Functionalism_in_Society

Functionalism holds that society is a complex system whose various parts work together to produce stability and solidarity. According to this approach, the discipline of sociology should investigate the relationship of paths of society to each other and to society as a whole. We can analyze the religious beliefs and customs of a society, for example, by showing how they relate to other institutions within it, for the different parts of a society develop in close relation to one another. To study the function of social practice or institution is to analyze the contribution which that practices, or institution, makes to the continuation of society. Functionalists including Comte and Durkheim, have often used an organic analogy to compare the operation of society to that of a living organism. They argue that the parts of Society work together, just as the various parts of a human body do, for the benefit of society. To study a bodily organ like# a heart, we need to show how it relates to other parts of the body. By pumping blood around the body, the heart plays a Vito role in the continuation of the organism. Similarly, analyzing the function of a social item means showing the parts it plays in the continued existence and health of the society. Functionalism emphasizes the importance of moral consensus, in maintaining order and stability in society. Moral consensus exists when most people in a society share the same values. Functionalists regard order and balance as the normal state of society- this social equilibrium is grounded in the existence of moral consensus among the members of society. For instance, Durkheim, believed that religion reaffirms people’s adherence to core social values, there by contributing to the maintenance of social cohesion. Until the 1960s, functionalist thought was probably the leading theoretical tradition in sociology particularly in the United States. Robert K Merton (1990) distinguished between manifest and latent functions. Manifest functions are those known to, intended by, the participants in a specific type of social activity. Latent Functions are consequences of that activity of which participants are unaware. To illustrate this distinction, Merton used the example of a rain dance performed by the Hopi tribe of Arizona and New Mexico. The Hopi believe that the ceremony will bring the rain they need for their crops (manifest function). This is why they organize and participate in it. But the rain dance, Merton argued, using Durkheim’s theory of religion, also has the effect of promoting the cohesion of Hopi society (latent function). A major part of sociological explanation, according to Merton, consists of uncovering latent function of social activities and institutions. Merton also distinguished between functions and dysfunctions. To look for the dysfunctional aspect of social behavior means, focusing on features of social life that challenge the existing order of things. For example, it is mistaken to suppose that religion is always functional – that it contributes only to social cohesion. When to groups support different religions or even different versions of the same religion, the result can be major social conflict, causing wide spread social disruption. Thus, wars have often been fought between religious communities – as can be seen in the struggle between Protestants and Catholics in the European history. In recent years, the popularity of functionalism has began to wane as its limitations have become apparent. While this was not true of Merton, many functionalist thinkers unduly stressed factors leading to social cohesion at the expense of those producing division and conflict. The focus on stability and order means that divisions or inequalities in society – based on factors such as class, race and gender – are minimized. There is also less emphasis on the role of creating social action within society. Many critics have argued that functional analysis attributes to society’s social qualities that they do not have. Functionalist often wrote as though societies have ‘needs’ and ‘purposes’, even though these concepts have sense only when applied to individual human beings. Merton, noted that bureaucrats are trained to rely strictly on written rules and procedures. They are not encouraged to be flexible, to use their own judgment in making decisions or to seek creative solutions; bureaucracy is about managing cases according to a set of objective criteria. Merton feared that this rigidity could lead to bureaucratic ritualism, a situation in which the rules are upheld at any cost, even in cases were another solution might be a better one for the organisation as a whole. A second concern of Merton is that adherence to the bureaucratic rules could eventually take precedence over the underlined organizational goals. Because so much emphasis is placed on the correct procedure, it is possible to lose sight of the big picture. A bureaucrat responsible of processing insurance claims, for example, might refuse to compensate a policy-holder for legitimate damages sighting the absence or incorrect completion of a form. In other words, processing the claim correctly could come to take precedence over the needs of the client who has suffered a loss. Merton foresaw the possibility of tension between the public and bureaucracy in such a case, this concern was not entirely misplaced. Most of us interact with large bureaucracies on a regular basis – from insurance companies to local governments to the Inland Revenue. Not infrequently, we encounter situations in which public servants and bureaucrats seem to be unconcerned with our needs. One of the major weaknesses of bureaucracy is the difficulty it has in addressing cases that need special treatment and consideration. Most importantly, for Durkheim, through education and particularly by learning history, children gain an understanding of the common inquiries in society, uniting a multitude of separate individuals. These common values will include religious and moral beliefs, and a sense of self discipline. Durkheim believes that education enables children to internalize the social rules that contribute to the functioning of society. In industrial societies, Durkheim argues (1925), education also has another function in the socialization of children: it teaches the skills needed to perform specialist occupations. In traditional societies, occupational skills could be learnt within the family. As a society became more complicated and a division of labour emerged in the production of goods, an educational system developed that could pass on the skills needed to fill the various specialized, occupational roles. A different functionalist approach to education is found in the works of the American sociologist, Talcott Parsons. Whereas Durkheim was concerned in the way in which the 19th century French society was becoming increasingly individualistic and argued that education created social solidarity, in the mid 20th century, Parsons believed that the function of education was to instill the value of individual achievement in a child. This value was crucial to the functioning of industrialized societies, but it could not be learnt in the family. Families treat children in a particular way. A child’s status in the family is ascribed; it is largely fixed from birth. By contract, a child’s status in school is largely achieved. In schools, children are assessed according to universal standards such as exams. For Parsons, the function of education is to enable children to move from the particularistic standards of the family to the universal standards needed in modern, adult society. According to Parsons, school, like wider societies largely operate on a meritocratic basis: children achieve their status according to merit (or worth) rather than according to their sex, race or class (Parsons and Bales 1956). However, Parsons’s view that schools operate on meritocratic principles have been subject to much criticism. Sociologists influenced by social conflict theories have highlighted the way in which ascribed inequalities are reproduced in the education system.