History

Management and leadership theories of the twentieth century can never be complete without the great work of Weber, through several researches and fundamental assumptions. Some of the assumptions and theories of Weber have been applicable in supplementing one another in order to provide an explanation of the things that motivates people in economic settings. Despite the fact that these theories and assumptions have been used effectively for a long time in management and leadership, they are becoming outdated due to increased globalization, advancement in the world of technology and a dynamic workforce (Kramer, n.d.).

Webers theories
Conflict theory is one of the greatest theories that were developed by Weber. In this theory, he states that an organization or a society functions in a manner such that each participant together with its related groups struggles as much as possible and maximizes their benefits. It is as a result of this struggle that inevitably brings about social alterations such as major political revolutions and changes. He uses this particular theory to explain the conflicts that exist between various social classes and also the conflicts that are found in certain ideologies such as socialism versus capitalism. While this theory has been used for such a long time, various events that have taken place in the global arena have largely rendered it irrelevant. Increased globalization and advancement in technology as well as evolving work force around the world have had a great impact on the assumptions that were taken by Weber while formulating this theory. The social classes he incorporated in this theory have already been eroded over time by increased globalization. At the same time, the major conflict of ideologies that prevailed when Weber was coming up with this particular theory no longer exists. Socialism has greatly reduced over the years as globalization continues to take centre stage while capitalism has been adopted by several economies around the world. This therefore means that all the assumptions Weber had made in connection to the conflict between socialism and capitalism are no longer valid (Kramer, n.d.). 

Although the conflict theory describes successfully the circumstances where various conflicts take place between certain groups, for several reasons, it is highly questionable whether such descriptions represent a hypothetical human society or an ideal one. Despite the fact that Weber claims that the development and growth take place via conflict between two or more sides that are opposing each other. More recent studies have revealed that cooperation and dialogue are the true source of growth and development that is healthy. It is therefore necessary to determine the circumstances under which conflict can be used as a means of producing the required change as compared to the circumstances of harmony and cooperation resulting to the most significant achievements. The assumptions of Weber in conflict resolution are no longer applicable as more advanced approaches have been adopted in dealing with conflicts. This therefore means that some of his theories and assumptions are no longer legally enforceable and can actually amount to an illegality (Kramer, n.d.). 

The X-efficiency theory of Weber suggests that considerations of behavior such as the employees motivation or managerial decisions quality are the main constraints of productivity facing modern organizations. This theory envisages economic conducts that are not completely rational that is actions that do not lead to maximization. The theory is quite important since contrary to other views, it attempts to offer an explanation of sub optimality basically as a function of several internal factors to the organization itself rather than the factors that are basically external. While formulating this particular theory, Weber had largely assumed that the main aim of virtually all firms is to maximize profits. However, several major developments have taken place in the twenty first century that have actually rendered most of the assumptions adopted by Weber to be irrelevant. Increased globalization has had a great impact on the objectives of several organizations and maximizing of profits is no longer the only main objective of most multinationals. Technology has also increased the pace at which work is done and at the same time it has greatly altered the work environment. Furthermore, the assumptions that Weber had taken into consideration concerning the traditional workforce can no longer be applicable. There have been considerable changes in the workforce allover the world and hence the current workforce that is highly dynamic demands a new set of assumptions for one to be in a position of drawing credible assumptions (Nozicka  Wieting, 2008).

Bureaucratic theory of Weber concerning the management of organizations is largely based on the grounds that positions within an organization should be well structured and they must have a clear hierarchy, that is, authority lines and that each and every individual has to be selected because of his or her competency for a certain promotion or job. He argues that there should be formal positions and structures in an organization. In this form of organization, good bureaucracy should reduce or remove opportunities of favoritism, corruption and instances of using power in an arbitrary manner. Whereas, these can be great achievements of this theory if well implemented, it leads to more paperwork and increased time in the process of making decisions. Bureaucracy thus leads to increased inefficiencies and ineffectiveness, thus slowing down the progress of the organization. In the current modern world where the environments in which businesses are operating is highly competitive. Application of bureaucracy can make a firm to be less competitive and eventually lead to its elimination from the industry it is operating in. Legally, firms are supposed to come up with policies that are aimed at dealing with all cases of corruption or abuse of office instead of sticking to bureaucratic procedures that eventually renders an organization irrelevant (Kramer, n.d.). 

If all the steps required under bureaucracy are to be followed to the latter, then globalization could never have taken place or its pace could have been very low. While globalization calls for organizations to make quick and quality decisions in order to enable a firm join the global markets, bureaucracy on the other hand calls for slow decision making processes in order to prevent any ugly incident from taking place. The highly dynamic workforce that is found currently cannot work effectively and efficiently in an organization that applies a lot of bureaucratic concepts. In addition, the advancement in technology has greatly eliminated most of the steps that are involved in a bureaucratic organization. This therefore means that the assumptions that were considered while formulating the bureaucratic theory are no longer applicable. While Weber was coming up with this theory together with various assumptions that enabled him to arrive at various conclusions, the levels of technology and globalization were very low, while the workforce that existed was not highly dynamic as it is the case today. Therefore, the assumptions he made at that time even though were relevant in the twentieth century, they are no longer applicable in the twenty first century (Kramer, n.d.). 

The various challenges evolving from the shortfalls of the Webers theories in this century have a lot of impact on management and law enforcement. Since it is not all the theories of Weber that have become irrelevant due to increased globalization and advancement in technology, the ones that are still applicable should be reviewed and made much better to deal with the emerging threats and opportunities in the business world. For them to be legally acceptable, these theories should be made more consistent with various laws so as to eliminate instances of conflicts with various laws. It is also very important to ensure that they are more flexible so as to change more easily with various dynamics that are taking place every now and then (Nozicka  Wieting, 2008). 

Max Weber made several assumptions while formulating his theories on management and leadership. While these assumptions have been applicable for a very long time, in fact throughout the twentieth century, some of them have become irrelevant as a result of several changes that have taken place. Advancement in technology, changes in the workforce and globalization have greatly affected the application and relevance of these theories in the current century. There is therefore a great need to review these theories and the assumptions that were made by Weber in order to come up with more applicable theories. Such changes will reduce instances of these theories being inconsistent with laws and also being unable to take advantage of upcoming opportunities and dealing with emerging threats.