employees. It produces a system that is more sufficient and the human resources in carrying out these executive roles. It must be advocated for decreased biasness through proper process and an open structure with devoted employees.
6. Fairness
Bureaucracy brings about ideal non-partial and equal treatments among the employees. This leadership style observes the behavior and the performances of the employees without favoring anyone of them. This process is important as it helps to reduce discrimination and treats everyone in the same manner. The rules and the punishments are applicable for each individual in the organization, despite their position and status.
Bureaucratic Leadership Example
The key role of this leadership style is to assign the employees to different sectors of an organization and have to follow the instructions provided by the higher authorities of the organization. For instance, the leader of bureaucratic leadership style has to follow the policies and the agreements that they have been sent in order to operate the organization successfully. The leader then creates a set of detailed instructions so that the concept becomes clear to the other team members. This leadership style is also similar to Strategic Leadership, as different strategies are planned and executed by the higher authorities. Different employees are assigned to different tasks so that there is fairness among the employees and less misunderstanding occurs.
Some of the Popular Bureaucratic Leaders
1) Winston Churchill: Churchill showed some of the bureaucratic leadership skills while being the British Prime Minister. He had a decisive nature and always stuck to his plans, despite the disapproval he received. He depended on a heavily structured policy during the Second World War. The British Government did not believe in the plan that Churchill was planning for the future, but he used his plan to defeat the enemy, which was a quality of bureaucratic leadership.
2) Harold Geneen: Geneen was the President of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (ITT), who transformed his company into a successful multinational corporation. He showed his skills of a bureaucratic leader by designing a structured framework that began with a strict outline which the employees were bound to follow. The company was then broken down to a series of departments, which allowed the employees to be aware of their tasks that they were assigned.
Bureaucratic Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
1) It removes favoritism from the equation: Bureaucratic leaders create relationships that are neutral and does not promote any kinds of biasness. The outcome of the relation is to attain the goals that are to be achieved. This shows that the organization is not being affected by the family members or friends. The importance of these relationships is kept aside for the betterment and the future of the organization. This is why most of the bureaucratic leaders are a part of family based businesses.
2) It creates a stronger level of job security: The leaders of this leadership style work according to the rules and the regulations that increases the need of keeping the employees nearby. Even though their ranks are often ruled by the instructions that have been created, it also produces a lifestyle that they can enjoy.
Disadvantages
1) It has a structure which has limited forward movement: The focus always remains on differentiation and reinforcement. The leaders prefer to stay in their position unless another position comes up with a better salary and opportunity. The team members also tend to stay in one position unless they are put in a leadership position. This process works only if everyone remains invested into the structure, or else a disruption may occur.
2) It is often based on a system of quotas: The team members get easily upset on the bureaucratic leaders as most of the system is based on quotas. The quotas are only met once the members are done with their job. If not done, then it becomes a disciplinary issue and can have a negative impact when one member is efficient but the other is not. Most of the members will not work beyond their quota that limits another productivity level that is available.
Bureaucratic Leadership FAQs
What is the Role of a Bureaucratic Leader?
The role of a bureaucratic leader is to follow and maintain the strict rules given by the higher authorities. They also make sure that the employees also adhere to the rules. The leaders should also observe the performance of the employees and whether they are fulfilling the assigned tasks.
What is a Good Example of a Bureaucratic Leader?
Alfred P Sloan was the chairman of General Motors. He is a good example of a bureaucratic leader as he pushed the limitations of the management style of the organization. He favored a closed form of hierarchy throughout the departments of the organization.
The Bottom Line
This leadership style is quite useful for organizations that are seeking for consistency within their organization. The rules and regulations are created that creates an atmosphere of fairness and equality among the employees. It also makes it possible for all the employees to execute their tasks correctly.
Related Reading to Leadership
- How to Improve Autocratic Leadership?
- How to Improve Leadership Skills in The Workplace?
- Transformational Leadership – Definition and Principles with Examples
- Strategic Leadership – Definition and Principles with Examples
- Autocratic Leadership – Definition and Principles with Examples
References
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-bureaucratic-leadership-definition-examples-disadvantages.html
- https://www.managementstudyhq.com/bureaucratic-leadership-guide-definition-pros-cons-examples.html
- https://www.zambianguardian.com/max-weber-six-principles-of-bureaucracy/
- https://www.technofunc.com/index.php/leadership-skills-2/leadership-styles/item/bureaucratic-leadership-style
- https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Bureaucratic-Leadership-Style-Winston-Churchill-F3MC27Q5UKD5
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Geneen
- https://futureofworking.com/15-bureaucratic-leadership-style-advantages-and-disadvantages/
- https://www.managementstudyguide.com/leadership-styles.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Sloan
- https://www.managementstudyhq.com/bureaucratic-leadership-guide-definition-pros-cons-examples.html
Tamanna is working as a content writer at The Strategy Watch. She has recently completed her graduation from a reputed university in Bangladesh. Tamanna was immensely interested in knowing about leadership and has written about different kinds of leadership till now. She has gathered a vast amount of knowledge regarding the topic and is looking forward to work on more leadership related topics in future. Moreover, she is intended to dive deep into the different sectors of the business world and explore them.