Rational-legal authority (also known as rational authority, legal authority, rational domination, legal domination, or bureaucratic authority) is a form of

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

in which the

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

of an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

or a ruling

regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

is largely tied to legal

rationality Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ab ...

, legal legitimacy and

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

. The majority of the modern

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are rational-legal authorities, according to those who use this form of classification. Scholars such as

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

and

Charles Perrow Charles Bryce Perrow (February 9, 1925 – November 12, 2019), or Chick Perrow was an American sociologist and a leading figure of organizational sociology. He spent most of his career at SUNY Stony Brook and Yale University as a professor of ...

characterized the rational-legal bureaucracy as the most efficient form of administration. Critics challenge whether rational-legal authority is as rational and unbiased as presented, as well as challenge that it is effective.

Rational-legal authority

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, the concept of rational-legal domination comes from

tripartite classification of authority The German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) distinguished three ideal types of legitimate political leadership/domination/ authority (). He wrote about these three types of domination both in his essay "The Three Types of Legitimate Rule", whi ...

(one of several classifications of government used by sociologists); the other two forms being

traditional authority Traditional authority is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a regime is largely tied to tradition or custom. Reasons for the given state of affairs include belief that tradition is inherently valuable and a more g ...

and

charismatic authority In the field of sociology, charismatic authority is a concept of organizational leadership wherein the authority of the leader derives from the personal charisma of the leader. In the tripartite classification of authority, the sociologist Max We ...

. All of those three domination types represent an example of his

ideal type Ideal type (), also known as pure type, is a typological term most closely associated with the sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920). For Weber, the conduct of social science depends upon the construction of abstract, hypothetical concepts. The "id ...

concept. Weber noted that in history those ideal types of domination are always found in combinations. In traditional authority, the legitimacy of the authority comes from tradition. Charismatic authority is legitimized by the personality and leadership qualities of the ruling individual. Finally, rational-legal authority derives its powers from the system of

and

legality Legality, in respect of an act, agreement, or contract is the state of being consistent with the law or of being lawful or unlawful in a given jurisdiction, and the construct of power. ''Merriam-Webster'' defines legality as "1: attachment to or ...

Legal rationality and legitimate authority

Under rational-legal authority, legitimacy is seen as coming from a legal order and the laws that have been enacted in it (see also

natural law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

and

legal positivism In jurisprudence (also known as legal philosophy), legal positivism is the theory that the existence of the law and its content depend on social facts, such as acts of legislation, judicial decisions, and customs, rather than on morality. This con ...

). Weber defined legal order as a system where the rules are enacted and obeyed as legitimate because they are in line with other laws on how they can be enacted and how they should be obeyed. Further, they are enforced by a government that monopolizes their enactment and the legitimate use of physical force. If society, as a whole, approves the exercise of the power in a certain way, then the power is considered "legitimate authority".

Max Weber's theory: type of authority

Max Weber broke down legitimate authority into three different types of societies: Traditional Authority, Rational-legal Authority, and Charismatic Authority. Each of these authorities have their own unique complex societies that have evolved from simple definitions.

1.Traditional authority: traditional grounds

* Is the type of power that has been around longer, it is the type of power that is traditionally rooted in beliefs and the practices of society. This authority is liked by many individuals for two main reasons: the inheritance of past generations and religiousness that the societies have. * Traditional authority is based on a tradition or custom that is followed by the traditional leaders. In traditional authority, status is a key concept. There are no requirements to serving as a traditional leader but there are no salaries. The consequences to traditional authority are discouragement of education and rational calculation. * Traditional authority consists of a dominant profile, one who embodies tradition and rule. This type of leadership exemplifies the power to construct order.

2. Rational-legal authority: rational grounds

* Acquired from law and is constructed from the reliance of society's rules and laws. This type of authority has the confidence to leave the right of leaders to undertake the decisions and set the policy. Rational-legal authority is the basis of modern democracies. Examples of this type of authority: officials elected by voters, rules that are in the constitution, or policies that are written in a formal document. * Rational-legal authority is built on a structure of bureaucracy. In a rational-legal authority one ascends in their career paths through promotion and they eventually retire. Some of the benefits of rational-legal authority are transportation, large-scale industry, mass communication and an income economy. Other outcomes of rational-legal authority are tendencies towards equal opportunity and a promotion of education. * Rational-legal authority requires a logical and systematic approach to leadership. Weber's rational leadership prevails in decision making. * Finally, Legal Rational Authority derives its power from the system of bureaucracy and legality.

3. Charismatic authority: charismatic grounds

* Comes from individuals and their personal qualities. Certain individuals are influential to others with their unique qualities which help them gain followers. The span of a "charismatic" individual's power and authority can vary from a specific group to an entire society. Examples of charismatic leaders include: Joan of Arc, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesus Christ. * Charismatic authority has no clear structure; it is based on individual influence. One is chosen to be staff by their charismatic characteristics. Someone under a charismatic authority lives under gifts not salary. As long as someone has influence they will be a legitimate power. * In charismatic authority, confidence is the driving force for leadership. With charismatic authority leadership has the ability to connect distinct groups and lead them to the finish line.

Emergence of the modern state

Weber wrote that the modern state based on rational-legal authority emerged from the patrimonial and feudal struggle for power (see

) uniquely in the Occidental civilization. The prerequisites for the modern Western state are: * Monopolization by central authority of the means of administration and control based on a centralized and stable system of taxation and use of physical force * Monopolization of legislative * Organisation of an officialdom, dependent upon the central authority Weber argued that some of those attributes have existed in various time or places, but together they existed only in Occidental civilization. The conditions that favoured this were * Emergence of rational-legal rationality (various

status groups The German sociologist Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification that defines a status group (also status class and status estate) as a group of people within a society who can be differentiated by non-economic qualities suc ...

in the

Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of the term ''Orient'', referring to the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term occidental ...

promoted that emergence) * Emergence of modern officialdom (bureaucracy), which required ** Development of the money economy, where officials are compensated in money instead of kind (usually land grants) ** Quantitative and qualitative expansion of administrative tasks ** Centralization and increased efficiency of administration. Weber's belief that rational-legal authority did not exist in

Imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

has been heavily criticized, and does not have many supporters in the early 21st century.

Modern state

According to Max Weber, a modern state exists where a political community has: * An administrative and legal order that has been created and can be changed by legislation that also determines its role * Binding authority over citizens and actions in its jurisdiction * The right to legitimately use the physical force in its jurisdiction An important attribute of Weber's definition of a modern state was that it is a

. The vast majority of the modern states from the 20th century onward fall under the rational-legal authority category.

Rational-legal leaders

The majority of modern bureaucratic officials and political leaders represent this type of authority. Officials: * Are personally free. * Serve a higher authority. * Are appointed on the basis of conduct and their technical qualifications. * Are responsible for the impartial execution of assigned tasks. * Their work is a full-time occupation. * Their work is methodical and rational * Their work is rewarded by a salary and prospects of career advancement. Politicians: * Are solely responsible for independent action. * Must recognize that public actions that conflict with their basic policy must be rejected. * Should have charismatic appeal to win

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s under conditions of

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. Weber provided ten necessities addressing: "how individual officials are appointed and work". The administrative staff are under the supreme authority for legal authority in a bureaucratic administrative style. # They are personally free and subject to authority only with respect to their impersonal official obligation. # They are organized in a clearly defined hierarchy of offices. # Each office has a clearly defined sphere of competence in the legal sense. # The office is filled by a free contractual relationship or free selection. # Candidates are selected on the basis of technical qualification. # They are remunerated by fixed salaries in money for the most part, with a right to pensions. # The office is treated as the sole, or at least primary, occupation of incumbent. # It constitutes a career. Promotions are dependent on the judgement of superiors. # The official works entirely separated from ownership of the means of administration and without appropriation of his/her position. # He is subject to strict and systematic discipline and control in the conduct of the office.

References

External links

* http://oyc.yale.edu/sociology/socy-151/lecture-20 * http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociology-comprehensive-edition/s17-01-power-and-authority.html * http://opinion.inquirer.net/85293/max-webers-3-types-of-authority * http://davidboje.com/horsesense/psl/pages/bureaucracydefined2.html * http://atheism.about.com/od/religiousauthority/a/types_4.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Rational-Legal Authority Max Weber Sociology of law Sociological terminology Authority Management theory