Sociology

Environmental Factors Heidi Wallen HSM/220 March 21, 2013 Environmental Factors The four external environmental factors are: economic factors, sociological factors, technological factors, and political and professional factors. The six internal factors are: organizational purpose, mission, and philosophy, Organizational planning, Organizational operations, Human resources, Technological resources, financial resources.

Economic factors including knowing what financial resources the company has and where funding is coming from weather it is government funds, donated funds, fees for service, or other agency income. Sociological factors include understanding community demographic both in terms of client and community. Understand the makeup in terms of income, education, gender, age, and other demographic factors. Technological factors for human service agencies can understand how to use the equipment such as computer hardware and software as well as new treatment approaches.

Political/professional factors include knowing laws and regulations from federal, state and local levels as well as a political climate, or the attitudes of community and local leaders and the general public towards the services provided. Professional factors in human services include being aware of licensing and certification standards; and staying in good working relations with these agencies. When looking at all four of the factors it is heard to say what would be the most important.

They all have good value, but if I had to I would say that Sociological factors seem to be very important. One needs to know the people that you are going to help each and every day. To make sure that you are able to give them the help that they may need. Organizational Purpose is to have the understanding of a mission statement and a vision that is intended to provide the logic and the organizing theme . human service agency believes in what it hopes to achieve and what services they will provide to achieve its mission and the vision, goals that were set.

Organizational planning is having a strategy and plan to identify were the organization ideally would like to be in a time frame such as five or more years. This takes some brainstorming and looking at available data so they are able to project future needs. Organizational Operations requires regular review and examination of the programs and services offered to make sure that performance is measuring up to expectations. Human Resources refer to the many functions that are involved in the supervision and management of the organization’s employees and volunteers.

Staff requires a working knowledge of human resources law. Technological Resources can include support and consulting services, computer resources, financial management expertise, marketing and public relations expertise, and other technologies that may be used to support the work of the organization. Financial Resources requires a careful examination of budget documents to determine where the funding is coming from and what obligations the agency assumes in accepting funding from each of the various sources.

The book Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for Racial Uplift was affectively written by Jacqueline M. Moore and published in 2003. This book review will look at the following themes, Washington being a gradualist while Du Bois wanting confrontational immediacy, and the idiom, “if you can’t beat them join them. ” What is also great about the book is that it starts with telling us about both philanthropist’s childhood to effectively reveal where each got their philosophies and unique characteristics and traits.

The injustice of racism and its evident role in some of Americas most prominent political and social aspects have perpetuated rigorous and squalor lifestyles for those of non-Caucasian ancestry. Jacqueline Moore clearly states evidence how white people have such a long history of being the dominant group and why it is so hard for blacks to assimilate. In the book the writer simply told us a story of 2 men’s journeys for racial uplift and wanted us to decide the theme for ourselves, telling both sides of the story in order to let us choose which of them we might agree with more.

The author did a good job letting us know Washington and Du Bois’s goals. The style of the novel is interconnected with its themes. In the novel, not only does Moore convey the ideas and concepts of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B Dubois, but Moore also illustrates the theories of which consists of gradualism and immediacy. “Washington was a gradualist, and Du Bois favored immediacy. Washington advocated economic advancement and self-help; Du Bois favored political advancement. ”(p. 7) Washington tries to possess the concept that, if you can’t beat them join them. This is one of the examples in the novel that Jacqueline Moore clearly and affectively states as evidence to one of the themes. The tone of Moore’s Novel is optimistic and assertive, which is evident when she says that “… although it was true that blacks had to make efforts to help themselves, without the support and encouragement of the white community and the elimination of discriminatory barriers, progress was not possible. (p. 72) Moore’s writing proves its effectiveness for it essentially explains Dubois’s theory of what blacks need to do too pursue a better life and achieve self-actualization that promotes higher possibilities and is free from lowering standards as he addresses his purpose, indicates his broad audience, and infuses a unique writing style that employs an in-depth point of view and an optimistic tone from Du Bois. “The difference was in the emphasis each man placed on his preferred method.

Washington argued that industrial education should come first so that southern blacks could gain basic schooling and useful skills with which to make something of themselves. Du Bois argued that without higher education for blacks there would be no black teachers for the industrial schools and therefor no chance for blacks to improve. ” (p. 61) Again, the writer states the goals of the 2 men to make sure the readers are able to convey the information to their own understanding.

Moore fills the readers with the knowledge that the white society of the past was philosophically corrupted and degraded the worth of black individuals due to white supremacy and the lack of cooperation from the whites, which depressed black’s motivation to instill within them their goals and expectations. The key to eliminating discrimination was to get the government to take initiative to end discrimination of the black race, but as time progressed, rebellious natured individuals presented their disapproval for this racial uplift and started clans like the KKK in order to discourage blacks from earning political rights. As their situation grew increasingly desperate, many poor blacks lost faith in the possibility of integration that both Washington and Du Bois held out as the ultimate goal. ”(p. 94). Supporting my thesis, many blacks have lost faith for racial uplift and started to think they couldn’t beat the white supremacist. “Eventually, after many struggles, the International Migration Society did send a group of 200 emigrants to Liberia in 1895 and another 321 in 1896. (p. 100) The book also did a good job stating statistical facts. One of the class discussions that we had was “Was it too early to migrate back to Africa? ” We asked ourselves this and had a big debate over it, but the novel states that only about 1,000 black people took the ship back to Africa while the population of blacks at the time was somewhere around 8,000,000, that is not even 1 percent and most couldn’t even afford it.

It was important that the book stated facts showing that although blacks tried very hard to become part of the dominant group, they did not have the tools and money to do so as the whites were very powerful when it came to black rights. They did not understand how hard the standard of living was for blacks, so the people of color continued to be ridiculed by the army of brainwashed drones, who stood tall at the pinnacle of ignorance. Overall the book did a good job adding to my understanding of the subject.

A lot of what I read in the book was learned in our in class lectures giving me a head start. Moore wishes to guide her readers out of their blind state of mind and use the perspective of the two philanthropists in order find their way through the often dark and bleak aspects of racial uplift. Before reading the book I knew little to nothing about Washington and Du Bois, but affectively it has managed to reveal all I need to know about the two and all that they have done in their efforts to achieve justice.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all I must thank Dr. M Z Mamun, Professor & Director, IBA for his insisting on the brevity of the report.

He helped me determine the objective of the report and guided me through to get to the end. He made me grateful with his valuable suggestions from time to time during my internship. I can never forget his fatherly guidance and his utmost friendly and sincere attention toward me. The second person to acknowledge will surely be my supervisor at SRGB: Mr. M Saidul Haq, Managing Director of SRG Bangladesh Limited. He has been a great support from the choice of the topic, learning of different part of research and understanding the difference between theory and practice.

Special thank goes to Mr. Ziauddin Kamal, Senior Research Executive and Mr Emrul Kayes, Manager, HR for providing me every kind of information related to my study. I really should thank every other employee of SRGB, whom I found during different phases of my internship. Most of them have been very open and friendly with me and provided me with the answers I needed from them. Lastly I would like to thank my classmates working in OrgQuest and the Nielsen Company Bangladesh Limited for providing me with brief but useful information about the practices in their organization.

July 11, 2009 Chairperson Internship and Placement Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka Dhaka – 1000 Subject: Submission of Internship report on Critical Assessment of the Research Methodology used in SRG Bangladesh Limited Dear Sir: As a part of the internship program, I have prepared this report on the topic “Critical Assessment of the Research Methodology used in SRG Bangladesh Limited”. The report contains a detailed study and analysis on the qualitative and quantitative methodology used by SRG Bangladesh Limited.

I judged the matter through the projects in which I had to work as an internee. I have tried my best to utilize the opportunity of working as an internee in an established marketing research company like SRGB. This report is based on information acquired from the project Awareness and Acceptance of UK Qualifications in Bangladesh, conducted by SRGB. Here I have tried to compare the methodology used in that study with the thery we have been taught in the classroom and probable reason of difference with the theory if any.

I have maintained the internship learning as per the instructions I have got from my supervisor Dr M Z Mamun. I enjoyed preparing this report because it provides an opportunity for me to increase my understanding of the real life marketing research practices. I thank you for such an opportunity. I will be available for any clarification at your convenience. Sincerely yours Noman Ahemd Khan Roll # 16 Batch – 41(D)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report has been written with a focused ultimate goal of identifying the gaps between theory and practice of research in SRG Bangladesh Limited. It has been found that the effectiveness of a research firm SRGB in preparing research works fairly supported by theory practitioners.

Difference between theory and practice is a very old phenomenon which we can see here too. But it can be concluded easily that though the practice is not perfectly similar with the suggestions from theory, the practice will work effectively to bring out the result, which is the goal of all research works. Market research and consultancy is an old art which is becoming more important in Bangladesh day by day. The activities of market research include defining marketing opportunities and problems, generating and evaluating marketing ideas, monitoring performance, and understanding the marketing process.

At the same time management consultancy refers to both the industry of, and the practice of, helping organizations improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing business problems and development of plans for improvement. Organizations hire the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice, access to the consultants’ specialized expertise, or simply as extra temporary help during a one-time project, where the hiring of more permanent employees is not required.

Internship opportunity in a market research and management consultancy house can be considered a great opportunity for a student to learn some most important and effective skills. Bangladesh is comparatively new in Market Research and Management Consultancy sector. We can find very few big players and a number of small players here. But the industry is expanding day by day. The total revenue is also increasing every year. Mainly four companies can be considered the topmost players in this industry. One of them SRG Bangladesh Limited is the company where the author completed his internship.

The Survey Research Group of Bangladesh [SRGB] was initiated in October 1987 as a Management and Industrial Consulting house. Since the early 90s, SRGB ventured into providing Qualitative and Quantitative Research Services. Since then SRGB has successfully conducted hundreds of studies ranging from broad based sectoral studies to micro level case studies for domestic and international clients. SRGB maintains a countrywide panel of more than 800 male and female Field Investigators, who are recruited locally resulting in substantial cost efficiency.

Moreover, local investigators ensure operational efficiency and accuracy in collecting relevant information. In terms of organizational philosophy, to remain updated with the rapid changes in the global survey research scenario and to benefit from the hard-earned experience of developed economies, SRGB remains in constant touch with a number of overseas firms engaged in research and consulting. Most of the assignments handled in SRGB were long-term projects that had already been started. Some were in the beginning phase and some were in their final stages.

Some of them are also a type of continuous research with several waves. The discussed research study that was used to prepare this report is Awareness and Acceptance of UK Qualifications in Bangladesh. It was an ongoing project. It therefore made sense to continue doing what the rest of the team was doing (taking interviews of different types and writing those down). It required all three interns from IBA to take interviews of different people. At the very beginning tough job of taking face to face interviews was assigned.

Some visits to a private university (BRAC University for this author) and a multinational (Novartis Bangladesh Limited) helped the job done. Then the qualitative part commenced. A 7 day tour to Chittagong was made to take the KII of a number of Deans and department heads. The tour was successful with nice opportunities to learn interview and communication skills. Then again a 5 day tour to Rajshahi, the land of heat and mango. It was also a very successful tour with acquiring of huge experiences.

Finally different top management personnels from different organizations and universities like University of Dhaka, International Islamic University Chittagong Dhaka Campus, Square, Grameenphone, Dhaka Bank, BMET, UGC etc. were interviewed.

INTRODUCTION

Market research and consultancy is an old art which is becoming more important in Bangladesh day by day. The activities of market research include defining marketing opportunities and problems, generating and evaluating marketing ideas, monitoring performance, and understanding the marketing process.

At the same time management consultancy refers to both the industry of, and the practice of, helping organizations improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing business problems and development of plans for improvement. Organizations hire the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice, access to the consultants’ specialized expertise, or simply as extra temporary help during a one-time project, where the hiring of more permanent employees is not required.

Internship opportunity in a market research and management consultancy house can be considered a great opportunity for a student to learn some most important and effective skills.

Origin of the Report

As a compulsory part of Internship program, this particular report is being prepared by the author on the proposed topic “Critical Assessment of the Research Methodology used in SRG Bangladesh Limited”. The intention was to give an opportunity to the students to gain some real world experience by working in a practical environment. The internship supervisor was Mr. M Saidul Haq, Managing Director, SRG Bangladesh Limited and the faculty advisor was Dr. M Z Mamun, Professor & Director of Institute of Business Administration.

Objective

The Primary Objective of this report is: • To measure the gap between theory and practice for the selection of the methodology.

Secondary objectives are:

•  To study the methodology used in the project under study in SRGB.
• To observe the implementation of the methods.
•  To measure the gap between selection and implementation of the methods.
•  Search for the justifications behind the gaps.

Methodology

The research will be composed of literature review for theories and qualitative research mainly. An extensive study of the research methodology literature will be the base. Then the practical experiences and observations from the project worked for during internship will be compared with the literature. Finally qualitative in-depth interviews and key informant interviews will lead us to our answers.

Scope

SRGB selects and follows different kinds of methodology for different projects. It changes with the change of projects.

Here only the study project in which the author worked- ‘Awareness and Acceptance of UK Qualifications in Bangladesh’ will come under consideration. The author will try to reveal the theoretical requirements to selection of methodology for this particular study project and the practical happenings in this project only. The other two studies which were taking place at SRGB at the time of internship will not be considered though the author worked for those in some few instances.

Limitations

Some limiting factors were faced while conducting the research and preparing the report.

These could be summarized as follows:

•  No secondary information was found, such as, any report or research papers on this particular issue.
•  For finding out reasons behind gap between theory and practice, enough number of projects could not be studied due to shortage of time and scope.
• Only internal specialists were interviewed.

Industry Overview

Before starting description of the main parts of the internship report, some light on the industry of the worked for company should be addressed. A short story about the industry will help the reader understand the situation with more depth.

Research and Consultancy

Industry around the World The management consultancy industry shows a very fragmented picture with various segments and player groups. This first part of the industry analysis starts with an analysis of the market segments and player groups. Afterwards it will elaborate on the competitive situation. The second part of this analysis – Future Prospects – discusses driving forces and possible futures for the industry. Due to availability of data here the focus is on the German market, for which it provides figures and statistics.

All statements about trends, competition, drivers and possible future developments, however, can easily be transferred to management consultancies in all major markets.

Market segments

In Germany there are 14700 management consultancies and sole practitioners. They employ 68000 consultants. The market for management consultancy in Germany has shown rapid growth throughout the last years. Total revenues rose from 16. 4 bn DM in 1997 to 18. 8 bn in 1998, 21. 3 bn in 1999, and 23. 8 bn DM in 2000. Although the annual growth rate declined from 14. 6 % in 1998 to 11. % in 2000, it is still significantly above the growth rate of the German GDP, being below 3 %. However, growth is not equally spread across the market segments. Today management consultancy is much more than the traditional strategy consulting. The Bundesverband Deutscher Unternehmensberater e. V. (BDU, Association of German Management Consultants) distinguishes between consulting for strategy, organisation, IT and human resources. Analysis of these segments reveals their different contributions to overall revenue and growth: Figure 1: Revenues of Research and Consultancy Firms by Services pic] Figure 2: Growth Rate of Research and Consultancy Firms by Services [pic] These figures indicate that IT- and organisational consulting fuelled growth in 1999. This was driven by the current developments in the IT-sector. The BDU names year 2000 solutions, Euro-implementations, SAP implementations and e-business activities. These changes in the customers’ environment change their industries more or less and hence create enormous needs for consulting. Without the impact of Y2K and Euro-implementation, the growth of IT consulting slowed down in 2000.

However, this sector remains the most important field of consulting with 43. 4% of total consulting revenues in 2000. The BDU predicts, that the proportion of consulting projects that include at least partly some e-commerce consulting, will grow from 38% in 2000 to about 50% in 2001. All in all the whole industry shows a dynamic growth. Besides the influence of IT this is driven by globalisation, technological change and the deregulation of markets.

Player Groups

In recent years the industry has seen the entry of many non-traditional consultants into the market.

Barriers to entry are considerably low with little investments into fixed assets needed. In addition – on the contrary to the auditing business – there are no legal regulations limiting the entry to this profession. Many former employees of large consultancy firms or senior managers from other businesses start up as sole practitioners or small consulting firms. On the other hand, many companies from outside the consulting industry enter this market. These are mainly IT-companies as IBM or Cap Gemini, but also designers, technologists, marketing agencies, employment agencies and others.

Figure 3: Groups of Research and Consultancy Players by Size and Origin [pic] Rassam (1998) distinguishes as follows: In Germany there are 14700 consulting businesses employing 68500 consultants. The BDU distinguishes small, medium and large consultancies. Not surprisingly, the large consultancies, being smallest in numbers make nearly a third of the total industries revenues: Figure 4. Percentage of Market Share Depending on Size of Businesses [pic] This is an ongoing trend. By 2000 the market share of large consultancies has risen to 47%, share of medium sized firms fell to 36% and share of small firms fell to 17%.

This is because large firms show by far the highest growth rates with an average of 18% in 2000. Medium and small firms grew by an average of 9% and 2. 5% only. With this small number of large dominant players the market can be characterised as an oligopoly. Competition is especially strong within the market segments and within the player groups. Due to the limited growth rates in some segments and the entry of new players there is also a rising competition across the segments and player groups. Smaller specialised consultants start to serve customers of all sizes.

The large consultants discover small and start-up enterprises as customers, seeing them as future clients for further consulting and auditing activities. According to this competition consultancies have developed different strategies. The large consultancies establish themselves as generalist. They offer their clients a one-stop-shop service for all the consulting needs they might have. Thus their focus is on long-lasting customer relationships and cross-selling opportunities. Many smaller and medium sized consultancies have specialised in certain areas of expertise like IT, HR or business recovery.

A number of them operate only in their home area. An important area of competition in consulting business is the supply-side. Consultancies compete heavily to attract highly qualified people. Demand for these people is rising due to the growth aspirations of the large consulting firms. The German member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers created more than 1000 additional jobs during its first year after the merger and still continues to grow at high rates. On the other hand, many graduates from universities and business schools choose to join start-ups in the “new economy” in 2000.

Research and Consultancy Industry in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is comparatively new in Market Research and Management Consultancy sector. We can find very few big players and a number of small players here. But the industry is expanding day by day. The total revenue is also increasing every year. Mainly four companies can be considered the topmost players in this industry. One of them SRG Bangladesh Limited is the company where the author completed his internship, description of that company is coming latter. Here we find short description of other three firms.

ORG-Quest Research Ltd (OrQuest)

ORG-QUEST RESEARCH LTD. (OrQuest) is a joint venture company with ORG India (pvt) Ltd. It has been founded in 2003, though serving from 1994. Number of employees is 40 and interviewers is 300. We are a research & consulting firm with strong survey research and analytical skills that bring to bear a blend of insights and Pan-Asian experience of a highly competent team of professionals. We have been providing research services to our valued clients including MNCs, UN agencies, development partners (World Bank, ADB, IFC-SEDF, Swisscontact, etc. , local conglomerates, international research agencies, etc. in the country since 1994, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Our qualitative wing owns a viewing facility with one way mirror in Dhaka. With a dedicated team of researchers, having client and agency side experience and multi country exposures, we offer high standard market, social and opinion research services in the areas mentioned under the fields of operation later.

Sirius Marketing and Social Research Ltd.

Sirius is a full service research organization and offers the entire spectrum of consumer and media research, social research, syndicated Media and Panel research services and business-to-business research conforming to international standards. It has been founded in 1995 and it has 60 employees and 350 interviewers presently. The company is an associate of IMRB International and has full access to IMRB’s expertise. Today, Sirius is one of the leading research agencies and the clientele includes multinationals based in Bangladesh, bilateral agencies and international companies.

The company has conducted large scale national level studies (all Bangladesh) and has field offices in the 6 Divisional headquarters of Bangladesh. The company pioneered syndicated media research in the country that includes TV audience measurement, National Media Study (covering all media), TV Ad tracking,and has in place a national level household consumer panel since 2005. 2. 2. 3 The Nielsen Company The Nielsen Company, offering services in over 100 countries, is the world’s leading provider of market research, information, and analysis.

By delivering unrivalled combinations of insights, advanced analytical tools and integrated marketing solutions, Nielsen provides complete views of consumers and their markets. Nielsen Consumer Research helps clients address the issues of brand health, shopper loyalty and behavior, marketing mix management and consumer motivations. By integrating proprietary research applications with in-market understanding from our retail and consumer panel services we don’t conduct consumer research in a vacuum, and are uniquely positioned to deliver business solutions in their market context.

BASES, a service of The Nielsen Company and a world leader in STM’s, uses industry-leading forecasting models, rich databases, and proprietary analytical techniques to consult on a range of business issues, including innovation strategy, concept and marketing plan optimization, and initiative commercialization. BASES is widely known for expertise in the CPG sector, but tools have been adapted to sectors such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, quick-serve restaurants, and more.

Company Overview

The company selected for internship was Survey Research Group of Bangladesh (SRGB).

It is one of the leading Research and Consultancy firm of the country. A short description of the company will complement the story.

Background and History of SRG Bangladesh Limited

The Survey Research Group of Bangladesh [SRGB] was initiated in October 1987 as a Management and Industrial Consulting house. Its professional integrity and service excellence rapidly gained a lasting reputation for delivering result-oriented consultancy services. Subsequently, activities were diversified to provide development consultancy, continuing professional development programs, data processing & analysis and event management services.

Since the early 90s, SRGB ventured into providing Qualitative and Quantitative Research Services. Since then SRGB has successfully conducted hundreds of studies ranging from broad based sectoral studies to micro level case studies for domestic and international clients. SRGB’s studies are carried out under the leadership of highly competent and experienced team members who are well acknowledged experts in their respective fields, appropriately drawn from SRGB’s panel with their consent and total commitment.

Logistically, SRGB is more than well equipped with all necessary and state of the art office facilities including computers, printers, photocopier, scanner, continuous power generator, etc. A team of highly experienced staff remains dedicated to carry out survey research activities. Moreover, SRGB maintains a countrywide panel of more than 800 male and female Field Investigators, who are recruited locally resulting in substantial cost efficiency. Moreover, local investigators ensure operational efficiency and accuracy in collecting relevant information.

In terms of organizational philosophy, to remain updated with the rapid changes in the global survey research scenario and to benefit from the hard-earned experience of developed economies, SRGB remains in constant touch with a number of overseas firms engaged in research and consulting. These close associations have proved mutually rewarding and SRGB maintain an open-end policy in acquiring further overseas strategic alliances. Moreover, SRGB’s consultants are well practiced in looking objectively at the challenges that a business or an intervention faces and developing appropriate, workable and cost effective solutions.

SRGB’s role as a consultancy house is to provide expert, independent, practical and pragmatic decisions. With the truest partnership spirit, SRGB works “alongside” with the clients instead of working “for” them. SRGB’s approach is based on hard-earned experience, rather than on textbook solutions. The hard-core professionalism, undaunted integrity and uncompromising excellence of service of SRGB have duly earned high level of customer satisfaction and reliability.

The total range of services from SRGB is delivered through three distinct operating divisions: [pic] Centre for Research & Management Consulting [pic]Centre for Continuing Professional Development [pic]Centre for Data Processing & Analysis All three centres have both intellectual and logistical resource-base that is unmatched in the country. Each of the centres is highly professional, unparalleled in functional efficiency and strategically organized to provide ample scope for future expandability and relentless enhancement of service quality.

The Centre for Research & Management Consulting concentrates on providing consolidated business management and development research solutions, while the Centre for Continuing Professional Development offers wide range of skill development programs for practicing and prospective business professionals to enhance their experience and functional capability. Finally, the Centre for Data Processing & Analysis offer a spectrum of digitization services, which covers almost every document conversion process including data, text, PDF, illustrator and XML/SGML conversion services.

Organization Chart

The organization is headed by the CEO or President. It has an organogram which is slim but centralized. Here a diagram of the organization chart has been shown in the next page. [pic]

Services Offered

The services offered are modern and useful. They are as follows:

• Social & Environmental Research
•  Business Communication Service
•  Automotive Research
•  Agricultural Research
•  Business to Business Research
• HR Management Service
•  Media Research
•  Mystery Shopping
•  Qualitative Research
•  Quantitative Research
•  Retail Study Healthcare Research
•  Sales Force Effectiveness

Practice Among the available services here we only highlight the qualitative and quantitative research. 3. 4 Qualitative Research SRGB has a specialist qualitative research division. This division forms a core part of the overall business. This division has a team with an experience base of over 15 years. Keeping in mind the need to bring in different perspectives in understanding human behavior, this team has been selected from diverse backgrounds such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, marketing, economics and so on.

The qualitative division also has its own specialized field structure that handles all aspects of the field operations. No fieldwork is sub-contracted. In addition to our own team of highly experienced and motivated researchers, the qualitative division draws into the expertise of international consultants in the fields of qualitative research and communication. This allows us access to global perspective as well. The qualitative division has handled hundreds of studies pning categories as diverse as FMCG products, financial products, durables, automobiles, media, telecommunication and so on.

It has considerable experience in handling the following types of research studies:

• Usage and attitude studies
•  Brand equity studies
•  Segmentation studies
•  Positioning research
•  Communication development and evaluation
•  Packaging evaluation studies
•  New product development studies

The experience pool also includes studies among a wide variety of target groups ranging from housewives, chief wage earners, children, teenagers, young adults, different socio-economic groups including high net worth individuals; specialist groups such as corporate, specific professions, etc.

The qualitative research division boasts of having a large number of specialized techniques such as:

•  Conflict Groups
•  Peer Interactions
• Triads
•  Paired Interviews
•  Slice of life
•  Semiotics
•  Extended creativity groups
•  Hybrid Approaches
• Benefit Inhibitor chains
•  Thematic Apperception Tests
•  Mind Mapping
• Value Equation
•  World views
• Bring your
• Homework etc.

Quantitative Research

The quantitative research division is a specialized research with a combined experience of over 18 years in handling quantitative research in a wide range of areas – such as FMCGs, personal grooming products, automobiles, durables, telecom, IT media, pharmaceutical products, cigarettes, retail, financial products and web research. The team, of over 15 quantitative researchers is adept at handling all aspects of the research right from problem definition, to the analysis and data interpretation, to providing implementable solutions to the clients needs.

The use of a wide array of tools and techniques, such as multivariate techniques adds value and helps provide meaningful insights to the client. A team of experienced programmers ensure a quick and efficient data summarization and interpretation, which ensure a quicker turnaround time for the project. At any point of time, there are 800+ investigators for collecting data and they are spread across the country.

High quality in data collection is ensured through a systemized and stringent data collection procedure-training sessions, mock calls, pilot interviews, back-checks by the company staff ensure that data collected adheres to the quality standards laid down by the company. Specialized teams of experts in various fields with in-depth knowledge of the global market add value to the project. We have consultants with a global experience of at least 20 years in the following areas.

Customer satisfaction • Mystery shopping • Product testing • Retailing sector • Modeling and data mining • Insurance sector • Banking sector

Recent Projects

There were twelve ongoing projects during internship of the author. Among them three were bigger and more important. The author worked in various jobs of four projects, project number 4, 5, 6 and 7. Table 1: Recent Projects by SRGB |Sl No. Project Name |Client |Period of Study | |1 |Monitoring and Evaluation Consulting: |CPTU, IMED |June 2009 to | | |Public Procurement Reform Project–II |Ministry of Planning |June 2013 | | |(PPRP-II) [A World Bank funded Project] |Govt. f Bangladesh |[Ongoing Study] | |2 |Employee Preference Survey for |British America Tobacco (through Engage |June to July 2009 | | |Bangladesh |HR, Pakistan) |[Ongoing Study] | |3 |Monitoring and Evaluation of Cross Border Communication – South Asia|AED, USA |April to | | |(Multi-country study involving Bangladesh, Nepal & India) |[USAID funded |June 2009 | | | |AI. COMM Project] |[Ongoing Study] | |4 |Global Opinion Poll on Social, Economic and Political Issues 2009, |Princeton Survey Research Associates |April to | | |Project Green, Wave 9 |International (PSRAI), Washington, USA |June 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |5 |Grameen Kalyan Clinics Needs Assessment |Pfizer Inc. March to October 2009 | | | |USA |[Ongoing Study] | |6 |Market Research on Awareness and Acceptance of UK Qualifications in |British Council |January to | | |Bangladesh |Dhaka |July 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |7 |Mystery Shopping on Banking Products |HSBC Bangladesh |August 2008 to | | |and Services |Dhaka |December 2009 | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |8 |Social Impact Assessment |The World Bank |May 2008 to | | |For Bangladesh Railway DPL Project |Dhaka, Bangladesh |June 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |9 |Surrogate Value Research on Fish, 2009 |Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, |January to | | | |Silverman & Klestadt LLP |December 2009 | | | |USA |[Ongoing Study] | |10 |Mystery Shopping on Cisco Certified |Pearson VUE/AQ Services |January to | | |Examination Centre Performance |International, Singapore |December 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |11 |Mystery Shopping on GMAT Registration & |Pearson VUE/AQ Services |January to | | |Scheduling Procedures |International, Singapore |December 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |12 |Mystery Shopping – CompTIA |Pearson VUE through |January to | | | |AQ Services, Singapore |December 2009 | | | | |[Ongoing Study] | |13 |Police Perception Survey in Chittagong, |US Embassy |October 2008 to | | |Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari |Dhaka, Bangladesh |March 2009 | | |Districts | | | 3. 7 Key Clients SRGB has a huge number of different category clients. They have been listed below: A: International Clients • Cisco, USA • HSBC, Hong Kong • Telenor, Norway • Nokia, Hong Kong • Microsoft, USA Hewlett-Packard (HP) Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore • ARD Inc, USA • BHP-Engineering, Australia • BHP-Laysaght (SEA) Pte Ltd, Singapore • Nomura Research Institute, Japan • International Executive Service Corps (IESC), USA • Carana Corporation, USA • International Trade Centre (ITC), Switzerland • SKF Distribution Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore • ECI Telecom Inc, USA • Dacom Corporation, Korea • Korea Telecom, Korea • Tata Steel, India • Bare Associates International, USA • Bharat Starch Industries Ltd, India • Tessival SPA, Italy • G P Group of Companies, Thailand • Singer Worldwide, USA • Overseas Projects Corporation of Victoria (OPCV), Australia • Carana Corporation, USA TOTAL FINA ELF, France • Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA), USA • Tianjin Machinery Import Export Group, China • Quantum Market Research, India • BAIGlobal Inc (A Market Facts Company), USA • Pew Research Centre, USA • Mitsubishi Corporation, Singapore • Kuraray Specialties Pte Ltd, Singapore • Thai Wah Public Co. Ltd, Thailand • Horizon Research, Singapore • Tashi Group of Companies, Bhutan • Kalasha Woolen Industry (Pvt) Ltd, Nepal • Ecotech Pty Ltd, Australia • Habib Bank Ltd, Pakistan • Asia Market Intelligence (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd, Malaysia • Syngenta, Hong Kong • Arthur D. Little, Singapore/Malaysia • Sungwon Corporation, Korea Kong Ma Engineering Co Ltd, Taiwan • Fullway Enterprises Co Ltd, Taiwan • Quest International, UK • Veraz Telecom, USA • Canadian High Commission, Dhaka • Rhone Poulence Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Australia • China Resources Ltd, Hong Kong • BlueScope Steel, Australia • International Business Linkages, Inc. (IBL), USA • WorldFish Centre, Malaysia • Redma Consultants Ltd, Canada • Acorn Marketing and Research Consultants, Hong Kong • Synovate, Hong Kong • Cairn Energy Bangladesh • AQ Services International, Singapore • Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc, USA • Columbia University, USA B: International Development Agencies/NGOs Clients • The World Bank United Nations Development Program (UNDP) • United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) • UNICEF Bangladesh • Asian Development Bank (ADB) • International Finance Corporation (IFC) • Commonwealth Secretariat, UK • Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) • Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) • United States Agency For International Development (USAID) • Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI), Japan • Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) • International Jute Organization (IJO) • CARE Bangladesh • SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) • Swisscontact-Katalyst • World Vision of Bangladesh • JOBS [A USAID Project] • OXFAM Bangladesh Concern Bangladesh • German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Bangladesh • DFID Bangladesh C: Domestic Clients • Unilever Bangladesh • British America Tobacco • Syngenta (Bangladesh) Ltd • Social Marketing Company (SMC) • Olympic Industries • Bengal Group of Industries • A K Khan Group • Bashundhara Group of Companies • Mutual Group • Baraka Group • SQ Group • Rangs Electronics Ltd • Alfa Tobacco Group • Micro Industries Development Assistance Society (MIDAS) • Sea Resources Group (Rangs Group) • Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS) • M M Ispahani Ltd (Ispahani Group) • Givenchy Group • Grameen Bank • Alfa Tobacco Group • Toka Ink (BD) Ltd (A Bangladesh Japan Joint Venture) BASIC Bank Ltd • Grameen Uddog • Holycrescent Hospital Ltd • McDonald Bangladesh Ltd • Grameen Shamogree • Tripti Industries • Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of Bangladesh • Ministry of Jute, Govt of Bangladesh • Industrial Development Leasing Company of Bangladesh Ltd (IDLC) • Brothers Group • Syngenta • Giant Group • Bell Corporation • Anlima Group • Grameen Telecom • Grameen Phone • Pacific Telecom Ltd (City Cell) • Bangladesh Telegraph & Telephone Board (BTTB) • Department of Environment, Govt of Bangladesh • Ministry of Environment, Govt of Bangladesh • Modern Erection, Dhaka • BRAC Bank Bangladesh 3. 8 Key Person of SRG Bangladesh Limited

M Saidul Haq, MBA, CMC (Australia), FCIM (UK), FIMC, is the Founder President of SRG Bangladesh Limited [SRGB]. He is an entrepreneurship/business development specialist. He did his MBA from Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka in its 14th batch. He has unparallel combination of multivariate qualifications and achievements. Some are highlighted below: • CMC (Certified Management Consultant) from Institute of Management Consultants, Australia • FCIM (Fellow Member) of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK – the top marketing professionals’ organization of the world. • More than twenty(20) years experience in Management Consulting and Market/Social Research (qualitative and quantitative) • Conducted hundreds of research and consulting projects as Project Director/Team Leader • Organized and conducted hundreds of training programs, workshop, seminar, technical • presentation on various management and business promotion issues. • Extensive experience in trade & business development, promotions, investment and joint venture match-making. • Extensive experience in private sector and SME enterprises development, entrepreneurship development. • National Consultant, International Trade Centre, WTO/UNCTAD, Geneva • Retainer consultant/adviser of about a dozen leading business houses in Bangladesh Experience with many international organizations including World Bank, ADB, International Labor Organization (ILO), USAID, CIDA, UNDP, UNIDO, UNICEF, UNEP, SDC, commonwealth Secretariat, etc. • Worked for about five years as the Consultant/National Monitor for Industrial Commodity Program, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Canadian High Commission, Dhaka. • Registered Consultant of Asian Development Bank (ADB), The World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, International Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF, etc. • Served as Member of the Advisory Board of GERIAP, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. Founder President of the Institute of Management Consultants Bangladesh [IMCB], the • national forum for the consultants of Bangladesh. • Trustee of The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes [ICMCI], the apex body of the consulting institutes worldwide. • ICMCI representative to ECOSOC, United Nations (UN) for Geneva/Vienna and Asia-Pacific region. • Immediate past National Representative for Bangladesh and Member of European Society for Opinion and Market Research [ESOMAR]. • Member of the American Marketing Association [AMA] • Widely traveled person and visited more than hundred countries/cities of the world.

Jobs Performed During Internship

While the work performed during this period was particularly glamorous and equally thrilling, true is that this internship period exposed the author to experiences which have significantly altered the perception of marketing research and management related issues towards a more real and global holistic model.

Duties and Responsibilities

The internship program was started on 23rd March, 2009. The internship was to last for twelve (12) weeks to three (3) months and as a result my internship came to an end on 14th June, 2009. In somewhat more concrete terms, SRGB provides the country and the world with timely, scientifically credible, policy-relevant research answers for decision-making and action planning for development.

While with SRGB, it was involved in a range of different tasks and smaller explorations that extensively helped learning of the methods of marketing research. The central themes around which most of the works at SRGB was organized is presented here.

Completion of the Assignments

Most of the assignments handled were long-term projects that had already been started. Some were in the beginning phase and some were in their final stages. Some of them are also a type of continuous research with several waves. The four research studies that were been participated are described here.

Awareness and acceptance of UK Qualification

It was an ongoing project.

It therefore made sense to continue doing what the rest of the team was doing (taking interviews of different types and writing those down). It required all three interns from IBA to take interviews of different people. At the very beginning tough job of taking face to face interviews was assigned. Some visits to a private university (BRAC University for this author) and a multinational (Novartis Bangladesh Limited) helped the job done. Then the qualitative part commenced. A 7 day tour to Chittagong was made to take the KII of a number of Deans and department heads. The tour was successful with nice opportunities to learn interview and communication skills. Then again a 5 day tour to Rajshahi, the land of heat and mango.

It was also a very successful tour with acquiring of huge experiences. Finally different top management personnels from different organizations and universities like University of Dhaka, International Islamic University Chittagong Dhaka Campus, Square, Grameenphone, Dhaka Bank, BMET, UGC etc. were interviewed.

Assessment of Grameen Kalyan Clinics

This was a new project altogether. The preparation and translating of questionnaires were taking place. Tough job of doing most effective translation to Bangla of the English questionnaires were done effectively.

Global Opinion Poll on Social, Economic and Political Issues 2009, Project Green, Wave 9

This is a regular project taken by SRGB every year. The author participated in a three day internal training session to see how the field coordinators trained and assigned their jobs. It is a survey that takes place throughout Bangladesh. The real world way of survey was learned here.

Mystery Shopping on Banking Products and Service

It was done for HSBC Bank. The author visited GEC and Agrabad branch in Chittagong where he observed the customer care quality of the branches and wrote a report with assigning points.

Benefits of the Program

Benefit from the internship programme was more than what was expected in a number of ways:

Having a rare opportunity to use the knowledge and skills that had been acquired back at the institute to provide critical real world research method information. Career-wise, the internship programme undoubtedly enriched my curriculum vitae (CV). Also, having gotten a chance to interact with most staff, it gave an insight on how to shape the career towards a research job in the near future. The internship programme gave me a chance not only to work with SRGB but also a chance to learn from the research experts and consultants.  Working with people from different parts of the world was a rare chance that you can’t easily get from any other organization in Kenya. Therefore to me this was another opportunity to make friends and share ideas.

To conclude, the internship at SRGB was a rewarding experience and provided with some new perspectives that was not came across during studies back at the institute.

Critical Assessment of the Methodology of the Project

“Awareness and Acceptance of UK Qualifications in Bangladesh” This is the main focus of this report. Methodology is one of the most important part of any research study. Literally methodology is the way in which the data are collected for the research project. Methodology can be defined as: ? “the analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline” ? “the systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a discipline” or ? “a particular procedure or set of procedures. “

Selection of methodology mainly depends on the objective of the research, but in real life the objective comes with different factors and dimensions unlike pure independent research. Here it will be shown what the methodology for this project was, probable mistakes both in crafting and executing of the methodology and finally the justification for it.

Background of the study

This study was taken for British Council, the United Kingdom’s cultural relation’s organization. Here some important parts of the research will be shown. These will help us understand the requirements and the goal of this study.

Definition of the Business Problem

The business was defined as – “Although UK qualifications are popular and growing, recognition and acceptance by employers, government and higher education providers is variable. We need to be able to: 1. Identify where recognition and acceptance are weak but critical 2. Identify new sectors for growth 3. Review our product portfolio so that it meets market requirements.

Research Objectives

• To ascertain the current level of awareness and acceptance of UK qualifications (school levels and professional) among the leading Bangladeshi private and public sector employers and the higher education institutions (both public and private). • To identify the main reasons for the variable levels of awareness and acceptance. Assess the impact of the growth of the private sector and the continued policy of privatizing of state run assets by the government. In order to achieve this we would require research to be carried out with: 1. Top 6 public universities. 2. Top 5 private universities. 3. Professional associations 4. Government 5. Private sector Suggested areas of research: • Which foreign qualifications are known • Which foreign qualifications are accepted • Apart from subject knowledge what skills are essential and how are they currently assessed • Reasons for acceptance/non-acceptance • Number of students from English medium schools applying for places- at private universities (plus which ones) at public universities and overseas. Profile of students following professional/vocational exams – school medium attended (English/Bangla), reason for doing this rather university course.

Methodology

After turning the idea into a research question and reviewing any necessary literature, the method of research must be considered. The methodology selected should be the one that will be the most effective to collect the data needed to answer the research question or to test the hypothesis. Research studies may be either quantitative or qualitative, although it is possible to use both approaches in the same research project and this has been used in this project on UK qualifications. The choice of research design must be appropriate to the subject under investigation (Patton, 1987).

So it should be investigated that whether a research on education really admits the opportunity of blending two methodologies.

Criticism on Selection and Implementation of Quantitative Study

In quantitative research the data collected takes the form of measurements or counts which can be statistically analysed. The process of quantitative research follows standard procedures, methods, forms of analysis and reporting the results of the research undertaken. This standardisation maximises objectivity. Quantitative methods can be used for comparison of subgroups and analysis is generally conducted through statistics. The method is based on meanings derived from numbers and results are numerical and standardised data.

Quantitative methods use numbers and statistics. General sequence is as follows:

1.  Observe/present questionnaire/ask questions with fixed answers
2.  Tabulate
3. Summarise data
4.  Analyse data
5. Draw conclusions

Quantitative research designs are characterised by the assumption that human behaviour can be explained by what may be termed “social facts”, which can be investigated by methodologies that utilise “the deductive logic of the natural sciences” (Horna, 1994, p. 121). Quantitative investigations look for “distinguishing characteristics, elemental properties and empirical boundaries” (p. 121) and tend to measure “how much”, or “how often” (Nau, 1995).

They are appropriate to examine the behavioural component, such as attendance at class. So, it can be seen that quantitative methodologies do have strengths for becoming appropriate for educational research like this project on UK qualifications. These may be summarised as follows:

•  Quantitative methodologies are appropriate to measure overt behaviour.
•  They are also strong in measuring descriptive aspects, such as the composition of the students.
• Quantitative methodologies allow comparison and replication.
• Reliability and validity may be determined more objectively than qualitative techniques.

These strengths however, are not the sole prerogative of quantitative designs.

Indeed, many of the arguments for the use of quantitative research, especially in an academic climate where resources are limited, have pragmatic origins in terms of allowing large scale data collection and analysis at reasonable cost and effort, as well as providing statistical “proof”. So this problem of large scale data collection could also be proved unwise in this situation. So this shows a negative opinion about the choice of quantitative methodology for this study. A further weakness of quantitative approaches lies in their tendencies to take a “snapshot” of a situation, that is to measure variables at a specific moment in time. Acceptance of UK may be affected by temporal changes, such as the current image of the country, or the quality of opposition (like USA, Australia), which cannot always be identified within a single quantitative study.

According to Colon, Taylor, and Willis (2000) qualitative research emphasizes “participant observation” whereas quantitative methods rely on the “research instrument through which measurements are made” (p. 2). Weiler (2001) adds that if teachers want “deeper understandings of their students and their learning,” they will not be able to achieve this through quantitative research–they will need to be “intimately involved” in the process (p. 415). Qualitative research would provide this opportunity. As Labuschagne (2003) says, “qualitative data provide depth and detail through direct quotation and careful description of situations, events, interactions and observed behaviours” (p. 1) or what Jones (1997) describes as “empathetic understanding” (p. 3). Winter (2000) concurs that while “quantitative esearch limits itself to what can be measured or quantified,” qualitative research “attempts to ‘pick up the pieces’ of the unquantifiable, personal, in depth, descriptive and social aspects of the world” (p. 8). So now it looks like the decision for this project should be more inclined toward qualitative approach.

Criticism on Selection and Implementation of Qualitative Study (KII and IDI)

Qualitative research offers insights and understandings of participants, which is unobtainable by quantitative research, but is more than just non-numerical research. It aims to study the subject in their natural surroundings and to collect naturally occurring, non-biased data. It describes in words, rather than numbers, the qualities of the subject through observation.

Methods of qualitative research include structured and unstructured interviews, group interviews and focus groups. Qualitative methods can highlight key themes or patterns emerging in the project, are used to comprehend and manage data and used to develop and test hypotheses. Qualitative methods use descriptions and categories. General sequence here is as follows:

1. Observe/ask questions with open-ended answers
2. Record what is said and/or done
3. Interpret
4. Return to observe/ask more questions
5.  (recurring cycles of 2-4 iteration)
6.  Theorising
7.  Draw conclusions

Qualitative research designs are associated with interpretative approaches, from the informants’ emic point of view, rather than etically measuring discrete, observable behaviour.

Qualitative methodologies are strong in those areas that have been identified as potential weaknesses within the quantitative approach, e. g. the use of interviews and observations to provide a deep, rather than broad, set of knowledge about a particular phenomenon, and the appropriateness to investigate cognitive and affective aspects of students. This depth allows the researcher to achieve “Verstehen”, or empathetic “understanding”. The concept of Verstehen is the basis for a critique of quantitative research designs, and their empiricist emphasis. The argument used is that quantitative methods measure human behaviour “from outside”, without accessing the meanings that individuals give to their measurable behaviour.

If, as many authors have suggested, behavior of students contains psychological, as well as sociological dimensions, then the emphasis should rather be upon gaining an understanding of how the subjects themselves view their own particular situations. A qualitative research design allows these understandings to be investigated from the informant’s point of view. So the choice of qualitative research is very appropriate here. Both KII and IDI seem appropriate. The only problem that could be marked is the number of qualitative interviews for this particular study; it is about around 200, which is practically most difficult to make possible with effectiveness. Again accumulating such a high number of interview results to make a summary is also so difficult.

But answer could be found on the real world practice to satisfy customer needs.

 Criticism on FGD

By focus group discussions, we refer to a group of 4-12 people brought together to participate in the discussion of an area of interest. Trained moderators run the discussions, and records are made of the course of the discussions. Focus groups, of course, are a popular (some even think too popular) method in marketing research (Nancarrow, Vir, & Barker, 2005), but they have had a role in serious social science research since the seminal work of R. K. Merton and P. Lazarsfeld (Hollander, 2004; Morgan, 1988). During the past decades, they have established their role in sociology and communications research.

In recent years, they have also become increasingly popular in applied fields such as nursing research, urban and community studies, development studies, and educational research (e. g. , Barbour & Kitzinger, 2001; Gibbs, 1997). A distinctive feature of focus groups is that they create research data by generating social interaction. This is done by assembling a group of participants to discuss a specific topic and then observe how the ensuing discussion evolves (Boddy, 2005). The underlying assumption is that meaning is created in social interaction (e. g. , Wilkinson, 2001). Organized and focused group discussions provide a context for participants to articulate the meaning of their experiences and elaborate on them in a collective sensemaking process.

Of course, focus groups are also used to obtain individual viewpoints; it is typical to instruct discussants that the aim is not to reach consensus, but to explore the different viewpoints that emerge. The method is popular in marketing research because it is a quick and easy way to gain a wealth of perspectives on a novel or relatively unexplored topic (Threlfall, 1999). By observing, recording, and analyzing the interaction in the group, researchers can also gain an understanding of how the participants approach the topic and what kind of language they use to frame the issues. Interaction also allows participants to pose questions to each other and to redefine their own views as the discussion evolves. The result of FGD depends sometimes largely on the skill of the moderator, which is a variable thing.

In this study on awareness and acceptance of UK qualifications it may suffer to this problem due to time and budget constraints. 5. 2. 4 A Mixed-Methodology Approach to the Study Although the use of a single methodology has been advocated by a number of authors, many of the supporting arguments are decidedly pragmatic, such as time constraints, the need to limit the scope of a study, and the difficulty of publishing the findings (Creswell, 1994). Here in this study, only time constraint is the factor which could have been considered for a single methodology approach. Denzin and Lincoln (1994) write that “objective reality can never be captured” (p. 2).

To assume that even with binocular vision one can “have” all the information, or even “know” what is true is a dangerous positivistic position. The rub between the two methodologies comes when we analyze the assumptions behind each one. These are clearly spelled out in detail by Denzin and Lincoln (1994, pp. 4-6) and can be summarized as follows. The differences between quantitative and qualitative research is that the first is positivist, limiting, unable to capture the subjects’ perspective, abstract, and based on flat descriptions. Qualitative research, the critics claim, tends to be unscientific and based on slipshod methodologies.

ure Khadijah Wiley Boswell British Literature 12-5-10 The Picture of Dorian Gray Social classes are very evident in The Picture of Dorian Gray; they are represented through some of the main characters. The goal of this analysis is to identify the factors, which influence people’s ideals about social classes. The theme of social classes in The Picture of Dorian Gray is effectively revealed through the main characters Dorian, Lord Henry, and Basil. In opposition, social classes are seen as possible supplement to beauty, wealth and intelligence.

The proponents of vanity would say that it is the reoccurring factor in the book, being that all of Dorian’s actions revolved around a gorgeous portrait painted by Basil. Dorian’s portrait had changed his behavior tremendously making it seem as though he was overcome by his own beauty that he could not judge his actions accurately. “People have cognitive bias. They assume that if someone is attractive, she possesses other positive traits, such as kindness and intelligence,” says behavioral psychologist Stephen Josephson, Ph. D. , of Weill Cornell Medical College (Landman par. ). The actions of Dorian Gray are mainly due to the influence of the high-class society. The upper class in modern capitalist societies is often distinguished by the possession of largely inherited wealth. (Characteristics of the Principal Classes par. 2). The influence of the high class had tremendous effect on Dorian. The people associated with the upper class influenced his behavior to become detrimental to his overall mental health; along with that the pressure to be the best and to be on the throne of society eventually lead to Dorian’s demise.

The fact that his picture was changing with his actions shows that he clearly had a conscious and knew that the actions he was displaying were inhumane. The dominant class, according to Marx, controls not only material production but also the production of ideas…(Karl Marx’s Social Theory of Class par. 1) Therefore, social classes can be seen as corrupt influences that dangerously affect a human’s behavior, through Dorian’s struggle with himself. Lord Henry had so much power in society that he lost track of what really was important.

Lord Henry played a big part in Dorian’s demise, he told him many times that intelligence, wealth, and beauty, is the only way to succeed in life. Dorian took these words to heart and did everything possible to be known in the high classes. He had become obsessed with being known for his money and his social standpoint, and lost sight of what was important in his life. “Geniuses… are always talking about themselves, when I want them to be thinking about me. ”(Wilde, An Ideal Husband).

Lord Henry was divorced from his estranged wife who probably could not take his insistent lectures about what it means to be high class. His lectures on social class and power heavily influence Dorian. Basil believed in the power of social classes, and he revealed it through his portrait of Dorian. Basil was very fond of Dorian and his looks. He called his painting by far the prettiest he has ever created. (Wilde, pg 15). Basil painted Dorian picture because he thought he was handsome, intelligent, and wealth, that intern he felt that he was high on the social chain.

Basil felt that Dorian could take him places in his career. Basil also was influenced by the high-class life; this is partly the reason that he became an artist. He wanted to be known with the big names of society, and he wanted to become one of the great artists of all time. The need to be known contributed to his death. As he tried to change Dorian’s behavior, Dorian became enraged and murdered Basil in cold blood. Even though he tried to change his viewpoint on life, it was too late, and there was no going back.

In conclusion, vanity is a relevant theme in the novel but; social classes play a bigger part. The theme of social classes is clearly represented through each of the main characters in different ways. Dorian was overcome by his own reflection that his behavior was dangerously affected in a negative way, which eventually lead to his suicide. Lord Henry was so focused on his intelligence and social standpoint that he lost everything that was valuable to him.

Basil was trying to be successful, but went about it in the wrong way, which eventually lead to his murder. All these things play a part not only in a novel, but in life as well. “Never speak disrespectfully of society. Only people who can’t get into it do that. ” says Oscar Wilde in an interview. Works Cited “Characteristics of the Principle Classes. ” Encyclop? dia Britannica Online School Edition. Web. 08 Dec. 2010. <http://school. eb. com>. “Karl Marx’s Social Theory of Class. ” Encyclop? dia Britannica Online School Edition.

Web. 08 Dec. 2010. <http://school. eb. com>. Landman, Beth. “Why Looks Matter. ” EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Web. 08 Dec. 2010. <http://web. ebscohost. com>. Wilde, Oscar, and Alvin Redman. “Genius. ” The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde. New York: Dover Publications, 1959. Print. Wilde, Oscar, and Alvin Redman. “Society. ” The Wit and Humor of Oscar Wilde. New York: Dover Publications, 1959. Print. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Modern Library, 1992. Print.

The sociology of emotions is the article of Katherine Walker from the EBSOHost. The sociology of emotions’ article is based on the study of the sociology of emotions in which defines emotions as socially constructed and culturally variable labels attached to physiological responses to stimuli. Studies have questioned the universality of emotions, their variation across cultures, rules about feelings and emotional displays, and the necessity of emotions to maintaining the social bond.

The article was a previously researched article, because the author makes references to Sociology scholars that have established themselves in the field of Sociology, like Emile Durkhem and Erving Goffman (by Katherine Walker, 2010) The sociology of emotions is a relatively new subfield of sociology, which first gained prominence in the 1970’s. Prior to this time, the field of sociology concentrated more on cognition than emotions, although emotions have often remained a subtext in important works.

Emotions were seen as the turf of psychologists and biologists. However, sociologists began to systematically study emotions because they realized first, that emotions are fundamentally social, and second, that emotions have always figured as causal mechanisms in sociological theory. Emotions are of sociological interest because they are a primary human motivation, they help in rational decision-making, and they link the biology of the body with classic sociological (John J. Macoinis, 2009) questions about social construction and social control.

Feature Article – Sociology Test

The authors of the article try to make clear the concept of emotion, asking specifically, what is emotion? Which they explained as a sort of phenomenon that goes through the body, or mentally. For example, that thing that people usually have while watching a horror movie, scare or fear, that makes your heart beat faster. Walker step in the concept that people develop their emotion in seven Stages that start from childhood and goes all the way to the stage in which people are able to control their emotions, and learn how to adapt them to the new situation.

The article about sociology of emotions provides us many points about the importance of emotion in a society, how our emotions are connected to the society that live, explained that the society plays an important role in people’s emotions, as well as the roles that the same society imposed on people so that they can behave in certain way, and the circumstances in which they may express emotions or feelings.

This sociological article is similar to the chapter 6 of our text book, that explain some sociologists scholars theories about the everyday life interaction with emotions, the biological side of emotions, cultural side of emotions, as well as emotions in the work place, and we can observe the society influence in this matter.

We can see that this article is a clear collection of information from other famous sociologist scholars, and that the authors of this article have actually written about what she found as more explicit in the sociology field about the subject of emotions, and that makes it different from what we can see from some magazine. References Strayer University EBSCO- Host Academic database: Author Katherine Walker, Ph. D, June 1, 2010, Sociology of Emotions. Introduction to Sociology, by john J. Maccionis, Twelve Edition, 2009

A strong discrepancy in interpretation of religions exists between the two great thinkers, Marx and Weber, in that Marx saw religions as “the opiate of the masses” (Marx, 1843:42) meaning that religions justify believers’ bitter lives and make them passive whereas Weber saw religions as having power to bring about not just social but economic changes (Jong Seo, 2005:231).

On top of that, Marx believed that the religion is a dependent variable determined by the substructure- materialistic and economic conditions. Weber, in contrast, assumed that the religion played a role in enlightening or changing people’s thoughts and behaviors unconsciously, causing them to embrace a new way of living such as capitalism. These contrasts derive from the fact that these two intellectuals approached the religions from different perspectives.

Most of Marx’s reasoning reveals the characteristics of methodological holism while Weber focused more on individuals and held on to the idea that individuals’ motives and philosophy are the source of changes and revolutions- methodological individualism. To begin with, it is critical to understand Marx and Weber’s sociological perspectives beforehand in order to grasp a comprehensive understanding with regard to the two thinkers’ ideas on religion. I believe that Marx revealed methodological holistic characteristics more from his study rather than methodological individualism. The opposite goes with the Weber’s perspective toward society.

Marx’s approach tries to accept that fact that there are unseen things that are present such as relationships between individuals. The thing is that society enables itself to have control over individuals and tries to govern them with the unseen things. It is clear how Marx was on the methodological holistic stance in terms of his emphasis on economic determinism. Marx believed that society is composed of two dominant structures-sub and super. He explained that the upper-super structure such as religions is determined by the substructure which is mainly about economic elements such as relation of production and force of production.

Mark concluded that materials are the ones that bring about social changes (Turner, 2005:17). We can argue that his ideas were mainly centered on methodological holism because he put more emphasis on the role (power) of economy and substructure than individuals and superstructure. Under the given interpretation, religion has almost nothing to do with social or economic changes because it belongs to the super structure. Religion seems to be reduced to a mere dependent variable or by-product caused by the substructure in accordance with Marx (M. Argyle & B. Beit-Hallahmi, 1975:174-177).

In contrast, methodological individualism was introduced as a methodological precept for the social sciences by Max Weber, most importantly in the first chapter of “Economy and Society” (Weber, 1968 [1922]). It amounts to the claim that social phenomena must be explained by showing how they result from individual actions, which in turn must be explained through reference to the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. In other words, it can be described as the claim that explanations of “macro” social phenomena must be supplied with “micro” foundations, ones that specify an action-theoretic mechanism (Alexander, 1987).

With this approach, Weber was able to value individuals as their own and tried to decipher what constituted people in terms of intangible elements such as ideas, motives, values, and beliefs. What strikes is that he had a great opportunity to go through the process of development of capitalism with the help of this approach. His most well-known and intuitive book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, is a great culmination of his approach and shedded new light on the importance of spiritual and moral values, with providing remarkable insights on how humans’ abstract ideas and values can affect the society in a massive way.

These two different ways of ‘making sense of society’ led them to conclude what religions could do in their contemporary societies. As stated above, Marx perceived economic factors or issues to be central and primary rather than marginal. It was inevitable that he saw religions as being marginal and of lesser importance. In his contemporary society, workers-proletariats were treated less than as they were supposed to be and exploited enormously. The workers had no choice but to succumb to the haves’-bourgeoisies- order or demands with the floods of workers when there were a few jobs available for them.

They were, as Marx reasoned, about to take action to take over the capitalism in which they were subordinated. He asserted and hoped that communism would take over the capitalism’s place and people would live in a society where alienation and private ownership are nowhere to be seen. It was only possible with the combined power of proletariat. However, religion played a role in soothing the wrath of the exploited class and made it almost impossible to accumulate certain level of collective behavior. Religion acted as a refuge from a suffering life for the proletariat.

There comes Marx’ view on religion that the religion was a refuge from a suffering life. It is famously quoted that “Religion is the opiate of the masses” (Marx, 1843:42). In other words, religion teaches people to give up materialistic conditions and procrastinate worldly happiness and rewards to spiritual world (Giddens, 2011:580). Even though it is tough to live in the society, one is encouraged that the post-life would be much promising according to Marx’s view. People have an imaginary refugee to which they would escape from their harsh real life.

They are more likely to succumb to the social pressures or injustice because it will be okay in the spiritual world. They would endure socially and morally wrong actions and stick with their life no matter how hard it is. As these people take part in religious activities or listen to the preaching, they are unconsciously justified that their bitter lives might be what they were supposed to be, which led to class-in-itself being unable to reach the next step-class-for-itself with class consciousness. As stated above, no-communist revolution would be accomplished in terms of religions’ impacts on the exploited.

According to Marx, this process must be changed or stopped since it has a negative influence on people’s awakening or realizing their real situation in which they are exploited (Swatos, 1998:499). Weber, on the other hand, pursued answers of how the pivotal spirit ‘ethos’ in the contemporary western societies emerged and where the western the societies were heading in terms of religion. His initial interest was sparked by the fact that most of the highly achieved and skilled superior workers are from protestant background (Weber, 2006:233). Weber considered that there was an apparent relationship etween certain religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that this association might indicate an elective affinity between the two. In his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, he asserted that there are two determining factors that contributed to the development of capitalism in western societies. First, Calvin’s doctrine of predestination played a significant role in upbringing people’s ascetic attitude or way of life. According to Calvin’s doctrine, one’s possibility (destination) of salvation is beyond the reach of humans’ knowing.

Not only the ordinary, but also the priests are excluded in the ‘knowing’ process. Furthermore, humans are not able to change their pre-destined salvation acceptance or rejection. No one but God knows who will be redeemed. Humans are powerless before God and expect or hope to be chosen as one of the ‘lucky’ ones. It is possible that we can conclude humans in that era were too hopeless and powerless to advance their lives with enthusiasm. But it isn’t. The thing was that humans were not aware of their pre-destined salvation but can be aware of signs of salvation in the pursuit of worldly success only with frugal and ascetic attitude.

That is to say that they are justifying their material success and imposing responsibility at the same time (Jong Seo, 2005). Under the given circumstance, people are always in the pursuit of ‘working hard’, ‘not wasting money’, and ‘accumulation of wealth’ in order to know if they are to be redeemed or not. Even with excessive amount of money, they would not stop themselves from working hard and ascetic life because that’s what they were striving for: proof of salvation. Second, Calvin’s religious calling played an important role in making people set the attitude stated above.

Every vocation is valued and by all means worthy of God’s calling. The thing is that not only sacred priests but other menial workers are also valued and sacred under the Calvin’s religious calling. It encourages people to accept the idea that “no matter what you do, you should make an effort in your job because it’s valuable, divine, and godly”. Also, as people were more aware of the notion or values, they were more likely to be committed to their jobs and lives (Weber, 2006:120). These two characteristics of protestant ethics led to more accumulation of ealth and rational management and work ethics (Weber, 2006). This is noteworthy that even with the enormous capital, one is not tempted to taste his or her rewards which is highly unimaginable in modern societies. This goes further that these protestants participated in their daily and worldly activities with ascetic attitude which in turn boosted capitalism in western societies. In other words, protestants’ ethics, Weber argued, have a positive influence on building the spirit of capitalism.

Although society has improved and developed the way never witnessed before with firm establishment of capitalism, it is unlikely to find this kind of protestant ethics sustaining in the modern society because a row of inherited property without the essence of spirits and ethics gifted the sons and daughters of the protestants with no responsibility, making them ‘fat pigs’ rather than ‘dissatisfied Socrates’, figuratively speaking. John Wesley, the founder of Methodist church, was also concerned with the likeliness of ‘earning more money with less religious spirit’ (Weber, 2006:189).

From my point of view, I personally believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable compared to that of Marx in explaining the modern society. First, I agree with Weber’s main argument on religion that religious (Protestant) ethics are one of core factors bringing out changes in our lives. This is because Protestant ethics such as ‘diligent, hard-working, and ascetic’ are related to the idea of merit system which is, in our modern lives, believed to be ‘the way’ for equality and fairness. We live in a society where unfairness flourishes and hope to diminish whatever exists between the reality and the ideal world.

The reason why this unfair world is justified is that we believe that the world values and approves those who try really hard in their field with diligence (Sang Jin, 2011:3). The protestant ethics, I believe, played a role in leading the meritocratic ideas to our lives. Those protestants proved the fact that people with hard-work and abstinence were surely able to achieve ‘success’ in lives, and looked up to as ‘worthy of praise’. It’s likely that people have gradually believed that the society where these protestant people are successful is just and fair because they try harder than the majority of people.

This leads to the idea of merit system through which humans can justify their world. In other words, by proving success with hard-work, protestant ethics paved the way for meritocracy. Second of all, the abstract religious spirits can play an important role in maintaining the society. The religions have a tendency to lead to people’s voluntary and active participation in social and political issues which is different from Marx’s expectation. Marx believed that religion has an influence on making people submissive and obedient. However, we now see that religions are spread out massively to help out those who need attention, care, and assist.

When one is involved in any activities in religion, they are more likely to act and behave than people with no religions. As they take part in the religious activities voluntarily, their community or religious area in bound to be more strongly integrated because they have something in common: religious spirit and altruistic mindset. We can infer from Durkheim’s study on suicide that those with religions have less likeliness to commit suicide than those without because they are more integrated and associated in society which leads to a more sustainable society (Durkheim, 1952[1897]).

Finally, despite the fact that the original spirit of capitalism might have been diminished or in decline, it already provided an ‘image’ of religious people and acts as a criterion for those. Some say that the religious or protestant ethics are already faded away, but it’s still true that we have a some sort of image towards religious people that they would be more ‘upright’ and ‘ascetic’ than non-religious people. For example, when Koreans hang out nowadays, they often ask one another if they drink alcohol or not. And we usually take it for granted that the people believing in God do not drink alcohol.

Likewise, these people mainly Christian-Protestant are expected not to drink ‘alcohol’ or do ‘drugs’. This is because we know by experiencing a bunch of these people that “These guys are not (mostly) bad guys”. Even if they do not possess the mindset as their ancestors did, the society already formed some sort of ‘image’ toward these religious people throughout the history. Therefore, the society enables and enforces the religious people to act and behave in accordance with ‘the protestant’. In other words, “their ancestors’ image still lives within us and affects our lives”.

Even though I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more proper when it comes to explanations of modern world, it would be more reasonable and wise to make a leap with both of the great thinkers’ explanations. This is because these so-called sociologists seem to lag behind the other in some field and some not. For example, Weber’s reasoning was not sufficient in explaining Eastern countries huge development even with the religion- Confucianism which considered to be negative in capitalism’s improvement (Weber, 2006:243).

And Marx’s reasoning would require additional explanations of modern religions in that religions are diversified and playing roles as many. These two dominant thinkers’ ideas are not contradictory but supplementary to some extent because both of the arguments can replace and be replaced by the other (Giddens, 2011:584). In conclusion, these great thinkers had different approaches on religion and elicited their unique conclusions based on their observations.

Marx saw religions as “the opiate of the masses” and perceived it as a ‘negative thing’ for humans’ freedom from alienation and revolutions through workers’ collective angers whereas Weber saw religions as somewhat ‘positive influencer’ in that flourish of capitalism in western countries was based on protestant ethics which was the direct movement of ‘religion’(Calvinism, to be exact). In their analysis of religions, they showed the ways they regard religions as somewhat dependent variables-Marx and somewhat independent variables-Weber (Jong Seo, 2005).

Controversy exists over whether who provided more reasonable and relevant insights to our world because both of the reasoning has some weak points and strong points. However, I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable in order to explain the modern society due to, social maintenance, and religious criteria, and the rise of meritocracy. No matter what one says, we are not certain which one came first between the chicken and the egg due to uncertainty. There is no absolute answer for this question.

Marx and Weber’s observations of religions as dependent or independent variables are reminiscent of this never-solving causality dilemma. A circular cause and consequence like ‘seeing religion as the starter’ and ‘seeing religion as the result’ make us wonder the question of “Which came first, X that can’t come without Y, or Y that can’t come without X? ” We would be trapped in an endless process of logics and pursuant of definite answer. Maybe it’s not the answer that matters but the understanding in the process that matters.

The understanding that the somewhat contradictory views can, in actuality, be used as a supplement to the other so that it can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of not just religion but society in general, which as learners of sociology should pursue. All in all, the comparison of Marx and Weber on religion tells us that there is no categorical answer but understanding through which we gain our own perspectives of life.

Works Cited

1. Amanda, Review on Marx and Weber on Religion http://web. grinnell. edu/courses/soc/f01/soc295-02/marx_weber. html  Giddens Anthony, Sociology. , 2011
2. Jong Seo Kim, Sociology of Religion , 2005 Marx Karl, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, Cambridge University Press, 1977
3. M. Argyle ; B. Beit-Hallahmi, The Social Psychology of Religion, London: Routledge ; Kegan Paul, 1975 Sang Jin Jeon,2011
4. Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, definition, http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/methodological-individualism/ Swatos William H, Peter Kivisto, Encyclopedia of religion and society, Rowman Altamira, 1998
5. Turner Jonathan H. , Sociology. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005
6. Weber Max, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Ed, , 2006

Charles Cooley was born on 17th August 1864 and died on 8th May1929. He was George Mead’s contemporary, and each greatly influenced the other’s thinking. Like Mead, Cooley believed that social interaction is the basis of the socialization process. Cooley saw the individual and society as parts of a whole, not as separate entities. In Cooley’s theory, each individual is linked to the social world mainly through the looking glass self. His own self-examination and observation of his children aided him in forming his concepts of the looking-glass self and primary groups.

This essay focuses on the looking glass self theory of Charles Cooley and his other ideas. Sociologist Charles Cooley is best known for his concept of looking glass self, the theory that self-image is formed largely by the message we get from others, and an individual’s interpretation of those messages. Cooley argued that a person’s self grows out of a person’s transaction with others. One’s consciousness of him or herself is a reflection of the ideas about him or herself that he or she attributes to other minds; thus, there can be no isolated selves.

In other words Cooley says that we see ourselves as we think others see us. For example, when learning table manners children develop a sense of what others find acceptable and as they a taught they become socialized. Through the looking glass, we learn that we are intelligent or dull, attractive or unattractive. Cooley argues that the judgments of some people in our lives are more important than judgments of others, for example a spouse’s compliment or low opinion may have a greater effect on someone’s self perception than the same comment made by some stranger.

The lingering influence of significant of others helps explain how we can sometimes maintain a positive self image at times when many people look down on us, or negative self image when many people think well of us. The looking glass self is a simple and domestic metaphor for the way society’s image for us becomes incorporated into our own self image. The looking-glass self begins at an early age and continues throughout a person’s entire life as one will never stop modifying their self unless all social interactions cease.

We do not see ourselves us through the eyes of others quite as literally as we see ourselves in an actual mirror. Our notion of how others see us may not be quite accurate and we may also be evaluated differently by different people. What others think of you is no doubt very important in making your self-image and as a result, who you are and what you do. According to Cooley, we gain a definition of our self in three steps: firstly through the beliefs about how we appear to others, secondly through the beliefs about their judgments of how we appear to them and thirdly the response to the imagined judgment.

Through the imagined judgment we develop pride, shame, improved self-esteem, slightly damaged self-esteem, and other attributes of the self. Once Cooley had established his theory of the self, he then focused his analysis on the human groupings that he conceived to be primary and secondary in linking man with his society and in integrating individuals into the social fabric. Cooley defined primary groups as those small groups in which all the members have enduring, intimate face-to-face interaction and cooperation. Cooley coined the term primary for these groups because they include the family, our first social group, and social linkages.

Close friends, children’s play groups, and perhaps some neighbors and some work groups also constitute primary groups. As Cooley explains, primary groups are important in forming the social nature and ideals of individuals. In primary groups, members value each other as individuals and achieve from personal fulfillment. They do things that will benefit the group, without expectation of payment or self-serving benefit. Example, one member of a family might wash laundry or perform housework that benefits all members.

On the other hand, secondary groups are larger groups in which all members do not interact directly and have relationships that are not permanent. Members do not share intimate bonds like those in primary groups. People do join these groups for benefits in some way. They may leave the group or join other groups when they feel like it is necessary. However, these groups may still have some shared norms and sense of group identity. Examples of secondary groups include office workers and students in an exercise class. These groups are also important to our views of ourselves, but less to the primary groups.

The notions of the looking-glass self and the primary group are closely related in Cooley’s views. The reactions to the thoughts of others is the mark of the mature human and according to Cooley can be developed and fostered only in the close and intimate interactions of the primary group. Hence, this group is the cell in which characteristically human growth takes place. In the primary group the immature and self-centered person is slowly attuned to the needs and desires of others and becomes fitted to the give-and-take of mature social life.

The primary group fosters the ability to put oneself into the position of others, drawing the individual out of egotistic isolation by building into him that sensitivity to the clues of others without which social life would be impossible. The differences between primary and secondary groups are as follows, primary groups are smaller because it consists of few members and this helps develop its members personal relations among themselves while secondary groups are larger and due to its size the members do not have personal relations. Relation is natural in primary groups and formal in secondary groups.

Also the position of members is determined by his work or function in secondary groups but in primary groups, the position of each person is determined on the basis of the family. Cooley’s sociology is holistic. He stressed about the systematic relationships between social processes in society. He argued that each aspect of society was dependent on others for its growth and survival. If we say that society is an organism, we mean that it is a complex form of processes each of which is living and growing by interaction with the others, the whole being so unified that what takes place in one part affects all the rest.

In addition to these essential concerns, Cooley, like W. I Thomas & George H Mead made a crucial important contribution to sociological method. Independently of Max Weber but roughly the same time as he, they argued that the study of human actions must be concerned with the meanings human actors attach to the situation in which they find themselves hence the study must go beyond purely behavioral description. Cooley believed that the social sciences deprived themselves of their best material by leaving out human motives for action.

Cooley emphasized that the study of the human social world must be centered upon attempts to examine the subjective meanings human actors attribute to their actions, and that such meanings must be studied in part through ‘understanding’ rather than through exclusive reliance on the reporting of behavior. Cooley’s theories provided evidence in response to a threefold necessity that had developed within the society. The first of which was the necessity to create an understanding of ocietal phenomena that highlighted the subjective mental processes of individuals yet realized that these subjective processes were effects and causes of society’s processes. The second necessity examined the development of a social dynamic conception that pictured states of chaos as natural occurrences which could provide opportunities for “adaptive innovation. ” Finally, a need to demonstrate that people were capable of exerting some form of “informed moral control” over current problems and future directions.

In conclusion, Charles Cooley is known in sociology most commonly for his development for the looking glass self. Cooley was one of the first to define the exact importance that society plays in forming the individual. He was also renowned for discovering human groups within the society stating that there are primary and secondary groupings that link man to society each having different, however, similar functions. Moreover, he argued that society is like an organism in the sense that each aspect of society is dependent on the other in order to survive.

Furthermore Cooley argued that the study of human actions must be concerned with the meanings humans attach to the activity. Finally, Cooley’s theories provided evidence in response to a threefold necessity that developed within the society – necessities to create an understanding of social phenomena, a necessity that examined a social dynamic conception and a need to demonstrate that people were capable of exerting some form of informed moral control.

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