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Instrumental action (also known as goal-instrumental action, ''zweckrational'') is a social action pursued after evaluating its consequences and consideration of the various means to achieve it. They are usually planned and taken after considering costs and consequences. An example would be most economic transactions of ''Homo economicus.'' When employing this type of action, a person views his/her opponent as if he/she were a mere object or organizational resource (rather than another actor) and attempts to manipulate the opponent to act according to his/her wishes. Depending on the authority and status of the relationships between these two persons within the organizational context, one could issue an order to the opponent or use other means to obtain compliance. In trying to enact coherent meaning of the action and the action situation, the person who is subjected to instrumental action will normally reflect upon the appropriateness of the action. Is the action efficient for achieving the required ends (MIS Quarterly 1997, p. 154). == Theorists == Since the 1960s, Jürgen Habermas has made notable contributions to many aspects of sociology and philosophy. He is probably best known for his first major work, Theory of Communicative Action (1982). In Habermas' action typology, he draws a distinction between two types of action: communicative action, where actions are based on the recognition of validity claims; and instrumental action. Habermas argues that instrumental action is always parasitic on communicative action. Therefore instrumental action alone can not form a stable system of social action (()). Habermas' entire work aims to defend and continue the enlightenment project against the challenge of Max Weber's instrumental action (()). Max Weber (1921) presented the idea of instrumental action as the "highest form of rational conduct"(Scott p. 570). The orientation of instrumental action is an ideal type in more than just a methodological sense (Scott). Weber's concept of instrumental action is known as "zweckrational". Zweckrational is just one of Weber's four ideal types of social action, which also includes wertrational (rational action in relation to a value), affective or emotional action, and traditional action. Weber believed that human behavior was increasingly becoming guided more by zweckrational action and less by tradition, values and emotions (()). Karl Marx used instrumental action in connection to the philosophy of labor. Marx reduced the process of reflection to the level of instrumental action. By doing this Marx reduces the self-positing of the absolute ego down to more physical productive activity (Habermas, 1968). Marx also connects instrumental action to his concept of Versachlichung. This is because of the idea that "communicative social relations can and are being replaced by objectified and externalized relations between things" (Scott p. 571). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Instrumental action」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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