social system and organizational culture ppp

SOCIAL SYSTEM ANDORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

I - UNDERSTANDING A SOCIAL SYSTEM

SOCIAL – refers to characteristic of living organisms as applied with other organisms and to their collective co=existence irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.

(wikipedia)

SYSTEM- is a whole compounded of several parts of members

SOCIAL SYSTEM -is a complex set of human relationships interacting in many ways.

Two points stand out in the complex interactions among people in a social system:

1)The behavior of any one member can have an impact, directly or indirectly, on the behavior of any other.

2) A second important point revolves around a system’s boundaries. Any social system engages in exchanges with its environment, receiving input from it and providing output to it.

"A social system is a group of elements and activities that interact and constitute a single social entity (Longress, 2000). .

Marvin Olsen (Longress, 2000) defines a social system as a model of organization that possesses creativity beyond its component parts; it is distinguished from its environment by a clearly defined boundary; it is composed of subunits, elements, and subsystems that are interrelated within relatively stable patterns of social order."

SOCIAL EQUILIBRIUM

A system is said to be in social equilibrium when its interdependent parts are in dynamic working balance.

Equilibrium is a dynamic concept, not a static one. Despite constant change and movement in every organization, the system’s working balance can still be retained.

FUNCTIONAL AND DYSFUNCTIONAL EFFECT:

Functional effect –if the effects of change are favorable for the system.

Unfavorable effects - When an action or a change creates, such as a decline in productivity, for the system it has adysfunctional effect.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CONTRACT:

School as a Social System

five reasons for a school to be regarded as a social

system:

1) It has personnel who contributes toward the school’s goals.

2) It has a social structure as the result of social interaction within the school.

3) It is represented and bound by strong social relationship.

4)It is bound by a feeling of belonging ( esprit de corps).

5) It possesses its own culture / ways of doing things.

As a social system, a school has a formal and informal structure. The formal structure refers to the role and function of the administration. The informal system relates to its social relationship that helps the organization to function.

The Getzels-Guba Model

According Getzels, social system model is best suited for studying a school organization, because of its emphasis on process in synthesizing the society with its culture, values, socioeconomics, political systems with the need of the individuals (students, teachers and parents).

The Getzels-Guba model

postulates interactions at parallel levels between individuals and

institutions

Getzels explains that the social systems involve two classes of phenomena which are at once conceptually independent and phenomenally interactive: :

1.) the institutions, with certain roles and expectations, that will fulfill the goals of the system; and

2.)the individuals, with certain personalities and dispositions inhabiting the system, whose observed interactions comprise what we call social behavior

The Getzels-Guba model also says the following --if we interpret the arrows to be function graphs –

a. Behavior is a function of Need-disposition and Expectation, which are functions of each other;

.

b. Expectation is a function of Role which is a function of Institution which is a function of

Social System

c. Need-Disposition is a function of Personality which is a function of Individual which is a

function of Social System;

d. Personality and Role are functions of each

other;

e. Individual and Institution are functions

of each other

"Role" as "the most important analytic unit of the institution." Institutions exist. "with certain roles and expectation" and individuals exist "with certain personalities and dispositions". Their observed interactions comprise what we call social behavior.

What then make up a

school social system?

…It is the interaction of personality of individuals and the roles they play vis-à-vis their position held within the school.

Conflicts within school social system

i) Goals of The School System

(a) Societal and Community

Goals (b) School Goals (c) Individual Goals

SOCIAL CULTURE

SOCIAL CULTURE is an environment of human-created beliefs, customs, knowledge and practices. CULTURE is the conventional behavior of society, and influences all actions of a person even though it seldom enters into conscious thoughts.

Some of the ways in which cultures differ include patterns of decision making, respect for authority, treatment of females, and accepted leadership styles.

Knowledge of social cultures is especially important because managers need to understand and appreciate the backgrounds and beliefs of all members of their work unit.

Cultural Diversity

Employees in almost any organizations are divided into subgroups of various kinds.

Cultural Diversity – is the cultural variety and cultural differences that exist in the world, a society, or an institution: - the inclusion of diverse people in a group or organization: to embrace cultural diversity in the workplace. (dictionary.com)

Formation of groups is determined by two broad sets of conditions:

1)job-related (organizationally created) differences and similarities, such as type of work, rank in the organization, and physical proximity to one another.

2)non-job-related conditions (those related to culture, ethnicity, socioeconomics, sex and race)

Social Culture Values

Work ethic means that they view work as very important and as desirable goal in life.

They tend to like work and derive satisfaction from it. They usually have a stronger commitment to the organization and to its goals than do other employees. These characteristics of the work ethic make it highly appealing to employers.

Social Responsibility

Every action that organization take involves costs as well as benefits.

Social responsibility is the recognition that organizations have significant influence on the social system and that this influence must be properly considered and balanced in all organizational actions. 

Ways to Improve the School’s Social Culture

by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

- Increase awareness, advocacy and a willingness to take immediate, positive action (regarding how kids treat one another).

- Use conflicts as opportunities to teach, build interactive skills and positive attitudes and beliefs about others (rather than simply punishing violators).

-Build problem solvingskills. (Ask, don’t tell.)

- Build social skills or friendship skills as needed.

- Build emotional intelligence, resilience, self-control.

 -Build social skills or friendship skills as needed.

-Model tolerance and respect (avoid double standards).

-Provide opportunities for service.

-Work to deglamorize and eliminate elitist status of certain students over others. (Value all students, holding a wider range of possible contributions in high regard.)

“Remember, we don't teach tolerance by punishing intolerance.”

STATUS

Status is the social rank of a person in a group. It is a mark of the amount of recognition, honor, esteem, and acceptance given to a person

StatusThe social honour or

prestige which a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally involve distinct styles of life-patterns of behavior which a group members follow.

Status privilege maybe positive or negative.

Characteristics of Status:

1) It is the result of needs and interest of the society.

2) It has some degree of authority over others.

3) It is relative;4) It may indicate social

stratification;5) It has a certain privilges and

immunities.

6) It has some degree of prestige.

7) It may also have right to remuneration.

8) It cannot be isolated from role.

TYPES OF STATUS

1) Ascribed status – is a social position that is assigned at birth and is therefore, usually permanent.

2) Achieved status – is one that is choosen or achieved,

- is acquired through one’s own effort.

Status Relationships Status Symbols

Sources of Status

Significance of Status

ROLEROLE is the pattern of actions

expected of a person in activities involving others. Role reflects a person’s position in the social system, with its accompanying rights and obligations, power and responsibility. In order to be able to interact with one another, people need some way of anticipating other's behavior. Role performs this function in the social system.

ROLE it is the expected behaviour attached to a status, carrying certain specifc rights and obligation.

It is the manner in which given individual fulfill the obligation and enjoys its privileges and prerogatives.

Characteristics of Role

1) It is a dynamic aspect of the status.2) It exist is status. It cannot be isolated in status.3) The normative aspect of role is culture..

4) It is not found in vacuum. It has a strong cultural aspect.

5) It is relative

TYPES OF ROLES

1) Ascribed roles – is a role that an individual acquires automatically at birt, or on the attainment of certain age.

2) Achieved Roles – a role that an individual has because he has either chosen or earned it. It is the result of his effort and his action.

Roles Perceptions

Mentors

Role Conflict Role Ambiguity

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

is the set of assumptions, beliefs, values and norms that are shared by an organization’s members. This culture may have been consciously created by its key members,

or it may have simply evolved across time. It represents a key element of thework environment in which employees perform their jobs.