Abhishek Pandey October 18, 2013 at 10:40 am

E-Governance is the final arrival of Max Webers iron cage of rationality. Discuss.
CSM, 2011, 20 marks, 200 words
E-governance is the delivery of the government services vide electronic means through the use of information and
communication technology. Such convergence will facilitate impersonal, fast and simple access to routine
government services with the aid of suitable computer programs.
This concept has lot of commonalities with Webers ideal type of bureaucracy where rationality has been given the
primary focus. Weber has stressed that conduct of official be bound by rules. Further, the officials need to be well
trained and competent. This according to Weber would facilitate rational decision making and weed out favouritism
and nepotism in delivery of services.
Apparently, Webers construct appear same as e-governance in effect. However, a closer analysis reveals out the
following differences:1. While Weber has insisted on bureaucracy carrying out the entire gamut of government operations, e-governance
is focused on the delivery of routine services only. The non-routine functions like development administration has to
be carried out by other actors who are differently organised for the purpose.
2. In case of Webers model dependence on rules may lead to procedural delays and red-tapism. However, the faster
computational capabilities and absence of any human interface minimises such possibilities in case of e-governance.
Therefore, while e-governance has the same objectives as of Webers model, the chances of appearance of the
dysfunctional attributes of Webers model is greatly reduced.
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Aditya Jha October 18, 2013 at 2:39 pm
I found the answer well explained but could not find any discussion of the word final arrival.
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Abhishek Pandey October 18, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Agreed.. thats a very good observation will work on that
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Pardeep October 28, 2013 at 1:12 pm
I guess what final arrival means is.that the rationality which weber proposed through his model was
missing in actual practice and the e-Governance would fulfill that gap to a certain extant
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Abhishek Pandey October 18, 2013 at 10:42 am
Q. In what way is Webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational?
Urged by the culture of maladministration due to the prevalence of patronage system in those times, Max Weber
conceptualised an ideal construct of bureaucracy. The official conduct of bureaucrats was to be bound by rules which
would ensure delivery of services in a neutral and predictable manner to all concerned without any discrimination.
However, this rule bound ideal construct of bureaucracy has its limitations.
The extreme adherence to rules as recommended by Weber makes the system very rigid and anti marginalised
populace which have special needs to be taken care of that in turn will require meaningful deviation from rules. This
was very forcefully highlighted by the proponents of the new public administration paradigm that called for
bureaucracy to be value laden and relevant. Moreover, strict adherence to rules may turn into an end in itself
thereby displacing the primary goal.
Further, Weber as Selznick has outlined has also neglected the effect of socio-psychological elements on

administrative behaviour which may produce results different from as predicted.

It is in these respect that Webers construct may be deemed irrational.
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Peeyush October 18, 2013 at 12:48 pm
1. In what way is Webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational? (15 marks/150 words)
Weber propounded his model of bureaucracy as most rational model to exercise legal rational authority. However
the model contains some inherent irrational elements.
Weber recommended his model to be of universal value in legal rational political systems. However failure of
development administration has laid bare open the non suitability of rigid bureaucracy to developing countries . It is
often alleged of red tapism, conservative attitude, nepotim & corruption among others.
Moreover, the model is inherently contradictatory in nature. For example, the doctrine of unity of command &
specialization pose the dillema of choosing between expertise & heirarchy. Definitaly the expertise is not the
prerogative of experience & seniority.
Further, seemingly rational value neutral bureaucracy is often criticized to overlook human element. Hawthrone
studies & Chester Beranrd calling the organization as social sytem further exposes the mechanic orientation of
bureaucrats. No wonder the bureucracy is often blamed for apathy, insensitivity & lack of compassion.
However not withstanding the gaps in his model, Weber has certainly liberated the authorities from the patrimonial
bureaucracy & more often than not it is Formalism(Riggs) that limits its validity
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Aditya Jha October 18, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Hi Peeyush,
The second paragraph can be re-oriented/re-phrased. At present it shows the limitation angle more and the
irrational angle less
Rest of the answer is good.
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Abhishek Pandey October 18, 2013 at 3:51 pm
I second Adityas observation..
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Aditya Jha October 18, 2013 at 2:11 pm
1.In what way is Webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational? (15 marks/150 words)
Webers legal-rational model is based essentially on impersonal conduct ,strict and continuous adherence to rules
etc. While these look rational from one dimension, in practice these are distorted by the social and political values of
the administrators. Weber did not visualize this.
Weber considered every administrator to behave exactly as per the rules. But, such blind adherence may be followed
more in breach than in practice. In the developing countries this effect of formalism(Riggs) is more pronounced. At
times, ironically they become necessary to make the system more efficient and suitable to the task of socio-economic
development.
Moreover, Webers prescription does not extend to the analysis of intra-organisational units comprising the office.
The behaviour of each unit may affect the organisation rather than that of the administrators.
Therefore, the neglect of behaviouralism and rigid adherence to rules reducing efficiency makes his model in a way
irrational.
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Abhishek Pandey October 18, 2013 at 3:54 pm

Well Aditya, in your answer too I feel the second para needs to be reframed to reflect the innate irrationality of a
seemingly rational system rather than delve into the practical limitations. It is basically a play of words rather than
content
How did u find my second answer??
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Aditya Jha October 18, 2013 at 2:36 pm
1.E-Governance is the final arrival of Max Webers iron cage of rationality. Discuss.
E-governance employs technology for the delivery of good and services, makes government efficient and wellconnected thereby improving transparency and accountability. As technology is impartial, impersonal, follows set
rules and continous, it corresponds to Webers rational thought.
His iron cage of rationality contains such elements but because of the human element they got compromised. For,
no human can be totally neutral, impartial and impersonal. Humans are flexible with rules and can easily trespass
them. But, it is not possible with technology and its application has made the bureaucratic iron-cage rational model
more rigid.
It essentially vindicates the viability of rational model in changing social and political scenario.
But, it must be understood that such technology is operated by humans thereby introducing the required flexibility.
It may not be possible to rely wholly on e-governance for accomplishing several other duties of the government.
Policy formulation is one such exercise.
However, within the Weberian thought framework e-governance seems to be well placed to satisfy the critics of
Weber for the rigidity in his rational model. As time passes, we would see even more rigid and extensive application
of e-technology in governance thereby reducing discretion and bringing the impersonal and impartial factor in
greater play.
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Abhishek Pandey October 19, 2013 at 12:40 am
Aditya this answer of.your.needs.some refiningactually some.rearrangement as may be like.interchanging
the.last two paras..try once..
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Aditya Jha October 19, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Was the content ok?
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Karthik November 3, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Right, I also felt the final arrival aspect wasnt touched upon, at least explicitly. Not sure if it was implied at any
place.
But then again, I wonder if this question is so vague that the answers themselves are bound to be similarly vague.
No?
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Mohan October 19, 2013 at 10:17 am
E-governance is the final arrival of Max webers iron cage of rationality.
E-governance is the delivery of services using information and technology. Its usage can bring rationality in
administration and accountability on the part of bureaucracy.
The emergence of E-governance is a modern phenomenon. However, the footprints of it can be traced to the webers

 legal-rational model of bureaucracy, which is based on impersonal order and rationality of bureaucracy.
But, there are some internal differences in the phenomenon of E-governance and the webers model of bureaucracy.
1. while E-governance tends to eliminate red-tapism, webers bureaucratic model focuses its attention more on
hierarchy and rules.
2. E-governance facilitates transparency by avoiding inordinate delays, while webers model tends to create delays in
the form of rules and hierarchy.
Whatever may be the circumstances that led to the emergence of e-governance, one thing is for sure. Both focuses
their attention on rationality in administration and accountability and transparency on the part of bureaucracy. In
this way we can say that E-governance is the final arrival of Max webers iron cage of rationality.
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Mohan October 19, 2013 at 10:18 am
friends please review my answer..
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Mohan October 19, 2013 at 10:39 am
In what way is webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational?
webers legal- rational model of bureaucracy is mainly centred on the impersonal order of a bureaucrat. However,
in modern democracies where administration has to change according to the emerging complexities, the impersonal
nature of a bureaucrat gets disturbed in one way or the other. This is particularly true in the third world countries.
Besides, this model focused on the rules. of course, a bureaucrat have to act as per the rules, but in certain cases he
has to act beyond rules. Further, in cases of emergency, going by rules leads to inordinate delays.
Another factor which weber gave importance is hierarchy. But it may create suspicion on the part of both higher
level and lower level officers against each other. This may dampen the overall output of the organization and breaks
the team effort.
Also, this model neglected the human factor in the organization. After all, the humans tend to create an informal
way of doing things which may conflict with the objectives of the organization.
Further, this model lacks the differentiation between technical expertise and general administration. A superior
officer may not always have the requisite technical skill. This creates chaos among the members of the organization
whom to obey either the superior who commands or the person with high technical expertise.
so, webers model seems to be rational in some elements, it proved to be irrational in many ways.
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Mohan October 19, 2013 at 10:40 am
friends.please review my answer.
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Ambika October 19, 2013 at 11:36 pm
Can anyone please tell me the comprehensive list of books for public adminstration paper-1&2.Please suggest the
books chapter wise I need to prepare fpr 2014.so,anyone share it I will be grateful to him.Thanks.
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Mohan October 20, 2013 at 10:18 pm
Ambika dont go for too many books.traditional books for paper-1 are:
1. PA by Avasti and Maheswari
2. New Horizons of PA by Mohit Bhattacharya
3. Administrative thinkersPrasad and Prasad.
For paper-2:
1. Indian Administration- Fadia and Fadia is well and gud bookit discussed each and every concept of paper-2

in depth.
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Karthik November 3, 2013 at 1:00 pm
1. E-governance is the final arrival of Max Webers iron cage of rationality. Discuss. (CSE 2011/20 marks/200
Words)
Max Webers theory of iron cage of rationality proposed that the modern societys increasing emphasis on
rationality, i.e. depending on logic, scientific reasoning, quantification of factors, facts, etc. to make decisions traps
one in a cage with seemingly no way out.
e-Governance is one of the newer forms of administration/governance in which public service is made available via
computerized systems thus enhancing efficiency and transparency by minimizing human interference and
eliminating red-tapism. E-Governance is seen as a boon to public service delivery as it reduces significantly the
publics need to interact with people which might otherwise lead to corruption and nepotism.
The various advantages of eGovernance notwithstanding, it further reinforces rationality in the administrative
system by reducing human intervention, it clearly defines a framework within which requests are handled. There
is very limited scope for extraneous thinking or creativity, something human intervention would have been able to
handle. This systematization achieved by eGovernance further traps one in the iron cage of rationality, because of its
emphasis on process and rational decisions. Moreover, the relative recent arrival of eGovernance in administrative
developments makes it the final arrival of Webers iron cage of rationality.
2. In what way is Webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational? (15 marks/150 words)
Max Weber laid out the legal-rational model for bureaucracy to follow in the hope of helping it attain more efficiency
and effectiveness. The legal-rational models basis was a firm legal backing of decisions that would be influenced by
and based on rationality facts, scientific thoughts and logic being the driving force.
However, the basic premise overlooked is that wherever people are involved, rationality is always bounded. Hence,
basing decisions on rationality that is not guaranteed is inherently irrational.
In the case of developing countries especially, much out-of-the-box thinking is needed to achieve development
which is significantly impaired by a legal-rational model that strictly defines boundaries and courses of action.
Moreover, bureaucracy has to work with the public as well as politicians both of whom have significantly limited
rationality, from a practical perspective.
Thus, the legal-rational model of bureaucracy enunciated by Weber is inherently plagued by many irrational factors.
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Savyasachi November 18, 2013 at 6:36 pm
In what way is Webers legal-rational model of bureaucracy seemingly irrational?
Marx rightly raises this issue when he says Bureaucracy reserves rationality for itself and monopolises it and
rationality is changed to its opposite. It holds true for Weberian model as well.
As observed by Diamont bureaucracy is supposed to be a neutral tool in hands of political representatives. But, as
Weber himself observed, strong bureaucracy will lead to bureaucratisation of polity, which raises question over the
concept of neutrality.
David Beetham observed that bureaucracy is truly a technically efficient tool, but it ovesteps of its instrumental
value and become a separate force in society capable of usurping societal goal setting function which belongs to
politicians. It reflects a separate class structure in society.
Weber said modern bureaucracy accompanies democracy. But Thompson observed many of features of Weberian
model is antithetical to democracy e.g. hierarchy, impersonality etc. Weber wanted regularity and abandonment
case to case basis for application of rules to reflect democratic norms. Today, what we need is change orientation in
place of regularity and case to case application in favour of people from lower strata.

Rule compliance led to tunnel view kind of perception. Subordination led to suppression of information and
communication.
Also, rigidity can not be called rational which was also discarded by our constitutional makers who allowed
flexibility in amendments. India has not yet got rid of rigid, inflexible Weberian bureaucracy.
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