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Analysis Of Bureaucracy: The United States Marine Corps

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Bureaucracy is “a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation” ("Merriam-Webster dictionary," 2017). A life experience and an organization that I am familiar with is the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The USMC is a government agency, due to the standards, traditions and affiliations that this agency is founded upon makes this a good example of what is bureaucracy.
Being a branch of the government this military organization has a clear and defined hierarchical authority structure starting with the President of the United States down the newest member. Within this organization, a formal structure exists and break-down of sections, sub-sections, groups, jobs, workers, managers and duties are to be performed. …show more content…

As new members join the military there is a need for formal and informal training to establish protocols and guidelines. The set guidelines are both written and non-written and these standards must be followed. Urgency and loss of life is always at the forefront of any training and instruction. The reason that such seriousness is demanded is to train the individual to not question authority, follow orders and complete the mission or task. Training is constant throughout one’s term to ensure there will be no hesitation if a life-threatening situation arises and the individual will instinctively react, perform their duties and not question orders or ask …show more content…

Several analogies can be used to describe this function; such analogies are of an engine, another is that of a wheel with teeth and the most common is that of a chain. With the analogy of the engine and the chain the idea is almost synonymous being that even the smallest part when not functioning or functioning properly can slow or stop the entire assembly from performing therefore, compromising the mission at hand. The analogy of the wheel is similar but just gives a different perspective for those that are not mechanically inclined. The analogy of the wheel is that it turns, but if a tooth is missing, broken or stripped this can halt the turning of the wheel completely and therefore again, preventing or compromising the mission. The focus is about the whole and the completion of the duties assigned by the tops in the command structure, any and all in this structure are replaceable if the needs of the whole aren’t met. This is always at the forefront in a military persons mind, it is about the mission and not the individual, so therefore, the individual is always

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