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Max Weber (1864–1920)
• Weber is the second of the three great
"Classical" sociologists (Marx, Durkhiem)
• Teacher (Germany)
• Nervous-breakdown (1897)
• only reality of knowledge is rational
• Followed Judeo-Christian tradition and in
particular the Protestant work ethic- a "rational"
ethic for life.
Protestant work ethic
(coined term in 1904)
• Prosperity as a display of a person's worth.
• We are predestined (Fate over free will)
• Impossible to know who was predestined, so discern
by wealth.
• Hard work and frugality are signs of being “chosen”
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism Book)
• Boring jobs add to the common good, so
“blessed”.
• A blessed person more likely to accumulate
money.
Important!
• donation of money to the poor or to charity is
bad - causes furthering begging, perceived as
laziness, an affront to God (NO WELFARE!)
Methodology
• Explaining a concrete event (Internet) requires
study of intersecting causes: no one 'law' could
possibly explain it.
• we need to 'understand' some action or pattern of
action before we can explain it
• “Class” as a shared "causal component"
determining one's "life chances“
• "to treat ‘class' conceptually as being equivalent to
'group' leads to distortion" (working class identify
self as middle class).
Social action
• Action is based on the emotional state
of the person rather than in the rational
weighing of means and ends.
• Sentiments are powerful forces in
motivating human behavior.
• distinguishing feature of modern
society best viewed in terms of shift in
motivation, rooted in the growth of
bureaucracy and industrialism (Building
on Durkheim)
Ideal Type
• An ideal type provides the basic method for historical
comparative study.
• It is not meant to refer to the "best" or to some mora
ideal, but rather to typical or "logically consistent"
features of social institutions or behaviors.
• never corresponds to concrete reality but is a
description to which we can compare reality
Bureaucracy
• Weber's focus on the operation and expansion
of large-scale enterprises in both the public
and private sectors of modern society
• Bureaucratic coordination is the distinctive
mark of modern social structures.
“Ideal” Bureaucracy
Characteristics:
 Hierarchy of authority
 Impersonality
 Written rules of conduct
 Promotion based on achievement
 Specialized division of labor
 Efficiency
(or what’s supposed to happen
versus what really happens)
FORMAL
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Lasts long
top-down
Static (Doesn’t move)
Person = “role” (“boss”)
hierarchical
Codified rules and order
Easily understood and explained
INFORMAL
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Constantly changing
Comes from within
“Grape vine”
Can over-ride legal system
“Conventions”, not codes
FUNCTION/FORMAL
• Accomplishes the goals of the organization
• Co-ordinates various activities
• Organization is very well defined.
• Well defined hierarchical structure
• Permit specializations and division of work.
CHARACTERISTICS
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Well defined rules and regulation
Arbitrary structure (seems “made up”)
Determined objectives and policies
Status symbol (being a “manager” has status)
Limitation on the activities of the individual
Messages are communicated through hierarchy
Formal system
Boss
(owner)
Manager
Cashier
Stock boy
Salesman
Weber’s Theory of AUTHORITY
• Laid out explanation for structure of organizations:
• Charismatic
• Legal/Rational
• Traditional
ideal type; he was aware that in empirical reality
mixtures will be found in the legitimization of
authority.
Charisma
Cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass
media, propaganda to create an idealized, heroic, and at
times, god-like public image, often through
unquestioning flattery and praise. (wikipedia)
Charisma
Greek: “Gift from the gods”
Hard to define or quantify:
• “Possessing an extraordinary ability to attract and
influence others” (Princeton Dictionary)
• Tend to be more popular (even as children)
• Hold peoples interest
• Examples: Actors, singers, politicians (make or break)
• Doesn’t come through on film (Hitler)
Charisma
We all like to think we
have
it BUT…
• Actually quite rare
• Not just physical attractiveness (models would rule th
world)
• Not related to skill, ability or intelligence
• Personal energy, conviction, enthusiasm AND
CREDIBILITY
• Name a person you think is charismatic – pictures?
Charisma Examples
• US President George W. Bush:
little military experience, seen
as a fool, he was able to
project a sense of urgency to
much of the American
populace about the need to
attack Iraq.
• “folksy” demeanor and the
continual media attention of
his threats to Iraq worked
Adolph Hitler
• Wounded in war (messenger not
a hero), Art school drop-out, he
managed to convince millions of
Germans to follow him.
• Eventually solidified RATIONALLEGAL authority (everything the
Nazis did was legal), but he
started out purely on charisma
• OTHER EXAMPLES?
?
DOWNSIDE?
Traditional
Power based on fact that that role
always had power:
• Fathers, Mothers, Teachers
• Kings, Queens, Princes, etc.
• Can you think of others?
Traditional (examples)
• Structured because no one can
remember anything different
• Rules of inheritance (passed
down based on ”Tradition”)
• Patrimony (“Pa” is father) based
on male being in charge
“because everyone knows that.”
?
DOWNSIDE?
• Charles II, son of King Philip IV of Spain and his
wife (and niece) Mariana
• Hypersensitive, unable to chew. His
tongue was so large that speech could barely
be understood, frequently drooled,
exhumed corpses of family members.
• Retired - nervous breakdown
• "short, lame, epileptic, senile, impotent and
completely bald before 35, always on the
verge of death” (Durant, 1981)
Rational/legal
Based on a constructed hierarchy:
• Boss
• Managers
• Police, courts
• Can you think of others?
Rational/legal examples
• By Law
• If you don’t follow rules you go
to jail!
• Government, Schools, army
• Can you think of others?
Rational/Legal authority versus
Charismatic
Having both is great (rare)John F Kennedy,
Nelson Mandela (eventually)
• Charismatic often trumps legal (Gandhi) bu
rational/legal always has legal authority to
push charismatic out (leads to revolution –
example Rasputin)
• Many examples of powerful,
non-charismatic figures (Nixon, Harper)
INFORMAL
• Constantly changing
• excellent at motivation
• requires insider knowledge to
be seen (hallway culture)
• treats people as individuals
• Trust and reciprocity
• Difficult to pin down
• Essential for situations that change quickly
FUNCTION OF INFORMAL
Perpetuate the cultural and social values
Example: CEGEP class of 50 students may contain
several informal groups that make the informal
organization within the formal (class).
• These groups may develop out of geography, study
groups, or seating arrangements.
• Dress codes, hairstyles, and political or religious
beliefs are reinforced among the group members.
FUNCTION OF INFORMAL
Provide social status and satisfaction
• a worker (or student) may feel like anonymous.
• Groups, however, share jokes and complaints, eat
together, play and work together, and are friendswhich contributes to personal esteem, satisfaction,
and a feeling of worth.
• Downside: May glorify “slacker "culture: “conspiracy
of incompetence” – if we all work slow, no one can
complain.
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Examples
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Culture of corruption in India
“Gift giving” to get bids for contracts
Corrupt police (everywhere)
Slow working construction workers
By the hour workers slowing work level (ask
your parents) your parents about contractors)
‘Montreal's assault on lazy workers’
MacLean's Magazine, M. PATRIQUIN October 8, 2007
• “Following a downtown construction crew
reporters found that it took 90 hours for 10
workers to fill 10 potholes”
• “So far this year the city has fired 45 city workers
for laziness, incompetence and failure to show
up for work, among other misdeeds”
Another Example
• Sleeping transit worker in
Toronto caught on I-phone
made headlines all over
country
• Was defended by union
• Over the next few weeks
three others caught
napping
• Union backed off
FUNCTION OF INFORMAL
• Promote communication among
members
• The informal group develops a
communication channel or system
• (grapevine) to keep its members
informed about what management
actions will affect them in various
ways.
• Examples in our school?
FUNCTION OF INFORMAL
• Provide social control
• Influences and regulates behavior inside and
outside the group. Internal control persuades
members of the group to conform to its lifestyle.
FUNCTION OF INFORMAL
• Example, if a student
starts to wear a coat and
tie to class, informal
group members may razz
and convince the student
this is not acceptable and
therefore to return to
sweats, jeans, and Tshirts.
FORMAL VS INFORMAL
• When formal system is
challenged, often leads to
disputes (sometimes wars)