The concept, features and purpose of a social institution. Social institutions

The purpose of social institutions is to to meet the most important needs and interests of society.

Economic needs in society are simultaneously satisfied by several social institutions, and each institution, through its activities, satisfies a variety of needs, among which are vital (physiological, material) and social (personal needs for work, self-realization, creative activity and social justice). A special place among social needs is occupied by the need of the individual to achieve - an attainable need. It is based on McLelland's concept, according to which each individual shows a desire to express, to manifest himself in specific social conditions.

In the course of their activities, social institutions perform both general and individual functions that correspond to the specifics of the institution.

General Features:

· The function of consolidation and reproduction of social relations. Any institution consolidates, standardizes the behavior of members of society through its rules, norms of behavior.

· Regulatory function ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior, regulation of their actions.

· The integrative function includes the process of interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups.

Broadcasting function (socialization). Its content is the transfer of social experience, familiarization with the values, norms, roles of this society.

Individual functions:

The social institution of marriage and the family implements the function of reproducing members of society together with the relevant departments of the state and private enterprises (antenatal clinics, maternity hospitals, a network of children's medical institutions, family support and strengthening bodies, etc.).

· The social institution of health is responsible for maintaining the health of the population (polyclinics, hospitals and other medical institutions, as well as state bodies organizing the process of maintaining and strengthening health).

· A social institution for the production of means of subsistence, which performs the most important creative function.

· Political institutions in charge of organizing political life.

Social institution of law, which performs the function of developing legal documents and in charge of compliance with laws and regulations.

· Social institution of education and norms with the corresponding function of education, socialization of members of society, familiarization with its values, norms, laws.

· Social institution of religion, helping people in solving spiritual problems.

All their positive traits social institutions are implemented only on condition of their legitimacy, i.e., recognition of the expediency of their actions by the majority of the population. Sharp shifts in class consciousness, reassessment of fundamental values can seriously undermine the population's trust in the existing governing and managing bodies, disrupt the mechanism of regulatory influence on people.

In this case, instability increases sharply in society, the threat of chaos, entropy, the consequences of which can become catastrophic. So, intensified in the second half of the 80s. 20th century in the USSR, the erosion of socialist ideals, the reorientation of mass consciousness towards the ideology of individualism, seriously undermined the confidence of the Soviet people in the old public institutions. The latter failed to fulfill their stabilizing role and collapsed.

The inability of the leadership of Soviet society to bring the main structures in line with the updated system of values predetermined the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent instability of Russian society, i.e., the stability of society is ensured only by those structures that enjoy the trust and support of its members.

In the course of the development of society, new institutional formations can separate from the main social institutions. Thus, at a certain stage, the institute of higher education is singled out from the social institution of education. From the public legal system, the Constitutional Court was created as an independent institution. Such differentiation is one of the most important signs of the development of society.

Social institutions can be called the central components of the structure of society, integrating and coordinating the many individual actions of people. The system of social institutions, relations between them is the framework that serves as the basis for the formation of society, with all the ensuing consequences. What are the foundation, construction, bearing components of society, such are its strength, fundamentality, solidity, stability.

The process of streamlining, formalization, standardization of social relations within the framework of the old structure and the creation of new social institutions is called institutionalization. The higher its level, the better the life of society.

Question No. 11 "Typology and function of social institutions"

Parsons identifies the following types of social institutions.

First, the institutions of relations that establish mutual role expectations, regardless of the content of the interests and needs of people. These can be family, university, money, etc.

Secondly, regulatory institutions that define the boundaries of the legitimate implementation of private interests, taking into account goals and means. These are legal (laws) and moral (public opinion) institutions.

Thirdly, cultural (spiritual) institutions that establish mandatory cultural models of behavior motivation: a) cognitive beliefs (Newton's laws, social equality, etc.); b) expressive (necessary) symbols (jeans, Cell Phones etc.); c) private moral obligations (friendship, fidelity to sons, patriotism, etc.).

Social institutions are elements of various systems (spheres) of society: demosocial, economic, political, spiritual, within which they acquire their own specifics. The systems of society differ: 1) in the social needs they satisfy; 2) the nature of statuses and roles; 3) regulators of these statuses and roles; 4) the nature of social activity (communication), in which social needs, statuses and roles, subjective and objective regulators are realized.

Demosocial institutions (family, settlement, ethnic group) serve for the reproduction and socialization of members of society. The leading statuses in them are parents, children, grandparents, relatives, the material and cultural features are the apartment, furniture, cottage, etc., the symbols are the marriage ritual, wedding ring etc.; and the institutional regulator is family morality. Family ideology as part of the ideology of this type of society reveals the importance of the family for the life of people and society.

Production institutions (farm, factory, firm, etc.) are engaged in the production of social goods: food, clothing, housing, transport, etc. The main thing for them is one or another production activity: agricultural, industrial, etc. Within the framework of agricultural activity, one can single out the statuses and roles of an agronomist, tractor driver, milkmaid, etc. Material and cultural features here are factories, transport enterprises, etc., symbols are a brand name, a seal, etc. The production code of norms includes licenses, contracts, production ethics, etc. The main regulators of production activity are money, power, self-expression, etc. The ideology of production can be market, monopolistic, expansionist, etc.

Economic institutions cover forms of ownership, banks, money, etc. They ensure the distribution and exchange of social benefits produced. Economic activity includes the calculation of costs and profits, accounting and control over ownership of the means of production and manufactured goods, the distribution of workers and money by type of activity, etc. In this area of social activity, one can single out bank presidents, dealers, accountants, cashiers, etc. The main regulators of economic activity are profit, stocks, money, currency, etc., corporate morality, frugality, client secrecy, etc. as well as legal and administrative regulations.

Political institutions (branches state power, parties, trade unions, etc.) serve to manage the affairs of society. Such management includes the determination of national interests, the organization of their satisfaction, the maintenance of order, the defense of the country, etc. The main form of activity here is political: the capture, retention and use of state power. Political institutions are a hierarchy of positions-statuses (legislative, executive, judicial, etc.), as well as their corresponding roles. The regulators of these institutions are values and norms: political (for example, promotion), moral (“we will not stand up for the price”), material (apartment), economic (market conditions), etc.

Spiritual institutions (church, school, university, newspaper editorial office, etc.) serve to develop and promote various ideologies that unite their supporters to solve various problems. The main form of activity in this area is the production, exchange and consumption of spiritual values: ideological (scientific, mythological, religious, etc.), artistic (musical, pictorial, literary, etc.), scientific (mathematical, sociological and etc.). Spiritual institutions (church, art, science) represent a hierarchy of respective positions; for example, in the church it is the patriarch, metropolitans, archimandrites, etc.

The social institutions of society form a system. Within its framework, social institutions should complement each other. Thus, the development of the economy is impossible without the development of technology, and the development of the latter without the corresponding development of education. The corresponding social systems form the same hierarchical and horizontal structure. If a country adopts a law obliging students to serve in the army, then it dooms itself to scientific, technical, and economic backwardness. A conflict arises social roles: son, student, defender of the motherland, etc. As a result of such, often artificial, conflict social statuses and roles there is an evasion from some roles in favor of others.

Social institutions come into conflict with each other for the leading role in the structure of society (country). For example, the conflict between military and civilian institutions over the spending of budget items is typical. The multiplication of such social conflicts causes the disorganization of societies. Violation of the normal interaction between different social institutions is called dysfunction. Such dysfunction also arises as a result of changes in social needs that this social institution satisfies. For example, now in Russia there is a contradiction between the increased needs for education and its current state; and the institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not cope with organized crime.

Every society - for example, American and Russian - has a certain set of social institutions and relations of coordination and subordination between them. Modern society (country) - for example, the United States - has a differentiated system of social institutions and a high degree of coordination and subordination of their activities. Russia is trying to catch up with its backlog in this area, which arose during the years of Soviet power, but this process is accompanied by an uneven development of institutions of different social systems: authoritarian-political institutions are developing faster again. Many social institutions are ineffective, for example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, higher education, science, etc.

Due to the duration of the emergence and growth of social institutions, it is necessary to protect them from social revolutions, for which they need to be reformed in time. If reforms are delayed due to self-interest, stupidity, irresponsibility of the ruling class and its political elite, then there is a revolutionary replacement of old social institutions with new ones. This happens regularly, in particular, in Russia, which has experienced several social revolutions over the 20th century. As a result, instead of the social institutions nurtured by history, new ones are hastily created, most often out of ideological motives. Such institutions are temporary and disappear with the revolutionary system.

A country that does not take care of its social institutions is doomed to constant instability, permanent backwardness and catch-up modernization, as well as huge material and human costs. Russia is a vivid example of such institutional development. Its spasmodic (revolutionary) development is also due to the fact that modern, normal social institutions for advanced countries cannot be easily and simply transplanted onto the former institutional soil. It is very difficult to introduce modern institutional regulators (ideals, values, norms) into the old social ties, social actions with the old needs, abilities, mentality of people, it requires a long time and patience of both the population and the reformers.

Question number 12 "The social institution of the family, its signs"

A family is a relatively small association of people based on consanguinity, marriage or adoption, which is connected by a common budget, way of life and mutual responsibility, and therefore, a set of social relations based on biological ties, legal norms, rules for adoption (adoption), guardianship and etc.

The history of the family is in fact the history of mankind. The family is one of the most ancient social institutions. Today, in some primitive societies, the family is the only stable functioning institution (the tribes of Central Africa, Oceania, the peoples of the North). In these societies, order is maintained without the establishment of formal laws, the participation of the police, the courts; the main authority is the authority of the head of the family.

Each society has its own specific forms of family organization, but sociologists note some common features of family life. There are usually two main types of family structure:

nuclear, consisting of a husband, wife and their children;

· an extended family, which includes a nuclear family along with many relatives - grandmother, grandfather, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins and cousins. This list could go on.

Modern society is characterized by the weakening of many family ties and a clear predominance of the nuclear family over the extended one.

Seminar №8.

Social institutions and social organizations.

Main questions:

1. The concept of a social institution and the main sociological approaches to it.

2. Signs of social institutions ( general characteristics). Types of social institutions.

3. Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions.

4. The concept of social organization and its main features.

5. Types and functions of social organizations.

Basic concepts Keywords: social institution, social needs, basic social institution, dynamics of social institutions, life cycle of a social institution, systemic nature of social institutions, latent functions of social institutions, social organizations, social hierarchy, bureaucracy, civil society.

1) Social institution or public institution- a form of organization of joint life activity of people, historically established or created by purposeful efforts, the existence of which is dictated by the need to meet the social, economic, political, cultural or other needs of society as a whole or part of it.

2) Social needs- Needs associated with certain aspects of social behavior - for example, the need for friendship, the need for the approval of others, or the desire for power.

Basic social institutions

To main social institutions traditionally include family, state, education, church, science, law. Below is a brief description of these institutions and their main functions.

A family - the most important social institution of kinship, linking individuals with common life and mutual moral responsibility. The family performs a number of functions: economic (housekeeping), reproductive (childbirth), educational (transfer of values, norms, samples), etc.

State- the main political institution that manages society and ensures its security. The state performs internal functions, including economic (regulation of the economy), stabilization (maintaining stability in society), coordination (ensuring public harmony), ensuring the protection of the population (protection of rights, legality, social security) and many others. There are also external functions: defense (in case of war) and international cooperation (to protect the country's interests in the international arena).

Education- a social institution of culture that ensures the reproduction and development of society through the organized transfer of social experience in the form of knowledge, skills and abilities. The main functions of education include adaptation (preparation for life and work in society), professional (training of specialists), civil (training of a citizen), general cultural (introduction to cultural values), humanistic (disclosure of personal potential), etc.

Church - a religious institution formed on the basis of a single religion. Church members share general rules, dogmas, rules of conduct and are divided into the priesthood and the laity. The Church performs the following functions: ideological (defines views on the world), compensatory (offers consolation and reconciliation), integrating (unites believers), general cultural (attaches to cultural values), and so on.

The science- a special socio-cultural institution for the production of objective knowledge. Among the functions of science are cognitive (contributes to the knowledge of the world), explanatory (interprets knowledge), ideological (defines views on the world), prognostic (builds forecasts), social (changes society) and productive (defines the production process).

Right- a social institution, a system of generally binding norms and relations protected by the state. The state, with the help of law, regulates the behavior of people and social groups, fixing certain relations as mandatory. The main functions of law are: regulatory (regulates social relations) and protective (protects those relations that are useful for society as a whole).

All the elements of social institutions discussed above are covered from the point of view of social institutions, but other approaches to them are also possible. For example, science can be considered not only as a social institution, but also as a special form of cognitive activity or as a system of knowledge; The family is not only an institution, but also a small social group.

4) Under dynamics of social institutions understand three interrelated processes:

Life cycle institution from the moment of appearance to its disappearance;
The functioning of a mature institution, i.e., the performance of explicit and latent functions, the emergence and continuation of dysfunctions;
The evolution of an institution is a change in the type, form and content in historical time, the emergence of new and the withering away of old functions.

5) Institute life cycle includes four relatively independent stages, which have their own qualitative characteristics:

Phase 1 - the emergence and formation of a social institution;

Phase 2 - the phase of efficiency, during this period the institution reaches its peak of maturity, full bloom;

Phase 3 - the period of formalization of norms, principles, marked by red tape, when the rules become an end in themselves;

Phase 4 - disorganization, maladaptation, when the institution loses its dynamism, former flexibility and viability. The Institute is liquidated or transformed into a new one.

6) Latent (hidden) functions of a social institution- the positive consequences of the performance of explicit functions that arise in the process of the life of a social institution are not determined by the purpose of this institution. (So, the latent function of the family institution is social status, or the transfer of a certain social status from one generation to another within the family ).

7) Social organization of society (from the late organizio - form, report a slender appearance< lat. organum - tool, tool) - the normative social order established in society, as well as activities aimed at maintaining or bringing it to it.

8) Social hierarchy- the hierarchical structure of relations of power, income, prestige, and so on.

The social hierarchy reflects the inequality of social statuses.

9) Bureaucracy- this is a social layer of professional managers included in the organizational structure, characterized by a clear hierarchy, "vertical" information flows, formalized methods of decision-making, a claim to a special status in society.

Bureaucracy is also understood as a closed layer of senior officials who oppose themselves to society, occupying a privileged position in it, specializing in management, monopolizing power functions in society in order to realize their corporate interests.

10) Civil Society is a set of social relations, formal and informal structures that provide conditions political activity human, satisfaction and implementation of diverse needs and interests of the individual and social groups and associations. A developed civil society is the most important prerequisite for building a rule of law state and its equal partner.

Question number 1,2.The concept of a social institution and the main sociological approaches to it.

Signs of social institutions (general characteristics). Types of social institutions.

The foundation on which the whole society is built is social institutions. The term comes from the Latin "institutum" - "charter".

For the first time this concept was introduced into scientific circulation by the American sociologist T. Veblein in the book The Theory of the Leisure Class in 1899.

A social institution in the broad sense of the word is a system of values, norms and relationships that organize people to meet their needs.

Outwardly, a social institution looks like a set of individuals, institutions, equipped with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Social institutions have a historical origin and are in constant change and development. Their formation is called institutionalization.

Institutionalization is the process of defining and fixing social norms, connections, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is able to act in the direction of satisfying some social need. This process consists of several stages:

1) the emergence of needs that can only be satisfied as a result of joint activities;

2) the emergence of norms and rules governing interaction to meet emerging needs;

3) adoption and implementation in practice of the emerging norms and rules;

4) creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute.

Institutes have their own distinctive features:

1) cultural symbols (flag, emblem, anthem);

3) ideology, philosophy (mission).

Social institutions in society perform a significant set of functions:

1) reproductive - consolidation and reproduction of social relations, ensuring the order and framework of activities;

2) regulatory - regulation of relationships between members of society by developing patterns of behavior;

3) socialization - the transfer of social experience;

4) integrative - cohesion, interconnection and mutual responsibility of group members under the influence of institutional norms, rules, sanctions and a system of roles;

5) communicative - dissemination of information within the institution and to the external environment, maintaining relationships with other institutions;

6) automation - the desire for independence.

The functions performed by the institution can be explicit or latent.

The existence of the latent functions of the institution allows us to talk about its ability to bring more benefits to society than originally stated. Social institutions perform functions in society social management and social control.

Social institutions govern the behavior of community members through a system of sanctions and rewards.

The formation of a system of sanctions is the main condition for institutionalization. Sanctions provide punishment for inaccurate, negligent and incorrect performance of official duties.

Positive sanctions (gratitude, material incentives, creation of favorable conditions) are aimed at encouraging and stimulating correct and proactive behavior.

The social institution thus determines the orientation of social activity and social relations through a mutually agreed system of expediently oriented standards of behavior. Their emergence and grouping into a system depend on the content of the tasks solved by the social institution.

Each such institution is characterized by the presence of an activity goal, specific functions that ensure its achievement, a set of social positions and roles, as well as a system of sanctions that ensure the promotion of desired and the suppression of deviant behavior.

Social institutions always perform socially significant functions and ensure the achievement of relatively stable social ties and relationships within the framework of the social organization of society.

Social needs unsatisfied by the institution give rise to new forces and normatively unregulated activities. In practice, it is possible to implement the following ways out of this situation:

1) reorientation of old social institutions;

2) creation of new social institutions;

3) reorientation of public consciousness.

In sociology, there is a generally recognized system for classifying social institutions into five types, which is based on the needs realized through institutions:

1) family - reproduction of the genus and socialization of the individual;

2) political institutions - the need for security and public order, with their help political power is established and maintained;

3) economic institutions - production and livelihood, they ensure the process of production and distribution of goods and services;

4) institutions of education and science - the need for obtaining and transferring knowledge and socialization;

5) the institution of religion - the solution of spiritual problems, the search for the meaning of life.

The concept of "institution" (from the Latin institutum - establishment, institution) was borrowed by sociology from jurisprudence, where it was used to characterize a separate set of legal norms that regulate social and legal relations in a certain subject area. In legal science, such institutions were considered, for example, inheritance, marriage, property, etc. In sociology, the concept of "institution" retained this semantic coloring, but acquired a broader interpretation in terms of designating some special type of stable regulation of social relations and various organizational forms of social regulation of behavior of subjects.

The institutional aspect of the functioning of society is a traditional area of interest for sociological science. He was in the field of view of thinkers, whose names are associated with its formation (O. Comte, G. Spencer, E. Durkheim, M. Weber, etc.).

O. Comte's institutional approach to the study of social phenomena stemmed from the philosophy of the positive method, when one of the objects of the sociologist's analysis was the mechanism for ensuring solidarity and consent in society. “For a new philosophy, order is always a condition for progress, and vice versa, progress is a necessary goal of order” (Comte O. A course in positive philosophy. SPb., 1899. S. 44). O. Comte considered the main social institutions (family, state, religion) from the standpoint of their inclusion in the processes of social integration and the functions performed at the same time. Contrasting the functional characteristics and nature of ties between family association and political organization, he acted as a theoretical predecessor of the concepts of dichotomization of the social structure of F. Tennis and E. Durkheim (“mechanical” and “organic” types of solidarity). The social statics of O. Comte was based on the position that the institutions, beliefs and moral values of society are functionally interconnected, and the explanation of any social phenomenon in this integrity implies finding and describing the patterns of its interaction with other phenomena. O. Comte's method, his appeal to the analysis of the most important social institutions, their functions, and the structure of society had a significant impact on the further development of sociological thought.

The institutional approach to the study of social phenomena was continued in the works of G. Spencer. Strictly speaking, it was he who first used the concept of "social institution" in sociological science. G. Spencer considered the struggle for existence with neighboring societies (war) and with the natural environment to be the determining factors in the development of the institutions of society. The task of the survival of the social organism in its conditions. According to Spencer, evolution and complication of structures give rise to the need to form a special kind of regulatory institution: “In the state, as in a living body, a regulatory system inevitably arises ... When a stronger community is formed, higher centers of regulation and subordinate centers appear” (Spencer H. First principles. N. Y., 1898. P. 46).

Accordingly, the social organism consists of three main systems: regulatory, producing means of life and distribution. G. Spencer distinguished between such types of social institutions as institutions of kinship (marriage, family), economic (distributive), regulatory (religion, political organizations). At the same time, much of his reasoning about institutions is expressed in functional terms: “In order to understand how an organization arose and develops, one must understand the need that manifests itself in the beginning and in the future” (Spencer H. The principles of ethics. N.Y., 1904. Vol. 1. P. 3). Thus, every social institution takes shape as a stable structure of social actions that performs certain functions.

The consideration of social institutions in a functional way was continued by E. Durkheim, who adhered to the idea of the positivity of public institutions, which are the most important means of human self-realization (see: Durkheim E. Les formes elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie. P., 1960) .

E. Durkheim called for the creation of special institutions to maintain solidarity in the conditions of the division of labor - professional corporations. He argued that corporations, unjustifiably considered anachronistic, are in fact useful and modern. Corporations E. Durkheim calls institutions of the type of professional organizations, including employers and workers, standing close enough to each other to be for everyone a school of discipline and a beginning with prestige and power (see: Durkheim E. O division of social labor. Odessa, 1900).

K. Marx paid notable attention to the consideration of a number of social institutions, who analyzed the institution of majorat, the division of labor, the institutions of the tribal system, private property, etc. He understood institutions as historically formed, conditioned by social, primarily industrial, relations, forms of organization and regulation of social activity.

M. Weber believed that social institutions (state, religion, law, etc.) should “be studied by sociology in the form in which they become significant for individual individuals, in which the latter actually focus on them in their actions” (History sociology in Western Europe and the USA, Moscow, 1993, p. 180). Thus, discussing the question of the rationality of the society of industrial capitalism, he considered it (rationality) at the institutional level as a product of the separation of the individual from the means of production. An organic institutional element of such social system the capitalist enterprise, considered by M. Weber as a guarantor of the individual's economic opportunities and thus turning into a structural component of a rationally organized society, acts. A classic example is M. Weber's analysis of the institution of bureaucracy as a type of legal domination, conditioned primarily by purposeful rational considerations. At the same time, the bureaucratic mechanism of management appears as modern type administration, which is the social equivalent of industrial forms of labor and "is related to previous forms of administration in the same way as machine production is to home-tire" (Weber M. Essays on sociology. N. Y., 1964. p. 214).

The representative of psychological evolutionism is an American sociologist of the early 20th century. L. Ward considered social institutions as a product of mental rather than any other forces. “Social forces,” he wrote, “are the same psychic forces operating in the collective state of man” (Ward L.F. The physical factors of civilization. Boston, 1893. P. 123).

In the school of structural-functional analysis, the concept of "social institution" plays one of the leading roles, T. Parsons builds a conceptual model of society, understanding it as a system of social relations and social institutions. Moreover, the latter are interpreted as specially organized "nodes", "bundles" of social relations. In the general theory of action, social institutions act both as special value-normative complexes that regulate the behavior of individuals, and as stable configurations that form the status-role structure of society. The institutional structure of society is given the most important role, since it is it that is designed to ensure social order in society, its stability and integration (see: Parsons T. Essays on sociological theory. N. Y., 1964. P. 231-232). It should be emphasized that the normative-role representation of social institutions, which exists in structural-functional analysis, is the most common not only in Western, but also in Russian sociological literature.

In institutionalism (institutional sociology), the social behavior of people is studied in close connection with existing system social normative acts and institutions, the need for which is equated to a natural historical regularity. The representatives of this trend include S. Lipset, J. Landberg, P. Blau, C. Mills and others. Social institutions, from the point of view of institutional sociology, imply “a consciously regulated and organized form of activity of a mass of people, the reproduction of repetitive and most stable patterns behavior, habits, traditions passed down from generation to generation. “Each social institution that is part of a certain social structure is organized to fulfill certain socially significant goals and functions (see; Osipov G. V., Kravchenko A. I. Institutional Sociology//Modern Western Sociology. Dictionary. M., 1990. S. 118).

Structural-functionalist and institutionalist interpretations of the concept of "social institution" do not exhaust the approaches to its definition presented in modern sociology. There are also concepts based on the methodological foundations of a phenomenological or behavioral plan. So, for example, W. Hamilton writes: “Institutions are a verbal symbol for the best description of a group of social customs. They signify a permanent way of thinking or acting which has become a habit for a group or a custom for a people. The world of customs and habits to which we adapt our lives is an interweaving and continuous fabric of social institutions. (Hamilton W. lnstitution//Encyclopedia of social sciences. Vol. VIII. P. 84).

The psychological tradition in line with behaviorism was continued by J. Homans. He gives the following definition of social institutions: “Social institutions are relatively stable models of social behavior, the maintenance of which is aimed at the actions of many people” (Homans G.S. The sociological relevance of behaviorism//Behavioral sociology. Ed. R. Burgess, D. Bushell. N. Y., 1969, p. 6). In essence, J. Homans builds his sociological interpretation of the concept of "institution" based on the psychological foundation.

Thus, in sociological theory there is a significant array of interpretations and definitions of the concept of "social institution". They differ in their understanding of both the nature and functions of institutions. From the author's point of view, the search for an answer to the question of which of the definitions is correct and which is erroneous is methodologically unpromising. Sociology is a multi-paradigm science. Within the framework of each of the paradigms, it is possible to build its own consistent conceptual apparatus that obeys the internal logic. And it is up to the researcher working within the framework of the theory of the middle level to decide on the choice of the paradigm within which he intends to seek answers to the questions posed. The author adheres to the approaches and logic that lie in line with system-structural constructions, this also determines the concept of a social institution that he takes as a basis,

An analysis of foreign and domestic scientific literature shows that within the framework of the chosen paradigm in the understanding of a social institution, there is a wide range of versions and approaches. So, big number The authors consider it possible to give the concept of "social institution" an unambiguous definition based on one key word (expression). L. Sedov, for example, defines a social institution as “a stable complex of formal and informal rules, principles, guidelines, regulating various spheres of human activity and organizing them into a system of roles and statuses that form a social system” (cited in Modern Western Sociology, p. 117). N. Korzhevskaya writes: “A social institution is community of people performing certain roles based on their objective position (status) and organized through social norms and goals (Korzhevskaya N. Social institution as a social phenomenon (sociological aspect). Sverdlovsk, 1983, p. 11). J. Shchepansky gives the following integral definition: “Social institutions are institutional systems*, in which certain individuals, elected by group members, are empowered to perform public and impersonal functions in order to satisfy essential individual and social needs and to regulate the behavior of other members of the groups" (Schepansky Ya. Elementary concepts of sociology. M., 1969. S. 96-97).

There are other attempts to give an unambiguous definition, based, for example, on norms and values, roles and statuses, customs and traditions, etc. From our point of view, approaches of this kind are not fruitful, since they narrow the understanding of such a complex phenomenon as social institution, fixing attention only on one aspect, which seems to this or that author to be its most important side.

Under the social institution, these scientists understand a complex, covering, on the one hand, a set of normative-value determined roles and statuses designed to meet certain social needs, and on the other hand, a social education created to use society's resources in the form of interaction to meet this need ( cm.: Smelzer N. Sociology. M., 1994. S. 79-81; Komarov M.S. On the concept of a social institution// Introduction to sociology. M., 1994. S. 194).

Social institutions are specific formations that ensure the relative stability of ties and relations within the framework of the social organization of society, some historically determined forms of organization and regulation of public life. Institutions arise in the course of the development of human society, the differentiation of activities, the division of labor, the formation of specific types of social relations. Their occurrence is due to the objective needs of society in the regulation of socially significant areas of activity and social relations. In the nascent institution, in essence, objectified certain kind public relations.

Common features of a social institution include:

Identification of a certain circle of subjects entering into relationships that acquire a stable character in the process of activity;

A certain (more or less formalized) organization:

The presence of specific social norms and regulations that regulate the behavior of people within the framework of a social institution;

The presence of socially significant functions of the institution, integrating it into the social system and ensuring its participation in the process of integration of the latter.

These signs are not normatively fixed. They rather follow from the generalization of analytical materials about the various institutions of modern society. In some of them (formal - the army, the court, etc.), signs can be fixed clearly and in in full, in others (informal or just emerging) - less distinctly. But in general they are handy tool to analyze the processes of institutionalization of social formations.

The sociological approach focuses on the social functions of the institution and its normative structure. M. Komarov writes that the implementation of socially significant functions by the institution “is ensured by the presence within the social institution of an integral system of standardized patterns of behavior, i.e., a value-normative structure” (Komarov M.S. O the concept of a social institution//Introduction to sociology. S. 195).

The most important functions that social institutions perform in society include:

Regulation of the activities of members of society within the framework of social relations;

Creating opportunities to meet the needs of members of society;

Ensuring social integration, sustainability of public life; - socialization of individuals.

The structure of social institutions most often includes a certain set of constituent elements, acting in a more or less formalized form, depending on the type of institute. J. Shchepansky identifies the following structural elements of a social institution: - the purpose and scope of the institution; - functions provided to achieve the goal; - normatively determined social roles and statuses presented in the structure of the institute;

Means and institutions for achieving the goal and realizing functions (material, symbolic and ideal), including appropriate sanctions (see: Shchepansky Ya. Decree. op. S. 98).

Various criteria for classifying social institutions are possible. Of these, we consider it appropriate to focus on two: subject (substantive) and formalized. Based on the subject criterion, i.e., the nature of the substantive tasks performed by institutions, the following are distinguished: political institutions (state, parties, army); economic institutions (division of labor, property, taxes, etc.): institutions of kinship, marriage and family; institutions operating in the spiritual sphere (education, culture, mass communications, etc.), etc.

Based on the second criterion, i.e. the nature of the organization, institutions are divided into formal and informal. The activities of the former are based on strict, normative and, possibly, legally fixed prescriptions, rules, and instructions. These are the state, the army, the court, etc. In informal institutions, there is no such regulation of social roles, functions, means and methods of activity and sanctions for non-normative behavior. It is replaced by informal regulation through traditions, customs, social norms, etc. From this, the informal institution does not cease to be an institution and perform the corresponding regulatory functions.

Thus, when considering a social institution, its features, functions, structure, the author relied on an integrated approach, the use of which has a developed tradition within the framework of the system-structural paradigm in sociology. It is a complex, but at the same time sociologically operational and methodologically rigorous interpretation of the concept of "social institution" that allows, from the point of view of the author, to analyze the institutional aspects of the existence of social education.

Let us consider the possible logic of substantiation of the institutional approach to any social phenomenon.

According to the theory of J. Homans, in sociology there are four types of explanation and justification of social institutions. The first is the psychological type, proceeding from the fact that any social institution is a psychological formation in its genesis, a stable product of the exchange of activities. The second type is historical, considering institutions as the final product of the historical development of a certain field of activity. The third type is structural, proving that "each institution exists as a consequence of its relationship with other institutions in the social system." The fourth is functional, based on the position that institutions exist because they perform certain functions in society, contributing to its integration and the achievement of homeostasis. The last two types of explanations for the existence of institutions, which are mainly used in structural-functional analysis, are declared by Homans to be unconvincing and even erroneous (see: Homans G.S. The sociological relevance of behaviorism//Behavioral sociology. P. 6).

Without rejecting the psychological explanations of J. Homans, I do not share his pessimism regarding the last two types of argumentation. On the contrary, I consider these approaches to be convincing, working for modern societies, and I intend to use both functional, structural, and historical types of substantiation of the existence of social institutions when studying the chosen social phenomenon.

If it is proved that the functions of any phenomenon under study are socially significant, that their structure and nomenclature are close to the structure and nomenclature of functions that social institutions perform in society, this will be an important step in substantiating its institutional nature. Such a conclusion is based on the inclusion of a functional feature among the most important features of a social institution and on the understanding that it is social institutions that form the main element of the structural mechanism by which society regulates social homeostasis and, if necessary, implements social changes.

The next step in substantiating the institutional interpretation of the hypothetical object we have chosen is b: "analysis of the ways of its inclusion in various spheres of social life, interaction with other social institutions, proof that it is an integral element of any one sphere of society (economic, political, cultural, etc.), or a combination of them, and ensures its (their) functioning. This logical operation is advisable to do for the reason that the institutional approach to the analysis of social system, but at the same time, the specificity of the main mechanisms of its functioning depends on the internal patterns of development of the corresponding type of activity.Therefore, consideration of an institution is impossible without correlating its activities with the activities of other institutions, as well as systems of a more general order.

The third stage, following the functional and structural justification, is the most important. It is at this stage that the essence of the institution under study is determined. An appropriate definition is formulated here, based on an analysis of the main institutional features. affects the legitimacy of its institutional representation. Then its specificity, type and place in the system of institutions of society are singled out, the conditions for the emergence of institutionalization are analyzed.

At the fourth and final stage, the structure of the institution is revealed, the characteristics of its main elements are given, and the patterns of its functioning are indicated.

Concept, signs, types, functions of social institutions

English philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer He was the first to introduce the concept of a social institution into sociology and defined it as a stable structure of social actions. He identified six types of social institutions : industrial, trade union, political, ceremonial, church, domestic. He considered the main purpose of social institutions to meet the needs of members of society.

The consolidation and organization of relations that develop in the process of meeting the needs of both society and the individual are carried out by creating a system of standard samples based on a generally shared system of values - common language, common ideals, values, beliefs, moral norms, etc. They establish the rules for the behavior of individuals in the process of their interaction, embodied in social roles. Accordingly, the American sociologist Neil Smelzer calls a social institution "a set of roles and statuses designed to meet a specific social need"

1.Plan……………………………………………………………………………………1

2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..2

3. The concept of "Social institution"……………………………………………..3

4. Evolution of social institutions……………………………………………..5

5. Typology of social institutions………………………………………….…...6

6. Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions……………………….……8

7. Education as a social institution……………………………..….…...11

8. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….13

9. References………………………………………………….……..………15

Introduction.

Social practice shows that it is vital for human society to consolidate certain types of social relations, to make them obligatory for members of a certain society or a certain social group. This primarily applies to those social relations, entering into which the members of a social group ensure the satisfaction of the most important needs necessary for the successful functioning of the group as an integral social unit. Thus, the need for the reproduction of material goods forces people to consolidate and maintain production relations; the need to socialize the younger generation and educate young people on the samples of the culture of the group makes it necessary to consolidate and maintain family relations, the relationship of training young people.

The practice of consolidating relationships aimed at meeting urgent needs consists in creating a rigidly fixed system of roles and statuses that prescribe rules of behavior for individuals in social relations, as well as in determining a system of sanctions in order to achieve strict compliance with these rules of behavior.

Systems of roles, statuses and sanctions are created in the form of social institutions, which are the most complex and important types of social ties for society. It is social institutions that support joint cooperative activities in organizations, determine sustainable patterns of behavior, ideas and incentives.

The concept of "institution" is one of the central ones in sociology, therefore the study of institutional relations is one of the main scientific tasks facing sociologists.

The concept of "social institution".

The term "social institution" is used in a wide variety of meanings.

One of the first detailed definition of a social institution was given by the American sociologist and economist T. Veblen. He viewed the evolution of society as a process of natural selection of social institutions. By their nature, they represent habitual ways of responding to stimuli that are created by external changes.

Another American sociologist, C. Mills, understood the institution as the form of a certain set of social roles. He classified institutions according to the tasks performed (religious, military, educational, etc.) that form the institutional order.

The German sociologist A. Gehlen interprets an institution as a regulatory institution that directs people's actions in a certain direction, just as institutions control the behavior of animals.

According to L. Bovier, a social institution is a system of cultural elements focused on meeting a set of specific social needs or goals.

J. Bernard and L. Thompson interpret the institution as a set of norms and patterns of behavior. it complex configuration customs, traditions, beliefs, attitudes, laws that have a specific purpose and perform specific functions.

In domestic sociological literature, a social institution is defined as the main component of the social structure of society, integrating and coordinating many individual actions of people, streamlining social relations in certain areas of public life.

According to S.S. Frolov, a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

According to M.S. Komarov, social institutions are value - normative complexes, through which the actions of people are directed and controlled in vital areas - the economy, politics, culture, family, etc.

If we sum up all the variety of the above approaches, then a social institution is:

Role system, which also includes norms and statuses;

A set of customs, traditions and rules of conduct;

Formal and informal organization;

A set of norms and institutions governing a particular area

public relations;

A separate set of social actions.

That. we see that the term "social institution" can have different definitions:

A social institution is an organized association of people performing certain socially significant functions, ensuring the joint achievement of goals based on the social roles performed by members, set by social values, norms and patterns of behavior.

Social institutions are institutions designed to meet the fundamental needs of society.

A social institution is a set of norms and institutions that regulate a certain area of social relations.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that combines significant social values and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

The evolution of social institutions.

The process of institutionalization, i.e. formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

The emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;

Formation of common goals;

The emergence of social norms and rules in the course of a spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;

The emergence of procedures related to rules and regulations;

Institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their adoption, practical application;

Establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;

Creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception.

The birth and death of a social institution are clearly visible in the example of the institution of noble duels of honor. Duels were an institutionalized method of sorting out relations between nobles in the period from the 16th to the 18th century. This institution of honor arose due to the need to protect the honor of a nobleman and streamline relations between representatives of this social stratum. Gradually, the system of procedures and norms developed and spontaneous quarrels and scandals turned into highly formalized fights and fights with specialized roles (chief manager, seconds, doctors, attendants). This institution supported the ideology of unsullied noble honor, adopted mainly in the privileged strata of society. The institution of duels provided for fairly strict standards for protecting the code of honor: a nobleman who received a challenge to a duel had to either accept the challenge or leave public life with the shameful stigma of cowardly cowardice. But with the development of capitalist relations, ethical norms in society changed, which was expressed, in particular, in the needlessness of defending noble honor with arms in hand. An example of the decline of the institution of duels is the absurd choice of dueling weapons by Abraham Lincoln: throwing potatoes from a distance of 20 m. So this institution gradually ceased to exist.

Typology of social institutions.

A social institution is divided into main (basic, fundamental) and non-main (non-main, frequent). The latter hide inside the former, being part of them as smaller formations.

In addition to dividing institutions into main and non-main ones, they can be classified according to other criteria. For example, institutions can differ in the time of their emergence and duration of existence (permanent and short-term institutions), the severity of sanctions applied for violations of the rules, the conditions of existence, the presence or absence of a bureaucratic management system, the presence or absence of formal rules and procedures.

Ch. Mills counted in modern society five institutional orders, in fact, meaning by this the main institutions:

Economic - institutions that organize economic activity;

Political - institutions of power;

Family - institutions that regulate sexual relations, the birth and socialization of children;

Military - institutions that protect members of society from physical danger;

Religious - institutions that organize the collective worship of the gods.

The purpose of social institutions is to satisfy the most important vital needs of society as a whole. Five such basic needs are known, they correspond to five basic social institutions:

The need for the reproduction of the genus (the institution of family and marriage).

The need for security and social order (the institution of the state and other political institutions).

The need to obtain and produce means of subsistence (economic institutions).

The need for the transfer of knowledge, the socialization of the younger generation, the training of personnel (institute of education).

The need for solving spiritual problems, the meaning of life (Institute of Religion).

Non-core institutions are also called social practices. Each major institution has its own systems of established practices, methods, techniques, procedures. Thus, economic institutions cannot do without such mechanisms and practices as currency conversion, protection of private property,

professional selection, placement and evaluation of the work of employees, marketing,

market, etc. Within the institution of family and marriage there are institutions of paternity and motherhood, naming, family revenge, inheritance of the social status of parents, etc.

Non-principal political institutions include, for example, the institutions of forensic examination, passport registration, legal proceedings, advocacy, juries, judicial control of arrests, the judiciary, the presidency, etc.

Everyday practices that help organize the concerted action of large groups of people bring certainty and predictability to social reality, thereby supporting the existence of social institutions.

Functions and dysfunctions of social institutions.

Function(from Latin - execution, implementation) - the appointment or role that a certain social institution or process performs in relation to the whole (for example, the function of the state, family, etc. in society.)

Function a social institution is the benefit that it brings to society, i.e. it is a set of tasks to be solved, goals to be achieved, services to be rendered.

The first and most important mission of social institutions is to meet the most important vital needs of society, i.e. without which society cannot exist as a current one. Indeed, if we want to understand what the essence of the function of this or that institution is, we must directly connect it with the satisfaction of needs. E. Durheim was one of the first to point out this connection: “To ask what is the function of the division of labor means to investigate what need it corresponds to.”

No society can exist if it is not constantly replenished with new generations of people, earning food, living in peace and order, acquiring new knowledge and passing it on to the next generations, and dealing with spiritual issues.

List of universal, i.e. functions inherent in all institutions can be continued by including in it the function of consolidating and reproducing social relations, regulatory, integrative, broadcasting and communicative functions.

Along with universal, there are specific functions. These are functions that are inherent in some institutions and are not characteristic of others, for example, establishing order in society (the state), discovering and transferring new knowledge (science and education), etc.

Society is arranged in such a way that a number of institutions perform several functions simultaneously, and at the same time, several institutions can specialize in the performance of one function at once. For example, the function of educating or socializing children is performed by such institutions as the family, church, school, state. At the same time, the institution of the family performs not only the function of education and socialization, but also such functions as the reproduction of people, satisfaction in intimacy, etc.

At the dawn of its inception, the state performs a narrow range of tasks, primarily related to the establishment and maintenance of internal and external security. However, as society became more complex, so did the state. Today it not only protects borders, fights crime, but also regulates the economy, deals with social security and helping the poor, collects taxes and supports health care, science, schools, etc.

The Church was created for the sake of solving important worldview issues and establishing the highest moral standards. But in modern times, she also began to engage in education, economic activity (monastic economy), the preservation and transfer of knowledge, research work (religious schools, gymnasiums, etc.), guardianship.

If an institution, in addition to benefit, brings harm to society, then such an action is called dysfunction. An institution is said to be dysfunctional when some of the consequences of its activities interfere with the performance of another social activity or another institution. Or, as one of the sociological dictionaries defines dysfunction, it is “any social activity that makes a negative contribution to maintaining efficient operation social system".

For example, economic institutions, as they develop, make more and more demanding requirements for those social functions that the institution of education should perform.

It is the needs of the economy that lead in industrial societies to the development of mass literacy, and then to the need to prepare everything more qualified specialists. But if the institution of education does not cope with its task, if education is put out of hand very badly, or if it does not train the specialists that the economy requires, then society will not receive either developed individuals or first-class professionals. Schools and universities will release into life routines, dilettantes, semi-knowers, which means that the institutions of the economy will not be able to meet the needs of society.

So functions turn into dysfunctions, plus into minus.

Therefore, the activity of a social institution is considered as a function if it contributes to maintaining the stability and integration of society.

The functions and dysfunctions of social institutions are explicit, if they are distinctly expressed, recognized by all and quite obvious, or latent if they are hidden and remain unconscious for the participants of the social system.

The explicit functions of institutions are both expected and necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles.

Latent functions are the unintended result of the activities of institutions or persons representing them.

The democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 1990s with the help of new institutions of power - parliament, government and president, it would seem, sought to improve the life of the people, create civilized relations in society and inspire citizens with respect for the law. These were the explicit goals and objectives declared in all heard goals. In reality, crime has increased in the country, and the standard of living has fallen. Such were the by-products of the efforts of the institutions of power.

Explicit functions testify to what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, while latent functions testify to what came of it.

The explicit functions of the school as an institution of education include

acquisition of literacy and a matriculation certificate, preparation for a university, training in professional roles, assimilation of the basic values of society. But the institution of the school also has hidden functions: acquiring a certain social status that will allow a graduate to climb a step above an illiterate peer, establishing strong school friendships, supporting graduates at the time of their entry into the labor market.

Not to mention a host of latent functions such as shaping classroom interactions, hidden curriculum, and student subcultures.

Explicit, i.e. Quite obvious, the functions of the institution of higher education can be considered to be the preparation of young people for the development of various special roles and the assimilation of the value standards, morality and ideology prevailing in society, and the implicit ones are the consolidation of social inequality between those who have higher education and those who do not.

Education as a social institution.

The material and spiritual values and knowledge accumulated by mankind must be passed on to new generations, therefore maintaining the achieved level of development, its improvement is impossible without mastering the cultural heritage. Education is an essential component of the process of socialization of the individual.

In sociology, it is customary to distinguish between formal and non-formal education. The term formal education implies the existence in society of special institutions (schools, universities) that carry out the learning process. The functioning of the formal education system is determined by the prevailing cultural standards in society, political attitudes, which are embodied in the state policy in the field of education.

The term non-formal education refers to the unsystematized teaching of a person with knowledge and skills that he spontaneously masters in the process of communicating with the surrounding social environment or through individual assimilation of information. For all its importance, non-formal education plays a supporting role in relation to the formal education system.

The most significant features modern system education are:

Transforming it into a multi-stage (elementary, secondary and higher education);

Decisive influence on the personality (essentially education is the main factor of its socialization);

Predestination to a large extent of career opportunities, achieving a high social position.

The Institute of Education ensures social stability and integration of society by performing the following functions:

Transmission and dissemination of culture in society (because it is through education that scientific knowledge, achievements of art, moral norms, etc. are transmitted from generation to generation);

Formation among young generations of attitudes, value orientations and ideals that dominate in society;

Social selection, or a differentiated approach to students (one of the most important functions of formal education, when the search for talented youth in modern society is elevated to the rank of state policy);

Social and cultural change realized in the process of scientific research and discoveries (modern institutions of formal education, primarily universities, are the main or one of the most important scientific centers in all branches of knowledge).

The model of the social structure of education can be represented as consisting of three main components:

students;

teachers;

Organizers and leaders of education.

In modern society, education is the most important means of achieving success and a symbol of a person's social position. The expansion of the circle of highly educated people, the improvement of the formal education system have an impact on social mobility in society, making it more open and perfect.

Conclusion.

Social institutions appear in society as large unplanned products of social life. How does it happen? People in social groups are trying to realize their needs together and are looking for various ways. In the course of social practice, they find some acceptable patterns, patterns of behavior, which gradually, through repetition and evaluation, turn into standardized customs and habits. After some time, these patterns and patterns of behavior are supported by public opinion, accepted and legitimized. On this basis, a system of sanctions is being developed. Thus, the custom of making a date, being an element of the institution of courtship, developed as a means of choosing a partner. Banks - an element of a business institution - developed as a need for saving, moving, borrowing and saving money, and as a result turned into an independent institution. members from time to time. societies or social groups can collect, systematize and give legal confirmation of these practical skills and patterns, as a result of which institutions change and develop.

Proceeding from this, institutionalization is a process of defining and consolidating social norms, rules, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is able to act in the direction of satisfying some social need. Institutionalization is the replacement of spontaneous and experimental behavior with predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, regulated. Thus, the pre-institutional phase of the social movement is characterized by spontaneous protests and speeches, disorderly behavior. Appear for a short time, and then the leaders of the movement are displaced; their appearance depends mainly on vigorous appeals.

Every day a new adventure is possible, each meeting is characterized by an unpredictable sequence of emotional events in which a person cannot imagine what he will do next.

With the appearance of institutional moments in a social movement, the formation of certain rules and norms of behavior, shared by the majority of its followers, begins. The place of gathering or rally is appointed, a clear time limit for speeches is determined; each participant is given instructions on how to behave in a given situation. These norms and rules are gradually accepted and become self-evident. At the same time, a system of social statuses and roles begins to take shape. There are stable leaders who are formalized according to the accepted order (for example, they are chosen or appointed). In addition, each member of the movement has a certain status and performs an appropriate role: he can be a member of an organizational asset, be part of a leader's support group, be an agitator or ideologist, and so on. Excitation is gradually weakened under the influence of certain norms, and the behavior of each participant becomes standardized and predictable. There are preconditions for organized joint actions. As a result, the social movement becomes more or less institutionalized.

So, an institution is a peculiar form of human activity based on a clearly developed ideology, a system of rules and norms, as well as developed social control over their implementation. Institutional activities are carried out by people organized in groups or associations, where the division into statuses and roles is carried out in accordance with the needs of a given social group or society as a whole. Institutions thus support social structures and order in society.

Bibliography: