Bureaucracy and Culture in Iran

The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between Iranian bureaucratic characteristics and the Society's cultural traits. Data was collected via questionnaire, semi- structured interviews and documents from four Iranian ministries. Findings show that the Iran's bureaucratic features of rule obedience, professionalism and merit, deviate from those of Weberian legal- rational ideal type. In addition, we found that the prior studies of the society's cultural traits will support the results. The findings of this research imply that the public administration of Iran has to take on a rigorous administrative reform in order o make public organizations more effective and competent. Otherwise, the society's vision toward its developmental goals will be at stake. It is assumed that a competent bureaucracy, in the long run will positively affect the cultural traits that are favorable for developmental goals.