In these bold outlines, the positive attainments and functions of bureaucratic organization are emphasized and the internal stresses and strains of such structures are almost wholly neglected. The community at large, however, evidently emphasizes the imperfections of bureaucracy, as is suggested by the fact that the “horrid hybrid”, bureaucrat, has become an epithet, a Schimpfwort.
The transition to a study of the negative aspects of bureaucracy is afforded by the application of Veblen's concept of “trained incapacity”, Dewey’s notion of “occupational psychosis” or Warnotte’s view of “professional deformation”. Trained incapacity refers to that state of affairs in which one’s abilities function as inadequacies or blind spots. Actions based upon training and skills which have been successfully applied in the past may result in inappropriate responses under changed conditions. An inadequate flexibility in the application of skills will, in a changing milieu, result in more or less serious maladjustments.