Abstract

Technology and the Power of Bureaucratie Organizations

The paper examines the extent to which technology and technicians increasingly become independent power factors within bureaucratic organizations. The question of the influence of technology is briefly discussed in relation to Helmut Schelsky’s theory of the tedhnological state. In contrast to Schelsky, this paper places special emphasis on the position of the technician within bureaucratic organizations and compares primarily the structure of motivations and actions in the work of technicians and administrators. The author suggests that the technician should not be restricted or directed by a professional ethic to the same degree as the administrative official. So the technician would have a greater neutrality with regard to political goals within the bureaucratic organization than the administrative official