Equalitarianism and Bureaucratic Recruitment

Abstract

Bureaucratization and equalitarianism are regarded as major trends in Western society, and the use of objective criteria in recruitment for bureaucratic positions is viewed as a reflection of these trends. Recent analyses of social mobility and organizations are examined in this context. The author finds that bureaucratic norms have nonbureaucratic consequences. Educational requirements, for example, may prevent access to those unable to afford the training required. Educational requirements moreover have functions other than technical training; they are a means of social validation of recruits and a means of transmitting occupational values. The author finds that occupational mobility in professions often regarded as open is limited and is apparently a function of their expanding size rather than an increase in competitive equality associated with bureaucratic norms. Finally a model of a social structure in which mobility depends solely upon technical skill is suggested.1 The author is assistant professor of sociology in the University of Illinois.