Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance pp 1–6Cite as

Max Weber and Organizational Theory

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 146 Accesses

Synonyms

Bureaucratic theory; Rationalization theory

Definitions

Legitimate authority: rule with the consent of the ruled based on cultural beliefs that justify social hierarchies

Charismatic leadership: a highly personal type of rule where a following obeys an individual due to belief in that person’s unique, gifted qualities

Traditionalism: a system of rule where subordinates obey the demands of a group of superiors because they are natural inheritors of such authority

Legal rationalism: a modern form of rule embedded in impersonal, written rules of conduct and subordination to offices held by persons who claim technical expertise required to perform specific tasks

Introduction

Max Weber (1864–1920) was a German social theorist who was instrumental in the establishment of the discipline of sociology and much of its subsequent development. His circle of colleagues and students included luminaries of the era such as Georg Simmel, Robert Michels, Werner Sombart, George Jellinek, Edgar...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Bendix R (1978) Kings or people: power and the mandate to rule. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger T (1976) Max Weber’s theory of concept formation: history, laws, and ideal types. Duke University Press, Durham

    Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio P, Powell W (1983) The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. Am Sociol Rev 48(2):147–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elias N 1939 (2000) The civilizing process. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Gouldner AW (1964) Patterns of industrial bureaucracy. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas J (1981) The theory of communicative action. volume 1: reason and the rationalization of society. Beacon Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalberg S (1980) Max Weber’s types of rationality: cornerstones for the analysis of rationalization processes in history. Am J Sociol 85(5):1145–1179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merton R 1938 (1970) Science, technology, and society in 17th century England. Harper and Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JW, Rowan B (1977) Institutionalized organizations: formal structure as myth and ritual. Am J Sociol 83(2):340–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mommsen W (1974) The age of bureaucracy: perspectives on the political sociology of Max Weber. Basil Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Mommsen W, Osterhammel J (2010) Max Weber and his contemporaries. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritzer G (2000) The McDonaldization of society. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Scaff L (2014) Weber and the Weberians. Palgrave MacMillan, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schluchter W (1981) The rise of western rationalism. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Selznick P 1949 (2011) TVA and the grass roots: a study of politics and organizations. Quid Pro Books, New Orleans

    Google Scholar 

  • Shils E (1981) Tradition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Stinchcombe AL (2001) When formality works: authority and abstraction in law and organizations. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1904–05 (1958) The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1904–19 (1949) The mMethodology of the social sciences. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1911 (1958) The rational and social foundations of music. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1919 (1946) Politics as a vocation. In: From Max Weber. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 77–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1919–20 (1981) General economic history. Transaction Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M 1922 (1978) Economy and society. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA

    David K. Brown

Authors
  1. David K. Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David K. Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Ali Farazmand

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Brown, D.K. (2016). Max Weber and Organizational Theory. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_61-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_61-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation