Rules Are There to Be Followed Without Rules Nothing Gets Done

"RULES ARE THERE TO BE FOLLOWED. WITHOUT RULES NOTHING GETS DONE."

It seems that in today's world rules are everywhere. For instance, type a quick search for "rules" into the Google search engine and you will return over 604 million web pages that mention rules. One can find sites which outline rules on correct Internet usage to rules on ordering Mail Order Brides! Undoubtedly rules are quite important in the everyday running of our lives and yes, rules are there to be followed, but in my opinion to say, that without rules nothing gets done is akin to saying that without cutlery no one would eat. Along the same line as rules, cutlery has evolved from being quite rudimentary and has been transmogrified into an over elaborate, almost unnecessary feature at some of the more upper crust dinner parties and at the more elegant restaurants and diners where up to 14 pieces of cutlery are commonplace. This is quite similar to the whole concept of rules which have grown increasingly more complicated with the rise of big business over the last few centuries. Management is growing increasingly more worried about following correct protocol and ensuring that they follow the rules to the point of absurdity. Upon researching for this project I found many amusing anecdotes detailing the complete lunacy, with which rules are followed in various different organisations. One such example came from the Taco Bell Fast Food Chain in America. The Director of Communications was asked to prepare a memo reviewing the company's training programs and materials. In the body of the memo one of the sentences he mentioned the "pedagogical approach" used by one of the training manuals. The following day he was told that the executive vice president wanted him out of the building by lunch. When he questioned this decision he was told that she wouldn't stand for "perverts" working in her company. He was shown her copy of the memo, with her demand that he be fired, and the word "pedagogical" circled in red. The HR Manager was fairly reasonable about it and after looking up the word in the dictionary he told the Director of Communications not to worry about it. Two days later, an absurd rule was put into place to help prevent any more "pervert" style memos from getting out. A memo to the entire staff came out directing them that no words which could not be found in the local Sunday Paper could be used in company memos. A month later, the said Director resigned taking a humorous stance and in accordance with company policy, he created his resignation memo by pasting words together from the Sunday Paper! This is one such example from the crazy world we live in where rules are, for many people paramount if they are to achieve anything. However for this assignment I have chosen to disagree with the statement, "Rules are there to be followed. Without rules nothing gets done." I have chosen to disagree with this statement paying particular attention to the whole idea of bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science and it refers to the way that administrative execution and enforcement of legal rules is socially organized. Any organization that adopts bureaucracy is characterized by formal division of responsibility, set procedures for dealing with any issues that may arise, a hierarchical power structure and impersonal relationships. In short in a bureaucracy rules are the cogs that turn the wheels of the business and the people play second fiddle to these cogs. I intend to strongly argue against bureaucracy and the inherent importance of rules that lie within this concept. I shall do so by hopefully presenting a credible assessment of bureaucracy and its failure to serve as a credible organizational form simply as a result of it's over reliance on rules. I will do this under three main arguments:

1) Firstly, I shall address the history of bureaucracy and how it has come to be seen as a viable form of organizational structure.

2) Secondly, I shall highlight some of the principle criticisms of bureaucracy and its inherent dependence on rules.

3) Thirdly, I shall prove that without rules things can not only be done, they can be done better and more efficiently.

In the first instance, I feel it necessary to address the formation of bureaucracy and its history. The word bureaucracy in itself is very important to understand. It is a derivative of the word bureau, whose original French meaning was the baize used to cover desks. However, by the early 18th century the word became commonplace in Western Europe and meant the office/workplace. The term 'bureaucracy' came into use shortly the French Revolution of 1789. However bureaucracy existed long before the term bureaucracy was used to describe it in detail. The Chinese Song Dynasty had a form of centralized bureaucracy as far back as 960 AD. In a modern context Max Weber has been one of bureaucracy's foremost advocators of the idea of bureaucracy. Weber was quite interested in the study of the bureaucratization of society. Weber was in no way the innovator of the word bureaucracy he was preoccupied with the ideal type bureaucracy in positive terms, and he considered it a more rational and efficient than any form of organization that had preceded it. Weber analyzed bureaucracy and its concerns and it took into account many different features particularly:

* The impact of the rule of law upon the functioning bureaucracies

* The historical and administrative reasons for the process of bureaucratization

* The most important attributes and consequences of bureaucracy in the modern world

In his book "Economy and Society (1922)" Weber outlined the key characteristics associated with a bureaucracy. A bureaucratic organization is governed by the following seven principles:

1. Official business is conducted on a continuous basis

2. Official business is conducted with strict accordance to the following rules:

1. The duty of each official to do certain types of work is delimited in terms of impersonal criteria

2. The official is given the authority necessary to carry out his assigned functions

3. The means of coercion at his disposal are strictly limited and conditions of their use strictly defined

3. Every official's responsibilities and authority are part of a vertical hierarchy of authority, with respective rights of supervision and appeal

4. Officials

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