Amy Benck
SOC 385
Blog 3—Weber
Weber talks about the idea of a bureaucracy, and explains the requirements which a bureaucracy must have in order to officially and legitimately be a bureaucracy. To explain Weber’s notion of a bureaucracy, I am going to use the example of the UIC Pavilion, which is my place of employment.
One requirement which must be present according to Weber is offices which are bound by rules. Each office in the bureaucracy has its own rules, guidelines, and procedures by which it is required to operate. At the Pavilion, there is the box office, where tickets are sold, the house staff, also known as ushers, production, or the group of individuals who clean, set up and tear down for each event, Sodexo, the food vendors, and others. Since I am a member of the house staff, I will focus my example of the Pavilion as a bureaucracy exclusively on my understanding and observations of the house staff. Ushers are required to follow rules such as what to do when a ticket does not properly scan, how to properly escort an individual in a wheel chair, as well as other aspects such as appearance in that we are required to come to work wearing a specific uniform, and upon arrival are expected and required to put on a red vest which has the UIC Pavilion logo embroidered onto it. In summary, each of these ‘offices’ has its own rules in order to function properly and efficiently.
Another requirement Weber says must be present is that each office has specialized knowledge. In the case of the Pavilion house staff, only the members of house staff are taught specifically how to use a ticket scanner. The main point that Weber tries to get across to the reader is that though each of these offices have specialized knowledge, they are all tasks which any person is capable of doing, yet only certain individuals are allowed and required to perform them due to their specific job titles and descriptions.
Weber also states that each of these offices must be structured as a hierarchy of positions. In my situation as an usher, I am on the lowest rung on the ladder of positions within the house staff office at the Pavilion. Above me are supervisors of different levels (depending on how long they have been supervisors and what they are allowed to supervise), and above them is the main house staff supervisor who is the boss of all the members of house staff and holds the most power of any of us.
Each office will also have technical qualifications, according to Weber. At the Pavilion, house staff are hired mainly because they are students who attend UIC, but they also must be willing to learn and perform the necessary tasks which are required of house staff.
Weber also clarifies that members of the staff do not own the office. The most obvious evidence that an usher does not own the office within which we work is that we do not own, pay for, or bring our own ticket scanners to work with us. We also do not purchase or bring with us our own red vests which have the UIC Pavilion logo embroidered onto them.
The office must also have positions which are to be filled. The Pavilion is largely constructed based on positions that can be easily filled by students willing to work. To put it simply, nearly everyone has the capability to learn how to use a ticket scanner. The positions which the Pavilion fills are not positions which require a large amount of skill or knowledge; rather, these skills and the knowledge can easily be attained once hired.
Lastly, Weber says that rules which are codified, or formally written, are required to exist to be a bureaucracy. Upon being hired, one of the first things I was given was the house staff employee handbook, which contains all of the rules and procedures which house staff are required to follow.
In addition, with use of scientific management, one can create these particular offices with positions, making the ultimate goal more efficiently obtained. If one person were required to schedule an event, set up for the event, sell a ticket, scan the ticket, answer questions, sell the food, clean, and tear down after the event, not only would that person be completely exhausted, but the process would likely prove to be much slower and inefficient.
SOC 385
Blog 3—Weber
Weber talks about the idea of a bureaucracy, and explains the requirements which a bureaucracy must have in order to officially and legitimately be a bureaucracy. To explain Weber’s notion of a bureaucracy, I am going to use the example of the UIC Pavilion, which is my place of employment.
One requirement which must be present according to Weber is offices which are bound by rules. Each office in the bureaucracy has its own rules, guidelines, and procedures by which it is required to operate. At the Pavilion, there is the box office, where tickets are sold, the house staff, also known as ushers, production, or the group of individuals who clean, set up and tear down for each event, Sodexo, the food vendors, and others. Since I am a member of the house staff, I will focus my example of the Pavilion as a bureaucracy exclusively on my understanding and observations of the house staff. Ushers are required to follow rules such as what to do when a ticket does not properly scan, how to properly escort an individual in a wheel chair, as well as other aspects such as appearance in that we are required to come to work wearing a specific uniform, and upon arrival are expected and required to put on a red vest which has the UIC Pavilion logo embroidered onto it. In summary, each of these ‘offices’ has its own rules in order to function properly and efficiently.
Another requirement Weber says must be present is that each office has specialized knowledge. In the case of the Pavilion house staff, only the members of house staff are taught specifically how to use a ticket scanner. The main point that Weber tries to get across to the reader is that though each of these offices have specialized knowledge, they are all tasks which any person is capable of doing, yet only certain individuals are allowed and required to perform them due to their specific job titles and descriptions.
Weber also states that each of these offices must be structured as a hierarchy of positions. In my situation as an usher, I am on the lowest rung on the ladder of positions within the house staff office at the Pavilion. Above me are supervisors of different levels (depending on how long they have been supervisors and what they are allowed to supervise), and above them is the main house staff supervisor who is the boss of all the members of house staff and holds the most power of any of us.
Each office will also have technical qualifications, according to Weber. At the Pavilion, house staff are hired mainly because they are students who attend UIC, but they also must be willing to learn and perform the necessary tasks which are required of house staff.
Weber also clarifies that members of the staff do not own the office. The most obvious evidence that an usher does not own the office within which we work is that we do not own, pay for, or bring our own ticket scanners to work with us. We also do not purchase or bring with us our own red vests which have the UIC Pavilion logo embroidered onto them.
The office must also have positions which are to be filled. The Pavilion is largely constructed based on positions that can be easily filled by students willing to work. To put it simply, nearly everyone has the capability to learn how to use a ticket scanner. The positions which the Pavilion fills are not positions which require a large amount of skill or knowledge; rather, these skills and the knowledge can easily be attained once hired.
Lastly, Weber says that rules which are codified, or formally written, are required to exist to be a bureaucracy. Upon being hired, one of the first things I was given was the house staff employee handbook, which contains all of the rules and procedures which house staff are required to follow.
In addition, with use of scientific management, one can create these particular offices with positions, making the ultimate goal more efficiently obtained. If one person were required to schedule an event, set up for the event, sell a ticket, scan the ticket, answer questions, sell the food, clean, and tear down after the event, not only would that person be completely exhausted, but the process would likely prove to be much slower and inefficient.