BUREAUCRACY Bureaucracy is an accomplishment as well as an irritant Affordable care act Bureaucracy getting a bad name Seems incredibly complicated People Bureaucracy Bloated Doesn t care about you Treated as a number Max Weber Frames Bureaucracy in terms of understanding power Power vs Authority ex someone holding gun to your head holds power people with authority are ac knowledged taxes acknowledging that they have the right to do this voluntarily Argues there are 3 stages 1 Charismatic leadership greek for touched by God Hitler Martin Luther King Jr Pastor at church become key leaders Problem based upon worship of the leader Martin got the Nobel Peace Prize when he was assassinated they didn t know who to give the prize to 2 Traditional Authority Queen Victoria inherited authority solution to the problem of succession not following a charismatic leader following the king People believed that God picked the people who become king Parallels between heaven earth Picture of Jesus the Problem bloodlines can t guarantee talented leadership disciples king all his followers 3 Rational legal authority authority granted to a set of rules ex the US no king constitution rules we live by laws that will govern the nation Works for Religions Universities Businesses structure for rules Weber offers 6 characteristics 1 Specialization division of labor 2 Competence training to perform roles 3 Hierarchy clear lines of authority 4 Rules Regulations specified procedures to follow 5 Impersonality who you are shouldn t matter 6 Formal Written Communication there are records Hallmark of Bureaucracy the organization chart Bureaucracies interlock to create complex social systems ADVANTAGES they can be rather large to control a large amount of space bureaucracies are needed to last long periods of time Still bureaucracies have tensions George Ritzer McDonaldization modern bureaucracy McDonald s is a new kind of bureaucracy Narrowly defined set of rules Scripted interaction From a limited menu to options for different ages lifestyles Countries that have McDonald s don t go to war not completely true PROBLEMS WITH BUREAUCRACIES World War I trench warfare machine guns 19th century battles were fought by masses of troops Societies depend on organizations with bureaucracies Organizations can mobilize resources to solve problems ex march of dimes for polio vaccinations for kids Primary impulse of bureaucracies they want to continue to operate
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