Often organized around kinship ties, these groups regulate the activities of their members through informal norms and folkways of the the culture. Secondary organizations are much more formal in structure and are usually coordinated through bureaucracy. An ideal type provides one of the basic methods for historical-comparative study. According to Weber, bureaucracies are goal-oriented organizations designed according to rational principles in order to efficiently attain their goal. Offices within a bureaucracy are ranked in hierarchical order.
Information flows up the chain of command, directives flow down the chain.
Operations of the organization are characterized by impersonal rules that explicitly state duties, responsibilities, procedures, authority and conduct of the office holders. The division of labor is highly specialized, appointment to these offices are made according to specialized qualifications rather than ascribed characteristics, promotion and other rewards are given for achievement. It involves describing the logically consistent features of a social institution to which we can compare reality. Bureaucracy should not be considered a static thing. Weber developed the ideal type in order to more more accurately describe the growth in the power and scope of bureaucracy in the modern world.