Bureaucracy Turned Botswaucracy? How Bureaucracy Is Abused in Educational Organisations in Botswana

Abstract

Bureaucracy is the most important concept that has received prominence and used in most organisations in the world. In this paper it is argued that the concept is often abused by organisations, since it is not always followed strictly by those who claim to employ it in their organisational operations. In Botswana it would be argued in this paper that Bureaucracy has characterised most educational entities, but most often with disturbing flaws resulting from varying applications of the concept that are not influenced by what Max Weber prescribed. The emphasis in the paper is to demonstrate that there is a strong and unrelenting departure from the original conceptual base by educational organisations in Botswana, which falsify the concept. In some of the educational institutions in Botswana the concept is treated as home-grown than as exotic, and yet that position is not often pronounced explicitly to reflect the cultural influences that accompany bureaucracy in the Botswana context. The paper argues that if bureaucracy could be implemented by educational organisations in the way that Max Weber who is its founder prescribed, it would produce desired results such as the rising of productivity and professionalism within educational organisations in Botswana. The paper will further argue that what is referred to as bureaucracy within educational organisations in Botswana can best be termed Botswaucracy, which refers to Bureaucracy that has been customised or corrupted for use in Educational organisations inBotswana.