Definition of Social Institutions

The study of social sciences entails studying human being which includes their behavior , the society in which they live and their culture over a period of time. Anthropology and sociology fall into the category of social sciences. Cultural Anthropology is one of the five disciplines of Anthropology (Cicourel, 2017). It involves the study of human cultures, what they believe their practices, values, ideas and other aspects of social and cognitive organization (Weber, 2017). It normally identifies the similarities and differences between different groups of people. On the other hand Sociology is normally concerned in how the human society operates, where they come from, how they are organized in the context of formal setup like schools and churches or hospitals.

Social institutions play a vital role in shaping the behavior of people in the society. This is due to the fact at least every person belongs to at least one social institution such as a church. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the basic concepts as used in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology (Rapport, 2014). In this paper, social institutions and the functions that they play in the society and the social structures will be discussed.  Culture and its element is also going to be discussed in details.

A social institution is a term used in sociology to refer to a set of social norms that are compound and organized so as to preserve the fundamental values that guides the society. The rise and survival of institutions is attributed to the necessity that may exist in the family (Powell & Oberg, 2017). Despite the universal agreement of the origin of institution by sociologists, there are varied suggestions given to the specific driving factors. Institutions are categorized into five primary institutions. Primary institutions includes: family, economics, religion, education and the state. These primary institutions are universal and are found in every culture in the world. They form part of humanity. Each primary institution gives rise to several secondary institutions.

The family institution gives rise to monogamy, polygamy, divorce and marriage while economics gives rise to banking, credit, trading and property. The institution of religion gives rise to church, temple, mosque, totem and taboo. From education, we get university, school and college. The institution of state gives rise to party system, interest groups and democracy.

Of the five institutions, the state has power and authority to control the other four institutions. It accomplishes it role through enactment of laws and regulations.

Something notable about institution is that they have a perpetual existence. Norms governing the institution are changed as per the needs of the time.

There are two kinds of social institution functions. The first function of social institution is the primary purpose for which it was formed. This primary purpose is known as manifest functions. There is other kind of function that an organization fulfills which is not its primary reason for existence. These functions are known as latent functions (Wilson, 2017). Latent functions are as a result of the manifest functions. Latent functions can liken to hide obtained from a cow. When a butcher slaughters a cow, his main purpose is to get meat. In the process of slaughtering a cow to get meat, hide is also obtained and becomes a source of revenue.

Functions of Institutions

The primary function of education is to develop skills for labor market, improve literacy level of the society, and promote critical thinking while its latent functions include socialization among students, learning different cultures, keep the children busy among other things. Religion’s main function is to worship God and inculcate religious beliefs to members whereas it latent function is to develop close association among members. Economics’ main function is seen to be production and distribution of goods while at the same time it promotes urbanization and development of social classes.

The success of any social institution is greatly influenced by the kind of relationship developed with other institutions. Just as the proverb say that no man is an island, it can also be said that no institution is an island and therefore cannot operate by itself (Thompson, 2017). Action by one institution can either influence the activities of the other positively or negatively. A mutual interaction and relation is therefore necessary to all these social institutions.

Religion focuses at teaching people matters related to their faith. It therefore requires the help of educational institution to improve the literacy of the people so that they understand faith. Economics requires skilled workforce to work in the production sector (Fortes, 2018). These skills are acquired at educational institutions. Many people strife to improve their financial stability before they can settle into marriage. The longer they take at stabilizing themselves, the more they will delay getting married. This has a direct impact on the population growth rate and birth rates in the society.

The state plays the role of monitoring the efficiency of the other institutions. It may also decide to relieve an institution of its duties. The state can do this if it realizes that an institution has been overwhelmed with responsibilities. The state can also decide to alter the norms that guide these institutions. The state has a role of formulating laws that will create an enabling environment for proper functioning of other institutions.  In case the state interferes with achievement of the other institutions’ objectives, the other institutions may come together to influence the acts of the state and prevent interference.

Society changes from time to time. This forces institutions to adjust according to the societal changing needs. Institutions should be adaptive to the ever changing social environment. Failure to adapt may have adverse effects to normal functioning of the institutions (Layder, 2014). It should also be noted that a change occurring in one institution can significantly bring a change in another institution. Change can also bring inter- institutional role shift. Inter- institution shift is a situation when the roles of one institution are taken by another institution as a result of change in the social environment. An example of institutional change is where a state takes the role of child which is primarily the role the family institution.

When the term structure is used, what comes into the mind is something that has proper arrangement and planning. Social structure is a concept commonly used in Sociology.  Different scholars have made attempts to give the meaning of the term social structure. According to (Radcliffe-Brown, & Forde, 2015) a social structure is group of related people organized in an environment that is regulated. An example of a relationship is like that of couples. The building components of a social structure are institutions. Some of these institutions include the state, family, religion, economics and educations. These Institutions are further composed of individuals. The relationship maintained by these individuals is very paramount in determining the success of the social structure.

1. Normative System: this system set ideals and values. Institutions relates with each other under the guidance of the set norms. Individuals values these norm and always them.
2. Position System: this system appreciates the abilities of different individuals in a social structure. Each individual should therefore be assigned task as their capabilities.
3. Sanction System: this system ensures that the set norms in the society are adhered to by every individual
4. A System of Anticipated Response: this system ensures that individuals participate in their respective duties to facilitate success of the social structure.
5. Action System: the action system entails an explanation of the reasons of the existence of the social structure.

Inter-Relations of Institutions

According to (Parsons, 2017), the four social structures he identifies are classified using the following social values: universalistic social values, achieved social values, particularistic social values, and ascribed social values. Universalistic social values are common to most people in the society while particularistic social values may different in different in different societies.

1. The Universalistic- Achievement Pattern: this is a pattern formed when values of both universalism and achievement are brought together.  This social structure requires that goals be chosen as per the universalistic values.
2. Universalistic- Ascription Pattern: this social structure is dominated by ascription values. It lays emphasis on position and not the individual capabilities. This structure focuses more on groups and not individuals (Benjamin & Dervin, 2015). Everything in this structure is viewed at group level and seeks to benefit the group as opposed to individuals.
3. The particularistic- Achievement Pattern: contains values from both particularism and achievement. This structure motivates people to work hard as much weight is put on individual achievements.
4. The Particularistic- Ascriptive Pattern: more weight in this structure is put on stability.

Different scholars have attempted to give the definition of culture. In this section three definitions by different scholars will be considered.

 Useem and Useem identify culture as a behavior that is learnt and shared through interactions in the community. Linton acknowledges that culture is a behavior. He further says that this behavior is adopted and shared within a society. Lastly, Hofstede views culture as mental training that differentiates members of different society.

Culture is a wide term which is not conclusively defined by the above scholars. The scholars have only highlighted some of the building components of culture. In order to understand the scope of the term culture, the elements of culture must be discussed. Elements of culture include: language, norms, beliefs, symbols, values and cognitive elements (Dickson, 2018). A brief discussion of this element is given in the subsequent parts of this paper.

Members in a society pass message through language. Language differs from one society to another. It is also passed from one generation to another. No social activity could be accomplished without language. Language forms a mechanism through which people socialize. Language is one of the most fundamental elements of culture. Language entails both verbal and non verbal communication.

Presence of symbols in culture helps an individual to understand objects or situations. They direct how people behave or ought to behave. Different symbol have different meaning in different cultures. Some culture uses an image of a lion as a symbol of bravery while others uses a white colour to symbolize peace.

Norms are used to highlight what behavior is acceptable and what is not acceptable in the society. They guide the behavior of individuals in a given culture. Some norms are written while other are just communicated through a word of mouth (Sherry, 2014). Norms are used to create orderliness in a society. Individuals who go against the established norms are punished. Norms are classified into folkways and mores. Folkways represent behavior that is generally acceptable while mores is the behavior that everyone in the community must follow.

These are the positive attributes possessed by an individual in a society. It is also those things that the society views to be good. Different cultures possess different values.

Beliefs are those things people which people think are true to them .it is also concerned with supernatural powers. Different cultures subscribe into different beliefs (Williams, 2014). Some cultures believe in the existence of God while do not believe in the existence of supernatural powers.

This is the mental ability to several things and solve problem. Culture also entails thinking and solving problems.

From the three definitions that were given, it can be observed that:

1. Culture involves a group of people who share common knowledge;
2. Communication is very basic in any culture;
3. Culture entails a behavior that is cultivated through interactions;
4. It also entails the way of living of people;
5. It is hereditary, that is transmitted from one generation to another and
6. It forms part of human nature.

Conclusion

Human behavior is greatly influenced by the surrounding environment in which he lives. Cultural anthropologist examines human behavior in their cultural setting while sociologists on the other hand focus on human behavior in the context of a formal setup such as social institutions. Culture and social institutions play a greater role in shaping the behavior of human being (Sociology group, 2018). This is because at least every human being belongs to certain culture and a certain social institution.

Meaning of Social Structures

Social institutions are organized in such a way that they help in preserving the basic values of the society. Different social institutions plays different role in preserving values. A family, for instance, ensures that children are raised in the right way (Lewis, 2017). Parents teach their children good morals. It is also in the family setup that children are taught on how to be responsible adult. Marriage creates commitment in couple and help in reducing infidelity. On the other hand, religion inculcates good values to its members, teach her members on how to relate among other social values.

Education institutions ensure that the society is educated. It seeks to improve the literacy level of the society. It also ensures that economic institutions are provided with skilled labour. Economic institutions works hard to ensure that good and services are available for consumption. The state is the overall authority tasked with the responsibility of guiding the other institutions (Blau, 2017). All the institution works together in a mutual relationship to achieve their objectives.

Different cultures helps in shaping the conduct of individuals in a society differently. Through norms, culture highlights the generally accepted behavior. Values guide the society on what ideal and good for them. Language is used a medium of communication ( Crowther, 2016). Different aspects of life are taught through the use language.

The role played by social institution and culture cannot be under estimated. A good relationship maintained between these institutions is the determinant of their success in ensuring that the required behavior is maintained in the society.

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