Theory of Rationalization and Theory Of McDonaldization
Theory of Rationalization And Theory Of McDonaldization
When the task of comparing and contrasting the works of two acclaimed sociologists is asked of you there are many things that leap into one’s mind. Firstly there is the factor of time or circa, the first of the two being Max Weber who was born in 1864 and is considered to be one of the forefathers of sociological theory. The second, George Ritzer is a man of our time and in fact still a lecturer at the University of Maryland in America on sociology today.
Max Weber was committed to the study of causality, the probability that an event would be followed by another event not necessarily of a simular nature. In addition to this he also believed that social scientists should not let their personal values influence their scientific research. In this area Weber thought that sociology should be “value Free”. One of Webers best-known contributions to contemporary sociology is the ideal type. An ideal type is a concept constructed by a social scientist, based on his or her interests and theoretical orientation, to capture the essential features of some social phenomenon.
Weber also analyzed the levels to which rationality was becoming institutionally embedded in modern industrialized societies. In short the rationalization process is the practical application of knowledge to achieve a desired goal. It has been shown to lead to better efficiency, coordination and control over what can be assumed to be both the physical and social environment. Rationalization is the guiding principle behind bureaucracy and the increasing division of labor. IT has led to the unprecedented increase in both the production of goods and services, and the up rise of secularization, depersonalization and oppressive routine.
Bureaucracy was according to Weber a form of organization superior to all others, and due to this fact further bureaucratization and rationalization was most probably an inescapable fate. Webber wrote in one of his many books: Economy and society, “Without this form of (social) technology the industrialized countries could not have reached the heights of extravagance and wealth that they currently enjoy”. Weber believed that this capacity for social order would lead to the evolution of the iron cage, and as a result a society that was technically ordered, rigid, and dehumanized.
Like Weber, George Ritzer’s theory on McDonaldization also deals with the “Iron Cage” of existence....