Organizational Structure
Task 01 1) Discuss different organization structures and identify the type of organizational structure that do you thinks suitable for your selected organization?
Organizational structure Organizational structure is the way in witch an organization's activities (job tasks) are divided, organized and coordinated. Organizational structure is the way in which and work, authority resources of an organization have been divided among members.
Types of organizational structure ▪ Entrepreneurial structure ▪ Bureaucratic structure ▪ Matrix structure
Entrepreneurial structure
Most organizations start life as an entrepreneurial structure in that...show more content...
A useful example is retail banking or the work of building societies. Here the operations have to be standardized, not only in all branches of the same bank but also between competing banks, so that customers find the system easy to deal with. The work of bank clerks and, in a different way, bank managers requires knowledge, skill and accuracy, but it must be carried out strictly in accordance with the rules and there is little scope for individuality apart from one's manner in talking with customers and manual dexterity in counting banknote. Bureaucracy provides scope for economies of scale and extensive specialization at the expense of flexibility and product innovation. Their predictability provides a secure environment for the employee and a clear line of safe career progression.
Chief Executive
The matrix structure
As the entrepreneurial and bureaucratic structures have such obvious drawbacks, a third general mode has been evolved and used IV some situations: the matrix. The method is simply to overlay a second set of hierarchical connections over a first, but at right–angles to it. This was first developed in the American aerospace industry because of government demands for a single project manager who would be responsible for the progress of each government contract and to whom government officials could channel all their queries and instruction. Companies
Essay about Cisco Systems
COMPANY CASE
Cisco Systems: Solving Business Problems Through Collaboration
1. Discuss the nature of the market structure and the demand for Cisco's products.
The nature of the market structure and demand of Cisco Systems is its business market which contains fewer but larger companies. For Cisco Systems, this implies that even though they have fewer clients than other companies, they still have a good and profitable relationship with their clients. For the customers of Cisco Systems, this implies that they will receive better and faster service and products because they don't have to compete for the attention and service of Cisco Systems. The business market is derived from final consumer demand which means Cisco Systems must...show more content...
For Cisco Systems, if the demand fluctuates more and more quickly therefore they have to supply their customers more and more quickly and efficiently. They also have to improve and adjust their products/supplies in order to satisfy their clients' needs that would then satisfy the final consumers' needs. For customers for Cisco Systems, this implies that they would want more and more or they would want less than what is supplied. This means that they want something more or they want something less or something else that makes the demand for business market fluctuate more and more quickly. 2. Given the industries in which the Cisco competes, what are the implications for the major types of buying situations?
Straight rebuys: It is widely known that whenever purchase cycles come up, technology also changes. Cisco engages in the field of high technology which implies that they usually have few truly straight rebuys. Because of this, their corporate buyers may try to find better alternatives to replace the ones they already have. Because straight buys are when buyers routinely purchase something without modification, this would likely occur in the situation of Cisco when a client orders a set of router or switches shortly after purchasing the same items. A gradual rollout replacement or an expansion could be the cause of this.
Modified rebuy: Modified rebuy is when a buyer wants to modify a product's specifications,
Introduction Organizations are effective when they accomplish their mission and goals. Mangers and leaders need to continually verify if, "This helps our team reach the organization's goal" If not, then it must be contributing to an effective organization. The list of possible actions an organization can take to improve is endless. However, there are some contributing factors that have been proven to help an organization to reach their goals time and time again. This paper will address how effective organizations exhibit strength in organizational structure, communication, management, conflict resolution, and culture. By implementing these five strengths an organization will be effective.
Organizational structure
Organizational structure is the framework in which a group is organized to function and reach the goals set by the organization. More specifically, "structure describes how members are accepted, leadership is chosen, and how decisions are made" (University of Kansas, 2016). In addition, an organizational structure will provide "a roadmap for internal promotions, allowing companies to create solid employee advancement tracks for entry–level workers." (Ingram, 2016). This career roadmap is essential to developing employees and creating a fair and equitable environment where employees will want to work. Organizations rely on the structure to provide the foundation for communication, management, conflict resolution, and perpetuating the desired culture – the other
Essay on Ideology
French philosopher Destutt de Tracy originally coined the term "ideology" at the end of the 18th century to create a science that would provide a rational foundation for the study and critique of ideas. Instead, the term has become an extremely challenged and changeable concept. The term "ideology" is used to refer to a system of mutually dependent ideas, principles, traditions, gatherings, and even folklore that functions as a routine frame of reference. These routine ideas are taken for granted and used to interpret, understand, and guide values in a certain direction against those of other ideologies. Ideologies in this sense then are a species of beliefs that involve foundational norms and routines that are typically...show more content...
Power and power relations are woven throughout all our practices and ideas. Power is exercised in every relationship, group, and social practice, and it is not necessarily detrimental. One must not forget that social order relies, in varying degrees, but ultimately, on the ability of one person or group to coerce another person or group, and that the basis of Law. Some conceptions of ideology play down the emphasis on power and see ideology as the structure of assumptions, which form the imaginative world of groups. Louis Althusser has written, "A representation of the imaginary relation of individuals to the real condition of existence." Further, Althusser writes, ideology creates us as persons and it "hails" us, calling us into being.
This dominance of an ideology need not be the result of any numerical advantage by a social group, but a matter of authority or power it possesses. This use of the term, then describes a process by which people lacking the power to assert themselves come to accept reluctantly a limited problematic ideologies and their accompanying values and attitudes. According to Marx, ideology naturalizes, it historicizes, and it eternalizes. Marx viewed ideological power as largely a matter of control exerted by the privileged "ruling classes" over the lower classes. The acceptance by disadvantaged classes of existing social, economic and
Advantages Of Formal Business Structure
Question 1
Define organizational structure and discuss some of the problems/challenges of keeping and running businesses structure less. Support your arguments with hypothetical examples
Large or small, every organization should operate with a defined organizational structure . A structure of an organization is the base that illustrates how a business runs, and how the powers, resources, activities and tasks are distributed. It helps in putting every person working within that organization in their suitable role or position. A structure gives a business and identity and provides continuity. Organizations can be structured in many different ways, depending on their objectives, products and the services that they provide. This helps the work...show more content...
Formal organizational structure lays more affirmation on work.
Organizes and focuses on achieving the goals and objectives of the organization.
Provides a framework for the allocation of responsibilities and authority. It is structure that makes it clear for employees to know who reports to whom and who does what work. In other words, a formal structure helps people to work together.
Formal business structure can align all activities and objectives of the different departments and project teams. The key to effective coordination is information. For example: how do service delivery teams share information about their customers and the areas of work they are planning to develop.
Establishes an identity for the business. For example: suppliers and customers need to be able to identify whom to contact within the business.
Makes the process of decision making easier and more efficient.
Without a structure there're possibilities for people to constantly change and set up new systems and plans in response to new situation. A structure can provide continuity.
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Mg/561 Organizational Structure
Date: January 18, 2013
To: MG 561 Class
From: Jessica Rushing
Subject: "Organizational Structure"
Introduction:
Organizational structure provides the framework of an organization determining how roles and responsibilities are delegated throughout the different levels of the organization. It has been defined by some as the looking glass through which coworkers see their organization and its surrounding environment while others have described structure as the backbone of the organization. In this memo, I will briefly discuss the importance of organizational structure, give examples of some major organizational structures, and provide factors influencing the choice of organizational structure.
Importance of Organizational...show more content...
For organizations which produce standardized goods and services, a functional service is beneficial. Within this structure, employees perform very specialized tasks (Naoum, 2001). For example, an engineering department would be staffed with only software engineers. Divisional structures, also known as product structures, groups each function into a division. Automobile industries typically use this divisional structure. Within this industry, divisions may include: SUVs, subcompact cars, and sedans. Although not discussed in detail in this memo, other organizational structures include: organizational circle, team, network, lattice, and virtual ("Organizational Structure", 2013).
Factors influencing the choice of Organizational Structure
The following factors can affect the type of structure which an organization may use: strategy, characteristics, management, operation, and environment. Strategy is the most important factor influencing type of structure. According to Phillips and Gulley in their book Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success, higher performance will be achieved if structure and strategy are directly related). Organizational characteristics include the age and size of the organization. If the organization is small, there is less need for formal structure as communication
Hospital's Organizational Structure Hospitals have organizational structures that allows them to carry out their duties efficiently and successfully. What separates the organizational structure of a healthcare organization from a business, essentially that the hospital 's organization is chiefly founded on the amalgamation of medical and administrative staff (Carayon, et al., 2014). The organizational structure of the twenty–first century solutions in health care hospitals involves, both divisional and hierarchical structure. In the of the chain of command hierarchy, there are various levels of professional's that fall under other levels within the facility, and each staff member is organized in regards to departments that are related to their (KSA's) skills, attributes and job duties (Carayon, et al., 2014). Hospital organization philosophies is based on development of values and ethics, with the understanding on moral principles relating to human conduct. These systems are comprised with the processes in decision making and determining the best actions to consider between the difficult alternatives when pertaining to patient care. Administrative staff remains at the top– level of the organizational structure, formulated of individual's that have ownership (stakeholders) with the functions of operations in the healthcare facility. These important individuals are accountable for the enforcement on policies and regulations, with ensuring the implementation for public
The Structural Theory of Functionalism Essay
In social science, Functionalism is the theory that put pressure on the dependence of the patterns and institutions of our society and her interaction by preserving her cultural and society unity. In Sociology, functionalism came from the sociologist EMILE DURKHEIM, who viewed our society as a sort of "ORGANISM" that brings with it certain "needs" that must be complete. The American sociologist Talcott Parsons analysed very extensive societies with regards to their social order, integration and stability.
The structural theory of Functionalism is a vast perspective in social science which directs to the attention of the social structure of the function and its components. Those components are called norms, values, status and role....show more content...
These key functions are called A.G.I.L.
In order to understand social order lets have a look at the explanations of how and why all societies stick together. There are two different types of explanations for social order, which can be associated to the sociologist EMILE DURKHEIM on one hand and the sociologist KARL MARX on the other. The former sociologist E DURKHEIM is also associated with another sociologist called TALCOTT PARSONS put their attentions on the role that shared norms and values plays by preserving cohesion in our society. For the sociologist DURKHEIM, this importance emerged out of his critique of social thought. For EMILE DURKHEIM, by comparative estimate, questions on the morality were central to the explanation on social integration. His view rested on shared beliefs and values, which were located on the conscience collective. However, the coming of industrial society sees the arising of a new form of organic analogy which is based on the emerging out of socialisation. While EMILE DURKHEIM did not refuse the existence of conflict and the use of force, and specially in time of rapid change social change, TALCOTT PARSONS indicate the importance of moral consensus as a necessary to subsequent condition for social order. He saw Organic analogy as a different and modified form of the conscience collective and argued that
Organisational structure refers to the formal reporting relationships and systems within an organisation. Browaeys & Price described it as 'the way an institution is organised to carry out its objectives and pursue its projects'. Back in 1979 Chandler stated organisational structures are a crucial tool for the integrated use of existing resources within the organisation. Informal structures follow a set of unofficially prescribed, evolving relationships and patterns of interaction within an organisation and whilst commonplace in smaller businesses they are rarely suitable for complex multinational enterprises with worldwide operations. They can however develop naturally within the organisation's smaller departments. The focus will be on alternative formal structures that Multinational Enterprises may adopt, and their implications. Initially a brief outline of each alternative structure will be provided, followed by a discussion on their relative advantages and disadvantages. There are a few characteristics that have to be present for a formal organisation to exist, these are: a deliberate division of power and labour, a written set of rules, policies and procedures and finally a system for replacing members. Once a company is established as a multinational enterprise they must restructure operations accordingly to manage multinational activities and enforce their new strategies. Although more basic forms of formal structures have been identified and researched they are
Carbon Essay
CARBON
Carbon, an element discovered before history itself, is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. It can be found in the sun, the stars, comets, and the atmospheres of most planets. There are close to ten million known carbon compounds, many thousands of which are vital to the basis of life itself (WWW 1).
Carbon occurs in many forms in nature. One of its purest forms is diamond. Diamond is the hardest substance known on earth. Although diamonds found in nature are colorless and transparent, when combined with other elements its color can range from pastels to black. Diamond is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Until 1955 the only sources of diamond were found in deposits of volcanic origin. Since then...show more content...
Carbon dioxide is a colorless, almost odorless gas that is formed by the combustion of carbon. It is a product that results from respiration in most living organisms and is used by plants as a source of carbon. Frozen carbon dioxide, known as dry ice, is used as a refrigerant. Fluorocarbons, such as Freon, are used as refrigerants (Kinoshita 225–226).
Organic compounds are those compounds that occur in nature. The simplest organic compounds consist of only carbon and hydrogen, the hydrocarbons. The state of matter for organic compounds depends on how many carbons are contained in it. If a compound has up to four carbons it is a gas, if it has up to 20 carbons it is a liquid, and if it has more than 20 carbons it is a solid (Kinoshita 230–237).
The carbon cycle is the system of biological and chemical processes that make carbon available to living things for use in tissue building and energy release (Kinoshita 242). All living cells are composed of proteins consisting of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen in various combinations, and each living organism puts these elements together according to its own genetic code. To do this the organism must have these available in special compounds built around carbon. Only plants produce these special compounds, by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process in which chlorophyll traps and uses energy from the sun in the form of light. Six molecules of carbon dioxide combine with six molecules of water to
Essay On Business Structure
When brainstorming to start a business, it is essential to research the most efficient way to start a company and all the liabilities that can happen. Business can become successful with the right person in place and a unique idea. When making a company, it is crucial to determine the structure, which organization to start with and the liability that is involved. When taking a closer look at five different company structures Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership, Limited Partnership, S/C Corporation, and Limited Liability. Which have not honored the contract and are at risk for legal actions. The various liabilities between each owner will be discussed. Which will analyze ways to limit liability and display my future business...show more content...
Now, A partnership is formed between two individuals and the agreement should be in a contract form or writing. The next two types that are discussed are general partnership and limited partnership. Silverbrand (2008) stated Partnerships are the primary form of business which larger companies begin (p.167). Partnerships are simple to start, no required registration only within certain states, and can end quite rapidly. A general partnership is where each partner is equal to liability or any litigation consequences. In a limited partnership, the liability is limited equal to the amount the limited partners at first invested. In fact, sometimes limited partners do not make business decisions but, own stock within the company. Basically, an LLC, with its hybrid nature, "provides owners...with the limited liability protection of a corporation, but without the potential for double taxation" (Jordan & Clark, 1197). The income created from a general partnership of a business is taxed as income earned by the person working for a different company. When starting a partnership it is best to discuss the amount of liability that each partner is responsible for. Which, will help when looking at the type of litigation described.
The most recognized companies are Corporations and LLC's. According to Sonderquist (2000) Corporations are similar to limited partnerships
Presentation Analysis Essay examples
This memo examines the strengths and weaknesses of my presentation on March 19, 2010. In addition, the memo discusses my goals for improvement in future presentations as well as a review of Aly Sherali's presentation.
Presentation Strengths
My organization, voice, and passion were all strong points of my presentation. This allowed me to effectively engage my audience and convey my content in an efficient and logical way.
Organization
Tim Koegel, author of The Exceptional Presenter, explains that there are two essential facets of organizing a presentation: developing a structure that allows you to frame your objective and cover your material smoothly, and looking organized to your audience (Koegel, 31–32). I structured my slides and...show more content...
Even if a presenter is the leading authority on a topic, being unprepared can signal the opposite to the audience and cause them to disengage before the presentation even starts (Koegel, 45). I arrived to the venue early, made sure my presentation was easily accessible, and checked to see if my slides worked correctly on the computer. This allowed me to efficiently and confidently lead off my presentation and ensure that I could capture the audience's attention.
Voice
The voice is a valuable tool to becoming an exceptional presenter (Koegel, 84). I used my voice as an effective asset throughout my presentation. My volume was at an effective level throughout the presentation and sounded confident. I also employed inflection in my voice on key points to maintain audience attention. According to studies, eighty–four percent of the impact you have comes from your voice, not your words. I was very careful to avoid monotone voice, which significantly shortens the attention span of an audience (Koegel, 84). I also took great care to eliminate any "verbal graffiti" as Koegel refers to it. Verbal graffiti is any non–essential "filler" words that distract the audience and dilute your impact (Koegel, 87). I practiced my presentation many times and was confident enough with the material that I did not fill my pauses with any filler words. I stayed focused on my content, which helped my audience to do
The Structure and Agency Debate
Introduction The structure and agency debate is a common one in the field of sociology and different theorists come up with different ways of accounting for the actions of social actors. This essay takes the position that structuration solves the problem of this much contested debate. Initially key concepts and elements of structuration will be pointed out .These elements include structure, agency, social systems and power amongst many others. Subsequently, there will be engagement of a discussion of different schools of thought and finally it will be demonstrated how structuration prevails over the structure–agency debate. Socialization Socialization is an ongoing process in which individuals obtains a personal identity, learns norms, values and behaviour appropriate to his/her position. People constantly require approval of the things they do, they continually seek to be socially competent and to be accepted by those around them. It is human nature to want to be similar from others in order to be accepted in a certain social spheres but at the same time wanting to be different and unique. There are primary and secondary agents of socialization. The primary agents are those that are basic and fundamental to social beings, these include family and friends from which we learn behaviour at young age; they transmit norms and values to us. The secondary agents are those that are more external to us than family such as social institutions/organisations, these include schools,
Social Structure and Its Effect On Our Lives
Social structures are constraints that affect the lives of both the affluent and the indigent members of society. Each society has its own set of social arrangements for example; class, gender and ethnicity are all constraints that each society has to deal with in one way or another. One of the most fundamental of the social structures would be class. Class structure is found in all societies and is the key source of economical inequality. Members of different class groups start their lives with unequal opportunities. This means that when someone is born into a poor household they will undoubtedly remain in the same economical situation they began in. Gender is another important...show more content...
According to McGregor (1989) class is the main cause of inequality and social injustice in Australia. The prime explanation for this is that members of different class groups begin their lives with unequal opportunities, this affects the education they will receive, the social connections they will make and even the way they speak and behave. McGregor also argues that the class one belongs to is determined by many factors, these include; power, family background, wealth, lifestyle, mannerisms, social interactions, and employment. Class can be separated into three categories, upper class, middle class and lower class.
According to Abercrombie (2000) the upper class is distinguished from the rest by its wealth and power. The upper class consists of very few people; McGregor argues that it may be as little 1% of society's population. The people in this group are employers, they own large quantities of land, and some are self–employed or have a career as managers or professionals. Wealth is distributed among the upper class members mainly through inheritance. With greater wealth people have the opportunity to manipulate the life that they will lead. The education system reinforces many inequalities insuring that members of the highest class have better opportunities and elevated chances of achieving greatness. Members
Rubber Egg Lab Essay examples
1.Discuss the structure of the plasma membrane and explain the process of active and passive transport through the membrane.
2. Explain your observations in detail in terms of concentration gradient, diffusion, osmosis, osmotic pressure, passive transport, and active transport. Explain what happened to the blood cells at the various levels of concentration. Be sure to refer to the solutions as being hypotonic, hypertonic and isotonic.
The plasma membranes are made up of proteins that form pores and channels, cholesterol to provide membrane stability and carbohydrate molecules for cell recognition. The most abundant component found in the plasma membrane is the phospholipid, which is bilayer. The plasma membrane is amphipathic...show more content...
An example of active transport would be pushing a stroller up a hill. Passive transport is diffusion across a membrane requiring only random motion of molecules with no energy expanded by the cell. Another example of passive transport would be rolling a ball down a hill.
In the rubber egg lab also known as the osmosis lab, I first measured the circumference of the egg which was 6 inches. The egg had no cracks and was hard. I placed the egg in the vinegar and within seconds the egg started to bubble. These bubbles were carbon dioxide. After 72 hours the shell of the egg had started to dissolve or flake. This would be considered passive transport as the vinegar diffused across the egg shell without any force. Seventy–two hours into the experiment the membrane was exposed, and had a circumference of 8 inches. Before the egg had a shell and you couldn't see through it but once the vinegar acted as an acetic acid it broke down the shell and left a yellow membrane that felt like rubber this is an example of diffusion. I then placed the egg in another container and put corn syrup over the egg for 24 hours. The egg had shriveled and shrunk, the water had left the egg and went into the syrup and that is what caused the egg to shrink. The corn syrup is essentially pure sugar with very little water so the osmotic pressure is very low. I then placed the shriveled egg in water and waited for another 24 hours. After observation the egg had no
Structure and Agency Essay
Structure and agency are two theoretical terms used to explain the capacity at which we as people are able to be individuals, and to what extent those influences limit our individuality. Structure refers to the ways in which a society is organized. Agency refers to the behaviors and actions of the individuals within the social structure. Agency is limited by the structure due to cultural barriers and inequalities within the structure. In this essay, I will present an overview of why critical theorists are concerned with those inequalities, and I will further identify the problems within the system contributing to the unequal access to the public sphere, relating specifically to class and gender inequalities.
Society is highly...show more content...
As Habermas puts it "the relationship of the individual to the state has increasingly become one of client or consumer services, rather than citizen" (Roberts & Crossley, 5). Due to the limited agency (citizens' roles) within this sphere, we can conclude that the ongoing competition and negotiation for a role in the public sphere ends with strictly dominant views. In such a monarchy, ordinary citizens such as lower classes and women have limited input when debating politics among other things. The ideal of a place where all opinions are counted, so to speak, fails to provide a sense of individual identity. This is due to the fact that it is pre–destined by the state itself and then turned back to the people– telling them what they will think about particular issues; shown especially through the controlling lens of the media.
According to Marx, those who have power over society exert their control as a result of economic power and therefore determine the dominant ideologies within the superstructure model. Being the greater economical and cultural barrier, the structure provides the social world with norms, rules and beliefs pertaining to age, gender, class and one's cultural identity. Within that structure it becomes apparent that inequalities restrict your agency in terms of nationality, geographical location, class etc. In agreement with Marx, the dominant views are generally the views of the superior class; the elite. One example
Describe A Molecule's Structure
One of the key factors affecting a molecule's efficiency within an organism is its individual, particular structure. A molecule's structure depends on many different components including the type of molecule and bonding forces present. A molecule's structure is also based on a molecule's purpose, and a molecule's structure can be paramount to a function performing correctly within a cell. Since molecules are assigned specific structures they are expected to perform individual tasks for the body which allow an organism to function properly as a whole. The unique structure of proteins, water, and nucleic acids is essential to many imperative functions that allow an organisms to survive and prosper.
The distinct structure of proteins, which make up...show more content...
A molecule of water is made up of two hydrogen atoms that are covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom at an angle or 104.5°. Due to its intermolecular forces, water is classified as polar and is known as the "universal solvent" and is able to dissolve other polar substances and acts as the solvent for several chemicals which are part of important chemical processes. Water's unique structure also allows it to be less dense in its solid state which allows many aquatic organisms living within the water to survive in the liquid water beneath the solid ice. Water also has strong surface tension and a high melting and boiling point which allows water to exist in exceptionally hot climates as well. One important function maintained by water is waste removal which helps a cell to function more efficiently. In additional to waste removal, water also transports many important nutrients to cells and is key in maintaining homeostasis by regulating conditions in order to retain stability within a cell. Without water many vital processes wouldn't be able to occur, and without water humans can live no longer than 3 to 5
As trade increases hyper–competition grows forcing organizations to go global. By a company going global it requires them to rethink strategy and reform (Ananthram and Pearson, 2008). Global organizational structure is the way a company aims to merge local preferences with global strategy. The definition of global strategy is "strategic choices that have the characteristics of being globally uniform or integrated," (Yip et al., 1997) such as standardization of products, uniform marketing, and competitive moves, but all globally (Townsend et al., 2004; Zou and Cavusgil, 2002; Bayraktar and Ndubisi, 2014). Global strategic strategy is a way to adjust to globalization. Globalization is "the economic and social process by which economies and communities grow inextricably interdependent "(Jhirad et al., 2009). The recent financial crisis (Das, 2010), large amount of poverty, and climate change are all problems that show how the world is globally connected because all countries impact each other (Jhirad et al., 2009).
Research Methodology
This research is qualitative. When the research focuses on fields such as human behavior, strategy configuration, and policy assessment the qualitative approach is recognized as the appropriate scientific method (Tilaki and Hedayati, 2015;Polkinghorne, 1991). This study will examine the organizational structure of the United Nations in order to come to a conclusion as to a more efficient structure that could have been used during the
The Structural Theory Of Poverty
In today's world, the United States is the leading economic powerhouse. However, poverty is still a prevalent and pervasive social problem (Arneson, 2007). This paper will discuss the sociological concepts and theories surrounding this pertinent issue. In addition, it will point out the value of sociological research into this social ill. Lastly, it will present evidence to support the hypothesis that poverty is a structural failure.
In contrast to the school of thought supported by a number of sociologists that claims that poverty is a personal failure, this paper holds that it is a structural failure. This means that disruptions in the societal structure lead to high levels of poverty in the community. For this reason, poverty is a structural and institutional failure.
Sociologists take two divergent approaches in their attempt to explain the society's poverty and social stratification (Bickford, 2000). The first approach is the structural–functional theory of poverty. It claims that each and every component in the society, including poverty, serves a certain purpose or function. Its proponents claim that inequality is not only inevitable, but it is also beneficial to the society because it ensures that there will be individuals willing to fill a certain position. Its central point embeds more on motivation. As a result, it holds that great material rewards are instrumental in motivating the poor to occupy high positions.
The second approach is the conflict theory,
Essay about Structuralism
Structuralism
Structuralism is a mode of thinking and a method of analysis practiced in 20th–century social sciences and humanities; it focuses on recurring patterns of thought and behaviour – it seeks to analyse social relationships in terms of highly abstract relational structures. Structuralism is distinctly different from that applied to Radcliffe–Brown – it involves more the bio and psychological aspect of human studies rather than social structures. Claude Levi–Strauss was the one to pioneer structuralism; he suggested that cultural phenomena such as myths, art, kinship systems and language display certain ordered patterns or structures. With these, he believed that the structure of the human mind could be revealed. He reasoned...show more content...
All cultures think in to terms of opposites so as to classify–meaning we must be able to distinguish between things. For example, life, death; spirit, body; black, white; red, green (stop and go) – these words alone do not carry much significance; they have a meaning and that's it – basic facts. We take the words as they are by use of external references from what society acknowledges to it to be. A pen is not an eraser because society has accepted it to be a pen.
Levi–Strauss argued that culture is to be understood as a surface phenomenon which reveals the universal human tendency to order and classify experiences and dynamics. He compared people's language to the 'rules' that govern society, in that the governed are largely unconscious of what they know. He compared speech – the use of sounds and rules, mainly in the form of sentences to the ideas and behaviour that result from the application of largely unconscious social rules. Members of a society are much more likely to be conscious of their actual ideas and behaviours than they are of the deeply structured rules that make these ideas and behaviours possible, but the ideas and behaviours of a given group of people, according to Strauss, can only be understood once the "deep" structures in their minds can be discovered. He says that human responses are largely dissimilar, and that the surface structure is what will consequently show different