A Reflection: Sociology
Rationalization, as connoted by Weber, is deeply connected to the secularization of the western culture. Regarding leadership what comes out clearly is that rationalization was a tool used to spearhead good governance and charismatic leadership from one generation to the next. This meant that there was the inception of the positional leadership whereas one good leader dies, the structure of leadership that he has put in place will still prevail even after their death.
This conception is one of the tools that were used in streamlining the connotation of modernization. There four distinct elements of rationalization that has been postulated by the McDonaldization, which brought on board the advent of rationalization to its immediate context. Efficiency is one of these aspects, and it relates the most optimal way in which a particular task could be completed. The logic behind this connotation is the need to create a high level of time management since it is a very crucial resource for production just like other factors of production. From the classical sociology, this aspect is important since it would determine how modernized a production system could work. In the current system, efficiency as a facet of modernization is perceived to have its roots in helping many organizations maximize their time on matters that would only help the company have the optimal gain.
Calculability is also mentioned in rationalization as one of the ways in which the quality of a given product could be measured. As Weber puts, the main issue revolving around calculability is the notion of quantification of the objectives of any organization. In the contemporary world, one would only count something like a delivery once a sale is made in the shortest time possible. Many firms, therefore, use the context of rationalization by majoring on the productivity rather than quality. It is a belief that with a high level of sales promptly and proper delivery of services, the profitability of the firm will be raised, and this depicts a notion of high performance.
On the aspect of predictability, what Weber intended to put across still revolved around the logical recurrent set up of the various precepts that will not only create uniformity in production but will also make the organizational set up to have a well-stratified type of management to build their reputation on it. This notion led to the development of the logical and rational steps which were deemed to be the best regarding maintaining a high level of production. As I read through the several of the lectures, I realized that the current world uses the precepts laid down by the rational thinkers of the ancient. The distributions of the same knowledge from one generation to the next create a platform of predictability in the production of various goods and services.
I came to understand that control is very essential in the management of various production activities. In the contemporary society, most companies carry out benchmarking from different businesses to understand how best they manage to control the various facets of the enterprise. For example the control of production costs, the marketing costs, sales and distribution costs among others. From this rationalization concept, these companies would come to conform to certain optimal precepts of how to minimize the costs which are widely accepted by everyone. This move has the transcending effect of making sure that the use of technology is passed from generation to the next.