Table of contentsIntroductionConceptual frameworkWeber's theory of rationalizationRitzer's thesis on McDonaldizationView on Weber's conclusion on the “iron cage”ConclusionIntroductionIn this essay, The usefulness of Weber's rationalization theory would be analyzed with the social phenomenon in Hong Kong, which is the tutoring school industry. It aims to see how Weber's theory could be used to explain the phenomenon and its limitations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Weber's theory would be described and the McDonaldization mentioned in the reading would also be described as it is one of the illustrations of rationalization in modern society in Ritzer's work. see. Then, how Ritzer argues that McDonaldization would conform to formal rationality will be discussed, to explain the establishment of tutoring schools in Hong Kong and its popular trends among today's students. Finally, the limits of the application of Weber's theory to the explanation of the tutorial school and his vision of the “iron cage” to society will be discussed. Conceptual Framework Before examining how formal rationality and rationalization could be used to understand social phenomena, Weber's theory of rationalization and rationalization will be discussed. Ritzer's thesis on McDonaldization, which extends Weber's theory, would first be described. Weber's Theory of Rationalization According to Weber, the actions of social actors are theorized into four types. These are practical rationality, theoretical rationality, substantive rationality and formal rationality. Practical rationality consists of finding, through calculation, the most appropriate means to achieve the practical end of daily life. Theoretical rationality consists of theorizing precise and abstract concepts with a cognitive process and intelligence to find the means to achieve the end. Substantive rationality consists of choosing the mean based on its values ​​for the end. Formal rationality uses the best means to achieve a particular goal by applying rules, regulations, and laws. Rationalization is the process by which rationality becomes increasingly dominant in society. Formal rationality is dominated by the other among four types of rationality. The rationalization discussed in the essay means that the dominance of formal rationality is increasing in modern society. The ultimate illustration to explain formal rationality and the "ideal type" of formal rationality in Weber's theory is bureaucracy, because it is best represented by five elements of formal rationality, which are efficiency which uses the best way of achieving the goal, computability emphasizes that things could be quantified, predictability i.e. things are expressed in the same way everywhere and at all times, controllability which emphasizes the uncertainty could be controlled and the irrationality of formal rationality that there are irrational consequences within the system of formal rationality. Irrationality means that the process or outcome of rationalization could undermine rationality. Weber has a pessimistic hypothesis about a future society increasingly dominated by formal rationality. The functioning of a society guided by formal rationality could lose control, or even control people. People couldn't stop it or escape it, because the rationalizing forces of society increasingly dominated as well.more people's action. This is called the “iron cage”. Ritzer's thesis on McDonaldizationRitzer offers his point of view on McDonaldization based on Weber's theory by trying to better describe recent social phenomena of formal rationality. Ritzer illustrates rationalization through McDonaldization while Weber illustrates rationalization through bureaucracy. He thinks bureaucracy could be replaced by fast food. McDonaldization is the operation of fast food restaurants that has elements of formal rationality and is experiencing rapid growth and expansion in different industries. Its growth and expansion show the process of rationalization in modern society. Following Weber's theory, Ritzer also believes that rationalization could cause irrationality and bring people closer to the "iron cage". Ritzer mainly used the operation and products of McDonald's to explain the elements of the McDonaldization of the company. Fast food restaurants seek efficiency that finds the best way to achieve goals. McDonald's operates in the most efficient way, for example by turning customers into unpaid labor. In this way, McDonald's could achieve maximum productivity but unnecessary expenses and labor. At McDonald's, customers have to stand in line and order their own food, choose and add their own hamburger ingredients, and clean their own trash cans. Ritzer also gives examples from other sectors. For example, gas stations with all automated procedures where customers have to fill their gas tanks themselves, and ATMs allowing customers to withdraw money themselves. Fast food restaurants emphasize calculation and quantity. They measure and quantify the product. Many fast food restaurants use "Big" or "Large" to indicate the number of their items. Examples, the Big Mac from McDonald's and the Triple Whopper from Burger King. Additionally, fast food restaurants accurately calculate their product like ingredient weight and food cooking time. Ritzer also gives the example of USA Today featuring a large number of short stories instead of one long story focused on quality to explain the emphasis on quantity not only found in fast- foods. Fast food restaurants ensure the predictability of their products. . With the example of McDonald's, people could enjoy the same Big Mac anytime and anywhere. Another example is movies. Film producers tend to continue producing a successful film in the past rather than a completely new film because previous successful films could increase predictability. Ritzer explains it by replacing people with non-human technology. Humans have human errors and uncertainties, which cause errors due to their judgment or emotions. Replacing humans with non-human technology can increase controllability as they do not have human error and lead to greater control. For example, fast food restaurants purchase raw materials such as chicken from factory farms rather than family farms. This is because factory farms are run by non-human technology and it is easier to control the quantity and size. Ritzer thinks that McDonaldization has an irrationality of rationality like bureaucracy. Although McDonaldization has the advantages of formal rationality in the sense mentioned above, it could lead to inefficiency and dehumanization. Theredehumanization means that a rational system no longer serves humans and excludes, or even destroys, the humanity of those involved in the system. For example, people have to wait for a long time to queue to order food at McDonald's which proves to be inefficient, McDonald's food is unhealthy and the waste produced by McDonald's destroys the ecological environment which proves dehumanizing. As mentioned above, McDonaldization is a way of presenting the rationalization of society in recent years. Besides fast food showing the principles of formal rationality and streamlining in modern society, more and more industries are streamlining and conforming to the five elements of McDonaldization mentioned by Ritzer. The following will analyze this phenomenon using the illustration of tutoring schools in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's education system places emphasis on good grades and student achievement in school exams and the HKDSE. It encourages businessmen, teachers and students to focus on how they can use the best means to achieve the goal of getting good grades, which is dominated by formal rationality. Exam skills such as time management and answering questions accurately are important for students to achieve a good grade. It is difficult to teach knowledge and exam skills at the same time in regular school. Therefore, tutoring schools that tout teaching good exam skills with effective means such as dismantling question types and providing answer standards to help students achieve a good grade, such as getting 5 ** to the DSE, have emerged. These tutoring schools have rules and regulations to operate and find the best way to help students achieve good grades. This type of tutoring school is popular in modern society because the formal rationality and rationalization of society have made students try to get these tutoring schools. examination skills. In the sense of formal rationality, students must choose the best and most efficient way to achieve excellent results in exams in the education system. In other words, the streamlining elements of tutoring schools encourage students to move towards tutoring schools to achieve this goal. Students believe that learning exam skills in tutoring schools is the best and most effective way to achieve their goals under the institution and education system. Research has shown that more than 80% of students join tutoring schools to learn exam skills. Students reflected that tutoring school teachers can focus more on examination skills and guidance to strengthen their examination ability. From the perspective of tutoring schools, this is a high division of labor to increase efficiency, such as reception registration and teaching and preparation. teaching materials by tutor teachers, so that tutorial schools can operate in the most effective way. From the students' point of view, they could learn the exam skills in the most effective way because the tutoring schools would provide guidance to understand and answer students' questions. There are two examples that show how tutoring schools involved computability, counting students who perform well in DSE and calculating the probability of certain types of questions tested in DSE. As indicated in the section on McDonaldization, the quantity is..