Unit: I INTRODUCTION

a) What is Sociology

Sociology primarily deals human relation and their interactions, particularly the relationship between
individual to individual, individual to society, society to society, individual to the world and society to the
state. Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of
human behavior.

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and social institutions. Its subject matter is diverse
ranging from the family to the state, from crime to development, from divisions of caste, gender and
social class to the shared beliefs and from social stability to change.

The word sociology derives from the Latin word "Socius" and Greek word "logos"- ‘Socius’ indicate
"companion" and ‘logus’ indicate "study of". In fact, it is a science which explains about relationship of
human beings. The term sociology first used by August Comte in 1839 in his book "Positive
Philosophy".
Understanding sociology through Definition
1. Auguste Comte: Auguste Comte (1798-1857) is considered the founder of sociology and coined the term
"sociology”. Auguste Comte referred to sociology as “the science of social phenomena subject to natural
and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of investigation.” Around 1839, Comte published
his influential work “Positive Philosophy,” in which he used the term “sociology” for the first time.
2. Max Weber: Max Weber (1864 -1920) was a German sociologist/philosopher. He define Sociology as “a
science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a causal
explanation of its course and effects”.
3. Morris Ginsberg Morris Ginsberg, a British Sociologist (1889 –1970). According to him, “sociology is the
study of human interactions and inter-relations, their conditions and consequences".
4. Emile Durkheim: Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a key classical French sociologist and philosopher.
He is considered one f the founding fathers of sociology and the father of French sociology.
Durkheim defined sociology as the study of social facts. Social facts are phenomena that are external to
individuals and that exert a coercive influence on their behavior. These facts include things like laws,
customs, and norms, which regulate social life and shape the behavior of individuals. Durkheim believed
that social facts were objective and could be studied scientifically, just like the natural world.
5. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was an English biologist and sociologist. He defined sociology as “the
scientific study of human society that focuses on human behavior and patterns of social relationships.”
Sociological Viewpoint
Studying sociology helps students better understand their own life. The "sociological imagination" allows students
to recognize that their own experiences and circumstance are not unique; rather, there are patterns in behaviors,
processes, and opportunities that lead to differences in people's lived experiences, in turn leading to disparities in
outcomes and social beings.
Sociological imagination
The sociological imagination is the sociological vision, sociological eye, a way of looking at the world that can see
a connections between apparently private problems of the individual and social setting or issues.
Sociological imagination implies to a sociological thinking or looking world through sociological lenses that
connects the relationship between individual social life, social relationship, human behaviors and overall social
structure. It is thus a type of thinking which sees the relationship between an individual and the wider society.
The ides of sociological imagination was introduced by an American philosopher, C. Wright Mills in his book “the
sociological imagination” published in 1962 A.D. The three components that form the sociological imagination are
history, biography, and social structure.
Arguments of sociological imagination
i) Sociological imagination enables a processor to understand the larger historical forces in terms of its meaning for
the inner life and external career of an individuals.
ii) It helps an individual to understand his own experience and gauge his own fate by locating themselves within
social periods that one can know its life acclimatization.
iii) It enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between two within society. It assists us to distinct
between the personal troubles of issues of social structure into individual.
Nature of Sociology
1. Sociology is an independent science: Sociology is not taken as branch of other
social sciences or philosophy because it has its own methods and techniques to look at
the society.

2. Sociology is a social science not physical science: It is social science it studies,

social phenomena which mainly focuses on social behavior, social activities, family
business, social institutions and individual role in day-to-day activities.

3. Sociology is a categorical not a normative discipline: Sociology confines itself to

statements about what is, not what it ought to be. It has no value judgment and largely
neutral subject.

4. Sociology is both pure science and applied science: The applied science often use
in the day-to-day life or put into use, pure science only tends to works towards the
detection of knowledge. However sociology has its wider application of problem solving
social sciences such as administration, social problem and other technical sciences like
medicine, engineering development etc.
5. Sociology is an abstract not concrete science: Sociology is not interested on
concrete manifestation on human events rather it believe on forms of human events and
patterns. Its study does not limit particular society, war, revolution and organizations.

6. Sociology is generalized and not a particularizing or individualizing science:

Sociology tries to find out the general laws or principles about human interactions and
association, about the nature, form, content and structure of human groups and societies. It
does not study each and every event that takes place in society. It is not possible also.

7. Sociology is a general social science, not a special social science: It is a general

social science which studies all form of human interactions and activities. It only studies
human behavior and their interaction in general way like other branches of social sciences.
Sociologists investigate special kinds of human behavior in relation to other human
activities.

8. Sociology is both rational, empirical science and holistic: Sociological studies based
on observation and experiments which gives the concrete result, so that we explain that it's
an empirical science. Sociology is based on reasoning and theories which gives the logical
inference to visualize the world.
Scope of Sociology
Scope means area of study or field of inquiry or the subject matter. Each and every science has its
own field of study or field of enquiry, so also sociology. There are two main schools of thought among
the sociologists about the scope of sociology – Specialistic or Formalistic school and Synthetic
school.
1.Specialistic or/Formalistic School:
A group headed by German sociologists, George Simmel including Albion Small, Ferdinand Tonnies,
Max-weber etc. They regard sociology as a specific and independent science that studies only pure
social relationship of human beings (marriage, family kinship, gender, caste etc.). These sociologists
want to keep the scope of sociology distinct from other social sciences. According to formalistic
school sociology should deal only with ‘forms of pure social relationships’. (narrow and limited)
Synthetic School:
According to synthetic school, sociology is a synthesis of social sciences or a general science. This
conception of sociology is held by the second group of sociologists, best exemplified by Emile
Durkheim, M. Ginsberg, A. Comte, P.A Sorokin, H. Spencer, F. Ward, and L.T. Hobhouse.
Sociology is a science of sciences and all the social sciences are included in its scope. The
contention of this school is that all aspects of social life are interrelated; hence the study of one
aspect of social life is not sufficient to understand the entire fact. For this reason sociology should
systematically study social life as a whole. (wide and connected)
Development and Emergence of Sociology
Intellectual context:
Sociology is a very young discipline among the other social science. August Comte (1798-
1857), a French philosopher first used the term sociology in his book positive philosophy in
1839. Comte defined sociology as a positive science. Positivism is the search for "invariant
laws of the natural and social world.
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was an English (British) philosopher, biologist, anthropologist,
and sociologist famous for his theory of social Darwinism. Spencer took the theory of evolution
one step beyond biology and applied it to say that societies were organisms that progress
through changes similar to that of a living species. Herbert Spencer published a book Principle
of sociology in 1876-in which he employed the theory of organic evolution to human society.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1916), a French philosopher contribution to sociological discipline also
seems prominent, he published a book "Rules of Sociological Methods 1895, in which he
outlines the scientific, sociological method which is employed in the theory of Suicide 1897.
Max Weber’s (1864-1920), German sociologist, philosopher, jurist, and political economist
whose theory of social action is also based on the scientific explanation. He argued that social
action refers to any action oriented to influence or influenced by other person or persons.
The course of sociology appeared many universities in the 1890. The American Journal of
Sociology began 1895 and similarly, American Sociological Association was organized 1905. By the
1930 several sociological journals were published and included the scientific articles. The early
sociologists came from the different field of social and natural science and philosophy.
Other Context (basis of emergence of sociology)
The four major factors which influence the emergence of sociology as a sphere of study began in
the late eighteenth century with the scientific revolution, the period known as 'the Enlightenment‘,
industrial revolution, inspiration from development of natural sciences and the study of diverse
societies and cultures by the colonial empires:
I. The scientific revolution (17th c.) (Encouraged the use of evidence to validate consequence.
The European age of positivism).
II. The industrial revolution (18th c.) The simple rural life and small-scale home industries
were replaced by complex urban life and mass production of goods that changed mode
of human civilization.
III. Development of other sciences (rapid development of natural sciences) (Nineteenth century
was a period in which natural sciences had made much progress. The suc­cess attained by the
natural scientists inspired social thinkers to emulate social sciences)
IV. Study of diverse societies and cultures by the colonial empires. (The colonial powers of Europe
were exposed to different types of societies and cultures in the colonial empires, for their
administration purpose the colonial scholars studied various culture over world.
Sociological Perspectives
Sociological perspectives are the ways of looking, studying and analyzing the society. In other
words, sociological perspectives are the tools from which we can analyze and understand social
institutions, associations, behaviors, problems, social change and social process both at micro and
macro levels. A perspective provides us with a definite and a logical vantage point or lenses to view
the social world.
Sociological perspectives are the angles from which we see society. For example functionalist
perspective helps us to see and understand society from the angle of order and stability in society
where as interactionism perspective helps us to see and understand society from the micro level
which focuses on small scale human behavior, interactions and symbols.
According to Graham Allan, “A sociological perspectives seeks to explain social phenomena about
society and social behavior”.
When a numbers of similar sociological theories are drawn together into a single approach, then it is
called a sociological perspective. For example, structural functional perspective is made up from
various structural functional theories. Durkheim’s societal functionalism, Talcott Parsons
functionalism, Merton’s functionalism, Brown’s Functionalism etc. that makes structural functional
perspective or approach.
Major Sociological Perspective
1) Functionalism or functional perspectives:
Functionalism also known as structural-functionalism is a sociological perspectives that originally
attempted to explain social institutions as collective means to meet individual biological needs by a
structure with interrelated parts.
Functionalism holds that society is a complex system whose various parts work together to produce
stability and solidarity. Society is like living organism in which each part of organism contributes to its
survival. It focuses on the way in which the parts of society are structured to maintain its stability.
Chief modern exponents of this perspective are Talcott parsons and R.K. Merton. Herbert Spencer,
Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Bronislaw Malinowski, A.R. Brown etc. are classical functional theorist
who forwarded idea of functionalism.
Parsons functional approach holds that if an aspect of social life does not contribute to a society’s stability
or survival by promoting value consensus among members of society the social system cannot survive for
a long run. A social system is assumed to have a functional unity in which all parts of the system work
together with some degree of internal consistency. Functionalism also postulates that all cultural or social
phenomena have a positive function and that all are indispensable.
Thus functionalism is simply a view of society as a self regulating system of interrelated elements with
structured social relationships and observed regularities.
Historical development of functionalism perspectives
The origin of functional analysis of society trace back to a concept of organic analogy of society by Herbert
Spencer (British social Darwinist) and to the French social scientist Emile Durkheim, who argued that parts
of society are interdependent and that this interdependency imposes structure on the behavior of people.
Malinowski (Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski) a British (Polish by birth) social anthropologist believed that
human beings have a set of universal biological needs and various customs and institutions are developed to
fulfill those needs. The function of any practice was the role it played in satisfying these biological needs such
as need of food, shelter etc.
Structural functionalism underwent some modification when the American sociologist Talcott Parsons
enunciated the “functional prerequisites” and ‘system theory’ that any social system must meet in order to
survive. His theory is known as a system theory.
Robert K. Merton an American modern sociologist formulated and redefine the basis assumption of structural
functionalism in reference to operating mechanism of am modern society by arguing the reorientation of
social structure.
Functionalism sees society as a system; a set of interconnected parts which together form a whole. There is a
relationship between all these parts and agents of socialization and together they all contribute to the
maintenance of society as a whole. The theory of Functionalism emerged in the 1920s and then declined
after World War II (1960).
Assumption of functionalism perspective
I .Parts, whole and structure: Every social system is a well integrated configuration of elements or parts that constitute an
organic whole system and a definite emphasis on the primacy of the system over elements.
II. High emphasis od consensus and de-emphasis on conflict: it argues that there is peace, harmony, solidarity in a
society rather than a conflict of class struggle.
III. Functional unity: This perspective views society as a well integrated and consistent whole the elements of which
contribute to the maintenance of the total system. All parts are showing functional unity to maintain the order and stability of
society.
IV. Functional universality: functional universality lies on the fact that the function of social institution is the same over all
population.
V. Functional imperatives: There are certain functional requisites that must be met if a society is to survive. According to
parsons, the functional requirements of a social system are adaptation to external situation
VI. Manifest, Latent Function dysfunction and alternatives: (Morten's reformulation)
Manifest Function: Manifest function is open or directly observable function of an institution.
Latent Function: Latent functions are unconscious activities that may reflect hidden purposes of an institution that may be
both positive and negative partners.
Dysfunctions: Dysfunction refers to function of social parts that may disrupt the social system and reduce its stability such
as gang fight.
Functional alternatives: the functional alternatives or equivalency argues that similar functions different institutions may
perform by an alternate institution to some degree .
2. Conflict perspective
The conflict perspective assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension
among competing groups. In contrast to functionalists’ emphasis on stability and consensus, conflict
sociologists see the social world in continual struggle.
Conflict theory focuses on the competition between groups within society over limited social and
economy resources. Conflict theory views social and economic institutions as tools of the struggle
between groups or classes, used to maintain inequality and the dominance of the ruling class.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the main contributors of conflict perspective. It was further
expanded by other European theorist like Ralf Dahrendorf, Nicos Poulantzas, Ralph Miliband,
Lewis A. Coser (American social conflict theorist) and many more neo-Marxist theorists of Europe and
United States.
Conflict refers to the situation where two or more groups of people come into interaction with adverse
impact that hampers the interest of others. Conflict theory has many roots or variants. The two main
conflict theories that we study in sociology are Marxism and Feminism which see society divided by
social class and gender respectively.
Conflict denotes to those human interaction through which people try to fulfill their interest by killing
interest of others. It is an universal social process of which the base is possession of social resources
like property, power, prestige, identity and other economic resources. This perspective thus sees
individuals shaped by power, coercion and authority.
Conflict perspective rejects functionalism's emphasis on consensus. Instead, it highlights the exploitative
mechanism of divisions in society. In doing so, conflict theorists concentrate on issues of power, inequality
and struggle. They tend to see society as composed of distinct groups pursuing their own interests.
Karl Marx is the chief architect of conflict theory. He sees struggle between social classes. It is thus
commonly known as a Marxist perspectives and American like to recall it as a conflict perspective by
extending its bases beyond economic determinism (caste, religion, region, gender etc.) of Marxist theory.
This perspective assumes that human social life is regulated by exploitative social institutions such as family,
government, religion, market education, economic mode that maintain the privileges of some groups and
keep others in a subservient position. This thought emphasizes the social, political or material inequality of a
social group. Its criticizes the broad socio-political system and detracts from structural functionalism
perspectives.
Marxian conflict theory
Karl Marx (1818-1883) is the father of a conflict-based approach to analysis of society. His most famous
work ‘Das Capital’ analyzed the historical development and structure of capitalist society in Europe. One of
the most powerful sociological explanations of social conflict is that of Karl Marx, who posited a class
struggle between proletariat and bourgeoisie intrinsic to industrial society.
Marx's emphasis on class conflict as constituting the dynamics of social change, his awareness that change
was not random but the outcome of a conflict of interests, and his view of social relations as based on power.
Summary of Marxian theory: 1. Importance of property, 2. Economic determinism, 3. Polarization of
classes, 4. The theory of surplus value, 5. Pauperization (unwell), 6. Alienation of social life, 7. Class
consciousness, 8. Class solidarity and antagonism, 9. Revolution and communist dictatorship (end
private property)
Key assumption of conflict perspectives
Society is not a system in equilibrium but a unformulated structure of imperfectly coordinated
elements which held together by the coercion of some elements and subjection of others, a continuity
of struggle for economic possession.
Society and its elements are in the process of incessant change although at varying degree; change
and conflict are the continuous and regular feature of human society of the driver is class struggle.
Struggle and conflict typically lead to some groups and individuals controlling and dominating others,
and patterns of subordination/domination are self-perpetuating.
The base structure of society shapes the superstructure and poverty is the case of exploitation not
scarcity thus social conflict are inherent in the every aspect of social structure. (base-structure ideal)

caste, family, gender

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3. Post-modernism perspectives
Postmodernism in sociology is an analysis of the social and cultural features of late capitalism
(post-modernity), a critique of sociological theory, project of modernity and science for extension
of sociological inquiry into new domains.
The term postmodernism made its way into sociology from literary theory that criticize art,
science and technology by opposing modern definition of social life after 1980s. At the time, it
was part of a wider innovative movement in many humanistic discipline of criticizing and
reformulating a series of human issues.
The key concepts of sociological postmodernism are subject, identity, text, and symbol. On these
grounds, postmodernity is characterized as a form of social order in which the electronic media
play a prominent role, symbolic codes are pervasive, and social identities are fragmented.
This theory argue that people should left value free and their existences need no value loaded
definition. The concept of post-modernity is also employed in the critique of sociological theory
as a product of modernity.
It assume that value judgment definition of social life advocates for its own advantages by
washing brain of a people and that there is no absolute truth. Truth is constructed and is time,
space and power specific.
In short, challenging the modern thinking, ideology, knowledge, art, philosophy with new ideology is
called post-modernism. Postmodernity is the state or condition of being postmodern after or in
reaction to that which is modern.

The term ‘postmodern’ was used by German philosopher Rudolf Pannwitz in 1917 A.D to describe
the ‘nihilism’ of twentieth century’s western culture. In sociology the term was used by French
philosopher and sociologist Jean Fraocois Lyotard for the first in 1979 on his work “The
Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge”.

A general and wide ranging term was then applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, and
cultural and literary criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed
certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. It is an ideological movements which
explains and analyzes different sectors of society with new interpretation or new way of thinking.

Post-modernism thus is an important theoretical perspective or sociological viewing that advocates

that there is no single truth, interpretation and structure that governs the world. It assume that truth are
contextual and situational created by power.

It believes in multiple centers, interpretations, plurality, inclusiveness and multiple truths. It believe that
there is no final interpretation. Some other famous thinkers associated with postmodernism thinking
are, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Fredric Jameson, Friedrich Nietzsche (German), Roland
Barthes etc.
Basic assumption of Postmodernism
There is no any single truth that governs the world. There is multiple truth, multiple interpretation,
multiple meaning and multiple centers.
There is no final interpretation, it keeps on changing in accordance to change in context and
situation. Truth is not obtainable. We cannot know things as they really are. If truth isn't possible,
then true interpretations is also not possible.
Each truth is created and fabricated through power. While power is shifted then the so called truth
also gets changed. (old structure and system rupture)
There exist multiple ways of viewing and these are influenced by our histories. Every way of looking
changes through the process of deconstruction. All value is merely a reflection of historically and
culturally informed preferences.
Every society seeks for new meaning, interpretation, inclusive power centers according to change
in social cultural context through power of de-construction.
A text (literature) can have a multiple meanings and interpretations according to the level of
understanding and context of readers.
It advocates for re-writing the history, re-defining the management and rethinking human value of
human life and existing truths. There is no common human nature. Rationality is a social
construction of some cultures.
It advocate for provision of plurality, multi-vocality (many voices), inclusiveness, re-textuality
(re-writing history) and reflexivity (judgments).
4. Symbolic Interactionism Perspective
Interpretative perspective came into existence while positivist approach could not longer function to
explain the social realities. Positivist approach believes that social realities exist outside of society
which can be measured, observed and objectified.
Unlike positivists, interpretivist, symbolic interactionists, ethno-methodologist, post-structuralists and
phenomenologist do believe that social realities are located within social structure or systems and
social realities are constructed and embedded in social actions hence social realities are produced and
reproduced according to time and context.
This perspective believes that society can best be understood and studies by studying their key
symbols, signs, gesture, metaphor and their interactive patterns. The term symbolic interactionism
was first introduced by Herbert Blumer in 1937 in his writing entitled "Social Psychology“. This
approach became prominent after the decade of 1970s.Charles Horton Cooley, William Thomas,
George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer are the key figures of symbolic interactionism perspective.
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) is considered a founder of symbolic interactionism though he
never published his work on it. Mead’s student, Herbert Blumer, coined the term “symbolic
interactionism” and outlined these basic premises: humans interact with things based on meanings
ascribed to those things; the ascribed meaning of things comes from our interactions with others and
society; the meanings of things are interpreted by a person when dealing with things in specific
circumstances.
Constructivism is an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans
cognitively construct it to be. We develop social constructs based on interactions with others, and those
constructs that last over time are those that have meanings which are widely agreed-upon or generally accepted
by most within the society.
This approach is often used to understand what’s defined as deviant within a society. There is no absolute
definition of deviance, and different societies have constructed different meanings for deviance, as well as
associating different behaviors with deviance.
Symbolic interactionism explains society by claiming that human behavior the result of not only social
interaction, but also the ongoing reflection on social interaction that humans engage in while communicating
with each other.
The central ideas of symbolic interactionism
• Humans are social creatures that they can make and break rules.
• Humans are always reflecting and thinking about their social interactions
• Meanings are created through interaction and self reflection.
• Humans ultimately have a lot of agency over how their reality is framed.
• Society at all time being created and produced by the members of society.
Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspectives that suggests our reality is socially constructed.
Individuals do not look directly at objects in the real world, but instead their view of things is affected by the
symbolic values that they attribute to objects. When individuals meet, their self concept and their ideas about the
world change as they see how others see them and are affected by others ideas.
Herbert Blumer and Idea of Reflected self
Blumer's theory includes the concept of the reflected self, which is the idea that people base their self-concept on
what they think others think of them.
Concept of Mind, Self and Society
Self = ‘I’ + ‘Me’ ( where “Me" is the shared beliefs and the "I" is the individual choices and the ‘Self’ is a
reaction between ‘’I and ‘Me’)
Bhumer explains that the self is a social process with communication between the "I“ and “Me”
5. Feminist Perspective
Feminist perspectives aims to understand the nature of gender inequality, and examines women's social roles,
experiences, and interests. This perspectives focuses generally by providing a critique of social relations, much of
feminist theory also focuses on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's interests.
Feminism counters traditional philosophy with new ways of addressing issues affecting humanity, calling for the
replacement of the presiding patriarchal order with a system that emphasizes equal rights, justice, and fairness.
Traditionally feminism is often divided into three main traditions, sometimes known as the "Big Three" schools of
feminist thought: liberal feminism, radical feminism and socialist or Marxist feminism.
Central assertion of feminist movement
 Women are human beings.
 All human beings should be treated fairly.
 Women deserve to earn equal pay for equal work.
 Women should expect a reasonable level of safety in their daily life.
Focal Area of Feminist Perspectives
Gender Differences (exclusion, sexual division of labor and discrimination)
Gender Inequality (economic and political and private-public participation)
Gender Oppression and Power (capitalism and patriarchal induced violence and abuse)
Structural Roots (gender variables in social structure within andro-capitalist societies)
Feminism is not a revolution that usurps the patriarchy and creates a matriarchy. Feminism is about equality aimed at
making a social structure that allows men and women to choose how they prefer to live equally.
b) Relationship between Sociology and other Social and Natural Sciences.
6. Relationship of Sociology with Management
The ‘sociology of management’ is the sub-branch of sociology that become a synthetic science studying sociological aspect
of business activity. This science was generated on a joint of two independent disciplines: sociology and management.
Sociology is a science about a society as complete system and about social institutions, processes, social groups, relations
between a person and a society. Management in organizational activities are the acts of getting people together to
accomplish desired goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Sociology of management thus views business
organization as a system composed of various parts fitting together.
The Object of sociology of management is the administrative processes which take place in a society and considered here
from the point of view of the system approach, as a set constantly co-operating and making influence on each other
subsystems (political system, economic system, legal and social system).
Sociology explores ethical dilemmas and societal expectations. Sociological perspectives can help businesses understand
the broader social implications of their decisions. Business managers use sociological insights to develop ethical codes of
conduct and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that align with societal values and expectations.
Sociology investigates consumer behavior and the factors that influence purchasing decisions. This knowledge is invaluable
to marketers and business strategists. Business management integrates sociological insights into market research, branding,
and advertising to better understand consumer preferences, trends, and cultural influences on buying behavior.
Relevance of Sociology in management and business studies
Business requires an understanding of people and large populations in particular. Sociology provides the educational
background needed for managers to understand their employees and customers. Sociology: basically is the study of social
behavior, origin of a society, development of a society, its organizations and their relationship to human affairs.
Understand cultural diversity and social values:
Sociology is useful for understanding various groups of people (common mind) and by understanding them, we can prioritize
and design the interests of consumer for marketing strategies for better sales out of commodoties.
Analytical Power:
Studying sociology helps to develop your analytical thinking and capabilities. This analytical method of thinking helps those in
business with the ability to research market data and eventually draw conclusions from that data.
Handling Employees:
Introduction to sociology gives business leaders and human resource managers an advantage when dealing with employees
in the workplace. Sociologists study the cultural and social aspects that shape an individual.
Market Expansion:
The sociology of markets has been one of the most vibrant fields in sociology. There is a great deal of agreement that markets
are social structures characterized by extensive social relationships between firms, workers, suppliers, customers, and
governments.
Public Relations:
Sociology is fundamental to the public relations department of any major company. For example, if our company conducts
business in other part of the world, we know the both positive and negative impact of business company.
c) Traditional society and technological society
Traditional society: In sociology, traditional society refers to a society characterized by an orientation to the past and
practicing traditional convention and technology, with predominant role for custom, tradition, religion and habit. Such
societies are marked by a lack of distinction between the individuals in terms of role and status and is influenced
primarily by age, gender and informal social status.
Traditional societies, often referred to as indigenous or tribal people, usually accumulate significant environmental
knowledge through their everyday experience with nature and natural resource. The intimate relationship
between their livelihood and nature commonly gives rise to an eco-centric perspective, reflected in attitudes towards
plants, animals, water and soil in which nature and society are viewed as an indivisible whole.
Characteristics of traditional society
• Human behaviors in a traditional society is governed by norms.
• Family and kinship ties are very strong in traditional societies.
• Social status in a traditional society is ascribed rather than achieved.
• A traditional society is basically a tribal or mostly agricultural in nature.
• Communal sharing of conventional resources and social responsibilities .
• Social mobility (caste, economy, gender) is limited in a traditional society.
Technological Society
The central concept defining a technological society is “technique”. Technique is different from machines,
technology, or procedures for attaining human end. Technological society relies mainly on mechanization for
the production of its economic goods and services.
Technological society refers to the inter-dependency, co-influence and co-production of technology and
society. The term "technique" is to be comprehended in its broadest possible meaning as it touches upon
virtually all areas of human life, including science, automation, and artificial ways of solving human problems.
Technological society typically emergent from various forms of industrialism, in which technology and a
technocracy (technicism) increasingly determine the nature of social institutions and human relationship. The
belief in technology is called ethical technicism.
Characteristics of Technological Society
• Technological society is characterized by blend of technology and devices.
• Development and implementation of information science and technologies.
• Technological societies coexist with modern societies (industrial societies).
• Modern and techno-industrial societies are predominantly urban.
• Autonomy of technology that shapes human thinking and attitudes.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital divide (techno-centric social stratification)
d) Sociology and the twenty first century
Twenty first century sociology focuses on significant issues surrounding the nature of sociology (‘What is sociology?’), the
history of sociology (‘How has sociology evolved?’), and the study of sociology (‘How can or should we make sense of
sociology?’).
Sociology has expanded beyond traditional areas of study, such as work and labor, employment and labor segregation, food,
nutrition and human health including sociology of emotions, feelings and technology.
Sociologists study human behavior, interaction, and organization. They examine how social influences, such as organizations
and institutions, affect individuals and groups. Some themes of interest of 21 st century sociology include postcoloniality,
globality, canonicity (measurements), historicity, disciplinarily, and hegemony of ideas and technology in society.
Sociology remains highly relevant in the 21st century for several reasons
• Understanding social change and impact of technological advancements.
• Analyzing the impact of globalization and cultural interconnectedness.
• Examines the dynamics of social movements and justice activism.
• Comprehensive understanding of mental health and well-being.
• Studying consequences of information technology on social interaction.
• Studying the nature of digitizing humans and its social consequences.