Unit 4

Unit 4: Social Structure

Areas covered

a.     Social organization- Forms of organization, level of organization.

b.    Individual differentiation- status, role, prestige

c.     Social stratification- Bases of stratification, values, attitudes and norms.

d.    Groups, types of groups

e.    Organization and institutions (Political Institution, Economics Institutions, Educational Institutions and family).

            

A.     Social Structure: Concept

The way in which people in groups are brought together and the manner in which they are distinguished is a basic area of study in the social and behavioral sciences. To understanding the fabric of society we must know about social structure. Interaction among people is possible under various arrangements, and it can be viewed at several levels of inquiry. Despite of equality and classless societies, there is no known human aggregate where all persons stand at the same level in their interrelationships with others in the group. The differential standing of individuals in a society can be based on many personal and social attributes. People may be differentiated and evaluated differently, on the basis of age, sex, race, skills, or other individual variables. How one lives, ancestry, and income are only some of the additional factors taken into consideration in a determination of social placement? Socioeconomic stratification will adjust the society permanently.Social structure may be seen to influence important social systems including the economic system, legal system, political system, cultural system, and others. Family, religion, law, economy and class are all social structures. The "social system" is the parent system of those various systems that are embedded in it

Although many people claim about equality and class less society there is social structure in each and every society and individuals have a different hierarchical position. There is a role for every one in society as per his/her position in the social structure.

Social Organization

The pattern of social organization may be said to be the basis for further study of group functioning in any setting. The structuring of the relations between individuals and group influences many aspects of behavior.

Forms of Social Organization:

The basic forms of social organization may be stated as being:

-          Kinship: Kinship refers to the bond of membership in the family. Primitive societies still rely on this form, although it is not unknown in more complex societies. The family run enterprise is still a strong entity in Europe and is not unknown in the United States.

-          Status:  Status is the person’s place in the social system. When an individual is treated according to the position he occupies, we have relationship based on status. A king, dependent child, CEO etc. may be recognized in terms of their position

-          Fealty: It is the personal relationship between individuals based on trust, loyalty, or other mutual benefits.  For example, a CEO of a company may rely on the loyalty of key people subordinate and not to the organization.

-          Contract: Contract is based on the exchange of one promise for another. The social results are more far reaching. Contracts emphasize free and responsible individual, one  able to organize  his own life as he sees fit or to ‘get the best bargain’  on his own merit

-          Coordination:  Coordination has been labeled in many ways.  For instance, Weber (1946) had defined coordination as bureaucracy while others have defined it as an organization society. For simplicity coordination can be defined the interaction of individuals working together in large enterprise. Organizations can function effectively through coordination.

Levels of Organization

Analyses of social structure can be made at various levels of social entities depending on whether the view of the researcher is limited to small and specific units or whether he looks at the ‘big picture’.

For convenience, we may define organization at three levels

-          The interpersonal level: An inquiry at the interpersonal level pinpoints individual interaction and deals with the bonds between single persons.

-          The group level:  In group level, the interaction between small set of individuals is analyzed and deals with the bonds between such set of individuals

-          The social order level: This level is the broadest study of group patterns of actions, particularly in system of social functioning. At this point entire community or society is involved.

B.      Individual Differentiation

A society had varying expectations of the contribution of each of its members can make to its functioning. Every position has its own duty. An individual in any social position needs to carryout the duties and responsibilities that are essential to be performed. Individual differentiation in social structure is affected by:

Status

The position people occupy in the society is known as status.  Status is very important in interpersonal relationship between individuals in the society. Lintion (1936) defined status as the collection of rights and duties of an individual.  An individual may have more than one status.  In our societies status is often linked with occupation. Doctors are considered to be of high status while farmers are considered to be of low status. An individual may have more than one status. For example, a person who works in a bank is a banker. He is also a husband, father, and many more. During the day (office time) the status of banker is more important but when he goes home the status of husband and father becomes more important. 

No individual should be judged in terms of his status because status is simply the position an individual hold in a given society. Status can be of two types:

a.       Achieved status: Status that is achieved through the effort of an individual. For example, a farmer’s child has a lower status at the time he is born but he can become a Prime Minister of the country through his effort. Such status obtained through one’s effort is known as achieved status.

b.      Ascribed status:  Certain statuses are fixed and cannot be changed by an individual. Such status is known as ascribed status. For example, a king’s child has a high status based on ancestry.

Role

Each and every status has a set of behavior pattern that is considered fit for the given status. Such set of behavior associated with status is known as role.  According to Linton (1936), a role “represents the dynamic aspects of status…… when an individual carries out rights and duties associates with his status, he is performing his role.”  For instance, when an individual has a status of banker he should behave and dress accordingly in order to show solidarity with his organization.  Or, an individual who has a status of father should show love and affection to his children. If he does not do so then we can say he is not fulfilling his role.

As individuals have different status, so they have multiple roles that is appropriate for each status.  Multiple roles can sometimes create problems when an individual does not know what role to perform in a new situation. For instance, a management trainee in a bank may be confused regarding what role to carryout as the banking activities are new to him/her.

Prestige

Prestige refers to the ranking on the basis of status and role.  Prestige is a value judgment based on the position an individual occupies on social scale or social stratification. Very often we put some occupations on higher social strata and some occupations on lower social strata. For instance occupation such as doctors, scientist, college professor etc. are regarded as highly prestigious position in the society while occupations such as barber, shoe shiner, truck driver etc.  are regarded as not that much prestigious status in the society.

Meaning of social stratification

In sociology social stratification is a concept involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions." It is a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. Social stratification is based on four basic principles: (1) Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences; (2) Social stratification carries over from generation to generation; (3) Social stratification is universal but variable; (4) Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well.

Bases of Social Stratification

The classification of people in various strata is done in three major ways:

1. Objective evaluation: in objective evaluation placement method, the determination of strata is done by an outside objective researcher. This outside researcher establishes some criteria which he believes to be important and active in that society.
2. Subjective placement: The subjective approach asks the individual to place themselves in different criteria. The questioning determines the class to which the respondent himself thinks he belongs.
3. Reputational selection: In this approach a member in the society is asked to act as a judge and he/she will put different individuals of the society in different ranking. Based on these ranking the individuals are put into different strata/layers.

Different social scientists have tried to identify social stratification on different dimensions. Max Weber identified three criteria for stratification- political power, prestige, and economic condition. Some of the criteria used for stratification are as follows:

-          Occupation

-          Income (amount and source)

-          Education (extent and type)

-          Race or ethnic status

-          Religion

-          Associations

-          Ancestry (inherited social position)

-          Manners

-          Ownership of property

-          Style of living

-          Authority

-          Power

-          Public service

-          Morals

Value, attitude and Norms (for different social class)

In order to make the study simpler we can classify the society into three classes: Upper class, Middle class and Lower class.  There are different aspects of values, attitudes and norms that can be analyzed from the perspective of social stratification. They are

-          Prestige:  Prestige is a prime motivator for the middle class individuals. Middle class highly value achievement and education. More children of upper and middle class families go to college. There is no such pressure in lower class families. Children from lower class may not go to college due to financial reasons. However, lower class families do not value education much. Thus they miss the opportunity of increasing their prestige in the society.

-          Lack of trust in authority:  Lower class people feel that they are exploited by political officials and they have high distrust on authority figures.  Such lack of trust leads to loss of confidence and feeling of inferiority.

-          Moderation vs radicalism: People in middle class and upper class have moderate views in relation to politics or religion. But people in lower class express strong feeling regarding politics and religion. They tend to be more radical.

-          Style of life: There is difference in the style of living for people of different class.  Type of entertainment used is different for people of different class.  People of different social class spend their money in different ways too.

Groups

A social group is an important unit in the total structure of the society. Study of group behavior is important because individual spend most their time in group with other people and are influenced by them. Group is a collection of two or more people. But only coming together is not a group. There must be some type of interaction among them. They all interact to achieve some specific goals. In the achievement of goal there is consensus or acceptance among all the members of the groups.

According to Robbins:” A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve a particular objectives.”

Types of groups

The groups can be of following types:

a.     Primary and Secondary Group

On the basis of intimacy and physical proximity among members the division between primary and secondary group is done. In primary group there is more close and emotional contact between the members. Individuals remain in close face to face contact for long time. For example, family, play group, neighborhood etc. can be considered as primary group. Primary groups are found in simple societies.

On the other hand secondary groups lack close contact and warm emotional attachment. There is less frequent contact and less intense interaction among the members. There is impersonality among members. For example, students of large universities, employees of large industry etc. can be regarded as secondary group. Secondary group is found in modern, complex industrialized societies.

b.    Formal and informal group:

Formal group: Formal group has a well defined structure, rules and work procedure. The members of the group have to follow the rules, work procedure and structure.

Informal group:  Informal group does not have a well defined structure. The interaction between the members is casual and spontaneous.

c.     Membership and reference group

The group to which an individual belongs is called membership group. But sometime people do not behave according to the norms of their group but according to the norms of other groups because they find the other group more attractive. This other group with which the person identifies himself/herself is called a reference group. For example,  a Brahmin from Brahmin group is a member of that group. However he may be interested to be a part of another caste group because he likes their lifestyle or other things. IN this case the group to which he wants to belong is a reference group.

d.    In group and out-group

An in-group is a group to which we belong and to which we feel loyalty. An out-group is a group to which we do not belong and to which we feel no loyalty. We judge people to be members of our group based on factors including religion, race, nationality, job category, and level of education. When we meet a person for the first time, we often size them up to see if they are “one of us.” One person’s perception of another to be a member of the same group can foment feelings of loyalty or shared identity. Individuals who meet by chance and happen to share something in common, such as their hometown or alma mater, often feel an immediate kinship.

Example: Muslims As an Out-Group in the United States

The perception that someone is a member of an out-group can lead to competition, discrimination, and even hatred. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, many people viewed followers of Islam as members of the out-group and developed an “us-and-them” attitude that vilified Muslims. The in-group became Americans who were not Muslim, and the out-group became members of the Muslim faith, regardless of nationality.

Organization

Organization is not merely a large group of individuals. An organization is a consciously coordinated social entity, with relatively identifiable boundary that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.  There are certain feature that distinguish organization. Those features are:

1.    Complexity: Complexity considers the extent of differentiation within organization. This includes the degree of specialization or division of labor, the number of levels in the organization’s hierarchy and the extent to which the organization’s units are dispersed geographically.

2.    Formalization: Formalization refers to the degree to which an organization relies on rules and procedures to direct the behavior of employee. Some organizations operate with a minimum of such standardized guidelines, others, some of which, are even quite small in size, have all kinds of regulations instructing employees as to what they can and cannot do.

3.    Centralization: Centralization considers where the locus of decision-making authority lies. In some organization decision making is highly centralized. Problems flow upwards, and the senior executives choose the appropriate action. In other cases, decision making is decentralized. Authority is dispersed downward in the hierarchy.

Institutions

Institutions are large group of individuals whose behavior is governed by norms. The members in the institution are closely bonded to each other for a common cause, usually this common cause is related with a common set of values. Institution can be identified as political, economical, military, educational and religious.  For example Hindu religion is an institution in Nepal. Though there is no formalization (set of rules and regulation) all the members (Hindu people) are closely bonded by the norms of Hindu religion. Similarly political parties are also institutions where members of the party are governed by the norms of the given party.

Types of institutions

Institutions may be identified as political, economic, educational or family. These institutions are briefly described below:

·         Political Institution

Political institutions are organizations which create, enforce, and apply laws; that mediate conflict; make (governmental) policy on the economy and social systems; and otherwise provide representation for the population. Examples of such political institutions include political parties, trade unions, and the (legal) courts. The term 'Political Institutions' may also refer to the recognized structure of rules and principles within which the above organizations operate, including such concepts as the right to vote, responsible government, and accountability.

Max Weber identified bureaucracy as an apolitical entity to function as modern state. Bureaucracy is the combined organizational structure, procedures, protocols, and set of regulations in place to manage activity, usually in large organizations. As opposed to adhocracy, it is often represented by standardized procedure (rule-following) that guides the execution of most or all processes within the body; formal division of powers; hierarchy; and relationships, intended to anticipate needs and improve efficiency.A rational and impersonal handling of government duties is the hallmark of a bureaucracy.

·         Economic Institution

The term economic institutions refers to the social institution through which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed. Like the other social institutions, it shapes some aspects of the social order and is, in turn, influenced by them. Sociologists have developed a classification of societies on the basis of their economic systems. They are:  preindustrial society and industrial society.

The present industrial societies can be further divided on the basis economic systems:

-          Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are largely in private hands and the main goal of economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

-          Socialism: Socialism is an economic system under which the means of production and distribution are collectively owned. The basic objective of this economic system is to meet people's needs rather than to make profits.

·         Education

Educational institutions are important socializes in their own right, but they do not function independently of other social factors. Political and economic institutions help shape educational structure and functioning and it influenced by the intellectual and social processes within the school systems. The school has long been the one vehicle for the transmission of basic cultural premises as part of the educational process. Individuals from higher strata are more likely to go further in school, be available for better positions. An educational institution is another term for a school, college, or university

Types of Education Institutions

-          Preschool - an educational institution for children too young for elementary school 

-          School -  Education institution for   imparting basic or foundation  knowledge.

-          college - an institution of higher education created to educate and grant degrees; often a part of a university

-           University - a large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees.

·         The family

A family is a relatively permanent group of persons linked together in social roles by ties of blood, marriage, or adoption—and who live together and cooperate economically in the rearing of children.  Hence, the family is not only a biological but a social unit as well. The basic unit of the family is the wife-husband pair and their children.  When the married pair and their children form an independent household living apart from other kin, we call them a nuclear family.  When they live with other kin, such as parents or siblings, we refer to them as an extended family.

The term family had been defined by various sociologists and anthropologists.  Murdock (1949), after studying over 250 multi-cultural societies defines family as a  “social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and  reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children - own or adopted - of the sexually cohabiting adults. The “household” is said to be the “living arrangement” of such a family unit.