Disadvantages of Bureaucracy

  The negative sides of bureaucracy are:-

1. Rigidity:- Its critics claim that it is rigid, static and inflexible. In the name of rules, people may even shirk away from their responsibilities.
2. Impersonality:- It emphasizes mechanical way of doing things. That is why, it is labeled as ‘an organization without people’.
3. Displacement of objectives:- As organizational procedures becomes more formalized and individuals more specialized, means often become confused with ends.
4. Compartmentalization of activities:- Strict categorization of work restricts people from performing tasks that they are capable of doing. The typical bureaucracy tries to preserve all the old jobs and add new for new requirements, resulting in wastage of scarce inputs.
5. Empire-building:- It turns manager into empire-builders. They try to enhance their status and power by adding more people, more space, more physical facilities despite of whether they are required or not.
6. Red tape:- This is a kind of paper mills. Everything is recorded on paper and files moves through endless official channels, resulting in inordinate delays.