Bureaucracy Introductory Para and Thesis Statement
By
Umer Bhatti & Saman Muneeb

When someone falls sick, we take him to the doctor. The doctor usually prescribes a set of medicines to take at different intervals of a day for a few days. The medicines may have two possible effects. On one hand, they cure the ongoing disease and on the other hand, they may cause some side effects of their own. In addition, the medicines may even have graver side effects if taken for more than the prescribed period or just stop working, because a person may develop a “tolerance” for those medicines. Therefore, while prescribing the medicines initially, a doctor usually asks his patient to visit again after a day or two so that he may decrease, increase, change or just stop the intake of medicines, as they are no longer required.
Bureaucracy was introduced to the world as one such prescription against the socio-economic ills/anomalies prevalent in the society. It was an attempt to provide a system underpinned by rules and regulations where the Bureaucrats – the practitioners of bureaucracy – could act upon the prescription for the service delivery to the masses. Max Weber, the foremost theorist of Bureaucracy, postulated nine characteristics of bureaucracy as, a) Specialized roles, b) Recruitment based on merit (e.g. tested through open competition), c) Uniform principles of placement, promotion, and transfer in an administrative system, d) Careerism with systematic salary structure, e) Hierarchy, responsibility and accountability, f) Subjection of official conduct to strict rules of discipline and control, g) Supremacy of abstract rules, h) Impersonal authority (e.g. office bearer does not bring the office with them), and i) Political neutrality.
This essay attempts to analyse as to what are some of the inherent flaws in the bureaucracy prescription which, while trying to cure its ills, are ailing the society as well? It then moves on to explain as to why the bureaucracy could not evolve with changing times causing a stagnation in the system? Moreover, it will also attempt to explain the external and cultural factors affecting the bureaucracy with some relevant examples from Pakistan and the region due to which the bureaucracy is said to be in doldrums. At the end, some recommendations will be presented.

Interesting

A little confusing title, whether this essay is about the democracy or bureaucracy? Also, do you want a critical review of the essay?