The individual is no longer a viable entity and emotion and sentiment are not part of the decision making process (Ritzer 2004). In highly bureaucratic organizations there is no room for "custom made" decision making. All parties are trapped in this unfeeling, uncaring set of rules and regulations that determine how and what decisions should be made. It is an iron cage because the system is cold, unfeeling and uncaring. The main question is; what does the policy say? Effectively we cease to be human and function in a mechanical, logical manner. Bureaucracies are highly efficient because systems are they are goal oriented. Everything within the system is structured to achieving the outlined goals. Additionally, processes are streamlined so that deviations that would introduce inefficiency are removed from the system. The belief is that the existing ways of acting within the bureaucracy produce the greatest efficiency. In a bureaucracy decision making is made easy as there is always some policy to reference for most decisions. Workers are part of the systems integrated circuits in the great computer.

The high...

The inefficiencies are the result; firstly of the challenge of bureaucracies to address change. Change is a constant in the work place but bureaucracies have systems and cultures that are entrenched and ossified. These systems are not subject to change. Consequently, what was once an efficient way of doing something becomes highly inefficient. Another source of inefficiency is that workers are not encouraged to identify and implement novel solutions. Solutions that may make things run faster and reduce cost. The concentration of power in the hand of a few at the top means that there are times when important decisions have to be made but they are delayed because subordinates do not have the power to make the decisions. This further increases inefficiency in the system.
References

Ollman, B. (1976). Alienation: Marx's conception of man in a capitalist society. Retrieved from http://www.nyu.edu/projects/ollman/books/a.php

Ritzer, George. (2004).Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption. 2nd ed. Pine Forge.