February
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th
25
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Hand in SL papers
Lecture 3: Social Structure
Homework:
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The Engaged Sociologist Chp 10 pages 149-156
Sklar, Holly et al The Growing Wealth Gap
Krugman, Paul The Death of Horatio Alger
Your social connections
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Who can you depend on?
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How do you feel connected to others?
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What does your social capital look like?
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Do you have bridging social capital? Explain
where it comes from?
Do you have bonding social capital? Explain
where it comes from?
Social Structure
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The social structure of a society – how
society is organized – shapes how we are
connected to others
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Social institutions – family, economy, education
Patterns of behavior and expectations
Social Groups:
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Primary: strong, intimate ties (family, friends)
Secondary: weak, superficial ties (work, school)
Modern Social Structure: Rationalization
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Rationalization: process by which thought
and action are no longer rooted in emotion,
tradition, but become rooted in ‘value-rational’
thought and action
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Value –system (culture)
Institutional Organization
The Cow
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Hindus – symbol of everything alive
McDonalds – “means to an end”
McDonaldization of Society
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McDonaldization: “process by which the
principles of the fast food restaurant are
coming to dominate more and more sectors
of society” – George Ritzer
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Efficient
Quantification
Predictability
Non-human Technology
Efficiency
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Efficiency is the choosing the fastest means to an
end, with the least amount of cost or effort.
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The idea of efficiency is specific to the interests of
the industry or business, but is typically advertised
as a benefit to the customer.
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Examples: the drive-up window, self-serve gasoline, ATM's,
The customer often ends up doing the work that
previously was done for them.
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We end up spending more time, being forced to learn new
technologies, remember more numbers, and often pay
higher prices
Quantification & Calculation
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Quantification “involves an emphasis on things that
can be calculated, counted, quantified.
Quantification refers to a tendency to emphasize
quantity rather than quality. This leads to a sense
that quality is equal to certain, usually (but not
always) large quantities of things." (Ritzer 1994:142)
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Examples of this element include: the "Big Mac," the
Whopper," "Big Gulp," Wendy's "Biggie Meals,"
The credentialing process.
Predictability
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Predictability refers to the attempt to
structure our environment so that surprise
and difference do not encroach upon our
sensibilities. Rational people need to know
what to expect.
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They want to be sure that the fun, satisfaction,
taste, and benefits they received last week in
Cincinnati will be repeated next week in San
Diego. A Big Mac is a Big Mac is a Big Mac.
Non-human Technology
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Non-human Technology: Everything is prepackaged, pre-measured, automatically controlled.
The human employee is not required to think, just
follow the instructions and push a button now and
then.
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"The next step in this development is to have the customer
do the scanning,..." (Ritzer 1994:150).
What this means is that the skills and capabilities of
the human actor are quickly becoming things of the
past. Who we are and how we interact is becoming
defined by our dependence upon and subordination
to the machine.
Irrationality
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Rational systems → irrational outcomes
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"Most specifically, irrationality means that
rational systems are unreasonable systems.
By that I mean that they deny the basic
humanity, the human reason, of the people
who work within or are served by them." –
George Ritzer
McDonaldization exercise: Work in
Groups
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Pick one of the
following and explain
how it is McDonaldized:
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Movies
Gavilan College
Popular Music
News
What are the benefits
and drawbacks to a
system organized this
way?
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Characterisitcs:
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Efficient
Quantification
Predictability
Control
Non-human Technology
A social problem?
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How do you think McDonalidization affects
our connections social capital and
connections to others?
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Bridging & Bonding Social Capital?
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Do you think McDonaldization is a social
problem?
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Does it create any social problems?