The most important component of society as a system are social institutions.

The word “institute” comes from the Latin instituto meaning “establishment”. In Russian it is often used to refer to higher educational institutions. In addition, as you know from the basic school course, in the field of law the word “institution” means a set of legal norms governing one social relationship or several relationships related to each other (for example, the institution of marriage).

In sociology, social institutions are historically established stable forms of organization. joint activities regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at meeting the fundamental needs of society.

This is a definition that it is advisable to return to after reading to the end educational material on this issue, we will consider based on the concept of “activity” (see § 1). In the history of society, sustainable types of activities have developed aimed at satisfying the most important needs of life. Sociologists identify five such social needs:

• the need for reproduction;
• need for security and social order;
• need for subsistence;
• the need for knowledge acquisition, socialization of the younger generation, personnel training;
• the need to solve spiritual problems of the meaning of life.

In accordance with the above-mentioned needs, types of activities have developed in society, which, in turn, required the necessary organization, streamlining, the creation of certain institutions and other structures, and the development of rules to ensure the achievement of the expected result. These conditions for the successful implementation of the main types of activities were met by historically established social institutions:

• institution of family and marriage;
• political institutions, especially the state;
• economic institutions, primarily production;
• institutes of education, science and culture;
• Institute of Religion.

Each of these institutions brings together large masses of people to satisfy one or another need and achieve a specific goal of a personal, group or social nature.

Emergence social institutions led to the consolidation of specific types of interaction, making them permanent and mandatory for all members of a given society.

So, social institution- this is, first of all, a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and in the process of this activity ensuring the satisfaction of a certain need that is significant for society (for example, all employees of the education system).

Further, the institution is secured by a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs regulating the corresponding types of behavior. (Remember, for example, what social norms regulate the behavior of people in the family).

Another one characteristic social institution - the presence of institutions equipped with certain material means necessary for any type of activity. (Think about what social institutions the school, factory, and police belong to. Give your own examples of institutions and organizations that relate to each of the most important social institutions.)

Any of these institutions is integrated into the socio-political, legal, value structure of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the activities of this institution and exercise control over it.

A social institution stabilizes social relations and brings consistency into the actions of members of society. A social institution is characterized by a clear delineation of the functions of each of the subjects of interaction, consistency of their actions, and a high level of regulation and control. (Think about how these features of a social institution manifest themselves in the education system, particularly in school.)

Let us consider the main features of a social institution using the example of such an important institution of society as the family. First of all, every family is a small group of people based on intimacy and emotional attachment, related by marriage (spouses) and blood relationships (parents and children). The need to create a family is one of the fundamental, i.e. fundamental, human needs. At the same time, the family performs important functions in society: the birth and upbringing of children, economic support for minors and the disabled, and much more. Each family member occupies a special position in it, which presupposes appropriate behavior: parents (or one of them) provide a livelihood, manage household chores, and raise children. The children, in turn, study and help around the house. Such behavior is regulated not only by family rules, but also by social norms: morality and law. Thus, public morality condemns the lack of care of older family members for younger ones. The law establishes the responsibilities and obligations of spouses towards each other, towards children, and adult children towards elderly parents. Starting a family, milestones family life accompanied by established traditions and rituals in society. For example, in many countries, marriage rituals include the exchange of wedding rings between spouses.

The presence of social institutions makes people's behavior more predictable and society as a whole more stable.

In addition to the main social institutions, there are also non-main ones. So, if the main political institution is the state, then the non-main ones are the institution of the judiciary or, as in our country, the institution of presidential representatives in the regions, etc.

The presence of social institutions reliably ensures regular, self-renewing satisfaction of vital needs. A social institution makes connections between people not random or chaotic, but constant, reliable, and sustainable. Institutional interaction is a well-established order of social life in the main spheres of people's lives. The more social needs are satisfied by social institutions, the more developed the society is.

Since during historical process New needs and conditions arise, and new types of activities and corresponding connections appear. Society is interested in giving them order and a normative character, that is, in their institutionalization.

In Russia, as a result of reforms at the end of the 20th century. For example, such a type of activity as an entrepreneur appeared. quality The streamlining of these activities led to the emergence of various types of firms and required the publication of laws regulating entrepreneurial activity, contributed to the formation of relevant traditions.

In the political life of our country, the institutions of parliamentarism, a multi-party system, and the institution of the presidency arose. The principles and rules of their functioning are enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and relevant laws.

In the same way, the institutionalization of other activities that emerged in recent decades took place.

It happens that the development of society requires the modernization of the activities of social institutions that historically developed in previous periods. Thus, in the changed conditions there was a need to solve the problems of familiarization with culture in a new way. younger generation. Hence the steps taken to modernize the institution of education, which may result in the institutionalization of the Unified State Exam and new content of educational programs.

So we can go back to the definition given at the beginning of this part of the paragraph. Think about what characterizes social institutions as highly organized systems. Why is their structure stable? What is the significance of deep integration of their elements? What is the diversity, flexibility, and dynamism of their functions?

History of the term

Basic information

The peculiarities of its word usage are further complicated by the fact that in the English language traditionally, an institution is understood as any established practice of people that has a sign of self-reproduction. In such a broad, not highly specialized, meaning, an institution can be an ordinary human queue or English language as a centuries-old social practice.

Therefore, a social institution is often given another name - “institution” (from the Latin institutio - custom, instruction, instruction, order), meaning by it a set of social customs, the embodiment of certain habits of behavior, way of thinking and life, passed on from generation to generation, changing depending on the circumstances and serving as an instrument of adaptation to them, and by “institution” - the consolidation of customs and orders in the form of a law or institution. The term “social institution” includes both “institution” (customs) and “institution” itself (institutions, laws), since it combines both formal and informal “rules of the game.”

A social institution is a mechanism that provides a set of constantly repeating and reproducing social relations and social practices of people (for example: the institution of marriage, the institution of family). E. Durkheim figuratively called social institutions “factories for the reproduction of social relations.” These mechanisms are based both on codified sets of laws and on non-thematized rules (non-formalized “hidden” ones that are revealed when they are violated), social norms, values ​​and ideals historically inherent in a particular society. According to the authors of a Russian textbook for universities, “these are the strongest, most powerful ropes, which decisively determine the viability of [the social system].”

Spheres of life of society

There are 4 spheres of society, each of which includes various social institutions and various social relations arise:

• Economic- relations in the production process (production, distribution, consumption of material goods). Institutions related to the economic sphere: private property, material production, market, etc.
• Social- relations between different social and age groups; activities to ensure social security. Institutions related to the social sphere: education, family, healthcare, social security, leisure, etc.
• Political- relationships between civil society and the state, between the state and political parties, and between states. Institutions related to the political sphere: state, law, parliament, government, judicial system, political parties, army, etc.
• Spiritual- relationships that arise in the process of creating and preserving spiritual values, creating the distribution and consumption of information. Institutions related to the spiritual sphere: education, science, religion, art, media, etc.

Institutionalization

The first, most often used meaning of the term “social institution” is associated with the characteristics of any kind of ordering, formalization and standardization public relations and relationships. And the process of streamlining, formalization and standardization itself is called institutionalization. The process of institutionalization, that is, the formation of a social institution, consists of several successive stages:

1. the emergence of a need, the satisfaction of which requires joint organized action;
2. formation of common goals;
3. the emergence of social norms and rules in the course of spontaneous social interaction carried out by trial and error;
4. the emergence of procedures related to norms and regulations;
5. institutionalization of norms and rules, procedures, that is, their adoption and practical application;
6. establishment of a system of sanctions to maintain norms and rules, differentiation of their application in individual cases;
7. creation of a system of statuses and roles covering all members of the institute without exception;

So, the final stage of the institutionalization process can be considered the creation, in accordance with the norms and rules, of a clear status-role structure, socially approved by the majority of participants in this social process.

The process of institutionalization thus includes a number of aspects.

• One of the necessary conditions for the emergence of social institutions is a corresponding social need. Institutions are called upon to organize the joint activities of people in order to satisfy certain social needs. Thus, the institution of the family satisfies the need for the reproduction of the human race and raising children, implements relations between the sexes, generations, etc. The Institute of Higher Education provides training work force, makes it possible for a person to develop his abilities in order to realize them in subsequent activities and ensure his existence, etc. The emergence of certain social needs, as well as the conditions for their satisfaction, are the first necessary moments of institutionalization.

• A social institution is formed on the basis of social connections, interactions and relationships of specific individuals, social groups and communities. But it, like other social systems, cannot be reduced to the sum of these individuals and their interactions. Social institutions are supra-individual in nature and have their own systemic quality. Consequently, a social institution is an independent social entity that has its own logic of development. From this point of view, social institutions can be considered as organized social systems, characterized by the stability of the structure, the integration of their elements and a certain variability of their functions.

First of all, we are talking about a system of values, norms, ideals, as well as patterns of activity and behavior of people and other elements of the sociocultural process. This system guarantees similar behavior of people, coordinates and channels their specific aspirations, establishes ways to satisfy their needs, and resolves conflicts that arise in the process. Everyday life, ensures a state of balance and stability within a particular social community and society as a whole.

The mere presence of these sociocultural elements does not ensure the functioning of a social institution. In order for it to work, it is necessary that they become public inner world personalities, were internalized by them in the process of socialization, embodied in the form of social roles and statuses. The internalization by individuals of all sociocultural elements, the formation on their basis of a system of personal needs, value orientations and expectations is the second most important element of institutionalization.

• The third most important element of institutionalization is the organizational design of a social institution. Externally, a social institution is a set of organizations, institutions, individuals, equipped with certain material resources and performing a certain social function. Thus, the Institute of Higher Education is put into operation social corps teachers, service personnel, officials who operate within institutions such as universities, the ministry or the State Committee for higher school etc., which for their activities have certain material assets(buildings, finances, etc.).

Thus, social institutions are social mechanisms, stable value-normative complexes that regulate various spheres of social life (marriage, family, property, religion), which are little susceptible to changes in people’s personal characteristics. But they are put into action by people carrying out their activities, “playing” by their rules. Thus, the concept of “monogamous family institution” does not mean a separate family, but a set of norms implemented in countless families of a certain type.

Institutionalization, as P. Berger and T. Luckman show, is preceded by a process of habitualization, or “habituation” of everyday actions, leading to the formation of patterns of activity that are subsequently perceived as natural and normal for a given type of activity or solving problems typical in given situations. Patterns of action act, in turn, as the basis for the formation of social institutions, which are described in the form of objective social facts and are perceived by the observer as “social reality” (or social structure). These trends are accompanied by procedures of signification (the process of creating, using signs and fixing meanings and meanings in them) and form a system of social meanings, which, developing into semantic connections, are recorded in natural language. Signification serves the purpose of legitimation (recognition as competent, socially recognized, legal) of the social order, that is, justification and justification of the usual ways of overcoming the chaos of destructive forces that threaten to undermine stable idealizations of everyday life.

The emergence and existence of social institutions is associated with the formation in each individual of a special set of sociocultural dispositions (habitus), practical patterns of action that have become for the individual his internal “natural” need. Thanks to habitus, individuals are included in the activities of social institutions. Social institutions, therefore, are not just mechanisms, but “original “meaning factories” that set not only patterns of human interactions, but also ways of comprehending, understanding social reality and the people themselves.”

Structure and functions of social institutions

Structure

Concept social institution assumes:

• the presence of a need in society and its satisfaction by the mechanism of reproduction of social practices and relationships;
• these mechanisms, being supra-individual formations, act in the form of value-normative complexes that regulate social life as a whole or its separate sphere, but for the benefit of the whole;

Their structure includes:

• role models of behavior and statuses (instructions for their implementation);
• their justification (theoretical, ideological, religious, mythological) in the form of a categorical grid, defining a “natural” vision of the world;
• means of transmitting social experience (material, ideal and symbolic), as well as measures that stimulate one behavior and repress another, tools for maintaining institutional order;
• social positions - the institutions themselves represent a social position (“there are no empty” social positions, so the question of the subjects of social institutions disappears).

In addition, they assume the presence of a certain social position of “professionals” who are capable of putting this mechanism into action, playing by its rules, including a whole system of their preparation, reproduction and maintenance.

In order not to denote the same concepts by different terms and to avoid terminological confusion, social institutions should be understood not as collective subjects, not social groups and not organizations, but special social mechanisms that ensure the reproduction of certain social practices and social relations. But collective subjects should still be called “social communities”, “social groups” and “social organizations”.

Functions

Every social institution has main function, defining its “face”, associated with its main social role in consolidating and reproducing certain social practices and relationships. If this is an army, then its role is to ensure the military-political security of the country by participating in hostilities and demonstrating its military power. In addition to it, there are other obvious functions, to one degree or another, characteristic of all social institutions, ensuring the fulfillment of the main one.

Along with explicit ones, there are also implicit ones - latent (hidden) functions. So, Soviet army at one time it carried out a number of hidden state tasks unusual for it - national economic, penitentiary, fraternal assistance to “third countries”, pacification and suppression of mass riots, popular discontent and counter-revolutionary putschs both within the country and in the countries of the socialist camp. The explicit functions of institutions are necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and enshrined in a system of statuses and roles. Latent functions are expressed in the unintended results of the activities of institutions or individuals representing them. Thus, the democratic state that was established in Russia in the early 90s, through the parliament, government and president, sought to improve the lives of the people, create civilized relations in society and instill in citizens respect for the law. These were the explicit goals and objectives. In fact, the crime rate in the country has increased, and the standard of living of the population has fallen. These are the results of the latent functions of the institutions of power. Explicit functions indicate what people wanted to achieve within a particular institution, and latent functions indicate what came out of it.

Identification of the latent functions of social institutions allows not only to create an objective picture of social life, but also makes it possible to minimize their negative and enhance their positive influence in order to control and manage the processes occurring in it.

Social institutions in public life perform the following functions or tasks:

The totality of these social functions adds up to general social functions social institutions as certain types of social system. These functions are very diverse. Sociologists different directions they sought to somehow classify them, present them in the form of a certain ordered system. The most complete and interesting classification introduced the so-called "institutional school". Representatives of the institutional school in sociology (S. Lipset, D. Landberg, etc.) identified four main functions of social institutions:

• Reproduction of members of society. The main institution performing this function is the family, but other social institutions, such as the state, are also involved.
• Socialization is the transfer to individuals of patterns of behavior and methods of activity established in a given society - institutions of family, education, religion, etc.
• Production and distribution. Provided by economic and social institutions of management and control - authorities.
• The functions of management and control are carried out through a system of social norms and regulations that implement the corresponding types of behavior: moral and legal norms, customs, administrative decisions, etc. Social institutions manage the behavior of the individual through a system of sanctions.

In addition to solving its specific problems, each social institution performs universal functions inherent to all of them. The functions common to all social institutions include the following:

1. The function of consolidating and reproducing social relations. Each institution has a set of norms and rules of behavior, fixed, standardizing the behavior of its participants and making this behavior predictable. Social control provides the order and framework within which the activities of each member of the institution should take place. Thus, the institution ensures the stability of the structure of society. The Code of the Family Institute assumes that members of society are divided into stable small groups - families. Social control ensures a state of stability for each family and limits the possibility of its disintegration.
2. Regulatory function. It ensures the regulation of relationships between members of society through the development of patterns and patterns of behavior. A person’s entire life takes place with the participation of various social institutions, but each social institution regulates activities. Consequently, a person, with the help of social institutions, demonstrates predictability and standard behavior, fulfills role requirements and expectations.
3. Integrative function. This function ensures cohesion, interdependence and mutual responsibility of members. This occurs under the influence of institutionalized norms, values, rules, a system of roles and sanctions. It streamlines the system of interactions, which leads to increased stability and integrity of the elements of the social structure.
4. Broadcasting function. Society cannot develop without the transfer of social experience. Each institution for its normal functioning needs the arrival of new people who have mastered its rules. This happens by changing the social boundaries of the institution and changing generations. Consequently, each institution provides a mechanism for socialization to its values, norms, and roles.
5. Communication functions. Information produced by an institution should be disseminated both within the institution (for the purpose of managing and monitoring compliance with social norms) and in interaction between institutions. This function has its own specifics - formal connections. At the Institute of Funds mass media- this is the main function. Scientific institutions actively absorb information. The commutative capabilities of institutions are not the same: some of them are inherent in to a greater extent, others - less.

Functional qualities

Social institutions differ from each other in their functional qualities:

• Political institutions - the state, parties, trade unions and other types of public organizations pursuing political goals aimed at establishing and maintaining a certain form of political power. Their totality is political system of this society. Political institutions ensure the reproduction and sustainable preservation of ideological values ​​and stabilize the dominant social and class structures in society.
• Sociocultural and educational institutions aim to master and subsequently reproduce cultural and social values, the inclusion of individuals in a certain subculture, as well as the socialization of individuals through the assimilation of stable sociocultural standards of behavior and, finally, the protection of certain values ​​and norms.
• Normative-orienting - mechanisms of moral and ethical orientation and regulation of individual behavior. Their goal is to give behavior and motivation a moral reasoning, an ethical basis. These institutions establish imperative universal human values, special codes and ethics of behavior in the community.
• Normative-sanctioning - social regulation of behavior on the basis of norms, rules and regulations enshrined in legal and administrative acts. The binding nature of norms is ensured by the coercive power of the state and the system of corresponding sanctions.
• Ceremonial-symbolic and situational-conventional institutions. These institutions are based on a more or less long-term acceptance of conventional (under agreement) norms, their official and unofficial consolidation. These norms regulate everyday contacts and various acts of group and intergroup behavior. They determine the order and method of mutual behavior, regulate methods of transmission and exchange of information, greetings, addresses, etc., regulations for meetings, sessions, and activities of associations.

Dysfunction of a social institution

Violation of normative interaction with the social environment, which is society or community, is called dysfunction of a social institution. As noted earlier, the basis for the formation and functioning of a specific social institution is the satisfaction of one or another social need. In conditions of intensive social processes and the acceleration of the pace of social change, a situation may arise when changed social needs are not adequately reflected in the structure and functions of the relevant social institutions. As a result, dysfunction may occur in their activities. From a substantive point of view, dysfunction is expressed in the vagueness of the goals of the institution, the uncertainty of its functions, the decline of its social prestige and authority, the degeneration of its individual functions into “symbolic”, ritual activity, that is, activity not aimed at achieving a rational goal.

One of the obvious expressions of the dysfunction of a social institution is the personalization of its activities. A social institution, as is known, functions according to its own, objectively operating mechanisms, where each person, based on norms and patterns of behavior, in accordance with his status, plays certain roles. Personalization of a social institution means that it ceases to act in accordance with objective needs and objectively established goals, changing its functions depending on the interests of individuals, their personal qualities and properties.

An unsatisfied social need can give rise to the spontaneous emergence of normatively unregulated types of activities that seek to compensate for the dysfunction of the institution, but at the expense of violating existing norms and rules. In its extreme forms, activity of this kind can be expressed in illegal activities. Thus, the dysfunction of some economic institutions is the reason for the existence of the so-called “shadow economy”, which results in speculation, bribery, theft, etc. Correction of the dysfunction can be achieved by changing the social institution itself or by creating a new social institution that satisfies a given social need.

Formal and informal social institutions

Social institutions, as well as the social relations that they reproduce and regulate, can be formal and informal.

Role in the development of society

According to American researchers Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (English) Russian It is the nature of the social institutions that exist in a particular country that determines the success or failure of the development of that country.

Having looked at examples from many countries around the world, scientists came to the conclusion that the determining and necessary condition for the development of any country is the presence of public institutions, which they called publicly accessible. Inclusive institutions). Examples of such countries are all developed democratic countries of the world. Conversely, countries where public institutions are closed are doomed to lag and decline. Public institutions in such countries, according to researchers, only serve to enrich the elites who control access to these institutions - this is the so-called. "privileged institutions" extractive institutions). According to the authors, economic development society is impossible without priority political development, that is, without the formation publicly available political institutions . .

see also

Literature

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• Anikevich A. G. Political power: Issues of research methodology, Krasnoyarsk. 1986.
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• Zemsky M. Family and personality. M., 1986.
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• Novikova S.S. Sociology: history, foundations, institutionalization in Russia, ch. 4. Types and forms of social connections in the system. M., 1983.
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• Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson= Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. - First. - Crown Business; 1 edition (March 20, 2012), 2012. - 544 p. - ISBN 978-0-307-71921-8

Footnotes and notes

1. Social Institutions // Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
2. Spencer H. First principles. N.Y., 1898. S.46.
3. Marx to K. P. V. Annenkov, December 28, 1846 // Marx K., Engels F. Soch. Ed. 2nd. T. 27.S. 406.
4. Marx K. Toward a critique of Hegel’s philosophy of law // Marx K., Engels F. Soch. Ed. 2nd. T.9. P. 263.
5. see: Durkheim E. Les forms elementaires de la vie religieuse. Le systeme totemique en Australie.Paris, 1960
6. Veblen T. The Theory of the Leisure Class. - M., 1984. S. 200-201.
7. Scott, Richard, 2001, Institutions and Organizations, London: Sage.
8. See ibid.
9. Fundamentals of sociology: Course of lectures / [A. I. Antolov, V. Ya. Nechaev, L. V. Pikovsky, etc.]: Rep. ed. \.G.Efendiev. - M, 1993. P.130
10. Acemoglu, Robinson
11. Theory of institutional matrices: in search of a new paradigm. // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. No. 1, 2001.
12. Frolov S.S. Sociology. Textbook. For higher educational institutions. Section III. Social relationships. Chapter 3. Social institutions. M.: Nauka, 1994.
13. Gritsanov A. A. Encyclopedia of Sociology. Publishing House "Book House", 2003. - p. 125.
14. See for more details: Berger P., Luckman T. Social construction of reality: a treatise on the sociology of knowledge. M.: Medium, 1995.
15. Kozhevnikov S. B. Society in structures life world: methodological research tools // Sociological Journal. 2008. No. 2. P. 81-82.
16. Bourdieu P. Structure, habitus, practice // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. - Volume I, 1998. - No. 2.
17. Collection "Knowledge in the connections of sociality. 2003": Internet source / Lektorsky V. A. Preface -

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 social connections in the sphere of economic activity, subject to strict regulation, are all macro-institutions that ensure the production and distribution of social wealth and services, regulate money circulation, and organize and divide 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, 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 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 various cultural and social foundations and interest associations. An example of informal social institutions can be friendship - one of the elements that characterizes the life of any society, a mandatory stable phenomenon 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 significant element 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 the economic progress of society and the development of its political system can lead to no less social changes.

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 accelerated social development generally.

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 mean certain activities on organization (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 the scientific literature are usually referred to as “formal organizations”.

Traits (signs) 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, routines cover the entire sphere of behavior of its participants, social roles which are clearly defined, and the relationships imply 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 functioning of the 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 important components formation of the 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 general universal rules and social norms, sociocultural standards, regulations regulating activities and organizational interactions. The formation and internalization of common rules and social norms governing the behavior of people in an organization helps to increase sustainability social interactions behavior of participants in the activity. Associated with the formation of predictable and sustainable relationships, ensuring known level stability of 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 system for regulating business interactions, focused on achieving overall organizational goals, 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 benefits of bureaucracy are most noticeable when it official duties it is possible to exclude personal, irrational, emotional elements. According to this, bureaucracy is characterized by: rationality, reliability, and efficiency. Efficiency, neutrality, hierarchy, legality of actions, centralization of power. The main disadvantage of bureaucracy is the lack of flexibility and 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 an organization involve 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 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

There are different classifications of 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 realizing the common goals and interests of a small group (often inconsistent with the general 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, entrepreneur must have this meaty understanding in order to skillfully use practical work their strengths.

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 change 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.

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Related information.

Social institution: what is it

Social institutions act as historically established and stable forms of organizing the joint activities of people in one community. Authors and researchers use this term in relation to various areas. This includes education, family, healthcare, government and many others.

The emergence of social institutions and their coverage of wide sections of the population and various spheres of human activity is associated with a very complex process of formalization and standardization. This process is called “institutionalization”.

Note 1

Institutionalization is very multifactorial and structured, and includes a number of key points that cannot be ignored when studying social institutions, their typology and main functions. One of the key conditions that precedes the emergence of a social institution is the social need on the part of the population. This is due to the fact that social institutions are necessary for organizing the joint activities of people. The main goal of such activities is to satisfy the basic social, economic, political and spiritual needs of the population.

The diversity of social institutions has been the object of study by many sociologists. They all tried to find similarities and differences in the functionality of social institutions and their purpose in society. Thus, they came to the conclusion that each social institution is characterized by the presence of a specific goal for its activities, as well as certain functions, the implementation of which is necessary to achieve the set goal and implement specific tasks. In addition, a participant in each social institution has his own social status and role, which is also important, since in this way a person in one period of his life can have several social statuses and roles at once (father, son, husband, brother, boss, subordinate, etc.) .

Types of social institutions

Social institutions have a fairly diverse typology. The authors also propose various approaches to determining the specific and typological features of institutions.

Depending on the functional qualities, social institutions can be of the following types:

1. Socio-economic institutions. These include property, exchange, the process of production and consumption, money, banks and various economic associations. Social institutions of this type provide the entire set of production, distribution, exchange and consumption of social and economic resources;
2. . Their activities are aimed at establishing and further supporting certain forms of political power. This includes the state, political parties and trade unions that provide political activity, as well as a number of public organizations that pursue political goals. In fact, the totality of these elements constitutes the entire political system that exists in specific societies. ensure the reproduction, as well as the preservation of ideological values, stabilize the social and class structures of society, their interaction with each other;
3. Socio-cultural and educational institutions. Their activities construct the principles of assimilation and further reproduction of cultural and social values. They are also necessary for individuals to join and be included in a certain subculture. Sociocultural and educational institutions influence the socialization of the individual, and this applies to both primary and secondary socialization. Socialization occurs through the assimilation of basic social and cultural norms and standards, as well as the protection of specific norms and values, their further transmission from the older generation to the younger;
4. Normative-orienting institutions. Their goal is to motivate the moral and ethical basis of a person’s personality. The entire set of these institutions affirms in the community imperative universal human values, as well as special codes that regulate behavior and its ethics.

Note 2

In addition to the above, there are also normative-sanctioning (law) and ceremonial-symbolic institutions (otherwise they are called situational-conventional). They determine and regulate daily contacts, as well as acts of group and intergroup behavior.

The typology of social institutions is also determined by the scope of action. Among them the following stand out:

• Regulatory social institutions;
• Regulatory social institutions;
• Cultural social institutions;
• Integrative social institutions.

Functions of a social institution

The functions of social institutions and their structure have been developed by many authors. The classification of J. Szczepanski is of interest to us, since it is the most standard and relevant in modern society:

1. Social institutions satisfy the basic needs of the population in general and the individual in particular;
2. Social institutions regulate relations between social groups;
3. Social institutions ensure the continuous process of an individual’s life, making it expedient and also socially significant;
4. Social institutions connect the actions and relationships of individuals, that is, they contribute to the emergence of social cohesion, which prevents crisis and conflict situations.

Note 3

Other functions of social institutions include improving and simplifying adaptation processes, fulfilling important strategic tasks of society, regulating the use of significant resources, ensuring public order and structuring the everyday life of individuals, coordinating the interests of each member of society with the interests of the state (stabilization of social relations).

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 legal institutions(court, police), which 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. Regulation of these and other social relations is carried out within the framework of relevant social institutions: the state (political relations), labor collective(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. An even more dangerous situation is 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 spheres of 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 features characteristic of traditional society, into 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 appears, professional activities in teaching and upbringing in a mass school, in accordance with special norms.

Institutions can become outdated and hinder development innovation processes. For example, the qualitative renewal of society in our country required overcoming the influence of old political structures totalitarian society, old norms, 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 lack of coordination in the actions of various social institutions, their inability to reflect public interests and 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.

There are different types of 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, collective lives, regulating all aspects social behavior 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.