Weberian v. Welfare Bureaucracy in Traditional Society

Abstract

On the basis of an analysis of the Turkish coal industry, some limitations of the Weberian model of for analyzing organizations in underdeveloped societies are suggested. The concept of bureaucracy is used to emphasize certain basic differences in objectives, values, and behavior between the western Weberian model and the typical state-owned enterprise in an underdeveloped society. While in both societies exhibits both Weberian and welfare claims, in traditional society the claims and conditions of welfare, such as political control, full employment, central planning, and status and class bases of authority as opposed to those of skill, tend to dominate. Such disparities reflect essential differences in time, motivation, economic incentive, and educational values between western and traditional society. Robert V. Presthus is professor of public administration and editor of the Administrative Science Quarterly, Cornell University.