Week 1 – Application Assignment: Bureaucracy and its Impact on Society
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This assignment supports the following unit objectives:
Discuss the importance of sociology for everyday life.
Assignment Overview
Max Weber’s theories on bureaucracy, as a form of social organization, contained a number of references to the dysfunctions of this type of social
organization. A key idea is that they are iron cages where the ability to act outside the system is stifled, which in turn harms people who depend on an
organization’s response to a crisis.
A good example of this “stifling” effect is one that Floridians know well — the government’s response to hurricanes. How many of us have been or know
someone who has been impacted by a hurricane, and then further victimized by a government who fails to provide relief to victims, or by endless processes,
procedures and red tape that creates barriers to timely relief.
This week we will be looking at how bureaucracies failed Americans during the early days of and the ongoing state of the coronavirus pandemic.
Please check out this article from last year that discusses bureaucratic responses to the pandemic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/government-hollowed-out-weaknesses/ (Links to an external site.)
Here are a couple of videos to learn more about bureaucracy in general :
Problems with the Bureaucracy (Links to an external site.)
Problems with the Bureaucracy
What is Bureaucracy? | Features | Advantages | Disadvantages | PPT | Principles of Management | (Links to an external site.)
What is Bureaucracy? | Features | Advantages | Disadvantages | PPT | Principles of Management |
Deliverables
A Word document 300 words for the length requirement, in 12-point font, double spacing, APA citations (including a title and reference page), and utilizes
paragraph format with complete sentences. This assignment should also respond to the following question thoroughly and thoughtfully: Write about a recent
example of the damage bureaucracies created during the coronavirus pandemic?
Activity Details
Perform the following tasks:
Step 1: Choose an aspect of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that was beleaguered or made worse by bureaucracy
You can choose from any aspect of the pandemic — from the initial days to the vaccine rollout to any of the governmental programs (rent assistance,
extended unemployment, PPP loans, etc) — and discuss how the government’s or organization’s bureaucracy hampered the effectiveness / efficiency of the
response to the negative conditions created by the pandemic.
Step 2: Write your essay
As you write this assignment make sure that you provide a solid explanation of HOW the bureaucracy or bureaucratic process caused damage. Develop and
prove your assertion by using quotes, citations and references to support your work.
Step 3: Look over your Assignment for Spelling or Grammar Errors.
It is always a good idea to proofread your work prior to submission. Take this time to read over your assignment and make sure you have thoroughly and
thoughtfully explained your responses to the criteria listed above.
Step 4: Make sure to put your assignment in a Word document (12-point font)