Sociology

The rise of Information era has led most organisations to adopt the process of rationalisation, Rationalisation is defined as the organisation of life through division and coordination of activities on the basis of exact study of mens relations with each other, with their tools and their environment, for the purpose of achieving greater efficiency and productivity (Freund 1968). With this concept, the traditional differences in task, human relations, and doing business are becoming different and rationalisation is becoming more prevalent.  How are we affected by this Is there any impact of this to our cultural environment Does it provide benefits to our society

Not too long ago, we were always excited to meet and interact with new people, explore different parts of our world, and create our own gourmet meal for ourselves, our family, and guests we also prided ourselves in our work. Nowadays, it seems that almost everything has a defined standard structure in our society. In many companies across our country, there is a hierarchical authority structure with well-established division of labour and written rules and regulations. Jobs available can be as routine-oriented as possible with defined expectations and predictable results. This is just one theme of the process of rationalisation.

According to George Ritzers (1993) book entitled The Mcdonaldisation of Society, there are actually five dominant themes of the process of rationalisation, namely, efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman for human technology, and control over uncertainty. Efficiency basically pertains to the selection of a method or fewer means to reach a designated end, such as sending an email or texting a person instead of meeting him or her face to face. The idea is essential to the needs of an industry or an enterprise, even though it is usually marketed as beneficial to its customers. A good example to illustrate this theme is fast food restaurants as they capitalise on the need of the consumers to get their orders as fast as possible.  Other examples such as ATMs, supermarkets () all portray how easy and fast customers can receive products and services. Although in reality, the customers are the ones who do the work previously done for them. They often even pay higher prices in order for the enterprise to operate profitably and efficiently.

The second component of rationalisation is predictability. As rational beings, people need to know what to expect. For instance, they need to be guaranteed that a certain activity will be fulfilling or that a certain meal will really taste good. A good example is the movie industry as it builds from the success of one blockbuster, after which a sequel is usually created with the same elements that made the first one a hit.

Calculability, the third element of rationalisation, stresses the quantity instead of quality of any product or service available. A good example is the educational system wherein students performance are rated solely in terms of letter grades or grade point averages. Although important, this system tends to overlook the other good qualities that a student possesses.(Ritzer 1993)

The element of substitution of nonhuman for human technology, which generally refers to the replacement of human labour by machines, is also becoming increasingly popular. For example, a lot of people working for companies in the manufacturing industry lost their jobs simply because their previous work can now be done by robots or machines. There are also industries such as the airline industry that require minimal human control, as most processes are operated with the use of computers,. Apart from the replacement from manpower to machine, there is also the concept of the so-called human robots, which happens when people do monotonous, controlled work that they look as though they have lost their essence of being a person.

Lastly, control over uncertainty, according to Ritzer (1993), explains that rational systems set up for greater control over the uncertainties of life birth, death, food production and distribution, housing, religious salvation, and many others. This method can also be applied in relation to control or authority over subordinates by superiors, control of clients, and customers and employees. An example would be the rational system employed in a typical fast food restaurant where counters that are set up to process the orders of the customers. The absence of waiters and waitresses, the limited seating, and the drive-through windows all tend to lead customers to do certain things and not to do others (Ritzer 1993).

As rationalisation is taking its course in our cultural environment,it is important to note that this is happening to many societies of different countries across the globe and it has its own numerous benefits. For an organisation operating on changing conditions, rationalisation provides an established structure to increase productivity and distribution of goods or services and provide control on potential risks. For the public, its advantages can be observed in the efficient services provided by good companies, 24-hour banking and shopping, and many others. However, in perspective our cultural environment, and so our lives become more controlled and more structured.  We rely on systems either directly or indirectly imposed on us and we are beginning to depend, if not already heavily depending, on these system. We are now becoming a society that is dedicated to themes of rationalisation, and huge consumption going through the day to day motions fast with uniformity without the sense of creativity and originality.