Chapter 7 Flashcards
Using rules, efficiency, and practical results to determine human affairs
rationality
A society in which the past is thought to be the best guide for the present; tribal, peasant, and feudal societies
traditional society
One key aspect of traditional relationships: ____ relationships are at the heart of this kind of society.
Personal
Second key aspect of traditional societies: That the ___ is the guide for how to live life today.
past
Tradition is replaced by ___ in the shift from traditional societies to industrial societies meaning it must move from relationships toward the bottom line as the primary concern.
rationality
A widespread acceptance of rationality and social organizations that are built largely around this idea.
rationalization of society.
An economic system characterized by the private owner-ship of the means of production, the pursuit of profit, and market competition.
capitalism
Who claimed that capitalism broke tradition?
Karl Marx
Who claimed that religion broke tradition?
Max Weber.
Who believed that Protestantism produced rationality?
Weber
Who believed that capitalism produced rationality?
Marx
A secondary group designed to achieve explicit objectives.
Formal organization
Formal organizations are found __ in traditional societies.
rarely
__ are an example of an exception in traditional societies which do not usually have formal organization.
Guilds
One of the main characteristics of formal organizations is that they develop into ___.
bureaucracies.
Formal organizations are the ____ feature of our life today.
central
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.
bureaucracy
The process by which ordinary aspects of life are rationalized and efficiency comes to rule them, including such things as food prep.
McDonaldization of society
An organization replacing old goals with new ones; also known as goal replacement.
goal displacement
The March of Dimes is an example of
Goal displacement and the perpetuation of bureaucracies
The American Express card replacement story is an example of
Dysfunction of bureaucracies
Marx’s term for workers’ lack of connection to the product of their labor; caused by workers being assigned repetitive tasks on a small part of a product - this leads to a sense of powerlessness and normlessness; others use the term in the general sense of not feeling a part of something.
Alienation
A tongue in-cheek observation that the members of an organization are promoted for their accomplishments until they reach their level of incompetence; there they cease to be promoted, remaining at the level at which they can no longer do good work.
Peter Principle
Groups, considered bureaucracies, made up of people who voluntarily organize on the basis of some mutual interest; also known as voluntary memberships and voluntary organizations.
Voluntary associations
Robert Michel’s term for the tendency of formal organizations to be dominated by a small, self perpetuating elite
iron law of oligarchy
Organizing a workplace in such a way that it develops rather than impedes human potential.
humanizing the work setting
The values, norms, and other orientation that characterize corporate work settings.
Corporate culture
What are two ways that corporations have tried to humanize the work setting?
Worker empowerment and child care
Small groups of workers who set goals and develop solutions to reach them
Work teams
Preconceived ideas of what someone is like that leads to the person’s behaving in ways that match the stereotype
Self-fulfilling stereotype
Stereotypes of the traits that make for high-performing and underperforming workers
Hidden corporate culture
