Abstract

Weber’s analysis of bureaucracy is one of the central issues in the sociology of organizations. This paper looks at bureaucracy as a distinctive feature of modern society, especially as linked to Weber’s notion of bureaucratic functional efficiency. The fundamental describing characteristics of bureaucracy are reviewed. Without denying Weber’s essential proposition that bureaucracies are more efficient, important dysfunctional consequences of bureaucratic organizations in the light of Ghanaian socio-cultural context are suggested in the paper. These dysfunctions are not intended to suggest that Weber’s analysis of bureaucracy is without value. Rather, they demonstrate that the normative nonempirical character of his approach conceals the dynamic and highly fluid nature of the relationship between bureaucracy and the larger society. This paper therefore establishes this relationship in Ghana.