Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Don't Know, Don't Ask...Just Do by Joshua Lynch

Through out history, it has always been a part of our nature as humans to not only know what a thing does, but HOW a thing works. This is shown through our passionate scientific pursuits. Man didn't only use the wheel, we learned the science behind it and how it works and how we can make it better, which eventually led to the pioneering of the automobile. Man didn't only want to use fire, we wanted to learn how to harness and create it. We learned that with a little bit of oxygen and a "whole lotta' heat" that we could create one of the most devastating weapons that ever existed. It was through the ambition of the Wright brothers and their study of aerodynamics that allowed our feet to leave the ground and finaly touch the clouds. So if this lust for the "how" that lead to such great innovations, why would we ever simply settle for the simplicity of only using something. The answer to that question is a combination of greed and desperation. The greedy feeding on the desperate.

A Sociologist by the name of George Ritzer first used the term McDonaldization as a means of controlling the way fast food industries are ran, and even how they spread to more private sectors. There are five pillars of this concept: control, efficiency, predictability, calculability, and the irrationality of  rationality. Basically the goal of all of these pillar are to maximize efficiency. This is done by taking a task and breaking it down into smaller task, that task is then broke down into smaller task. This process is continued until the simplest and most efficient process is achieved. A prime example of this is the assembly line is the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CReDRHDYhk8&feature=related

The real problem with this process is the manner it treats the worker. As i stated before humans like to seek how, and become a part of the process. This Mcdonaldizations prevents that sense of  empowerment and self worth that people get from using their creativity completely. It's completly dehumanizing to simplify a human beings job to a task that any machine could do. And at the same time tell that person that we don't want you to think, we don't want your input, we want you to become a robot and behave as such. Thid way of thinking is made to benefit a beaurocracy. The burgeouisie takes advantage of the working class by implementing a system inwhich the worker has a task so simple and yet he still does not question why they're doing a task, the lose that basic human need, the need ot understand the "how" and the "why". It is this beaurocracy that completely strips the worker of their humanity in the work place in exchange for efficient and predictable results. So I ask you the reader, do you believe that this way of thinking should be done away with, or is it a accemptable means to an end?







1 comment:

  1. Soranis Phal

    I agree with your statement that bureaucracy completely strips us from our humanity. The way that the bureaucracy works is intended for us to become a robot and not human. We are only allowed a certain task and script. We aren’t allow to give a voice and show our creativity. Instead we are to follow the written rules and regulations to achieve efficiency.

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