Essays on Conflict Theory

INTRODUCTION

Today the modern world is dealing with a number of serious issues all across the globe, like warfare, terrorism and civil and social unrest. This is currently the case in the United States. There has always been debate and protest among the diverse people of America, but that has seemed to increase over the last few years. There has been a great deal of political and ethical based arguments that are heatedly debated, from political, religious and societal levels. Most recently some of these issues are related to police violence, racial divides, women’s rights and the recent Presidential ...

Understanding society, and indeed the world, is a complex task that is unlikely to ever be fully achieved. There are various social theories that work to explain the workings of society, three of which are structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The structural functional approach works on the idea that society is made up of systems that are beneficial to all concerned. However, there are substantial problems with this theory, as it does not acknowledge that certain structures need to change even if they seem to be working for the majority. Conflict theory asserts that society functions based ...

Functionalism

Functionalism is described as the system of highly related parts that work together harmoniously. The proponents of this theory purport that society is composed of various parts, each with a particular functionality that contributes to the whole. As such, it is stable and self-regulating like a biological organism. Nevertheless, this theory is broad and cannot account for each aspect of change and its complicated relationship to elements of the whole.

Conflict Theory

It is rooted in Marxism and proposes that each entity struggles to attain maximum benefit, and as a result, it causes society to change in response to social inequality ...

Every organization has to work on the principles of ethics and responsibility. Ethics make the foundation of every business and if ethics are not followed as such, then the functioning of the business suffers and it loses it image and reputation at a gradual pace. Sometimes, managers face ethical dilemmas where they are not able to decide whether to stick to the values of the company or opt for decisions which are better for the organization in the long run (Ford & Richardson, 2013). The given case is about the ethical dilemma being faced by George Cosgrove who is serving ...

Ethnic stratification is a phenomenon creating division and inequality based on difference among people of various backgrounds. It is an unavoidable issue in regions where the population is largely diverse. The United States of America is a nation where a multitude of diversity exists in various forms. Many include gender, race, religion, sexuality, and social class. As the most powerful nation in the world, America is infamous for the inequalities that exist among its dominant white citizens versus all the minorities that reside in the country. Not only is race a sign of superiority in this nation, but the ...

Soc/100

Introduction Getting a job in the contemporary world proves to be a direct function of the relationship that one sets in the onset of an interview. If one is contextually able to exhibit a good relationship coupled with a positive and optimistic rapport with a tentative employer, then there is hope that if one gets employed, there will be a chance for a meaningful employer-employee interaction. Forging employer-employee relationships proves to be difficult for most people. Most of the jobs call for people to spend more time at work than they do with loved ones and family members. This ...

I would like to send my letter of inquiry and fundraising proposal to the local municipal council. In my town, there is a prevalence of homeless people. Due to their miserable living conditions, they are more prone to various diseases and involvement in criminal activities. Alcohol abuse among the homeless is also another major issue haunting their growing numbers. The local Municipal Corporation can help solve this problem by making a shelter(s) for the homeless. The best way to resolve the issue in terms of effectiveness and speed would be to build temporary shelters around the local church ...

When one attempts to analyze society through a macro-perspective, it becomes clear that such analysis is a highly challenging endeavor. With all the interlocking parts, different demographics of people, as well as local and national governmental structures and laws, it can be extremely difficult to make any sort of cogent observation. However, sociologists have attempted to broach these difficulties these developing paradigms through which individuals can examine society. The social-conflict paradigm is one such lens that is effective for such analysis. This paradigm argues that society is best understood as a system of class conflict, with inequality between different ...

Compare and contrast how conflict, functionalism, and interactionalist sociological theories view the social world and social interaction.

Different sociological theories perceive and interpret the society differently. Therefore, this essay analyzes how the three primary sociological theories, which include conflict, interactionist, and functionalist theories, view the society by comparing and contrasting their perspectives on the social world and social interaction. All the theories emphasize on the essence of different bodies in the community needing each other. In functionalism, the society, and its inhabitants are significant requirements for particular services and products. Therefore, there is a need for a government and justice system, and the production of services and goods is also important. In the same respect, interactionism ...

The three main theories of social structure are the social disorganization theory, strain theory and culture conflict theory. These theories explain the various perspectives of crime with respect to society. All three theories have their own representation for the crime. The social disorganization theory represents the relation between crime and society in a pathological framework where the society is the body or organism whereas the crime is a parasite and disease which creates a deviance. These theories mainly relate to the ecological setup of society and were developed in the 1920s and 1930s (“Social structure theories,” n.d.). According to ...

The latest news story and what has been given global focus is the Orlando Pulse Club mass shooting that claimed 49 lives, and 53 people left with varied levels of casualties. Omar Mateen masterminded the attack, and his motive was read as the ISIS insurgence against the West Nations. Details have also emerged that Mateen’s wife was in his company hours before the incident occurred. CBS also assessed the gunman’s timeline and showed his frequent activity on the social media before and during this horrific ordeal. Moreover, other details have emerged that Mateen pledged allegiance to the ...

The sociological perspective is a term that explains the sociological way of viewing human behavior in society. Sociologists use this in order to define, understand, and solve problems within our society. The sociological perspective helps sociologists understand what is going on in our society in terms of growth, deviance, unification, and stratification. It also helps them how common problems like crime could be solved. Furthermore, the sociological perspective helps sociologists to understand where we have been, in order to help us understand where we are now. Sociologists always build upon the foundations of what was learned before. The three ...

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Introduction

Food insecurities have existed since the beginning of time, but only since the development of structured society has the issue of poverty (i.e. lack of financial resources) been recognized as one of the underlying causes responsible for hunger, malnourishment, and subsequent death. Sociologists have spent years of research and exploration dedicated to understanding the intricacy of different societies, what components make them successful, and what shortcomings lead to their eventual collapse. Through this sociological analysis, we will explore three major social theories and their effectiveness in explaining why food insecurities still exist in modern, developed ...

The US economy faces challenges of inequality with a big wealth and pay difference between the rich and the poor. This disparity is also experienced between the blacks and the whites, with most whites belonging to the upper economic classes, while the blacks belong to the poor economic classes. Inequality in the Unites States is the highest when compared to other countries which are on the same economic level such as the UK (Desilver, 2014). There is a wide gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. These facts have a significant impact on the health, ...

According to Schlosser (2002), the emergence of the fast-food industry in the US and the subsequent emergence of powerful multibillion dollar food flavoring companies have adversely impacted on the American potato farmers in various ways. The contribution of these large firms to the decline of agriculture in rural American and the ensuing conflicts may well be explained using the sociological conflicts and symbolic interaction theories. The multinational corporations or companies running America’s most lucrative fast food industry have infiltrated every aspect of traditional agriculture and introduced a modern concept of agribusiness, thus gaining control over the American agriculture, ...

Functional theory

The theory sees society as a complex interconnected system, independently functional but working together to ensure effectiveness and wholeness. From the text, the fact that Colorado Springs employees worked together helped them to be chosen as the benchmark for the largest restaurant chain McDonald’s. The employees and the employers are two different systems that are independently useful but have to work together to make sure that the company (in this case, the bigger system) works efficiently and appropriately. The functional theory is explained in this scenario by the art of proper selection for location. From a functionalist theory ...

Marketing and advertising have been used for decades to capture the hearts of society and promote merchandise for sales. Two of the main attractions in advertising are related to younger children. The two main attractions that children are familiar with include McDonalds and Disney. Disney is a booming industry that depends on the younger children for their sales and revenue. The Disney movies and amusement parks are set in a child atmosphere and use their marketing strategies to appeal to the younger generations. Conflict theory is used when marketing Disney because of the competition that involves and the positive ...

Car-free zones, or pedestrian zones, can be seen as a means of improving the overall quality of life in a society, but their development can contribute to the advancements of many aspects of society. Pedestrian zones are complete areas of a city where automobiles are not allowed and not only can their existence entertain a simpler and more peaceful form of life, but they can appeal to specific class groups. There are a few main reasons for this conceptualization, and they will be described based on the social, economic, and environmental consequences of each. Pedestrian zones may seem the ...

Conflict theories refer to views and perspectives that elaborate the inequalities that occur in a particular social group in matters related to political issues, social issues and also material. Moreover, when we talk of functionalism, this refers to theories that exist and tend to view the society as a very complicated system that composed of very distinct parts that collaborate to enhance the state of solidarity ("Part 3"). Having a look at the food industry in the USA, the conflict theory is quite revealing. The industry appears to have mimicked so many promotional links with industries that manufacture toys ...

Over the last like forty years, there has been a rapid emergence of criminal cases which is believed to be attributed by the expanding level of globalization. Although the use of internet and inventions in the information technology industry is beneficial, there are those who have used it to facilitate their criminal activities. Any act considered as a felony to the society is a crime. For instance, if one person robs another that act is regarded as an offense to everyone in the state. Examples of other crimes are homicide, rape, burglary, a conspiracy among others ("Key Cases: Criminal ...

I know that the person I am becoming is influenced by my life experiences, as a 24 year old mother, I can see how certain significant moments, as they relate to how society has treated me, and to my relationship with other people, have heavily influenced the things that I think, feel, and believe today. IT is clear, in reviewing my personality, my goals, and other elements of my identity, that my story has created the person who I am, and has driven forward the image of the woman I hope to become. I was born in India, and ...

Introduction

The role of sociology in the society cannot be ignored. One can easily make use of social theories to reflect on the environment they live in. The conflict theory stipulates the existence of class structures in a society. Simply put, there exist social inequalities. This paper gives a reflection of this social theory in relation to the lifestyle of a given community.

The segment that gives the best reflection of my neighborhood is the ‘New Empty Nests’. As the term implies, people and families classified under this segment do not appreciate staying at home, hence the reason their families ...

One of the wars that have the highest impact on its residents, the surrounding countries and to the global security is the civil war in Syria. The war started in 2011 and it still lasts. Millions of people have fled their homes and Turkey and European Union confront with millions of refugees. The war started approximately at the same time when the Arabian Spring occurred, but it did not stop. On the one hand, there is a totalitarian regime of Basher al-Assad and on the other; there are many fractions of militant groups who are forming, on the territory ...

Deviant behavior does not adhere to the cultural norms and social accepted norms (Akers, 2011). Deviance comprises of behavior that violates expectations and standards of conduct of a group or society. Crime is one of the forms of deviance. In this paper, crime has been described as major type of deviance. Crime is considered as an act of deviance because in crime norm as well as law is broken. Crime as deviant behavior can be minor or it can be major such as it can be picking an individual’s nose or it can be commitment of murder. There ...

Abstract

In sociology there are three main sociological paradigms that are used to view society and the world as a whole. Paradigms are ways of looking at the world and they are theoretical in nature because they have principles or propositions that are designated to answer a phenomenon. These sociological paradigms can help in explaining and predicting the sociological world. The three include the functionalist paradigm, conflict paradigm as well as the symbolic interactionist paradigm. Each of these paradigms independently offers explanations as to why things happen the way they do and human behavior as well. They focus on the ...

According to the structural-functionalist perspective, educational institutions must provide their students with effective instructions, socialization opportunities, custodial care, sort individuals into statuses based on their academic achievements and fields of study (Mooney, Know & Schacht, 2014, p. 243-244). The failure of educational institutions to successfully perform its functions is determine by various social issues such as poverty, unemployment, and delinquency. However, an ineffective education system can also cause those issues by promoting inequality among students based on their social status or family background, gender, and race and ethnicity. Social status and family background are the most important predictors of academic ...

In our current society there is a myriad of sociological concepts taking place every moment. With the advent of the internet and social media these concepts are played out before us over and over again. One of the biggest sociological phenomenon taking place before our eyes is the Donald Trump rallies and the violence which is taking place within them. A Vanity Fair article written by Tina Nguyen outlines the violent outburst that have happened at the rallies between Trump supporters and those who are protesting at the rallies, as well as Trumps reactions to the violence. These events ...

Introduction

Canada has been hailed as one of the best countries in term of universal health care system. However, despite these positive reviews and global admiration of its health care system, there are various factors that are not admirable. The Canadian society is anchored on social justice and social equality. Therefore, every citizen, irrespective of color, ethnicity or sexuality is entitled to good healthcare. As such, it is a right to enjoy good healthcare system that is universal to all. However, this cannot be said to be true especially to the people of color such as the aboriginal. Over the ...

Theories of crime

Crime has always been a part of the human society; unfortunately individuals were often involved in crime and it was widely discussed. Why does crime attract so much attention? Moreover, what can be called a crime? At different times, various behaviors were considered a crime. For instance, it was illegal to sell or drink alcohol during Prohibition in the USA so Prohibition gave rise to all types of illegal behaviors which in other countries were not seen as crimes. Another example would be the Soviet Union, where it was illegal to be involved in any kind of business; therefore, ...

The theory asserts that conflict in the families is a very normal occurrence .Conflict theories view family as a class in society, which one of the group is oppressing others (Otomar & Wehr, 2002). Debatably, a family is not just a social entity of children and married couples. It is a social group in which its members are linked to each other through marriage, ancestry, living together and adoption .In addition they care for each other and share economically. Family is just but a section of society. Conflict theories have variety of roots from systematic approach of society by Marxist and intra-psychic approach of individuals ...

INTRODUCTION

Society is typically divided into units of families; this social institution is meant to allow parents to raise children in the way they wish, imposing values and discipline upon the children and prepare them for the outside world. As the decades go by and the nature of society changes, families must change as well. There are many sociological theories by which to examine the role of families in society, and the roles of individuals within that family, but some lenses fit better than others. In this essay, we will look at the social institution of family through a functionalist, conflict, ...

Sociological Perspectives

Structural functionalism is a perspective of sociology where the society is interpreted as a structure that has interrelated parts. It addresses the society holistically as related to the functions of elements that constitute it. According to this perspective society is made up of customs, norms, institutions, and traditions (Lawler, 2008, p 66). These elements are believed to be the ones working together to form what is viewed as a society. The functionalism perspective considers every part of the society as serving a purpose. If the interdependence of the elements of society is positive, peace and harmony is achieved but if it doesn’t chaos ...

Karl Marx discussed society in terms of class with an emphasis on there being a class divide. He was interested in how classes formed within capitalism and he defined class by the means of production, in terms of makes a product and who buys the product: the proletariat or the bourgeoisie. Capitalist society exists to make profit and to do that, capitalists keep the cost of labor down by not paying their workers enough. Marx felt that this manipulation was unfair and was completely opposed to the idea of capitalism because of its effect on its workers.

More modern Marxist theory ...

Abstract

Sociology focuses on the study of human relations. It is a study directed towards the behavior of an individual to others and behavior of groups. Understanding on the nature of the society primarily depends on the nature of these interrelationships. Sociology relies on sociological perspectives and theories to explain on social phenomena. These theories emerged within the changing societies. They tend to explain comprehensively a given social phenomena.

The society establishes social institutions to carry out specialized functions. The operation of these social institutions is highly influenced by the sociological perspective held by majority of its members. Members of the social ...