Assess the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Functionalist...

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist approach to society (33 marks) Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.†¦show more content†¦This is therefore seen as a weakness of functionalism as society does have many inequalities which functionalism fails to acknowledge. Talcott Parsons, a functionalist sociologist who elaborated on Durkheim’s work about society and its functions, claimed that society is like an organism, in particular, the human body. He argued that all institutions, such as the family and the education system, within society function together to maintain society just as the organs within a human body work together to maintain life. In particular, Parsons identified three similarities between the human body and society; he claimed that they were both systems within themselves – all the parts of a body and the institutions within society fit together in fixed ways. He also identified that these ‘systems’ have needs – the human body needs nutrition to help it sustain life, whereas society needs adequate socialisation in order for society to continue functioning in the way that it does. Parsons also stated that both the human body and society have functions – the functions of the systems within the human body ensure that the body’s needs are meet thus maintaining life; whereas, in society, the economy functions to maintain the social system. As parsons’ analogy helps sociologists to better understand the way in which institutions in society workShow MoreRelatedMarxists theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance913 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Assess the contribution of the Marxist theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance. (21 marks) Marxism is a macro/structural approach to society, meaning that it looks at the large-scale societal structure for answers about how society works and operates and explores crime and deviance in relation to classes within a capitalist society. Marxists claim that laws do not reflect a value consensus, instead laws and law enforcement benefits the rich (protection of private property)Read MoreStrengths and Weaknesses of the Functionalist View on Society1459 Words   |  6 PagesAssess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist view on society. Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions. A strength of the functionalist theory is that it a macro level structural theory which uses an organic analogy- using the body asRead MoreBio and Socio Medical691 Words   |  3 Pagesexcludes psychological, environmental, and social influences. This model relates to the functionalist approach of health as it specifies that health is the absences of disease and it’s regarded as dysfunctional for the society as individuals cannot make a positive contribution to the running of society. According to the perspective of Marxists, he argued that doctors encourage the production rate of the society by explaining health as the potential to work, he also disseminated that working is betterRead MoreFamily as a Social Institution Essay1518 Words   |  7 Pagesrelation to the notion of families as authority relations rather than our modern terminology being of families as groups of loved ones. It is also important to note that marriage in those other than the elite in most white Christian societies was not a ceremony performed until the last 250 years or so. This was because of the way in which land and other things of value were to be divided and as only the rich had to worry about disbursement of assets after their deaths theyRead MoreFundamental Values Of Society And The Human Body2729 Words   |  11 Pagessociological perspectives Functionalism The functionalist method to sociology is best known for comparing society to the human body. The different institutions in society each have special offers to produce just as the body works through the structured interrelationship of basic organs, like the lungs, heart and liver. They use tactics of social control to deal distribute with abnormal members or groups, and they also work together. As a psychological approach, Talcott Parsons performed an importantRead MoreStarbucks Business Plan31663 Words   |  127 Pagestheory of science 14 3.1.1 Three methodological views of Arbnor and Bjerke 14 3.1.1.1 The analytical view 15 3.1.1.2 The systems view 17 3.1.1.3 The actors view 19 3.1.2 Four sociological paradigms of Burrell and Morgan 21 3.1.3 Functionalist paradigm 22 3.1.4 Interpretive paradigm 23 3.1.5 Radical humanist paradigm 23 3.1.6 Radical structuralist paradigm 23 3.2 Comparison of Arbnor amp; Bjerke and Burrell amp; Morgan 24 3.3 Limitations and Assumptions 26 3.4 ValidityRead MoreSociology Essay20437 Words   |  82 Pagesto make the necessary arrangement at the ï ¬ rst opportunity. C ontents Introduction to AS Sociology xxxi–l Module 1 Families and Households 1–102 Unit 1.1 Introduction Unit 1.2 Theoretical Explanations of the Role of Families in society Unit 1.3 Social Change and Families and Households: Demographic trends and statistical evidence Unit 1.4 Marriage, Cohabitation and Divorce Unit 1.5 Older Relatives and Children in Families Unit 1.6 Domestic Division of Labour Debate and PowerRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesand Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wideRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesaccounting. Serious in intent, he has striven both to illuminate practice and to provide ways of improving it. Although always appealing to his economic understandings, he has been open to a wide variety of other ideas, recognizing their intellectual strengths and capabilities rather than making artificial distinctions between what is acceptabl e and what is not. He also has contributed widely to the accounting literature, taking forward the British tradition of economic theorizing in financial accountingRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand Organizational Psychology. Fellowship: Dr. Judge is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the American Psychological Society. Awards: In 1995, Dr. Judge received the Ernest J. McCormick Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In 2001, he received the Larry L. Cummings Award for mid-career contributions from the Organizational