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. List of references…………………………………………………………….……..………15

Introduction.

Social practice shows that it is vital for human society to consolidate certain types of social relations, make them mandatory for members of a certain society or a certain social group. This primarily refers to those social relationships, by entering into which, 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 wealth forces people to consolidate and maintain production relations; The need to socialize the younger generation and educate young people based on the examples of the group’s culture forces us to consolidate and maintain family relationships and the learning relationships of young people.

The practice of consolidating relationships aimed at satisfying urgent needs consists of creating a rigidly fixed system of roles and statuses that prescribe rules of behavior for individuals in social relationships, as well as defining 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 for society social connections. It is social institutions that support joint cooperative activities in organizations and 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 connections 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 to give a detailed definition of a social institution was 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, Charles Mills, understood an institution as the form of a certain set of social roles. He classified institutions according to the tasks they performed (religious, military, educational, etc.), which form the institutional order.

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

According to L. Bovier, a social institution is a system of cultural elements aimed at satisfying a set of specific social needs or goals.

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

In Russian 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 spheres public life.

According to S.S. Frolov, a social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms, which brings together meaningful social values ​​and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society.

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

If we summarize all the variety of approaches outlined above, then a social institution is:

A 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 regulating a certain 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 social significant functions, ensuring the joint achievement of goals based on the members fulfilling their social roles, defined by social values, norms and patterns of behavior.

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

A social institution is a set of norms and institutions regulating a certain area of ​​social relations.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that brings together significant social values ​​and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society.

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 actions;

Formation of common goals;

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

The emergence of procedures related to norms and regulations;

Institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, i.e. their acceptance, 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 can be clearly seen in the example of the institution of noble duels of honor. Duels were an institutionalized method of clarifying relations between nobles in the period from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This institution of honor arose due to the need to protect the honor of the nobleman and streamline relations between representatives of this social stratum. Gradually, a system of procedures and norms developed and spontaneous quarrels and scandals turned into highly formalized fights and duels with specialized roles (chief manager, seconds, doctors, service personnel). This institute supported the ideology of untainted noble honor, accepted mainly among the privileged strata of society. The institution of duels provided for fairly strict standards for the protection of 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 standards in society changed, which was expressed, in particular, in the unnecessaryness of defending noble honor with arms in hand. An example of the decline of the institution of duels is Abraham Lincoln's absurd choice of dueling weapon: throwing potatoes from a distance of 20 m. So this institution gradually ceased to exist.

Typology of social institutions.

Social institutions are divided into main (basic, fundamental) and non-main (non-basic, frequent). The latter are hidden inside the former, being part of them as smaller formations.

In addition to dividing institutions into main and non-main, they can be classified according to other criteria. For example, institutions may differ in the time of their origin 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.

Charles Mills counted five institutional orders in modern society, actually meaning by this the main institutions:

Economic – institutions that organize economic activities;

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 veneration of gods.

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

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

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

The need for obtaining and producing means of subsistence (economic institutions).

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

Needs for solving spiritual problems, the meaning of life (institute of religion).

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

professional selection, placement and evaluation of workers, marketing,

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

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

Everyday practices that help organize the coordinated actions 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 purpose 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 of a social institution is the benefit it brings to society, i.e. This is a set of tasks to be solved, goals to be achieved, and services provided.

The first and most important mission of social institutions is to satisfy the most important vital needs of society, i.e. something 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 the function of the division of labor is means to investigate what need it corresponds to.”

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

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

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

Society is structured in such a way that a number of institutions perform several functions simultaneously, and at the same time, several institutions can specialize in performing one function. For example, the function of raising or socializing children is performed by institutions such as the family, church, school, and 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 emergence, the state performs a narrow range of tasks, primarily related to establishing and maintaining 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, provides social security and assistance to the poor, collects taxes and supports healthcare, science, schools, etc.

The Church was created to resolve important ideological issues and establish the highest moral standards. But over time, she also began to engage in education, economic activities (monastic farming), preservation and transmission of knowledge, research work (religious schools, gymnasiums, etc.), and guardianship.

If an institution, in addition to benefits, 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 implementation of another. social activities or other institute. Or, as one of the sociological dictionaries defines dysfunction, it is “any social activity that makes a negative contribution to maintaining effective activity social system».

For example, as economic institutions develop, they place greater demands on the social functions that an educational institution must 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 train an increasing number of qualified specialists. But if the educational institution does not cope with its task, if education is delivered very poorly, or trains the wrong specialists that the economy requires, then society will not receive either developed individuals or first-class professionals. Schools and universities will produce routinists, amateurs, and half-knowledgeable people, which means that economic institutions will be unable to satisfy the needs of society.

This is how functions turn into dysfunctions, plus into minus.

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

The functions and dysfunctions of social institutions are obvious, if they are clearly expressed, recognized by everyone and quite obvious, or latent, if they are hidden and remain unconscious to participants in the social system.

The explicit functions of institutions are expected and necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and enshrined in a system of statuses and roles.

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

The democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 90s with the help of new institutions of power - parliament, government and the president, seemingly sought to improve the lives of the people, create civilized relations in society and instill in citizens respect for the law. These were the obvious, stated goals and objectives that everyone heard. In reality, crime has increased in the country, and the standard of living has fallen. These were the by-products of the efforts of government institutions.

Explicit functions indicate what people wanted to achieve within a particular institution, and latent functions indicate what came out of it.

The explicit functions of the school as an educational institution include

acquiring literacy and a matriculation certificate, preparing for university, learning professional roles, assimilating the basic values ​​of society. But the institution of 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 friendly school connections, supporting graduates at the time of their entry into the labor market.

Not to mention a number of such latent functions as the formation of classroom interaction, hidden curriculum and student subcultures.

Explicit, i.e. Quite obvious functions of the institution of higher education can be considered the preparation of young people to master 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 have one.

Education as a social institution.

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

In sociology, it is customary to distinguish between formal and informal 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 cultural standards prevailing in society, political guidelines, which are embodied in public policy in the field of education.

The term non-formal education refers to the unsystematized training of a person with knowledge and skills that he spontaneously masters in the process of communicating with the environment. 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.

Most essential features modern system education are:

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

Decisive impact on the individual (essentially, education is the main factor in its socialization);

Predetermining to a large extent career opportunities and 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 (for it is through education that scientific knowledge, achievements of art, moral standards etc.);

Formation of attitudes among younger generations, value orientations and ideals dominant in society;

Social selection, or 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 through the process of scientific research and discovery (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. Expanding the circle of highly educated people and improving the formal education system have an impact on social mobility in society, make it more open and perfect.

Conclusion.

Social institutions appear in society as large unplanned products of social life. How does this 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 the business institution, developed as a need for accumulation, movement, loans and saving of 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 evidence of these practical skills and patterns, as a result of which institutions change and develop.

Based on this, institutionalization is the process of defining and consolidating social norms, rules, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is capable of acting in the direction of satisfying some social need. Institutionalization is the replacement of spontaneous and experimental behavior with predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, and regulated. Thus, the pre-institutional phase of a social movement is characterized by spontaneous protests and speeches, disorderly behavior. The leaders of the movement appear for a short period of time and then are displaced; their appearance depends mainly on energetic calls.

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

When institutional moments appear in a social movement, the formation of certain rules and norms of behavior begins, shared by the majority of its followers. A place for a gathering or meeting is designated, a clear schedule of 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 taken for granted. At the same time, a system of social statuses and roles begins to take shape. Stable leaders appear, who are formalized according to the accepted procedure (for example, elected or appointed). In addition, each participant in the movement has a certain status and performs a corresponding role: he can be a member of an organizational activist, be part of leader support groups, be an agitator or ideologist, etc. Excitement gradually weakens under the influence of certain norms, and the behavior of each participant becomes standardized and predictable. The prerequisites for organized joint action are emerging. As a result, the social movement becomes more or less institutionalized.

So, an institution is a unique 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 they are divided into statuses and roles 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:

1. Frolov S.S. Sociology. M.: Nauka, 1994
2. Methodological instructions for sociology. SPbGASU, 2002
3. Volkov Yu.G. Sociology. M. 2000

Social institutions are classified according to different criteria. The most common classification is by goals (content of tasks) and scope of activity. In this case, it is customary to highlight economic, political, cultural and educational, social complexes of institutions:

- economic institutions – the most stable, subject to strict regulation, social ties in the sphere economic activity, are all macro-institutions that ensure the production and distribution of social wealth and services, regulate money circulation, and are engaged in the organization and division of labor (industry, agriculture, finance, trade). Macro institutions are built from such institutions as property, management, competition, pricing, bankruptcy, etc. Satisfy the needs for the production of means of subsistence;

- political institutions (state, The Verkhovna Rada, political parties, courts, prosecutors, etc.) - their activities are related to the establishment, execution and maintenance of a certain form of political power, the preservation and reproduction of ideological values. Satisfy the need for life safety and ensuring social order;

- institutions of culture and socialization (science, education, religion, art, various creative institutions) are the most stable, clearly regulated forms of interaction with the aim of creating, strengthening and disseminating culture (value system), scientific knowledge, socialization of the younger generation;

- Institute of family and marriage– contribute to the reproduction of the human race;

- social– organizing voluntary associations, the life of groups, i.e. regulating everyday social behavior of people, interpersonal relationships.

Within the main institutions are hidden non-main or non-core institutions. For example, within the institution of family and marriage, non-main institutions are distinguished: fatherhood and motherhood, family revenge (as an example of an informal social institution), naming, inheritance of the social status of parents.

By the nature of the target functions social institutions are divided into:

- normative-orienting, carry out the moral and ethical orientation of individual behavior, affirm universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in society;

- regulatory, regulate behavior on the basis of norms, rules, special postscripts enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The guarantor of their implementation is the state and its representative bodies;

- ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional, determine the rules of mutual behavior, regulate methods of information exchange, communicative forms of informal subordination (address, greeting, statements/non-statements).

Depending on the number of functions performed, the following are distinguished: monofunctional (enterprise) and multifunctional (family).

According to the criteria of the method of regulating behavior people are singled out formal and informal social institutions.

Formal social institutions. They base their activities on clear principles ( legal acts, laws, decrees, regulations, instructions), carry out management and control functions on the basis of sanctions related to rewards and punishment (administrative and criminal). Such institutions include the state, the army, and the school. Their functioning is controlled by the state, which protects the accepted order of things by force of its power. Formal social institutions determine the strength of a society. They are regulated not only by written rules - most often we are talking about the interweaving of written and unwritten norms. For example, economic social institutions function on the basis not only of law, instructions, orders, but also of such an unwritten norm as loyalty to a given word, which is often stronger than dozens of laws or regulations. In some countries, bribery has become an unwritten norm, so widespread that it is a fairly stable element of the organization of economic activity, although it is punishable by law.

When analyzing any formal social institution, it is necessary to examine not only formally recorded norms and rules, but also the entire system of standards, including moral standards, customs, and traditions that are consistently involved in regulating institutionalized interactions.

Informal social institutions. They do not have a clear regulatory framework, that is, interactions within these institutions are not formally established. They are the result of social creativity based on the will of citizens. Social control in such institutions is established with the help of norms enshrined in civil thought, traditions, and customs. These include different cultural and social funds, associations of interests. An example of informal social institutions can be friendship - one of the elements that characterizes the life of any society, an obligatory stable phenomenon of the human community. Regulation in friendship is quite complete, clear and sometimes even cruel. Resentment, quarrel, termination of friendly relations are unique forms of social control and sanctions in this social institution. But this regulation is not formalized in the form of laws or administrative regulations. Friendship has resources (trust, sympathy, duration of acquaintance, etc.), but no institutions. It has a clear demarcation (from love, relationships with colleagues, fraternal relations), but does not have a clear professional definition of the status, rights and responsibilities of partners. Another example of informal social institutions is the neighborhood, which is a significant element of social life. An example of an informal social institution would be the institution of blood feud, which is partially preserved among some peoples of the East.

All social institutions are, to varying degrees, united in a system that provides them with guarantees of a uniform, conflict-free process of functioning and reproduction of social life. All members of the community are interested in this. However, we must remember that in any society there is a certain share of the anomic, i.e. not subject to the normative order of behavior of the population. This circumstance can serve as the basis for destabilizing the system of social institutions.

There is a debate among scientists about which social institutions have the most significant impact on the nature of social relations. A significant portion of scientists believe that the most significant influence on the nature of changes in society is exerted by economic and political institutions. The first creates the material basis for the development of social relations, since a poor society is not able to develop science and education, and therefore, increase the spiritual and intellectual potential of social relations. The second creates laws and implements power functions, which makes it possible to highlight priorities and finance the development of certain areas of society. However, the development of educational and cultural institutions that will stimulate economic progress society and the development of its political system.

The institutionalization of social connections, the acquisition by the latter of the properties of an institution, leads to the most profound transformations of social life, which acquires a fundamentally different quality.

First group of consequences- obvious consequences.

· The formation of an educational institution in place of sporadic, spontaneous and, perhaps, experimental attempts to transfer knowledge leads to a significant increase in the level of knowledge acquisition, enrichment of the intellect, personality abilities, and self-realization.

As a result, all social life is enriched and social development as a whole is accelerated.

In fact, every social institution, on the one hand, contributes to better, more reliable satisfaction of the needs of individuals, and, on the other, to the acceleration of social development. Therefore, the more social needs are satisfied by specially organized institutions, the more multifaceted the society is developed, the qualitatively richer it is.

· The wider the area of ​​the institutionalized, the greater the predictability, stability, orderliness in the life of society and the individual. The zone in which a person is free from self-will, surprises, and hope for “maybe” is expanding.

It is no coincidence that the degree of development of a society is determined by the degree of development of social institutions: firstly, what type of motivation (and therefore norms, criteria, values) forms the basis of institutionalized interactions in a given society; secondly, how developed is the system of institutionalized systems of interactions in a given society, how wide is the range of social problems solved within the framework of specialized institutions; thirdly, how high is the level of orderliness of certain institutional interactions, of the entire system of institutions of society.

Second group of consequences– perhaps the most profound consequences.

We are talking about the consequences that are generated by the impersonality of requirements for someone who claims a certain function (or is already performing it). These requirements take the form of clearly fixed, unambiguously interpreted patterns of behavior - norms supported by sanctions.

Social organizations.

Society as a social reality is ordered not only institutionally, but also organizationally.

The term "organization" is used in three senses.

In the first case, an organization can be called an artificial association of an institutional nature that occupies a certain place in society and performs a certain function. In this sense, the organization acts as a social institution. In this sense, “organization” can be called an enterprise, government agency, voluntary union, etc.

In the second case, the term “organization” can denote a certain organization activity (distribution of functions, establishing stable connections, coordination, etc.). Here, organization acts as a process associated with a purposeful influence on an object, with the presence of an organizer and those being organized. In this sense, the concept of “organization” coincides with the concept of “management”, although it does not exhaust it.

In the third case, “organization” can be understood as a characteristic of the degree of orderliness of a social object. Then this term denotes a certain structure, structure and type of connections that act as a way of connecting parts into a whole. With this content, the term “organization” is used when talking about organized or unorganized systems. This is the meaning implied in the concepts of “formal” and “informal” organization.

Organization as a process of ordering and coordinating the behavior of individuals is inherent in all social formations.

Social organization– a social group focused on achieving interrelated specific goals and the formation of highly formalized structures.

According to P. Blau, only social formations, which in scientific literature usually referred to as "formal organizations".

Traits (signs) of social organization

1. A clearly defined and declared goal that unites individuals based on a common interest.

2. It has a clear, generally binding order, a system of statuses and roles - a hierarchical structure (vertical division of labor). High level of formalization of relations. According to the rules, regulations, and routines, they cover the entire sphere of behavior of its participants, whose social roles are clearly defined, and relationships presuppose power and subordination.

3. Must have a coordinating body or management system.

4. Perform fairly stable functions in relation to society.

The importance of social organizations lies in the fact that:

Firstly, any organization consists of people involved in activities.

Secondly, it is focused on performing vital functions.

Thirdly, it initially involves control over the behavior and activities of people included in organizations.

Fourthly, it uses cultural means as an instrument of this regulation and is focused on achieving the set goal.

Fifthly, it focuses some basic social processes and problems in the most concentrated form.

Sixth, the person himself uses a variety of services from organizations (kindergarten, school, clinic, store, bank, trade union, etc.).

A necessary condition for the functioning of an organization is: firstly, combining disparate activities into a single process, synchronizing their efforts in order to achieve common goals and objectives, dictated by the needs of a wider society. Secondly, interest of individuals (groups) in cooperation as a means of realizing their own goals and solving their problems. This in turn implies establishment of a certain social order, vertical division of labor, which is the third prerequisite for the formation of an organization. Performing a managerial function involves vesting persons specializing in this activity with certain powers - power and formal authority, i.e. the right to give instructions to subordinates and demand their implementation. From this moment, the persons performing basic activities and the person performing managerial functions enter into a leadership-subordination relationship, which involves limiting some of the freedom and activity of the former and transferring part of their sovereignty to them in favor of the latter. Recognition of the need for an employee to alienate part of his freedom and sovereignty in favor of another person in order to ensure the necessary level of coordination of actions and social order is a condition and prerequisite for the formation of an organization and its activities. In this regard, it is imperative to identify people in the group with power and authority. This type of worker is called head, and the type of specialized activity he performs is management. Managers take on the functions of goal setting, planning, connection programming, synchronization and coordination of basic activities, and monitoring their results. Establishing and recognizing the power of one person over another– one of the important components of the formation of an organization.

The next component of the formation of organizational relations, complementing and at the same time limiting the power of the leader, is formation of common universal rules and social norms, sociocultural standards, regulations regulating activities and organizational interactions. The formation and internalization of uniform rules and social norms governing the behavior of people in an organization makes it possible to increase the stability of social interactions and the behavior of participants in activities. Associated with the formation of predictable and stable relationships, ensuring a certain level of stability in people's behavior. It involves the consolidation of power, a system of rights, duties, subordination and responsibility in a system of impersonal positions (official statuses) - official and professional, supported by a system of legally established norms that create the basis for the legitimacy of the power of a specific official. At the same time, the power of the norm limits the power and arbitrariness of the leader and makes it possible to ensure a level of social order without the intervention of the leader.

Consequently, we can name two interrelated, but fundamentally different sources of regulation of human behavior: human power and the power of social norms. At the same time, the power of the social norm opposes the power of the individual and limits his arbitrariness in relation to others.

The main criterion for structuring social organizations is the degree of formalization of the relations existing in them. Taking this into account, a distinction is made between formal and informal organizations.

Formal organization – it is the basic subsystem of the organization. Sometimes the term “formal organization” is used as a synonym for the concept of organization. The term “formal organization” was introduced by E. Mayo. Formal organization is an artificially and rigidly structured impersonal regulatory system aimed at achieving organizational goals business interactions, enshrined in regulatory documents.

Formal organizations build social relations based on the regulation of connections, statuses, and norms. These include, for example, industrial enterprises, firms, universities, municipal authorities (city hall). The basis of formal organization is the division of labor, its specialization according to functional characteristics. The more developed the specialization, the more versatile and complex the administrative functions, the more multifaceted the structure of the organization. The formal organization resembles a pyramid in which tasks are differentiated at several levels. In addition to the horizontal distribution of labor, it is characterized by coordination, leadership (hierarchy of service positions) and various vertical specializations. The formal organization is rational, it is characterized exclusively by service connections between individuals.

Formalization of relationships means narrowing the range of choice, limiting, even subordinating the will of the participant to an impersonal order. Following the established order means: the initial restriction of freedom and activity of each participant in the activity; establishing certain rules governing interaction and creating a field for their standardization. As a result of following a clear order, the concept of “bureaucracy” arises.

M. Weber considered organization as a system of power and developed theoretical basis its management. In his opinion, the requirements of a specialized and multifaceted organization are best met by a bureaucratic system. The advantages of bureaucracy are most noticeable when it manages to eliminate personal, irrational, and emotional elements during the performance of official duties. According to this, bureaucracy is characterized by: rationality, reliability, and economy. Efficiency, neutrality, hierarchy, legality of actions, centralization of power. Main disadvantage bureaucracy - lack of flexibility, stereotyped actions.

However, as practice shows, it is impossible to build the activities of organizations entirely on the principles of formalizing relations, since:

Firstly, the actual activities of the bureaucracy are not so idyllic and give rise to a number of dysfunctions.

Secondly, the activities of the organization presuppose not only strict order, but also the creative activity of the employee.

Thirdly, there are many restrictions on the total formalization of relations:

· the entire sphere of human interactions cannot be reduced to business ones;

· formalization of business relations is possible only if the methods of activity and tasks are repeated;

· there are a lot of problems in the organization that require innovative solutions;

· a high level of formalization of relations is possible only in an organization in which the situation is relatively stable and defined, which makes it possible to clearly distribute, regulate and standardize the responsibilities of employees;

· to establish and legally formalize norms, it is necessary that these norms be observed in the informal sphere

Exist different classifications formal organizations: by form of ownership; the type of goal being achieved and the nature of the activity being performed; the ability of employees to influence organizational goals; scope and scope of organizational control; the type and degree of rigidity of organizational structures and the degree of formalization of relations; the degree of centralization of decision-making and the rigidity of organizational control; the type of technology used; size; number of functions performed; the type of external environment and the way of interaction with it. For various reasons of organization classified into societal and local; scalar (rigidly structured) and latent (less rigidly structured); administrative and public; business and charitable; private, joint-stock, cooperative, state, public, etc. Despite significant differences, they all have a number of common features and can be considered as an object of study.

Often service relationships do not fit into purely formal connections and norms. To solve a number of problems, workers sometimes have to enter into relationships with each other that are not provided for by any rules. Which is completely natural, because... the formal structure cannot provide for the full complexity of the relationship.

Informal organizations is an alternative, but no less effective subsystem of social regulation of behavior, spontaneously arising and operating in an organization at the level of small groups. This type of behavior regulation is focused on the implementation of common goals and interests small group(often inconsistent with the overall goals of the organization) and maintaining social order in the group.

Informal organizations appear not by order or decision of the administration, but spontaneously or deliberately to solve social needs. An informal organization is a spontaneously formed system of social connections and interactions. They have their own norms of interpersonal and intergroup communication that differ from formal structures. They arise and operate where formal organizations do not perform any functions important to society. Informal organizations, groups, associations compensate for the shortcomings of formal structures. As a rule, these are self-organized systems created to realize the common interests of the subjects of the organization. A member of an informal organization is more independent in achieving individual and group goals, has greater freedom in choosing a form of behavior and interaction with other individuals in the organization. These interactions largely depend on personal attachments and sympathies.

Informal organizations operate according to unwritten rules; their activities are not strictly regulated by orders, management guidelines, or regulations. Relations between participants in informal organizations are based on oral agreements. Solving organizational, technical and other problems is most often distinguished by creativity and originality. But in such organizations or groups there is no strict discipline, so they are less stable, more flexible and subject to change. The structure and relationships largely depend on the current situation.

Emerging in the process of activity, an informal organization can act both in the sphere of business and non-business relations.

The relationship between formal and informal organizations is complex and dialectical.

It is obvious that the discrepancy between goals and their functions often provokes conflicts between them. On the other hand, these subsystems of social regulation complement each other. If a formal organization, objectively focused on achieving organizational goals, often provokes conflicts between participants in joint activities, then an informal organization relieves these tensions and strengthens the integration of the social community, without which the organization’s activities are impossible. In addition, according to C. Barnadra, the connection between these regulatory systems is obvious: firstly, the formal organization arises from the informal, i.e. patterns of behavior and norms created in the process of informal interactions are the basis for constructing a formal structure; secondly, the informal organization is a testing ground for testing created samples, in the absence of which the legal consolidation of social norms in the formal regulatory subsystem leads to their invalidity; thirdly, a formal organization, filling only part of the organizational space, inevitably gives rise to an informal organization. The informal organization has a significant influence on the formal one, and seeks to change the existing relations in it according to its needs.

Thus, each type of organization has its own advantages and disadvantages. A modern manager, lawyer, or entrepreneur must have a basic understanding of this in order to skillfully use their strengths in practical work.

conclusions

Modern society cannot exist without complex social connections and interactions. Historically they have expanded and deepened. A special role is played by interactions and connections that provide the most important needs of the individual, social groups, and society as a whole. As a rule, these interactions and connections are institutionalized (legalized, protected from the influence of accidents), and are of a stable, self-renewing nature. Social institutions and organizations in the system of social connections and interactions are a kind of pillars on which society rests. They ensure the relative stability of social relations within society.

Determining the role of social institutions in social changes and development can be reduced to two interrelated actions:

Firstly, they ensure a transition to a qualitatively new state of the social system and its progressive development.

Secondly, they can contribute to the destruction or disorganization of the social system.

Literature

1. Sociology: Navch. Pos_bnik / Ed. G.V. Dvoretskoy – 2nd version, revised. and additional – K.: KNEU, 2002.

2. Sociology: Study. village edited by Lavrinenko V.N. – 2nd bridle, reworked and additional. – M.: UNITY, 2000.

3. Sociology / Edited by V.G. Gorodyanenko. – K., 2002.

4. General sociology: Textbook. allowance / Ed. A.G. Efendieva. M., 2002.

5. Kharcheva V. Fundamentals of sociology: a textbook for students. – M.: Logos, 2001.

6. Ossovsky V. Social organization and social institution // Sociology: theory, method, marketing. – 1998 - No. 3.

7. Reznik A. Institutional factors of stability of a weakly integrated Ukrainian society // Sociology: theory, methods, marketing. – 2005 - No. 1. – P.155-167.

8. Lapki V.V., Pantin V.I. Mastering the institutions and values ​​of democracy by Ukrainian Russian mass consciousness // Polis - 2005 - No. 1. – P.50-62.

Related information.

At its core, society consists of social institutions - a complex set of various characteristics that ensure the integrity of the social system. From a sociological point of view, this is a historically established form of human activity. The main examples of social institutions are school, state, family, church, and army. And today in the article we will analyze in detail the question of what social institutions are, what are their functions, types, and also give examples.

Terminological issue

In the narrowest sense, a social institution means an organized system of connections and norms that satisfy the basic needs of society in general and the individual in particular. For example, the social institution of the family is responsible for reproductive function.

If we go deeper into the terminology, a social institution is a value-normative set of attitudes and a body or organizations that approve them and help implement them. This term can also denote social elements that provide stable forms of organization and regulation of life. These are, for example, social institutions of law, education, state, religion, etc. The main goal of such institutions is to promote the stable development of society. Therefore, the main functions are considered to be:

• Meeting the demands of society.
• Control of social processes.

A little history

Ensuring functionality

In order for a social institution to perform its functions, it must have three categories of means:

• Right. Within a certain institution, it is necessary to establish its own norms, rules, and laws. This feature of a social institution, in the example of education, is manifested in the compulsory acquisition of knowledge by children. That is, according to the laws of the Institute of Education, parents must send their children to schools from a certain age without fail.
• Material conditions. That is, in order for children to have a place to study, they need schools, kindergartens, institutes, etc. It is necessary to have the means that will help implement the laws.
• Moral component. Public approval plays a big role in compliance with laws. After finishing school, children go to courses or institutes; they continue to study because they understand why education is needed.

Main features

Based on all of the above, it is already possible to determine the main features of a social institution using the example of education:

1. Historicity. Social institutions arise historically when society has a certain need. People had a thirst for knowledge long before they began to live in the first ancient civilizations. Exploring the world around them helped them survive. Later, people began to pass on experience to their children, who made their discoveries and passed them on to their offspring. This is how education came into being.
2. Sustainability. Institutions may die out, but before that they exist for centuries, or even entire epochs. The first people learned to make weapons from stone, today we can learn to fly into space.
3. Functionality. Each institution performs an important social function.
4. Material resources. The presence of material objects is necessary for the functions for which the institution was created to be performed. For example, an educational institute requires educational institutions, books and other materials so that children can learn.

Structure

Institutions were created to satisfy human needs, and they are quite diverse. If we give examples of social institutions, we can say that the need for protection is provided by the institute of defense, the institute of religion (in particular, the church) manages spiritual needs, and the institute of education responds to the need for knowledge. Summarizing all of the above, we can determine the structure of the institute, that is, its main components:

1. Groups and organizations that satisfy the needs of an individual or social group.
2. Norms, values, rules, laws, following which an individual or social group can satisfy their needs.
3. Symbols that regulate relations in the economic sphere of activity (brands, flags, etc.) You can even give an example of a social institution with a very memorable green symbol of a snake wrapped around a cup. It is often seen in hospitals that provide an individual or group with the need for wellness.
4. Ideological foundations.
5. Social variables, that is, public opinion.

Signs

It is important to determine the characteristics of a social institution. This can best be illustrated using education as an example:

1. The presence of institutions and groups united by one goal. For example, a school offers knowledge, children want to receive this knowledge.
2. Availability of a system of sample norms of values ​​and symbols. You can also draw an analogy with an educational institution, where a book can be a symbol, values ​​can be acquiring knowledge, and norms can be compliance with school rules.
3. Conduct in accordance with these standards. For example, a student refuses to follow the rules and is expelled from school or from a social institution. Of course, he can take the right path and go to another educational institution, or it may happen that he will not be accepted into any of them, and he will find himself left out of society.
4. Human and material resources that will help in solving certain problems.
5. Public approval.

Examples of social institutions in society

Institutions are completely different in their manifestations and factors. In fact, they can be divided into large and low-level. If we talk about the Institute of Education, this is a large cooperation. As for its sublevels, these can be institutes of primary, secondary and high schools. Because society is dynamic, some lower-level institutions may disappear, such as slavery, and some may appear, such as advertising.

Today in society there are five main institutions:

• Family.
• State.
• Education.
• Economy.
• Religion.

General Features

Institutions are designed to satisfy the most important needs of society and protect the interests of individuals. These can be both vital and social needs. According to social research, institutions perform common and distinct functions. General functions are assigned to each object, while individual functions may vary depending on the specifics of the institution. Studying examples of the functions of social institutions, we note that the general ones look like this:

• Establishment and reproduction of relationships in society. Each institution is obliged to designate the standard behavior of the individual by introducing rules, laws and norms.
• Regulation. Relations in society need to be regulated by developing acceptable models of behavior and imposing sanctions for violating norms.
• Integration. The activities of each social institution should unite individuals into groups so that they feel mutual responsibility and dependence on each other.
• Socialization. The main purpose of this function is to convey social experiences, norms, roles and values.

As regards additional functions, they should be considered in the context of the main institutions.

Family

It is considered to be the most important institution of the state. It is in the family that people receive the first basic knowledge about the external, social world and the rules that are established there. The family is the basic unit of society, which is characterized by voluntary marriage, maintaining a common household, and the desire to raise children. In accordance with this definition, the main functions of the social institution of the family are identified. For example, economic function (general life, housekeeping), reproductive (childbirth), recreational (healing), social control (raising children and transferring values).

State

The institution of the state is also called a political institution, which governs society and acts as a guarantor of its security. The state must perform such functions as:

• Economic regulation.
• Supporting stability and order in society.
• Ensuring social harmony.
• Protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, education of citizens and formation of values.

By the way, in case of war, the state must perform external functions, such as border defense. In addition, take an active part in international cooperation in order to protect the interests of the country, decide global problems and establish profitable contacts for economic development.

Education

The social institution of education is considered as a system of norms and connections that unites social values ​​and satisfies its needs. This system ensures the development of society through the transfer of knowledge and skills. The main functions of the educational institute include:

• Adaptive. The transfer of knowledge will help you prepare for life and find a job.
• Professional. Naturally, in order to find a job, you need to have some kind of profession; the educational system will help in this matter.
• Civil. Together with professional qualities and knowledge skills are able to convey mentality, that is, they prepare a citizen of a particular country.
• Cultural. The individual is instilled with the values ​​accepted in society.
• Humanistic. Helps to unlock personal potential.

Among all institutions, education plays the second most important role. An individual receives his first life experience in the family where he was born, but when he reaches a certain age, the sphere of education has a great influence on the socialization of the individual. The influence of a social institution, for example, can manifest itself in the choice of a hobby that no one in the family not only does, but also does not know about its existence.

Economy

An economic social institution must be responsible for the material sphere interpersonal relationships. A society characterized by poverty and financial instability cannot support optimal population reproduction or provide an educational basis for the development of the social system. Therefore, no matter how you look at it, all institutions are related to the economy. For example, an economic social institution ceases to function properly. The country's poverty rate begins to rise and more unemployed people appear. Fewer children will be born, and the nation will begin to age. Therefore, the main functions of this institute are:

• Coordinate the interests of producers and consumers.
• Satisfy the needs of participants in the social process.
• Strengthen connections within the economic system, and cooperate with other social institutions.
• Maintain economic order.

Religion

The institution of religion maintains the belief system that most people adhere to. This is a unique system of beliefs and practices, popular in a particular society, and focused on something sacred, impossible, supernatural. According to the research of Emile Durkheim, religion has three most important functions - integrative, that is, beliefs help unite people together.

In second place is the normative function. Individuals who adhere to certain beliefs act in accordance with canons or commandments. This helps maintain order in society. The third function is communicative; during rituals, individuals have the opportunity to communicate with each other or with the minister. This helps you integrate into society faster.

Thus, there is reason to make a small conclusion: social institutions are special organizations that must satisfy the basic needs of society and protect the interests of individuals, which will make it possible to integrate the population, but if one of the institutions fails, the country with a 99% probability can coups, rallies, armed uprisings will begin, which will ultimately lead to anarchy.

What is a "social institution"? What functions do social institutions perform?

Specific formations that ensure the relative stability of social connections and relationships within the framework of the social organization of society are social institutions. The term “institution” itself is used in sociology in different meanings.

Firstly, it is understood as a set of certain individuals, institutions, provided with certain material resources and performing a specific social function.

Secondly, from a substantive point of view, an “institution” is a certain set of standards, norms of behavior of individuals and groups in specific situations.

When we talk about social institutions, we generally mean a certain organization of social activity and social relations, including both standards, norms of behavior, and the corresponding organizations and institutions that “regulate” these norms of behavior. For example, if we talk about law as a social institution, we mean both a system of legal norms that determine the legal behavior of citizens, and a system of legal institutions (court, police) that regulate legal norms and legal relations.

Social institutions- these are forms of joint activity of people, historically established stable, or relatively stable types and forms of social practice, with the help of which social life is organized, the stability of connections and relationships is ensured within the framework of the social organization of society. Various social groups enter into social relations with each other, which are regulated in a certain way. The regulation of these and other social relations is carried out within the framework of relevant social institutions: the state (political relations), the workforce (social and economic), family, education system, etc.

Each social institution has a specific purpose of activity and, in accordance with it, performs certain functions, providing members of society with the opportunity to satisfy relevant social needs. As a result of this, social relations are stabilized and consistency is introduced into the actions of members of society. The functioning of social institutions and the performance of certain roles by people within them are determined by the presence of social norms in the internal structure of each social institution. It is these norms that determine the standard of people’s behavior; on their basis, the quality and direction of their activities are assessed, and sanctions are determined against those who exhibit deviant behavior.

Social institutions perform the following functions:

consolidation and reproduction of social relations in a certain area;

integration and cohesion of society;

regulation and social control;

communications and inclusion of people in activities.

Robert Merton introduced into sociology the distinction between explicit and latent (hidden) functions of social institutions. The explicit functions of the institution are declared, officially recognized and controlled by society.

Latent functions- these are “not its own” functions, performed by an institution hidden or inadvertently (when, for example, the education system performs functions of political socialization that are not characteristic of it). When the discrepancy between manifest and latent functions is large, a double standard of social relations arises and threatens the stability of society. Even more dangerous situation when, together with the official institutional system, so-called “shadow” institutions are formed, which take on the function of regulating the most important public relations (for example, criminal structures). Any social transformations are carried out through changes in the institutional system of society, the formation of new “rules of the game”. First of all, those social institutions that determine social type society (property institutions, government institutions, educational institutions).

A social institution is a relatively stable and long-term form of social practice, sanctioned and supported by social norms and with the help of which social life is organized and the stability of social relations is ensured. Emile Durkheim called social institutions “factories for the reproduction of social relations.”

Social institutions organize human activity into a certain system of roles and statuses, establishing patterns of human behavior in various fields public life. For example, a social institution such as a school includes the roles of teacher and student, and a family includes the roles of parents and children. Certain role relationships develop between them. These relations are regulated by a set of specific norms and regulations. Some of the most important norms are enshrined in law, others are supported by traditions, customs, and public opinion.

Any social institution includes a system of sanctions - from legal to moral and ethical, which ensure compliance with relevant values ​​and norms and the reproduction of appropriate role relationships.

Thus, social institutions streamline, coordinate many individual actions of people, give them an organized and predictable character, and ensure standard behavior of people in socially typical situations. When this or that human activity is ordered in the described manner, we speak of its institutionalization. Thus, institutionalization is the transformation of spontaneous behavior of people into organized behavior (“struggle without rules” into “game by the rules”).

Almost all spheres and forms of social relations, even conflicts, are institutionalized. However, in any society there is a certain proportion of behavior that is not subject to institutional regulation. There are usually five main sets of social institutions. These are kinship institutions associated with marriage, family and socialization of children and youth; political institutions related to relations of power and access to it; economic institutions and stratification institutions that determine the distribution of members of society into various status positions; cultural institutions associated with religious, scientific and artistic activities.

Historically, the institutional system has changed from institutions based on relationships of consanguinity and ascriptive characteristics characteristic of traditional society, to institutions based on formal relationships and achievement statuses. Nowadays, educational and scientific institutions that provide high social status are becoming the most important.

Institutionalization means normative and organizational strengthening and streamlining of social connections. With the emergence of an institution, new social communities engaged in specialized activities are formed, social norms are produced that regulate these activities, and new institutions and organizations ensure the protection of certain interests. For example, education becomes a social institution when a new society, occupation professional activity on training and education in a public school, in accordance with special standards.

Institutions can become outdated and hinder development innovation processes. For example, the qualitative renewal of society in our country required overcoming the influence of the old political structures of a totalitarian society, old norms and laws.

As a result of institutionalization, phenomena such as formalization, standardization of goals, depersonalization, and deindividualization may appear. Social institutions develop through overcoming contradictions between the new needs of society and outdated institutional forms.

The specifics of social institutions, of course, are mainly determined by the type of society within which they operate. However, there is also continuity in the development of various institutions. For example, the institution of family, during the transition from one state of society to another, may change some functions, but its essence remains unchanged. During periods of “normal” development of society, social institutions remain quite stable and sustainable. When there is a discrepancy between the actions of various social institutions, their inability to reflect public interest, to establish the functioning of social connections, this indicates a crisis situation in society. It can be solved either by a social revolution and a complete replacement of social institutions, or by their reconstruction.

Exist different kinds social institutions:

economic, which are engaged in the production, distribution and exchange of material goods, organization of labor, money circulation, and the like;

social, which organize voluntary associations, the lives of groups, regulating all aspects of the social behavior of people in relation to each other;

political, related to the performance of government functions;

cultural and educational, affirming and developing the continuity of the culture of society and its transmission to next generations;

Religious, which organize people’s attitude towards religion.

All institutions are linked together into an integrated (united) system, in which only they can guarantee a uniform, normal process of collective life and fulfill their tasks. That is why all of the listed institutions (economic, social, cultural and others) are generally classified as social institutions. The most fundamental of them are: property, state, family, production teams, science, mass information system, education and training systems, law and others.

Social Institute– historically established, stable forms of organizing joint activities of people; an organized system of social connections and norms designed to satisfy the basic needs of society, social groups and individuals.

Conditions for the emergence of a system of social institutions:

a) a social need for a given institution must exist in society and be recognized by the majority of individuals;

b) society must have the necessary means of satisfying this need - resources (material, labor, organizational), a system of functions, actions, individual goal-setting, symbols and norms that form the cultural environment on the basis of which a new institution will be formed.

Social institutions– 1) elements of society, representing stable forms of organization and regulation of social life; 2) value-normative complexes (values, rules, norms, attitudes, patterns, standards of behavior in certain situations), as well as bodies and organizations ensuring their implementation and approval in the life of society; 3) a certain organization of social activity and social relations, carried out through standards of behavior, the emergence and grouping of which into a system are determined by the content of a specific task solved by this institution.

Main features (signs) of a social institution:

1. Each institute has its own goal of activity, mission, ideology.

2. Has an organized system of formal and informal structures.

3. Defines a system of cultural patterns, customs, traditions, values, symbols, rules of human behavior and a stable set of social actions (behavior) in accordance with these norms and patterns.

4. Clearly defines the functions, rights and responsibilities of interaction participants to achieve the goal.

5. Has certain means (material and human resources) and institutions to achieve the goal. They can be both material and ideal, symbolic.

6. Has a certain system of sanctions that encourage desired behavior and suppress deviant behavior.

The structure of a social institution includes: social groups and organizations designed to satisfy the needs of groups and individuals; a set of norms, social values ​​and patterns of behavior that ensure the satisfaction of needs; a system of symbols regulating relations in a certain field of activity (trademark, flag, brand, etc.); ideological justifications for the activities of a social institution; social resources used in the activities of the institute.

primary goal social institutions – achieving stability during the development of society

Types of social institutions are classified:

1. By spheres of society: a) economic(division of labor, property, market, trade, wages, banking system, stock exchange, management, marketing, etc.); b) political(state, army, police, parliamentarism, presidency, monarchy, court, parties, civil society); V) stratification and kinship(class, estate, caste, gender discrimination, racial segregation, nobility, social security, family, marriage, paternity, maternity, adoption, twinning); G) culture(school, graduate School, average professional education, theaters, museums, clubs, libraries, church, monasticism, confession).

2. Depending on their field of activity: a) relational institutions(for example, insurance, labor, production) determine the role structure of society based on a certain set of characteristics; b) regulatory institutions determine the boundaries of an individual’s independence and his actions to achieve his own goals. This group includes institutions of the state, government, social protection, business, and healthcare.

3. According to functional qualities.

4. By lifetime, etc.

Social institutions are distinguished by the diversity and dynamism of their functions.

Types of functions of social institutions

A) General features: 1. The function of consolidating and reproducing social relations is a system of rules and norms of behavior that consolidate, standardize the behavior of each member of the institution and make this behavior predictable; 2. Regulatory function – a pattern of behavior, norms and control developed by a social institution that regulates relationships between members of society (i.e. a social institution as an element of social control); 3. Integrative function – processes of cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members of social groups; 4. Transmitting function – transfer of social experience, allowing individuals to socialize to its values, norms and roles; 5. Communication function - the dissemination of information both within the institute for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with standards, and its transfer in interaction with other institutions.

B) Selected functions:

– the social institution of marriage and family implements the function of reproduction of 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, bodies for supporting and strengthening the family, etc.);

– the social health institute is responsible for maintaining the health of the population (clinics, hospitals and other medical institutions, as well as state bodies organizing the process of maintaining and strengthening health);

– the social institution of production of means of subsistence performs a creative function;

– the social institution of law performs the function of developing legal documents and is in charge of compliance with laws and legal norms, etc.

IN) R. Merton proposed to distinguish between “explicit” and “hidden (latent)” functions. Explicit - officially accepted, recognized and controlled by society; hidden - performed hidden or unintentionally. When these functions diverge, a double standard of social relations arises, which threatens the stability of society, since, along with official institutions, “shadow” institutions are formed that take on the function of regulating the most important social relations (for example, criminal structures).

Since society is a dynamic system, some institutions may disappear (the institution of slavery), while others may appear (the institution of advertising or the institution of civil society). The formation of a social institution is called a process institutionalization(the process of streamlining social relations, forming stable patterns of social interaction based on clear rules, laws, patterns and rituals).

Basic social institutions

1. Family as a social institution is characterized by a set of social norms, sanctions and patterns of behavior that regulate the relationships between spouses, parents and their children and other relatives. The family institution includes many more private institutions, such as the institution of marriage, the institution of kinship, the institution of motherhood and paternity, the institution of social protection of childhood, etc. Functions: economic, reproductive, educational, etc.

2. Social policy institutions: exercise political power. Internal functions: economic, stabilization, coordination, ensuring the protection of the population, etc.; external functions: defense, international cooperation, etc.

3. Economic institutions: institution of property, system of trade and distribution, financial system, insurance system and other types of systematized economic activity. The economy as a social institution provides people with the material conditions of existence, is a systematizing component of society, a decisive sphere of its life, determining the course of all processes occurring in society. Main function: production and distribution of goods and services.

4. Education– a social cultural institution that ensures the reproduction and development of society through the organized transfer of social experience in the form of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Education contributes to the socialization of the individual and the development of personality, promotes its self-realization. Functions: adaptation, professional, civil, general cultural, humanistic, etc.

5. Right– a social institution, a system of generally binding norms and relations protected by the state. The main functions of law: regulatory (regulates social relations) and protective (protects those relations that are useful for society as a whole).

6. Religion– how a social institution can be defined as a system of socially accepted beliefs and corresponding practices. Functions: ideological, compensatory, integrating, general cultural, etc.

Institutions are numerous and varied in their forms and manifestations. Large institutions may include institutions larger than low level(for example, the court - the institutions of the Bar, the Prosecutor's Office, the Judiciary). Each institution can satisfy several needs (the church is able to satisfy religious, moral, cultural needs), and the same need can be satisfied by different institutions (spiritual needs can be satisfied by art, science, religion, etc.).

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