Airon Mark Suratos

HUMSS

Research Assignment

What is Social Action in Sociology

→​According to Max Weber sociology is the science of social action. Obviously it means any action in relation to other
action and its important characteristic is the nature of being social. Max Weber himself differentiated such actions by
giving examples. A driver driving a car is doing social activity and a student reading a book is not. From the former
example it is learnt that the car driver affects others by his driving while the student has no social effect or relation with
others. That is why car driving is social activity while book reading is not. The trait of being social is due to the effect one
puts upon others. It means there is communication between the actor and the people. This communication is an effect or
influence upon others. It means a sort of relation​ship develops during the action. This relationship among the indi​viduals
is called social, which influences others. Thus it is such an attempt in which one or more persons participate belonging to
some social system

→​According to Duncan Mitchel "Action is social when the actor be​haves in such a manner that his action is intended to
influence the action of one or more other persons."

Elements of Social Actions

folloiwng are Talcott Parsons five elements

The actor→​ It is that individual who performs an act. The ac​tor can be one or more persons.

The goal→ ​It is the aim or objective for which the action was done. Without goal, an action is futile and baseless.

Social situation→ The actor performs his role in presence of some situation. While this situation is a continuously
oc​curring group event spread in space and time and thisl situation instigates the actor to action. To control the situation
he does an act. Therefore, a situation is an agent of social action. There are two types of situation controllable and
uncontrollable situation.

Normative orientation→ It is performed on some social pattern, custom. All these forms are called norms of so​ciety. The
pattern on which it is done is called norm.

Energy→​ These require energy for its performance. Physical energy and training are essential for an act.

4 Types of Social Action

​ ax Weber there are four types
~to M

The rational orientation to a system of discrete individual ends. It means that for the achievement of an individual
objective, the logic of cause and effect is applied. Without cause an aim cannot be attained. The logic that every event has
its cause is the main idea. Such actions have ends and objective for the Individual.

The rational orientation to an absolute value. Such action is done for the pursuit of a value of highest dignity. Real truth
can be named as absolute value. Truth, faith, sacrifice and beliefs are its ex​amples in religion. Service of humanity is
general value. Social ac​tions for such alts also require logical performance.
Traditionally oriented action→ In such action. Logical orientation is not counted. The established patterns of behaviour in
terms of customs, rituals, conventions and beliefs ate adopted. These pat​terns are taken for granted and no question of
how, why and what is asked. In such actions, cultural values play important roles because they are diverted towards such
values,

The effectual orientation→ Here the feelings of the people are considered. Such action is neither rational nor traditional.
Such action is unplanned. It is done according to the feelings of an effect upon the actor

Steps to Develop Community Profile

Step 1

Define your community

→Discuss with colleagues in your organisation and decide the community(ies) you want to find out about and
the geographical area(s) you will be looking at.

Decide what it is you want to know then work out how you can find it out. See pages 8-9 for guidance on
defining your community(ies).

Step 2

Find out if you have relevant information

→Find out if you have up-to-date information about your community(ies) which includes the topics listed on page
11. Use the list to identify any gaps in your knowledge.

Step 3 and Step 4

Has someone already collated the information you need?

→Before you start working through the sources indicated in step 5, check if someone else has already collated
the information you will need to fill the gaps in your knowledge. This will not only save you time and resources
but it should also help you to develop partnerships.

Step 5

How to find the information yourself

Which sources to choose

You may find it necessary to use more than one source of data in order to ‘complete the picture’.

For example:

● Information about disabled people is available from several different sources in this guide.

● You may also find it useful to talk to local disability groups or community groups.

You might find that some of the data is too detailed or is irrelevant to your needs so, ultimately, you may choose
not to include it in your profile.