1. Does this case support or contradict Weber’s arguments about the monolithic power position of bureaucracy in society? Both cases, How Kristen Died and The Columbia Accident supported everything Weber described. Weber wanted to maximize efficiency as well as eliminate favoritism. Weber’s overall reason for creating bureaucracy was so that a new administrative system could be created that would treat all humans equally. Neither story portrayed equality. How Kristen Died, is a perfect example of inequality. According to the article Kristin was “not the woman in the case we were supervising”, alternatively what they were implying was that although she is a woman in fear of her life we can’t protect her because she isn’t the initial complaint, Rose was. Which goes back to Weber’s overall reason for creating bureaucracy, so that all humans can be treated equally. 2. What does this case say about the nature of bureaucratic rationality? In terms of how rational bureaucracy was regarding this case, How Kristen Died is very rational throughout this entire case. Without bureaucracy the following events that transpired following the unfortunate death of Kristen would have never happened. Although her death was a misfortunate event that should have and could have been avoided, her death did not go in vain. This case was …show more content…
Focusing on the case How Kristen Died, unfortunately almost everyone played a key factor in showing a lack of rule enforcement. According to the article, there were several naive decisions made that could have hindered this heinous killing from occurring. For example, sending Cartier, who had a prior history of violence and domestic abuse to an educational program as an alternative for his behavior, verses sending him to jail or to receive psychiatric help. Allowing him to continue these violent acts with little to no