ipl-logo

Conflict Functionalism And Conflict Analysis

750 Words3 Pages

In sociology, the theories we are provided with allows us to view the world we live in today from different perspectives. A theory is defined as a group of general propositions that are tested and usually used as a tool for either an explanation or a prediction. The main three theories found in sociology makes it easier for us to understand and it also provides us with understndable reasoning on the behavior occuring in our sociey and why they happen. The classical theoretical frameworks consist of conflict, functionalism, and symbolic theory. In my short essay I will be going in depth on what and how conflict & functionalism theories can be used to explain the social context in which we live. The conflict theory was founded by Karl Marx. The conflict theories perspective, views society as composed of many heterogeneous groups and competing for dominance and resources and capital. …show more content…

However, the workers are also seeking higher wages. If the owners decide to keep their wages to a restricted pay where the employees aren’t satisfied, they can go on strike or come together and form a labor union and negotiate with the owners until they’ve reached an agreement to increase their wages. Also, another exampe in society would be healthcare. Healthcare is a reflection of inequalities in our society. The main issue is how accessible health care is, due to all the privatization and bureaucratization they’ve been allowed to manipulate and inflate prices making it hard for people to get the care they need. There should be a policy that improves healthcare for the lower class. This example shows how conflict theory is battle for dominace or higher ranking in the society we live in today. In contrast to the conflict theory, theres the functionalism theory. The functionalism theory is the opposite of the conflict theory. Functionalism implies that society is coming together to work together and each aspect of

Show More
Related
232 Words | 1 Pages

I look at functionalism from the perspective of my career. Working in a doctor’s office takes every department working together as a whole in order to provide the best care for the patients. Functionalism uses a macrolevel of analysis because it takes several different people in several departments to come together as a whole to help the patients sustain their health. If we do not work together the patients will not get the care that they deserve. I view conflict theory from the perspective of the film “The Outsiders”.

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

Functionalism explains how the interactions between human beings shapes the rest of the society. Racial profiling results from the interactions between the individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. Their behaviour is shown through symbols like courts and jails. The way individuals are treated depending on their ethnic origins is shown through these institutions (An introduction to sociology, 2014, para

Read More
315 Words | 2 Pages

In response to Maya Jackson paper. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this assignment. Maya did an excellent job in explaining concept of theory, it’s function and the three major theoretical paradigms of Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Maya further detail theory by stating that theories are a constant change and that it adapts to our culture. I agree that theories serve as a basis for explaining how we interact with one another, because we can use theories as a broad guideline to explain social phenomena’s happening around our daily throughout the world.

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

We look are homelessness and functionalism and  how on a macro leave how it affects homeless. We also look at the programs that available for people.        Explanations using sociology theory    The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology.   Edward Durkheim, was the regional person who was greatly interested in seeing how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.

Read More
386 Words | 2 Pages

Looking at society as a whole with individual units that work together to make society function efficiently is the structural functionalism concept. Each unit has a part and is describe as institutions such as family, religion, education, politics, economy and inequality. Because structural functionalism looks at social structure and patterns of behavior it is able to create values for society. As well as, distinguish between visible and suppressed problems within the social structures that may need to be addressed. For instance, homelessness is indication of dysfunction in structural functionalism system.

Read More
353 Words | 2 Pages

Without each part represented and fulfilled the structure may be considered something else. This is the view of the Functionalist Theory. Each part of society plays a particular role, without which there will be no stability. The functionalist society consists of the social, political, intellectual, religious, economic and technological entities. It is evident in many instances that our society is indeed interrelated.

Read More
241 Words | 1 Pages

Social Prejudices and Symbolic Interactionism Wm Hayden Locke Darton State College   In sociology there are three different sociological perspectives used to study and explain sociological phenomena. These are structural functionalism (which focuses on how each part of society functions and works towards contributing to the while), conflict theory (which looks at the way social inequalities contribute to society as a whole), and symbolic interactionism (which deals with one-to-one interactions and communications between people within social groups).

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

Functionalists have a tendency to mistake the legitimisation employed by elites in society for social reality (Harré, 2002). The

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

Theoretically, functional analysis and the conflict theory share similarities because they both comprehend society's at a larger viewpoint and both group individuals together by class or either symbols. Rather than this functionalist approach beginning with the individual, the functionalist analysis of deviance begins with society as a whole. The functionalist perspective believes deviance serves two primary roles in creating social stability for a society. The first primary goal is systems of recognizing and punishing deviance create norms and tell members of a given society how to properly behave by laying out the guidelines of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Mainly, everyone must be aware of what behaviors are considered deviant in order to avoid an unsettling society.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

Most fields of science rely on theories to explain centrally important issues, such as social phenomena, that have a wide range of applications. Sociologists attempt to describe human society though their theories, such as the structural-functionalism theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. While the three theories attempt to describe how society functions the way it does, all three differ in their views of how humans are related to society and each other. In the structural-functionalism, the dominant view is that if the structures that exist are functional, then those structures should be preserved and maintained. Structure-functionalists tend focus on the interrelatedness to the social structures that make up society.

Read More
915 Words | 4 Pages

The conflict theory is a macro-level theory where theorists look at the unequal distribution of resources such as money, power, education, and social prestige. Those who are wealthier and more educated than others in the society hold more power over those who are not wealthy or as educated. Conflict theorists see this a lot in the educational system, where inequality is shown through the materials in the school, teachers in the classrooms, and topics being taught. This type of inequality leads to learning differences that emphasizes social inequalities. Macro-level sociology is looking at the bigger picture of the social process, such as stability and change throughout society.

Read More
784 Words | 4 Pages

Structural Functional Theory Structural functional theory is a macro sociological theory that is based on the characteristics of structures, social patterns, social systems and institutions such as education, religion, leisure, media, economy and politics. If all these social institutions are organized and co-operate with one another around a set of core values functionalist theorists assume that the entire social system will function properly and efficiently. Society in structural functional theory has a view that it is an organized system of interrelated parts that are held together by shared values and established social arrangements that help maintain the system to be in a state of balance and equilibrium. Structural functional theory is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions (Vibha Desai, 2013).

Read More
727 Words | 3 Pages

It’s often known as the consensus theory due to the fact that in functionalism everything works together, there is complete agreement. It doesn’t take into account social factors that may affect aspects of life. On the contrary, it views society as a system in which all parks work together to make everything work in consensus (Dottin). Emilie Durkheim said, “There are two types of men: the great and the small” (Durkheim). This leads us into the discussion of the inequality of functionalism.

Read More
1740 Words | 7 Pages



Emile Durkheim developed a theory called functionalism, which explained how the individual and society were related and how society changed over time. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. Durkheim believed that society should be analyzed and described in terms of functions. Society is a system of interrelated parts where no one part can function without the other. These parts make up the entirety of society and therefore, if one part changes, society is impacted.

Read More
836 Words | 4 Pages

While studying sociology, every individual will have a distinct perspective and depending on the particular subject, not everyone will have the same viewpoint on the topic at hand. With this, Sociology consists of many different approaches, commonly known as “Sociology theories” These theories are distinctive and diverse, providing a different perspective for understanding different situations in society. With there being a wide variety of approaches such as “Feminist,” “Labelling,” and “Critical,” for instance, the top three major approaches representing Sociology are, “Structural Functionalism,” “Conflict Theory,” and “Symbolic Interactionism.” This paper will be comparing the differences and similarities between “Structural-Functionalism” approach and the “Symbolic Interactionism” approach. To start

Read More

More about Conflict Functionalism And Conflict Analysis

Open Document