The World Bank Essay -- essays research papers fc

The World intrustBureaucracy is one of the pillars of modern western society. Although this dictation is debatable from many aspects, most would agree that, at the veryleast, our lives are greatly affected by bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is the pureform of rational organization (Newson, Jan 11). Not solely is it a method forachieving goals economically and effectively, but it is acclaimed as the mostable strategy to meet objectives. The World savings bank is a classic example of abureaucratic organization. It embodies all the characteristics necessary toqualify from its complicated hierarchy and impersonal relations, to thespecialization and career orientation of its employees. However, non everyoneagrees on the competency of the bureaucratic organizational system. George andSabelli in their book Faith and Credit claim that is the very construction of theWorld chamfer which causes its failures, as well as explaining its continuedexistence patronage these mistakes. Using Faith and Credit, with a focus onchapter six, it will be shown that it is the bureaucratic methods themselveswhich twist the World Banks goals, and that these methods undermine the taskswhich the Bank has set for itself.The World Bank is one of the worlds most powerful agencies. Although itcharacterizes itself as a purely economic institution -- which controls thelending of billions of dollars -- in practice its influence, wealth, andpolicies all result in having gigantic political power (Faith 1). Althoughoriginally created to serve as an institution to help rebuild the world (i.e.Europe) after World War II, its task has since shifted to development subject field andpoverty reduction. Through its immense control of wealth, and its internationalreputation, the Bank has managed to lend billions to under-developed nations.The loans take many forms, including financing of mega-projects and structuraladjustment. Beginning in the 1980s vast amounts of reproval on the Bankspolicies began to app ear, finding faults in much of its work. Many of itsprojects have been declared more harmful than helpful, often worse names havebeen used. The Bank has managed to draw off enemies in many activist circlesincluding environmentalists, feminists and even the people whose aim is toplease poverty workers (Faith 6). Nevertheless the Bank still remains aneminent institution. It is well consider by many intel... ...iticized as an institution which repeatedly fails to attain its goals,and in fact has forgotten them. Although the Bank has the worlds cream of thecrop development workers, its own structure has stifled, and silenced theseindividuals to the point of falling behind in development strategies and notadapting to real world situations of the poor. Its own structure has encourageda quantity not quality philosophy, any attempts to change this philosophy haveonly exasperate the problem. Finally the poor reputation of the World Bank, dueto its own follies, has led to the Bank to shift its focus from development toself preservation, not through correction of errors, but through falselypresenting itself. It is the very bureaucratic nature of the World Bank whichhasled to its failure. Although clearly this paper does not discreditbureaucracy as a world system, it does present the idea that perhaps bureaucracyis not the most efficient and effective method of achieving goals, in allsituations.BibliographyGeorge, Susan and Sabelli, Fabrizio. Faith and Credit The World Banks SecularEmpire. Penguin, Toronto 1994.Newson, Janice. In class lectures. January 18th and 25th, 1996.