Relationship Between Rational Theory And Organization

Being rational can be based off being logical. These decisions provide people with the greatest benefit or satisfaction. The things that push you towards being rational is self-interest and incentives. Self-interest is putting yourself at an advantage. According to Adam Smith, the father

In the early 20th century, Max Weber foresaw the emergence of modernity through the inevitable unfolding of formal rationality in all institutions and facets of society. During this time in history, society was in a rapid transition via the forthcoming of Protestantism and the idea that one’s salvation was no longer predestined in heaven. Social action was becoming guided by logical human thought rather than being steered by abstract ideas of God and perceived predeterminations. Suddenly members of society were abandoning their subjectivism to mystical forces and encompassing logic to determine their actions and destiny- thus Weber’s theory of rationality was born.

-A rational choice is when you take the available resources and then use them to the best way to achieve an objective. Therefore, when people are making rational choices they are comparing the benefits and the cost of the choices. So they can receive the most net benefit from the situation. However, it is possible for some to regret their decision that they have made. When someone is making their rational decision it may seem like they made the best decision at the time. However, a subsequent event may occurred, which would turn out to look like it has more benefits compare to the original decision.

King and Lawley (2013, p.601) stated that rationalisation can be defined as increasing the efficiency and reducing costs within a business, this idea incorporates the aspects of a bureaucracy and the scientific design of work). Within a rational organisation, bureaucracies are created through the implementation of policies and procedures which makes the organisation standardised, predictable and efficient. Organisations such as Junction hotel might consider adopting the key features of rationalisation, for example within a bureaucracy a hierarchy is created, this shows clear lines of communication within departments. King and Lawley (2013) show that within Junction hotel the organisational structure lacks span of control as Linda Wilkinson is in charge of 34 employees This was improved by making the span of control more manageable by delegating control through management, different departments can be created, within each department there is a head employee who was in charge of more staff. As an organisation grows, the number of employee’s increases, therefore Fayols’ five functions of management are implemented through impersonal control rather than direct face to face control. In contrast to rationalisation, King and Lawley (2013) describe the social organisation as a belief that the key factors in shaping an individual within the workplace are the social interactions between people. King and Lawley (2013) state that the findings from Hawthorne studies have been credited

Max Weber was a German sociologist and philosopher who contributed majorly to certain ideologies in society most especially regarding reason/rationality in relation to capitalism and how it has shaped our present society from replying on traditional methods to becoming more modern and advanced but not without its flaws. Weber main point of focus was on the individual intertwined with culture and the notion of the “ideal type”, he was also concerned about rationalization of the society. Max Weber addressed different themes in his life time but this essay will focus primarily on reason/rationality coupled with capitalism and its underlying effect in the areas of individual autonomy and freedom.

There are different agendas of people who are willing to join a group; prior knowledge, skills, threat, fear, attitudes, personality, previous experience of group work, cultural and religious factors and etc (Elwyn G et al, 2001). Therefore, organisation is a kind of social action where different individuals pursue pre-determined objective as a corporate identity.

Compared to Marx perspective, the rationalisation and progress according to Weber involve the positive features of effectiveness, manageability, uniformity, unavoidability and impartiality. These positive aspects of rationalisation can result in enhanced capacity, the development of capacity and power relations and thereby assists in attaining progress in each sphere depicted above. Unlike Marx, rationalisation in economic perspective as witnessed in Western Capitalism was been considered by Weber as the process of reasoning out unreasonable sentiments that hamper accrual and estimation of profit, progress and sentiments like faith, thoughtfulness solidarity

Even so, the strength of Weber’s analysis of bureaucratization cannot be used as definitive proof to support the assertion of growing rationality. Although bureaucracies clearly do use principles of formal rationality through calculation (Ritzer, 2010, p. 47) and by “changing the material and social orders […] through a rational determination of means to ends” (Weber, 1922/1978, p. 1116), they do not necessarily represent a real shift to this form. Weber does convincingly establish bureaucracy as an example of rational action. However, the process of bureaucratization arguably only demonstrates an increase in the actual expression of formal rationality, in that people may have become more effective in translating an orientation towards formal rationality into actions that are evidently bureaucratic. By using an increase in bureaucracy as support for rationalization, Weber is connecting changing actions with a concurrent change in orientation, even though the former may have possibly been enabled by a shift in external factors. Either way, Weber’s argument remains effective in demonstrating the growth of bureaucracies, and provides valuable support for the increase of rationalization in general.

In my opinion, an organization is basically members of a working group that are structured and allocated various tasks with the aim of achieving a common goal.

The concept of an organisation varies significantly among different authors. One of the interesting views is that ‘an organisation is a social arrangement for controlled performance of collective goals’ (Buchanan and Hucynski 2013). An organisation includes individuals who strive to meet a common goal. It consists of a hierarchal management structure whereby each individual is assigned with specific responsibility. However, Hal G. Rainey (2009) defines an organisation as ‘a group of people who work together to pursue a goal.’

Rationalism is a philosophical view that appeals to scholarly and analytical reasoning as a source of explanation. Philosophers use rationalism instead of their experiences and/or religious teachings to understand human involvement in the world. It is dependant on the understanding that the real world has a realistic design where all parts of it can be understood through analytical and relevant rules.Various older writers sought out rationalism, generally it was Plato and those who adopted his ideas.

Max Weber believed that human beings nature is that we are rational beings. He believes that we are all about getting better and more consistent in order to reach the means to our ends and goals. He believes that it is human nature for us to become more rational; it is what we do (Weber 1946). He uses his theory of rationalization to refer to the process by which modern society has increasingly become concerned with efficiency, predictability, calculability, and dehumanization (1946). Efficiency can be described as trying to achieve the max results of something with putting in the least amount of effort possible. Predictability involves having the insight to predict what will happen in the future instead of focusing on the present. Calculability can be described as always being concerned with calculating everything, always keep statistical data. Dehumanization involves highlighting technology as a means to control human behavior.

Rationalization is the process of replacing traditional and emotional thought with reason and practicality. Weber believed that most societies throughout history were governed by tradition and that the most significant trend in modern sociology is an increasing rationalization of every part of our daily lives. The rise of scientific study, the development of capitalism, and the introduction of bureaucracy into the government over the last 200 years or so are all large examples of this trend.

According to Chester Bernard an organization is a system of consciously coordinated activities or efforts of two or more persons. It implies a formal planning, division and leadership.

An organization is born when people combine their efforts for some common purpose. It is a universal truth that an individual is unable to fulfill his needs and desire alone because he lacks strength, ability and resources. So he seeks the cooperation of other people who share goals with him. This organization study is carried out at Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd, Calicut. The organization study has been carried out to get an understanding of the structure and functioning of the organization.