An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals in a given community. Institutions can either be formal or informal; formal institutions are designed to make rules that help govern individuals, for instance, churches are social institutions that have a set of moral directions that the church members need to follow. On the other hand, informal institutions such as marriages also have their code of conduct that has to be adhered to by individuals married.
Functionalist perceptive explains social institution as a collective means to meet individual and social needs. Society is thought to function like organisms where various social institutions work together like organs to maintain and reproduce societies. This theory states that institutions arise and persist because they play a function in society, promoting integration and stability.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Conflict theory, on the other hand, sees the society as a dynamic entity that constantly undergoes change as a result of competition over scarce resources. It sees life as a contest and focuses on resource, power, and inequality distribution.
Explain why we need both macro sociology and micro sociology to understand social life.
Both macro and micro-sociology are important for sociologists as it provides a tool for analyzing the social world through different levels of analysis. Macro-sociology provides a tool to look at large scale social processes that include change and stability. It allows observation of large-scale patterns and trends; however, it runs the risk of seeing these trends as abstract entities existing outside the individual enacting them on the ground. The sole aim of macro-sociology is to study widespread social processes.
Micro-sociology focuses on small-scale interactions between individuals, for instance, conversation or group dynamics. It allows for the study of people in a face to face interaction. Micro-sociology focuses on the study of individuals at a more interpersonal level.
Characteristics of bureaucracy.
Max Weber put forth six principles to explain bureaucracy; the first principle states that a bureaucratic system has a formal hierarchy structure. Each level in the system controls the level below them. While working on a construction site as a risk manager, all the decisions were made from the highest level of management and then enforced downwards. The second principle is management by rules; the system is controlled by rules that are made at the highest level then they are applied. Organization by functional specialty is the other principle where work is done by specialists.
In my case, technicians such as plumbers and electricians should work in their area of specialty. Employment is based on technical qualification; in a bureaucratic system, the employment is on the technical qualification of the individual since one has to know what he or she is going to do in the company.
Concept of group think
“ Group think” is a process of reasoning by a group, mostly characterized by uncritical acceptance or a view agreed upon by many. In a group think situation, the members of a group try to adhere their opinions to that of the group. Group thinking can lead to devastating effects in the global platform. It might result in wars between countries; for instance, when a group of radical individuals’ team up together and decide that they want to fight for their ideas. Group thinking is almost impossible to stop; once it has been set rolling the members uphold the agreed opinions. An example of group thinking in the American scenario is the political issue currently taking place concerning elections. Some people support their candidate of preference based on group dynamics. They remain rigid to the opinion of the group even if the other candidate displays better qualities of leadership.
