Document Type : Original Article
Author
Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
Purpose: The interaction of bureaucracy and democracy is one of the most important topics in the public administration and an approach to the establishment of exemplary organizations in the modern Islamic civilization. It seems that efficiency, which is the most important issue in organizations, is studied through the bureaucratic system, and in order to avoid becoming an autocratic structure, there is a need for accountability, which can be realized in the concept of democracy. This study aimed at examining and analyzing the balance pattern of bureaucracy and democracy from the perspective of Alavi way of life in Nahj al-Balagheh and explain it in an integrated system. In this research, for the first time, inspired by the texts of Nahj al-Balagheh, the interaction between the two concepts of bureaucracy and organizational democracy has been examined and a conceptual model of this theoretical framework has been presented, which is unprecedented in previous researches.
Methodology: this study is fundamentally in terms of purpose and employs a qualitative methodology with an inductive approach. Thematic analysis technique has been used to analyze the data obtained from the study of the texts and also to design the final model. In this research, the stability index method, which refers to the consistency of data classification over time, has been used to measure reliability. The reliability calculated for this research using this method was 86%, which is more than 60%, so it can be said that the reliability of the coding of this research is confirmed. Society in this research is the text of Nahj al-Balagheh book. After referring to the text of Nahj al-Balagheh, the researcher used all the texts that were related to the purpose of the research and could be related to management and governance issues.
Findings: Benefiting from qualitative research, especially the method of thematic analysis,
becomes important when there is little information about the phenomenon under investigation, or when there is a theoretical framework that comprehensively explains the subject in the researches conducted in relation to the subject in question. to pay, not available. The current research has been carried out by following the six-step framework of thematic analysis presented by Clark and Brown (2006). Based on the research findings and the calculated criteria, the concept of creating a balance between bureaucracy and democracy was discussed, which led to the design of a model of criteria in the integrated framework of bureaucracy and democracy. This coded model has 12 main categories. The six main concepts related to bureaucracy were: Supervision and Control, Delegation of Authority, Meritocracy, Responsibility and Accountability, Service Compensation and Impersonal Principle. Also, the six main concepts of democracy are: Criticism, Continuous Communication, Transparency of Information, Organizational Commitment, Optimal Allocation of Facilities and Training and Development.
Conclusion: The results show that the systematic principles of management implemented by Imam Ali are an expression of the attention and balance between bureaucracy and democracy, which today's attitude and thought in the field of management has achieved this and can be used as a framework for the realization of organizational excellence in the new Islamic civilization. In this research, presenting a model based on the balance of the components of bureaucracy and democracy can, in addition to this, provide a comprehensive theory that goes beyond this issue, indicating how far Imam Ali's words and his leadership and management methods are before the western compilations. It has been completely comprehensive in formulating pure management principles. This integrated and balanced model indicates that Imam Ali emphasized and focused on the issue of creating an efficient management structure, on the role of people and subgroups in making decisions and interfering in their destiny. Nahj al-Balagheh is a very rich treasure of management and governance methods and principles, which should be the source and model for implementing Islamic management in all fields and functional sectors of the country. Therefore, the findings lead this research to the direction that the administrative system and bureaucracy play a dual role in the popularization of societies. Although the development of bureaucracy leads to monopolization and power and in this sense it limits freedom, but at the same time it cannot play special roles in democratic societies because without bureaucratic organizations, it is very difficult to achieve democratic goals. The description of the balance between bureaucracy and democracy refers to the distinction between decision-making and implementation in organizations. In decision-making, freedom and difference of opinion create democratized values and collect more decisions through decision-making, and for the implementation of these decisions and their actions, the most efficient method is used in creating a complex administrative system. By relying on bureaucratic principles, it demands better efficiency. In fact, bureaucracy provides conditions and democracy strengthens bureaucracy.
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