Leah Sabatino
Intro to Sociology
Professor Jafar
11/27/12

Bureaucracies and Mental Hospitals

We often judge a book by its cover, and the same connection can be made when we think of mental hospitals and the people who work in them. In Rosenhan’s writings, On Being Sane in Insane Places, he talks about how his five concepts of bureaucracies relate directly to the environment of a mental health hospital. In Weber’s opinion a bureaucracy would run smoothly if it had the following components, efficiency, division of labor, hierarchy of positions, governance obey rules, impersonality and employment based on technical qualifications. The two components I think that are most easily relatable to both Rosenhan’s writings and that we can relate to in our society are hierarchy of positions and impersonality. Hierarchy of positions means that those in a work place who hold a higher rank, think they are better or more valuable than those who are below them. The higher up you are on this ladder means in many cases more benefits. This makes those believe they can treat other workers or patients who are below them with less respect. They maintain a mind set that since they are ‘labeled” as being in higher positions they think they hold more authority and power. Hierarchy of position can be easily defined as a division between workers, where each level is seen as secondary to the one below it. This ranking can also relate to Weber’s other characteristics of bureaucracy, employment based on technical qualifications. Many times, this level separating workers is based on work experience, age and also their advancements they have in that job field. This hierarchy of labor is a result of putting together a group of people based on their ability and skills. In my opinion Weber believes this is a main component of running a bureaucracy because it can drive competition to move up in rank. Also it shows workers who are in lower positions, a model of what it takes to move up. In Rosenhan’s writings this hierarchy of workers is present in many scenarios. For example those who are higher up on the ladder in work situations see those who work under them as lesser, and not as well respected. Same with the workers in mental health hospitals. They think that since these patients are even in here and labeled mentally ill that they shouldn’t receive dignity and respect and are treated more like animals than people. In Rosenhans article, he mentioned how the tempers of the workers where short and they would often beat their patients if they looked at them the wrong way or said something they thought was out of line. “A patient who had not heard for a call for medicine would be roundly excoriated, and the morning attendants would often wake patients with, Come on, you mother f----,s---, out of bed.”(Rosenhan, 256) What makes the workers any different or better than the patients and make them think that they could talk to them like that? In this case, it was simply hierarchy of position. No matter what the patients did it didn’t matter they had no say or opinion, they were seen as inferior. However it is not just hierarchy among patients and workers but also staff themselves. Doctors and nurses, certainly are not held to the same standards. Rosenhan states that those who have the most experience and who are at the top are those who spend the least time with the patients. This is where lower level workers get the idea that this is okay. They assume or learn that if their bosses and doctors don’t need to spend time with the patients and they to want to become doctors and hold higher positions then they should follow suit. The doctors and nurses who work in these mental health hospitals also believe that it is not their fault or issue that their patients are upset and think they are simply just crazy because of their diagnosis. “A nurse coming upon the scene would rarely inquire even curiously into the environment stimuli of the patient’s