Why do we consider "the bureaucracy" an ideal type?

Question

For my sociology class, I need help please.

Answer 1

The bureaucratic organization of groups has a great number of positives.  These positives are paired with a lack of suitable alternatives (we don't have anything besides bureaucracy for the beneficial, perpetuated organization of a group).

Positives of a bureaucratic organization include the ability for the organization to fill positions with position fillers rather than people.  That is to say that in a bureaucracy the most critical aspect of its functioning is to have someone fill a position to perform a certain task.  The person themself is not necessarily important.  They simply need to be able to accomplish a set of tasks.  Similarly, this allows for easy perpetuation of the organization.  For example, if a sergeant (military is a great example of bureaucratic organization) in charge of acquiring goods for a unit leaves, his replacement is able to quickly establish what exactly he needs to do and often how to do it.  Following from that point is that bureaucracies, through their desire to perpetuate and streamline, tend to document everything.  Again, if we look at the military example from above, the sergeant who is filling the vacant position will likely be able to look at post orders as well as notes accumulated from his predecessor about how to efficiently and effectively accomplish his job.  

That should be enough to get you started.  I know it is really tough reading but check out W.E.B. Dubois.  The famous essay on Bureaucracy is a classic in sociology.  Again, it is really tough reading and you will need to reread most of it several times.  However, it really explains how the organizational structure works and why.

I hope that helps.