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Functionalism its strengths and limitations
Four Importance of conflict theory in society
Conflict Theory and Society
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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”.
The “Outsiders” made me think about the rules that groups give us are strongly founded on what they see as defiance. It made me think that some rules are given within a group are not remotely necessary and that we as a society are to blame for what is deemed as “socially acceptable”. Deviants may not even be actually deviants but that’s what they are labeled by society because they think, what the deviant did was wrong, which could be made up by what society thinks is okay behavior. The relation to this reading and the sociology course shows how society controls us and how they consider we should act. It reminded me of how society tells us as women that showing off our body parts is deemed as trashy and not lady like, but men can do so without
Truman believed that the best policy to stop the spread of communism was to keep it from spread and contain the Communist ideology to the countries which had accepted it. This is contrary to what MacArthur had wanted. Macarthur believed that communism had to be stopped and the countries which had adopted the ideology needed to change. Truman’s policy was far better than MacArthur’s because it was easier on the Communist countries and would help countries from becoming overthrown by totalitarian regimes. If a communist country was to be attacked to eliminate communism, then the people of the country would also suffer.
Finally, the three sociological perspectives can be seen. Functionalist can be observed in the way
Conflict Theory American society today is made up of all three of the theories. In my opinion, these theories all thrive off each other as a whole. I feel that the chain is something like this, Symbolic Interactionism, as well as Functionalism, lead into Conflict Theory. However, I feel that Conflict Theory is by far the largest component American society is made from, here is why! First I would like to touch on Symbolic Interactionism, symbols we attach value or meaning.
In sociology, there are three theoretical perspectives; symbolic interactionism, functional analysis and conflict theory. The major point of symbolic interactionism is to use symbols to help understand how we as a society view the world, and how we communicate with one another. In functional analysis, the major point is to look at society as a whole, constructed of various parts, or groups, that all have their own function. Lastly, conflict theory is the opposite of functional analysis. In this perspective, society is viewed as different groups, each competing for power, or dominance.
I began my career as a Campus Police Officer for the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond while obtaining my Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. The reputation of the Broken Arrow Police Department made it my first choice when looking for a place to call home. I continued my education by obtaining a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Northeastern State University with some credits from the University of Virginia while serving as the Support Division Major. I have completed the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police CLEET certification course for Police Chiefs as required by state law. I am currently an adjunct-instructor teaching Criminal Justice studies for Tulsa Community College and previously Northeastern State University.
Functionalism Functionalism emphasizes how social structures maintain or undermine social stability in macrostructures (Brym,
The functionalism theory is a macro-level theory. It sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote equilibrium and stability. These parts may be functional, which means that the society has beneficial consequences. They may also be dysfunctional, which means that society will have negative consequences. Both of these together will create equilibrium among the society, which
By way of example, all three of the theoretical perspectives notably have idiosyncrasies about one another. As an illustration, structural functionalism is defined as Due to the fact that society consists of vital parts and systems they work in unison with each other to run smoothly. The people in the society contribute in myriad areas of interest in the process of structural functionalism. David Claerbaut states that these areas of interest, incorporate into society with: religion, economics, education, politics and family. On the other hand of living among each other actively working to create a seamless community we have the conflict theory.
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.
It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable. As such, it is a theory that focuses on the macro-level of social structure, rather than the micro-level of everyday life. Notable theorists include Herbert Spencer, Talcott Parsons, and Robert K. Merton. Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole
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).
While conflict theory believes that society is set into place, and will vary depending on the wealth and power of the people involved (Dottin). In conflict theory, there is a constant struggle between those who have, and those who have not. Society is ran by those who have money and power, and because of this there will always be inequality, and no one will ever be at peace or harmony. Functionalism is the study of society as a functioning system.
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.
