UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS

Society is dependent on people’s social interaction. Thus, a person builds his/her personality by interacting with others in society. In the process of
socialization, social institutions (family, school, economy, church, and government) play crucial roles. A society cannot exist without members and the
same is true that individuals cannot exist without being a member of a certain society. It is important that laws, norms, and rules and regulations must
be obeyed for our country to have full members of society.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS - Social organizations or institutions are established sets of norms and subsystems that support each society's survival.
Each sector carries out certain tasks and has different responsibilities that contribute to the overall functioning and stability of a society. This helps to
decrease chaos and increase structure.

PRIMARY INSTITUTIONS
THE FAMILY - The family is the basic social institution in the society.
IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OR ROLES OF FAMILY FOR SOCIETY:
• for biological reproduction; • the institution for economic cooperation through division of
• the primary agent of socialization; labor; and
• to care for and nurture children to become responsible
adults.

THE SCHOOL - The school is the social institution that has prevalent influence in shaping the minds of the younger generation through education.
Education refers to the formal and informal process of transmitting the knowledge, beliefs, and skills from one generation to the next.
FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION:
• transmitting culture; • evaluating and selecting competent individuals; and
• preparation for occupational roles; • transmitting functional skills for functioning in society.

THE CHURCH/RELIGION - The church is the social institution entrusted with the task of teaching morality to individuals and groups. Religion refers
to a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe. It gives individual believers an explanation for life, a guide for ethical
behavior, and an explanation for human problems that cannot be answered by reason alone.
FUNCTIONS OF RELIGION:
• providing solutions for unexplained natural, phenomena; • sustaining the existing class structure;
• supplying a means for controlling the natural world; • religion serves as an instrument of socialization;
• religion tends to support the normative structure of the • religion may both promote and retard social change; and
society; • religion may both reduce and encourage conflict in groups.
• furnishing a psychological diversion from unwanted life
situations;

THE ECONOMY - Economic organization involves production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
FUNCTIONS OF ECONOMY:
• provide methods for the • provide methods for the • enable societies’ members to
production of goods and distribution of goods and consume goods and services
services; services; and which are produced.

GOVERNMENT/ POLITICS - Individuals learn to obey laws and perform social functions in the community where they belong with civic
consciousness and commitment through the government.
FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT:
• the Institutionalization of norms (Laws); • provide for the welfare of members of society; and
• the enforcement of laws; • protection of society from external threat.
• the adjudication of conflict (Court);

OTHER SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

MASS MEDIA
EFFECTS OF MASS MEDIA:
• the effects of advertising on • the effects of public service • the effects of media ritual on
purchasing; announcements; social control.
• the effects of political campaigns • the effects of propaganda on
on voting; ideology; and
PEER GROUP - a social group whose members have interests, social positions, and age in common.
FUNCTIONS OF PEER GROUP:
• assist in the transition to adult responsibilities; • helps a person to develop relationships with others in the
• encourage young individual to follow pursuits that society social system; and
considers admirable • it serves as a venue for teaching members gender roles.

HEALTH SECTOR - One of the factors that affect socialization is health. It affects the way a person behave and interacts with others. A healthy
person has the confidence to join social functions and civic activities while a person suffering from illness limits his/her functions and social activities.

COMMUNITY/ NEIGHBORHOOD - A community is a group of interacting people, living in some proximity. Community usually refers to a social
unit—larger than a household—that shares common values and has social cohesion.

DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL - Deviance is defined by a behavior that violates significant social norms and is disapproved by majority of
people. The sociology of deviance is concerned primarily with violation of behaviors that are considered unacceptable or offensive by majority
because society subjects all of us to social control.

TYPES OF DEVIANCE
PRIMARY DEVIANT SECONDARY DEVIANT
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DEVIANCE - Primary deviance refers to a person’s Vandalism Rubbery
behavior which violates or does not conform to a prescribed norm of conduct but is Cheating during examination Kidnapping
tolerated or concealed by others. While Secondary deviance refers to the Littering Drug Addiction
behaviour of a lifetime conformist or the behaviour of a branded criminal. Cutting classes Murder
Loitering in restricted areas Prostitutes
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP DEVIANCE - Individual deviance refers to a INDIVIDUAL DEVIANCE GROUP DEVIANCE
violation against a group’s norm or subculture. Group deviance refers to the act Eating or drinking something that is not Street gangs
of members of a group to conform to the group’s norms, but which disagree allowed in your religion Cult
with norms of the larger society.

REASONS FOR DEVIANCE

There are different perspectives for the causes of deviance. For Biologists, deviance is caused by factors coming from within the individual. While
Sociologists say that factors outside the individual cause deviance. Finally, according to Psychologists, deviance is caused by abnormalities in their
personalities.

SOCIAL CONTROL - Social control refers to the “techniques and strategies” for regulating human behaviour in any society.

TWO TYPES OF SANCTIONS:

INFORMAL SANCTIONS - Unofficial, often casual pressures to conform. Positive informal sanctions involve reward for conformity or compliance.
FORMAL SANCTIONS- Official, institutionalized incentives to conform and penalties for deviance. Needed in large complex societies. Criminal
Justice system is the most important and visible institution of social control. These may take form of arrest, pre-trial, sentencing or imprisonment.
Being a member of a society entails certain responsibilities or roles that must be accomplished. If these roles were not met, problems will start to
come up. This is the reason why we have institutions or authorities that render punishment to the offenders.

HUMAN DIGNITY is the recognition that human beings possess a special value intrinsic to their humanity and such are worthy of respect simply
because they are human beings. It is also states that every person has value and must be free from any form of abuse.

VIOLATIONS AGAINST HUMAN DIGNITY: THOUGH INTERCONNECTED, THEY ARE IDENTIFIED INTO CATEGORIES.
HUMILIATION - the act of embarrassing or diminishing the worth of a person. EXAMPLES: Bullying, Public Shaming, Smart Shaming.

OBJECTIFICATION - refers as treating a person as an instrument or as means of other goal/achievement. EXAMPLE: Dating a famous person for
Fame, Mistreatment to Women and LGBTQ+.

DEGRADATION - the act of degrading the value of human being. EXAMPLE: Human trafficking, Selling a person into slavery.

DEHUMANIZATION - These is an act of stripping off a person’s human characteristics and entitlement. EXAMPLE: Torture, Sexual Abuse,
Genocidal, Murder.
RIGHTS - are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement which are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people
or owed to people, in accordance with some legal, social convention, or ethical theory.

HUMAN RIGHTS - are natural rights of all human beings whatever their nationality, religion, ethnicity, sex, language, and color. We are equally
entitled to our human rights without discrimination.

NATURAL RIGHTS - These are the rights inherent to man and given to him by God as human being. (Right to live, love and be happy).

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS - These are the rights guaranteed under the fundamental charter of the country (rights against unreasonable searches
and seizure, rights safeguarding the accused.)

STATUTORY RIGHTS - rights provided by the law-making body of a country or by law, such as the right to receive a minimum wage and right to
preliminary investigation.

CIVIL RIGHTS - These are rights specified under the Bill of rights. (Freedom of speech, right to information) Rights enjoyed by an individual by virtue
of his citizenship in a state or community.

ECONOMIC RIGHTS - These are the rights to property, whether personal, real, or intellectual. (Right to use and dispose his property, right to
practice one’s profession, right to make a living).

POLITICAL RIGHTS - These are the rights of an individual enjoys as a consequence of being a member of body polity. (Right to vote and right to be
voted into public office).

COMMON GOOD - that which benefits society, in contrast to the private good of individuals and sections of society which is also the sum of those
conditions of social life which allowed social groups and their individual members, relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.
EXAMPLES: Accessible and affordable public health care system. Effective system of public safety and security. Peace among nations. Just legal
political system. Unpolluted natural environment. Flourishing economic system. Eradicating poverty.

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS are instruments or patterns of social order focused on meeting social needs such as family, government, economy,
healthcare, and various institutions. SOCIETY is composed of different social groups. A social group has two or more people who interact with one
another. These people share experiences, individualism, and interests. However, not all individuals who share similar characteristics interact with
one another. The social groups could be couples, families, sets of friends, and barkada, churches, clubs, businesses, neighbourhood, and large
organizations.

According to Macionis (2012), a distinguished scholar of Sociology, there are two types of social groups. The PRIMARY GROUP is the most
fundamental unit of society. It is considered a long-lasting group because it is characterized by strong ties of love and affection. The most important
primary group in any society is the family. Friends who shape an individual’s attitudes, behaviour, and social identity also form one’s primary group.
SECONDARY GROUP, groups is characterized by impersonal, business-like, contractual, formal, and casual. These are the groups with which the
individual comes in contact later in life. Through socialization, individuals needs to grow and adapt. To consider one’s own attitudes and behaviour,
individual’s use a REFERENCE GROUP, a social group that serves as a comparison function. This groups can be primary or secondary, as well as
groups we don’t belong to. There is also the opposition of in-groups and out-groups.

An IN-GROUP is a social group toward which a member feels at home while an OUT-GROUP is a social group which a person feels they do not
belong due to some differences. Another group is the NETWORK that is composed of people who come into occasional contact but who lacks a
sense of boundaries and belongings. This is demonstrated by social networking sites such as Facebook.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL GROUP:

• Group members interact on a regular basis through • Certain orderly procedures and values are agreed upon.
communication. • The members of the group feel a sense of identity.
• Members should develop a structure where each member
assumes a specific status and adopts a particular role.

CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL

In the society that we live in, we are mandated by a set of rules. Some of these rules may be enforced while others are discussed. Irrespective of
how these were organized, their significance in understanding what is culturally, socially, and politically acceptable cannot be ignored. In the
Philippine society, some important institutions are family, religion, and civil society. Other institutions such as market and economy, education, and
health are also notable. Economic institutions have an important role in the economy- they make sure that means are properly scattered and ensure
that the marginalized people are secured. Examples of economic institutions are Banks, Government Organizations, and Investment Funds.