BureaucracIEs and formal OrganIZatIons SOCI 100: Introduction to Sociology Instructor: Deniz Yükseker Fall 2012

RATIONALIZATION Max Weber argues that, during the transition from traditional (horticultural and agricultural) to modern (industrial and later, post-industrial) societies, a process of rationalization took place. There was a transformation from “substantive rationality” to “formal rationality”

FORMAL AND SUBSTANTIVE RATIONALITY   Substantive rationality: Values or clusters of values that guide people in their daily lives, especially in their choice of means to achieve certain ends. Substantive rationality was dominant in traditional societies. According to Weber, formal rationality emerged in the modern world and has become the dominant form of rationality. Formal rationality: rational calculation of means to ends based on universally applied rules, regulations, and laws. Formal rationality is institutionalized in large-scale structures such as bureaucratic organizations, modern law, and the capitalist economy. Under formal rationality, in order to make decisions, we use rules, regulations and organizations that yield optimal results.

FORMAL RATIONALITY Disenchantment and intellectualization of the world; and the tendency to view the world as a causal mechanism subject to rational control The growing importance of specialized technical knowledge in the economy, in administration and in education The objectification and depersonalization of law, economy and polity, and the consequent increase in the regularity and calculability of action in these domains Development of technically rational means of control over humans and nature

Can you think of examples of how we rationally calculated decisions in our daily lives?

In the textbook, disregard pp In the textbook, disregard pp. 169-170 (Marx: capitalism broke tradition; Weber: religion broke tradition)

Formal organIZAtIons Large secondary groups that are organized to achieve specific objectives efficiently and rationally Examples: corporations, political parties, government agencies, international agencies, universities, international charity organizations Less personal, and very formal atmosphere

Types of formal organizations Utilitarian organizations: they provide material rewards for their members (e.g. business enterprises, corporations) Voluntary organizations: they pursue goals that are morally worthwhile (e.g. environmental organizations, human rights organizations, charitable organizations, etc.) Coercive organizations: membership is involuntary; people are put into such organizations typically against their will (e.g. prisons, armies) However, this classification of formal organizations is only suggestive; a single organization can have characteristics of both a utilitarian and a coercive, organization, etc.

BureaucracIEs All of the above are usually bureaucracies Bureaucracy: A formal organization with a hierarchy of authority and a clear division of labor; emphasis on impersonality of positions and written rules, communications, and records

Is Koç UniversITY a Bureaucracy? Check out http://www.ku.edu.tr/en/about-ku

CHARACTERISTICS OF Bureaucracies Hierarchy of offices: assignments flow downward, accountability flows upward Division of labor Written rules and regulation Written communications and records Impersonality and replaceability

dysfunctIONs of bureaucracies Bureaucratic alienation Bureaucratic inefficiency (red tape) Informality in bureaucracies  social networks (see Chapter 6) Corruption

socIAl NETWORKS (see chapter 6) A network is a web of social ties that links people to each other  A social web that extends outwards Groups and organizations have boundaries Networks are about a field of relations and connections (people, groups, states) Are networks important? “who you know might be more important than what you know”

The “McDonaldization” of Society” George Ritzer says that Weber’s bureaucratization has taken a new dimension  McDonaldization The spread of organizational principles used first by the McDonalds chain efficiency calculability uniformity and predictability control through automation

Can you think of examples of MacDonaldization?

«IRON law of olIgarchy» Bureaucratic abuse of power  oligarchy: the rule of the many by the few (Robert Michels) The iron law of oligarchy: a few people govern powerful political organizations  concentration of power, delimiting of democracy

“Bureaucracy’s darkest hour” the Holocaust Zigmund Bauman: “We live in a type of society that made the Holocaust possible.” Modern society made possible a bureaucratic structure in which people fulfilled commands without feeling responsible  6 million Jews, several million gypsies, gays, disabled people, and others were killed

The power of authorIty The Milgram experiment (1963, 1965) What were the results of the experiment? What does it tell us about bureaucracies and the Holocaust? What are the ethical problems in this experiment? (check chapter 6 on Groups)

The next slide is provided for your information, but is not included in Midterm Exam 2

Can bureaucracies be humanized? When you graduate, many of you will work in corporate workplaces, which are bureaucracies. Can the working environment be “humanized”? Social inclusiveness Sharing of responsibilities Expanding opportunities for advancement Collective decision making (quality circles, team building) Worker empowerment Corporate child care