Bureaucracy and ethics - debate regarding the existance and affect of a bureaucracy on ones ethics.

The ethics of bureaucracies are often critised, although the aim of a bureaucracy is one of merit this is often compromised. It is the division of labour and hierarchical structure of a bureaucracy that creates an environment where morals and ethics of an organisation are easily corrupted. The division of labour separates the means from the ends, and thus able to void the action of any consequential meaning. Hierarchy within a bureaucracy survives on authority, …

…ethics and morals rely on the ethical and moral behaviour of its members. A bureaucracy is a hierarchy and thus relies on obedience to authority, as humans easily detach moral responsibility when under authority, this creates an environment that breeds unethical behaviour. However, it is not entirely unfair to criticise bureaucracies for being unethical as humans are naturally this way. If humans were naturally ethical and moral, there would be no need for bureaucratic structure.