actual report on weber

8/3/2019 Actual Report on Weber

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Reporters:

Brodit, Vyel Marie

Ferrer, Angel GraceSolidarios, Peter John


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German sociologist and political economist who was born in Erfurt,Prussia Germany on April 21, 1864.

Best known for his thesis of the "Protestant Ethic," relatingProtestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas on bureaucracy.

In 1882, Weber enrolled at the University of Heidelberg

mid- and late-20s working simultaneously in two totally notremunerative apprenticeships--as a lawyer's assistant and as auniversity assistant--he was financially unable to leave home until theautumn of 1893. At that time he received a temporary position injurisprudence at the University of Berlin

He became a full professor in political economy at Freiburg, and then,

in the following year (1896), at Heidelberg In the months following his father's death in August 1897, an

increasing nervousness plagued the young scholar. His return toteaching in the autumn brought a brief respite, which ended in the firstmonths of 1898 with the first signs of the nervous collapse that was toprostrate him between mid-1898 and 1903


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Weber Family

Mother: Helene Weber, a

sociologist who was raised in

Calvinist orthodoxy

Father: Max Sr. was in the textile

business and went on to become

a National Liberal parliamentarian

of some recognizable influence in

Wilhelmine politics.


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Weber Family

Siblings: Max, Alfred and Karl.

Max was eldest son of an

aspiring liberal politician whose

family had become wealthy in the

German linen industry.

He married Marianne Schnitger, a

second cousin.


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The Max Difference Max Weber conceived of sociology as acomprehensive science ofsocial actionsocial action. In

his analytical focus on individual humanactors he differed from many of his

predecessors whose sociology wasconceived in social-structural terms.

His initial theoretical focus is on thesubjective meaning that humans attach to

their actions and interactions within specificsocial contexts.


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Society for Weber

According to Weber, Society is notstructure, an existing thing, butinterrelated actions. Weber was interested

in behavior and motivation, the subjective(individual perception) as well asthe objective (systematic causality).

He believed that society should NOT beviewed from a single perspective. Instead,

it should be viewed as a mixture ofperspectives that vary according to thegroups that make up the society.


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Social StratificationWeber believed that class divisions as the

most important source of social conflict.Age, race, sex, politics, geography,

willpower, culture, income, education,

religion, physical ability, self-control. I

believe that it is natural for differinggroups to exist.


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Social Institutions

Social institutions provide common feelingsand beliefs that hold the varying groupstogether.

The social institutions most important toWeber were economic (class),political(power),and cultural (status).Weber

believed these social institutions affecthow a person sees the world and howshe/he will act.


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The Industrial Revolution began around1750 in England. Modern bureaucracy

emerged around 1850. It is a way to run

large organizations.


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Max Weber proposed around turn of thecentury an ideal type (what we would call

today a model) of the (then) new form of

organization. He described ideal-typebureaucracy with 6 characteristics. He

contrasted modern bureaucracy with the

traditionalpatrimonialtype of organization

based on family ties.


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Bureaucracy

Weber developed the Principles of

Bureaucracy as a formal system of

organization and administration designed

to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Bureaucratic administration means

fundamentally domination through

knowledge Max Weber


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6 Principles of Bureaucracy

1. There are principles of officialjurisdictional areas . (Impersonality)

Every bureaucracy has its own special area: firemen do notarrest criminals, doctors do not empty bedpans, professors donot deliver mail.

Bureaucracy works regardless of aparticluarperson. Individualscan come and go, but the position is defined by the workflow

and the rules guiding behavior of occupants in that position.

according to Max Weber


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2. Offices are Hierarchically ordered(Hierarchy of authority )

Creates a clear system of authority, w. superiors andsubordinates. This makes it possible for the governedto appeal, in a regulated manner, the decision ofa lower office to the corresponding authority.Similarly, those in a particular position can always finda boss of their own supervisor (except, of course, atthe highest level), to appeal.

these systems are monocratically organized. Thismeans that any position has only one boss, allowingfor clear lines of authority.


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3. Files & Positions (Written rules of

conduct )

That every bureaucracy has written rules

and files that serve as the organizational

memory of the bureaucracy

This is what allows the continuous fulfillment

of a position.


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4. Positions require specialized training

(Promotion based on achievement)

People are appointed to offices based on

explicit qualifications (which are writtendown).


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5. Official activity demands the full

working capacity of the official

(Efficiency)

An office holder is responsible for

completing the tasks of the office,

regardless of the number of hours it mighttake. Thus, as any of you will discover

when you take on a salary position, you

work to get the job done, not to full theclock.


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6. Office Management follows

exhaustive, stable, written rules, which

can be learned. (Specialized division oflabor)

Every office holder's duties are clear, as arethe responsibilities that each has to the

other. In practice, knowledge of these

rules is a key type of specialized training


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Whenever there is a particular system

containing humans, like e.g. organizations,

there must be some authority acting as a

stabilizing factor making e.g. employees

follow the directions of the leaders.


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Authority

Authority will help to prevent anarchy, and

help to define a clear hierarchy of

decision-making.

A clear hierarchy will potentially lead to an

effective organization, consisting of strong

and legitimate authority relations between

leaders and followers


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authority is only granted leaders if followers

find his or her authority legitimate.

If authority is to be seen legitimate, therelation between authority and followers

must be balanced, so that the authority

relation is accepted by the followers


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Weber distinguishes three types of

authority:

Traditional authority

This type of authority rests on an established

belief that leaders have a traditional and

legitimate right to exercise authority.

It gives rise to patrimonial systems like e.g.

patriarchal and feudalistic systems and

societies.


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Rational-legal authority

This type of authority rests on the belief in the

"legality" of formal rules and hierarchies, and

in the right of those elevated in the hierarchy

to posses authority and issue commands.

This type of authority is often seen as

legitimate in bureaucratic systems, whichenables impersonal, specific and formal

structures of modern companies.


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Charismatic authority

This type of authority rests on the belief in an

exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary

character of an individual, and on thenormative patterns or orders revealed and

issued by him or her.


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The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of

Capitalism(Die protestantiche Ethik und der Geist desKapitalismus)


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Book Contents

In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of

Capitalism, Weber puts forward thesis that Puritan ethics

and ideas had influenced the development of capitalism.However, religious devotion was accompanied by

rejection of worldly affairs, including the pursuit of wealth

and possessions. Weber addresses this apparent

paradox in the book.


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Book Contents

He defines spirit of capitalism as the ideas and

habits that favor the rational pursuit of economic gain.

Weber points out that such spirit is not limited to western

culture if one considers it as the attitude of individuals---

heroic entrepreneurs, as he calls them---could not by

themselves establish a new economic order(capitalism).

The most common tendencies were greed for profit with

minimum effort and the idea that work was a curse and

burden to be avoided especially when it exceeded what

was enough for modest life.


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Book Contents

Weber shows that certain types of Protestantism

favored rational pursuit of economic gain and the worldly

activities had been given positive spiritual and moral

meaning. It was not the goal of those religious ideas, but

rather a byproduct --- the inherit logic of those doctrines

and the advice based upon them both directly and

indirectly encouraged planning and self-denial in the

pursuit of economic gain.


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Book Contents

Weber traced the origins of the Protestant ethic to

the reformation. In his opinion, under the Roman

Catholic Church, an individual could be assured of

salvation by belief in the churchs sacraments and the

authority of its hierarchy. However, the Reformation had

effectively removed such assurances.


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Book Contents

In the absence of such assurances from religious

authority, Weber argued that Protestants began to look

for other signs that they were saved. Worldly success

became one measure of salvation. Anticipating Adam

Smith(but using very different argument), Luther had

made an early endorsement of division of labor that was

beginning to develop in Europe. Therefore, according to

Webers reading of Luther, a vocation from God was no

longer limited to the clergy or church, but applied to any

occupation or trade.


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Book Contents

However, Weber saw the fulfillment of theProtestant ethic not in Lutheranism, which he dismissed

as a rather servile religion but in Calvinistic forms of

Christianity. The paradox Weber found was, in simple

terms: According to the new Protestant religions, an

individual was religiously compelled to follow a

secular vocation with as much zeal as possible. A

person living according to this world wide view wasmore likely to accumulate money.


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Book Contents




terms: However, the new religions(in particular, Calvinism

and other more austere Protestant sects) effectively

forbade any traditional method of actually using any

money gained through this work. The purchasing ofluxuries or items to make ones life more pleasurable

was considered a sin. Donations to an individuals

church or congregation was limited due to the

rejection by certain Protestant sects of icons.


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Book Contents




terms: Finally, donation of money to the poor or to charity

was generally frowned on because a lack of worldly

success was seen as a combination of laziness or

divine disfavor.


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Book Contents

The manner in which this paradox was resolved,Weber argued, was the investment of this money which

gave an extreme boost to nascent capitalism.


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Book Contents

Weber maintained that while Puritan Religious ideas had a majorinfluence on the development of economic order in Europe and in

United States, they were not the only factor. In the end, the study of

Protestant ethic, according to Weber, merely explored one phase of the

emancipation from magic, that disenchantment of the world that he

regarded as the distinguishing peculiarity of Western Culture.


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Book Contents

Weber stated in the last the endnotes that he abandonedresearch into Protestantism because his colleague Ernst Troeltsch, a

professional theologian, had initiated work on the book The Social

Teachings of the Christian Churches and Sects.Another reason for

Webers decision was that Troeltschs essays had provided the

perspective for a broad comparison of religion and society, which hecontinued in his later works.


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Book Contents

This book is also Webers first brush with the concept ofrationalization. His idea of modern capitalism as growing out of religious

pursuit of wealth. At some point this rational ends outgrew and became

unreliant on the underlying religious movement behind it, leaving only

rational capitalism. In essence then, Webers Spirit of Capitalism is

effectively and more broadly a Spirit of Rationalization.


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Book Contents

The essay can be also interpreted as one of Webers criticismsof Karl Marx and his theories. While Marx held, generally speaking, that

all human institutions-including religion-were based on economic

foundations, The Protestant Ethicturns this theory on its head by

implying that a religious movement fostered capitalism not the other way

around.

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