Society is a web of social organizations, and social organization is a system of social relationships. Social relationships are complex. They are composed of numerous small groups. In these groups are individuals. Social system refers to individual actors interacting with each other in accordance with standard cultural norms. The individual who participates in interactive relationships influences the other individuals and groups. Interactions and inter-relationships between different individuals and social groups create a system called social system. The distinct characteristics of a social system are described in Table 15.1.
TABLE 15.1 Characteristics of Social System
R. Linton (1936) defined status simply as a position in a social system, such as a child or a parent. Status refers to what a person is, whereas the closely linked notion of role refers to the behaviour expected of people in a status.
Status is also used as a synonym for honour or prestige, when social status denotes the relative position of a person on a publicly recognized scale or hierarchy of social worth.
The meaning of social system usually consists of more than two people communicating directly to a particular bounded situation. Usually, there will be physical and territorial boundaries; however, fundamental point of view as per sociology indicates that all the people are oriented in whole sense. All have a common interest. Social systems include small groups, political parties, and whole societies that are appropriate with regard to diverse set of relationships. Modern idea of the concept of social system was framed by famous social analyst Auguste Comte. Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim had given elaborated vision on social systems, but those ideas do not express much about social systems. However, Marx’s theory explained about the components of capitalists’ societies that describe about the socioeconomic classes, which deal with the relationship of economic and political power. The important concept Talcott Parsons explained was social order. According to him, it is a force that gives a stable form of social interaction, which is organized and promoted for an orderly change in the society. Parsons shared the thoughts of Thomas Hobbes Leviathan that fundamental aim of any man in the society is to attain power and position and have conflicts with each other, and a strong government is required to maintain the social order. Durkheim’s concept has major impact on the functions of normative factors in social life, such as ideals and values. This forms the outlined idea of the Parsons’ concept on social system, which he explained in his work The Social System in the year 1951. He defines that the social system consist of plurality concept that has the support of many on a particular concept or a situation, where the physical or the environmental aspect of the individual is motivated in terms of the highest gratification in order to maintain the highest satisfaction in maintaining the social relations that frame the culturally structured and shared symbols.
The important units of the social system are always collective with multiple roles with major patterns having good relationship with all the units and valuing their norms and rules of the social system. The next point of interest as per Parsons is to make sociology more scientific and systematic, and to produce general ideas on the concept of social system. However, Weber stressed on producing particular rules and regulations to guide the actions in the social system and gave no elaborative version, which was given theoretically, about the integrated social system. Therefore, an attempt is made to combine the entire framework about the conception of the social factors involved in the social system, which forms an important concern. Many areas where Parsons’ views were criticized and especially where objections were made are about creating particular rules and regulations in the social system. Parsons has not added the thought on social conflict, which is a social perspective. It means that he had preoccupied the ideas only on analytical pleasantness but not on realistic integrative phenomena of real life. Therefore, the sociologists are required to provide clear definition on the concept of social system and what makes up the social system.
Many sociologists believe that it requires not only a normative regulation but also a common focus, orientation, and better interpersonal relationships among the individuals in the society for effective functioning of the social system.
The social system is made up of the actions of the individuals. In these actions, the actors participate in interactive relationships. Table 15.2 highlights the elements of social system.
TABLE 15.2 Elements of Social System
Element | Description |
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The act | Social act or action is a process in the social system that motivates the individual or individuals in the case of a group. The action is not an unexpected response to a particular situation or stimuli. It indicates that the actor has a system of expectations relative to his or her own need-arrangements |
The actor | The actor is also a significant unit of social system. It is he or she who holds a status and performs a role. A social system must have a sufficient proportion of its actors. These actors must be sufficiently motivated to act according to the requirements of its role system. The social system must also be adapted to the minimum needs of the individual actor |
Role and status | The social system involves the participation of the actor in a process of interactive relationships. The participation has two aspects: the role aspect and the status aspect. Role denotes the functional significance of the actor for the social system. Status denotes the place of the actor in the social system |
Status is a term used to designate the comparative amounts of prestige, difference, or respect accorded to persons who have been assigned different roles in a group or a community. The status of a person is high if the role he or she is playing is considered important by the group. If the role is regarded less, its performer may be accorded a lower status. Thus, the status of a person is based on social evaluations.
Paul F. Second and Carl Back man: Status is the worth of a person as estimated by a group or a class of persons.
W.F. Ogburn and M.F. Nimoff: Status is the rank order position assigned by a group to a role or to a set of roles.
R.M. Maclver and C.H. Page: Status is the social position that determines for its possessor apart from his persona, attributes of social services, a degree of respect, prestige, and influence.
Kingsley Davis: Status is a position in the general institutional system recognized and supported by the entire society, spontaneously evolved rather than deliberately created, rooted in the folkways and mores.
Don Martindale and Elio D. Monachesi: Status is defined as a position in social aggregate identified with a pattern of prestige symbols and actions.
H.T. Mazumdar: Status means the location of the individual within the group, his place in the social network of reciprocal obligations, and privileges, rights, and duties.
Morris Ginsberg: A status is a position in a social group or grouping a relation to other positions held by other individuals in the group or grouping.
Ralph Linton: Status is the place in a particular system which a certain individual occupies at a particular time.
According to Johnson, the word status is used to refer to an individual’s total standing in society. In that sense, it embraces all his particular statuses and roles, especially insofar as they bear upon his general social standing. As we know, each person occupies several different roles. He may be a father, a doctor, the president of rotary club, or a tennis player. Suppose, as a father, he is neglectful of his children and does not carry out the requirements of his position, but as a doctor he gives most of his time to his profession and does well. Suppose he is a good player but a poor president. In such a case, we will have to qualify our statement when we evaluate his status.
Status is the importance and respect that someone has among the public or particular group. A particular status is an official description that says what category a person, organization, or a place belongs to give them particular rights. Status forms the important study of social stratification.
Figure 15.1 Characteristics of Status
Status explains the position that a person holds in a group, it may be the position occupied by the person who may be a son, daughter, playmate, or pupil; eventually, one may possess the status of a husband, mother, breadwinner, cricket fan, politician, and so on.
Statuses are divided into two basic types:
TABLE 15.3 Ascribed Status
Characteristic | Description |
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Sex | Sex difference is one of the bases of the ascription of lifetime statuses. It is a visible biological fact that appears at birth |
Age | Age is another criterion which is a visible physiological fact in determining the status. It is steadily changing and the ascription of status will be determined on the basis of age relationship, for example, between parent and child, elder brother and younger brother |
Kinship | Kinship is another factor that determines the status of a person. An infant’s status is identified in relation to its parents and siblings |
Wealth | Wealth is another criterion of social status. The source of wealth is socially significant. Wealth may be inherited. The inherited wealth or property enhances the prestige of persons |
Race and caste | In multi-race societies like America, it is the racial group which determines social status. The white race has a superior status as compared to other races like Negro or Mongoloid |
Characteristic | Description |
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Occupation | Occupation is also a significant determinant of social status. Certain occupations like national or provincial services, doctors, and engineers are more reputed in the society as compared to several others |
Education | The level of education is also important in the determination of social status. A highly educated or technically qualified and trained person has greater respect and honour in the society |
Political authority | In the modern world, persons well placed in political life, especially those who hold positions in the government, have very high status |
Marriage | Marriage automatically gives the status of a husband or wife and further that of a daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and several other related statuses |
Individual achievements | In contemporary society, individual achievements are significant in determining social status. This may be in the field of education, occupation, sports, literature, art, science, or any other field. |
According to Linton, status is based on the biological constitutional characteristics, for example, age, sex, birth, and genealogy. Status as per Linton is based on the existing truth or phenomenon. It is not about the intrinsic characteristics of man but about the social organization that determines the status. Status is what you actually are and what the belief of the people about you in the society is. Status and role are different; status explains what the person is, whereas role means what the person is supposed or expected to do.
Master status: It is a kind of special status achieved by an individual in the society. An individual climbs higher in his or her career ladder with hard work, gets higher levels of positions in his or her occupation and gets good respect in the society. Therefore, for certain groups, occupation becomes the master status because it conveys great deal of meaning about the social background, education, and income of the individual in the society.
Figure 15.2 Importance of Social Status
G. Duncan Mitchell: A social system basically consists of two or more individuals interacting directly or indirectly in a hounded situation.
Talcott Parsons: A social system is defined in terms of two or more social actors engaged in more or less stable interaction within a bounded environment. A social system consists in a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other in a situation which has at least a physical or environmental aspect, actors who are motivated in terms of a tendency to the ‘optimization of gratification’ and whose relation to their situations, including each other, is defined and mediated in terms of a system of culturally structured and shared symbols.
David Popenoe: A social system is a set of persons or groups who interact with one another, the set being conceived of as a social unit distinct from the particular persons who compose it.
Scholars have different opinions regarding classification of social system. Table 15.5 depicts the opinions of some of the sociologists in relation with this issue.
TABLE 15.5 Classification of Social System
Classification | Description |
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Lewis H. Morgan and other evolutionists | Classification based on evolution
Classification based on livelihood
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Emile Durkheim’s classification | Two kinds of social system
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P.A. Sorokin’s classification | Classifications based on cultural system
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There is a close interdependence between the office and the status. Occupational position is often a status and office both. Office designates the position occupied by a person in a social organization governed by specific and definite rules, more generally achieved than ascribed. The examples are the office of the principal, the editor, the manager, the director, the professional organizational counsellor, and so on.
It is clear that holding an office may give one status. The kind of status it gives depends upon the importance, scope, and function of the office. There are two ways of attaching status to an office. First, we attach an invidious value to an office as such, independently of who occupies it or how its requirements are carried out. Second, we attach value to the individual according to how good or bad he carries out the obligations of that office. The first kind of invidious value or evaluation is called prestige. The second one is called esteem. People attach high value to particular jobs, irrespective of the individuals who hold them.
People generally compare themselves and others with respect to status. People with whom an individual compares himself or herself and the degree to which he or she makes the comparisons are determined by the principles of distributive justice, the person’s perception of his or her power, and the conditions allowing ease of comparison. The following are the conditions under which status comparisons are made:
The word role meant the roll on which an actor’s part was written. The social system is based on a division of labour in which every person is assigned a specific task. The task performed by an individual makes up the role he or she is expected to play in the life of his or her community. Since the role is a set of expectations, it implies that one role cannot be defined without referring to another. There cannot be a parent without a child, or an employer without an employee. In this sense, roles are but a series of rights and duties. That is, they represent reciprocal relations among individuals. Holding the status of student, for example, means one will attend classes, complete assignments and, more broadly, devote a lot of time to personal enrichment through academic study.
Robert Merton (1968) introduced the term role set to identify a number of roles attached to a single status. For example, given below are four statuses of an individual, each status linked to a different role set:
A social group, as already observed, carries on its life smoothly and harmoniously to the extent that roles are clearly assigned and to the extent that each member accepts and fulfils the assigned role according to expectations. Each person participates in a number of groups or sub-groups in different capacities. So, one individual is required to play a number of different roles. An individual, in his total personality structure, has to play many roles according to social expectations.
Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack: A role is the function of a status.
George A. Lundberg: Role is a pattern of behaviour expected of an individual in a certain group or situation.
W.F. Ogburn and M.F. Nimkoff: A role is a set of socially expected and approved behaviour patterns, consisting of both duties and privileges, associated with a particular position a group.
Robert Bierstedt: Role is the dynamic or the behavioural aspect of status. A role is what an individual does in the status he or she occupies.
G. Duncan Mitchell: A social role is the excepted behaviour associated with a social position.
Ralph Linton: Role is defined as the behaviour expected of someone who holds a particular status.
This results in adjustment difficulty and creates confusion. Incompatibility between two roles is called role conflict. Such role conflicts result in departure from conformity to some of the expectations or may result in deviation.
Figure 15.3 Causes of Role Conflict
The causes of role conflict are as follows:
Roles in modern society are numerous, complex, highly diversified, and sometimes in conflict. In periods of rapid social change, the nervous strain of conflicting roles is greater because the requirements of each role and the expectations of the community regarding them are uncertain. To the extent the different roles are clearly allocated, to the extent the rights and duties inherent in each role are clearly understood, and to the extent everyone behaves in his role as expected, the social system will run smoothly and with a minimum of strain on the individual personality.
People who live with poor socioeconomic status cannot climb up the social ladder and they further decline as they are at the risk of getting serious diseases because they cannot afford access to health services that are available to maintain their health. Middle-ranked officers suffer a lot due to the economic constraints in order to afford to maintain their health as compared with their higher-ranked officers. Stressful situations trap an individual’s health badly because of insecurity in job, low self-esteem, social isolation, and lack of control over the work situations. This leads to long-term stress and complicates the life of the individual due to their poor mental health, lack of supportive friendships, and premature death. Psychological ill health leads to disturbance in the physiological health of the individual such as raised blood and cortical pressure. Less immunity results in higher risk for the individual to acquire illness, and finally, there is loss of wealth from the family due to the expenses for maintaining the health. There are certain social factors that affect the health of the individual. They are cultural practices, traditions taboos, and social environment. Health of an individual is perceived in terms of physical fitness, which is required to maintain a healthy life. Obesity leads to unhealthy life. Certain cultural groups encourage, respect, and follow higher-order level birth. People with poor socioeconomic background does not follow high order level birth in their families as finance play a vital role in opting the good health services.
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