A “Democratic Authority” for Bureaucracy

After an analysis of Weberian theory the author describes recent “augmentations” to the bureaucratic model. Although accepted as a residual feature of organizations, bureaucracy is shown to be amenable to personalization and democratization. In particular this appears true of the Catholic church as the repercussions of Vatican II are felt. The resultant decentralization of authority and the amelioration of strict bureaucratic procedures in an Australian Archdiocesan school system are described. Data presented lend support to the initial hypothesis that greater organizational effectiveness and increased administrative efficiency have resulted.