In Praise of Bureaucracy: Weber - Organization - Ethics / Edition 1

by Paul du Gay

Overview

In this provocative new study, Paul du Gay makes a compelling case for the continuing importance of bureaucracy. Taking inspiration from the work of Max Weber, du Gay launches a staunch defence of 'the bureaucratic ethos' and highlights its continuing relevance to the achievement of social order and good government in liberal democratic societies.

Through a comprehensive engagement with both historical and contemporary critiques of bureaucracy and a careful examination of the policies of organizational change within the public services today, du Gay develops a major reappraisal of the so-called 'traditional' ethic of office. In doing so he highlights the ways in which many of the key features of bureaucratic conduct that ca

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761955047
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	09/05/2000
Series:	Management Studies Series
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.37(d)

About the Author

Paul du Gay is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at The Open University

Table of Contents

Introduction
Bureaucratic Morality
PART ONE: THE RELIGIOUS AND ROMANTIC ORIGINS OF 'BUREAU CRITIQUE'
Alasdair Mac Intyre and the Christian Genealogy of 'Bureau Critique'
Bauman's Bureau
'Modernity', Identity, Ethics
The Anti-Bureaucrats
Contemporary Managerial Discourse and Charismatic Authority
PART TWO: ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNANCE AND THE BUREAUCRATIC ETHOS
Office as a Vocation? Entrepreneurial Governance and Bureaucracy-Critique
'Vitalizing' State Bureaux
Some Ethico-Political Consequences of 'Re-Inventing Government'
Separate and Distinct Personae
'Bureaucrats' and 'Politicians'
Conclusion
The Ethos of Office and State Interest