Sociology

Essay Title:Introductory to organisational behaviour principles Books, journals and articles on organisational behaviour (OB) can be found anywhere nowadays. Experts and professionals in this area have done a lot of research, coming up with theories, models, concepts, explanations and views on how a person will behave in an organisation. This paper argues that there are other resources to help us understand OB better.

This paper will firstly define what OB is and discuss the similarities and differences found from other resources to our main textbook, ‘Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim’ written by Steven Mcshane and Tony Travaglione. It will then analyse the relevance and usefulness of information to people working in organisations and students of OB. So what does OB actually mean? Robbins and Judge (2007, P. ) defined that ‘OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organisations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organisation’s effectiveness. ’ While, Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999, P. 3) points out that ‘OB is the study of how people behave in organisations as individuals, teams and how the organisations structure human resources to achieve goals. ’ Comparing these two long definitions on OB, I would rather go along with the statement by Mcshane and Travaglione (2007, P. ), where it says that OB is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organisations. It’s so much easier to grasp and understand the gist of OB especially to students like me. What all these experts are trying to say is actually the same and what they had done is only putting their own thoughts into words. This signifies that we humans have a lot of views on one issue, it can be either the same or different, there’s no right or wrong either, it’s just a matter of how we perceive things.

Thus we need to look into other resources to tap into other peoples’ views and concepts to learn more about OB. So why do we study OB? As Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) had put it, we need to understand, predict and influence the behaviour of people, by doing so it will benefit the individual and the organisation. However, Tosi, Mero and Rizzo have a slightly different kind of say, they say that we study OB to understand, predict and improve the performance of people and ultimately to the organisation which they work (2000, P. 2).

The latter statement seems to be more appropriate. Organisations are always trying to improve their employee’s performance, communication and decisions making ability by sending their employees for courses like team building. Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) have clearly identified and explained the five anchors on which OB is based on, which are the multidisciplinary anchor, systematic research anchor, contingency anchor, multiple levels of analysis anchor and lastly the open systems anchor. It appears that this is the only book that includes all five anchors in one book.

These clearly explained concepts would help students to understand OB with ease and clarity than any other resources researched. With regards to the multidisciplinary anchor, Robbins and Judge (2007) only talks about the contributions to OB field from four behavioural disciplines which are psychology, social psychology, sociology and anthropology. Mcshane and Travaglione talks more than that, they even listed and discussed how emerging disciplines like communications and marketing contribute to the study of OB.

Mcshane and Travaglione (2007) say that scholars have been depending on systematic research to form research questions, and apply test hypotheses against collected data. Mcshane and Travaglione also suggest that researchers are adopting grounded theory to understand the working environment. It’s a qualitative method whereby concepts and theories are formed by data collections like observations and interviews. For example, the Department for transport in the United Kingdom did a project to find out what factors affect the choice of transport of their citizens (Department for transport 2003).

Maybe the Land Transport Authority in Singapore can refer to this article and find out the reason for the increasing number of people owning cars in Singapore. Mcshane and Travaglione (2007, P. 17) state that ‘no single solution is best in all circumstances. ’ What works in one situation may not be successful in a different situation (12Manage, 2008). This is a view shared by Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999) where they say for each situation a different kind of respond is required.

An example can be money; money can be a motivator for some people but may not be that effective on others, it all depends on the person’s financial needs and status (Vries 2007). Therefore, OB experts and managers in organisations learn to understand factors of different situations in order to respond more appropriately and effectively (Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1999). Similarly to our main text, Robbins and Judge (2007) states that there are three levels of analysis on OB, the micro which studies the individual, middle level which covers the small group and the macro level which looks into organisations.

However, the latter book had included a model for visualisation, creating an image of importance on this classification will help students to understand topics area of concern later in the book. Now let’s look at the last anchor, the open system anchor. Similarly to our main text, Thomas (2005) points out that organisations are open systems that will receive input of information and resources from the environment and in turn transform them into goods or service before returning them back into the environment.

Organisations are always restructuring and strategising to survive in the corporate world (Taplin 2005). This information will definitely be useful to top managements of organisations. They can apply this knowledge to strengthen their market share and strengthen their company image. This paper has argued that in order to understand OB principles more, a lot of reading and research had to be done. We have looked at what OB exactly is and due to the ever changing environment, peoples view and perceptions change, so we need to understand, predict and influence the changing needs of people.

By using the five anchors we will be able to do that. Even though some information researched is the same, it still increases my knowledge on OB through the constant readings, some information may be irrelevant, but it is still useful even if only one percent of new knowledge is gained. Total word count (1060) References Cummings, TG 2005, ‘open systems’, Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Organizational Behavior, viewed 2 August 2008, < http://web. ebscohost. com. libproxy. sim. edu. sg/ehost/detail? id=4&hid=120&sid=add89e44-3e79-4bf6-ac4d-7c90f405c030%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lmh&AN=20986772> Department for Transport 2003, ‘Psychological Factors Affecting Transport Mode Choice’, viewed 2 August 2008, . Mcshane, S. & Travaglione, T. 2007, ‘Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim’, 2nd edn, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, NSW. Nahavandi, A. & Malekzadeh, A. R. 1999, ‘Organizational Behavior, The person-organization fit’, Prentice –Hall Inc, New Jersey. Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. 2007, ‘Organizational Behavior’, 12th edn, Pearson education Inc, USA.

Taplin, I. M. 2005, ‘Strategic change and organisational restructuring: How managers negotiate change initiatives’, Journal of international management, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 284-301, viewed 4 August 2008, Science Direct. Tosi, H. L. , Mero, N. P. & Rizzo, J. R. 2000, ‘Managing Organizational Behavior’, 4th edn, Blackwell Publishers Inc, USA. Vries, M. K. D. 2007, ‘Money, Money, Money’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 231–243, viewed 29 July 2008, Science Direct. 12 Manage 2008, ‘Contingency Theory’, Bilthoven, viewed 2 August 2008,

In general, inclusion of kids with particular educational demands in mainstream schools is an of import issue and all European states now have statute laws promoting inclusive educational scenes. ( Evans & Lunt, 2002 ) . Even though inclusion has obtained assorted significances throughout the old ages, since the debut of the term in Warnock Report ( 1978 ) but besides through many Codes of Practice, the significance of effectual inclusion is still unclarified. ( Nind & Wearmouth,2006 ) . So, it seems necessary, harmonizing to Unicef ( 2012 ) , to know apart inclusion from two other footings. First, segregation in which students are distributed to particular schools harmonizing to their damage. Second, from integrating in which pupils can be placed in mainstream schools but in separate, particular demands ‘ schoolrooms and be portion of this educational seeting every bit long as they adapt to its environment. Nevertheless, inclusion has a more embracing significance as it proposes the suspension of all boundaries and a common assimilation of societal, cultural, curricular individuality of the kid but besides of the whole system. ( Nowich,2008 ; G, Richards et Armstrong 2011 ) . UNESCO refers this assimilation by stressing the duty of the society to offer instruction to everybody and by specifying that inclusion as a “ procedure of increasing engagement in acquisition, civilizations and communities and cut downing exclusion within and from instruction ” ( Unicef 2012,4p ) . This combination of increasing entree and besides of extinguishing exclusions led Booth ( 2003 ) to believe inclusion as an eternal process.

However, it is something more than puting all kids, including those with SEN, in the same setting.It is, in contrast to integrating, the version of school to childrens ‘ demands. ( Heat et al. 2004 ) . However, it is non easy to comprehend the term of inclusion in theory but besides in practice.That is why Giddens ( 1994 ) refers to an “ Utopian pragmatism ” that many desire but few truly believe it can go on ( Croll & Moses, 2000 ) while Slee ( 2004 ) metaphorically says that inclusion has become “ jet lagged ” in order to exemplify the assortment of definitions existed for inclusion throughout the years.Indeed, inclusion is hard to be understood and identified because of its diverseness and the deficiency of a planetary significance as in many states it is confused with integrating ( Armstrong,2005 ) . What is of import to comprehend is that we should see inclusion in a wider context in order to accomplish it.This agencies that if the purpose of extinguishing unintegrated instruction is successful, it is merely because society believes in inclusion and topographic points accent on persons ‘ rights and non on their acquisition troubles ( Thomas, 1997 ) . So, it is a affair of handling all kids every bit and non merely in the same manner ( Wedell, 2008 ) . This can be managed through a transmutation in the whole society and its rules and afterwards in every smaller context such as the educational .

On the other manus, SEBD is besides considered a obscure term and hard to be understood because of deficiency of lucidity and the diverseness of their features. Consequently, inclusion of kids who are labelled as holding SEBD raises many treatments throughout the old ages. ( Cole & Knowles 2011 ) .Nevertheless, it was non until 1981 through the Education Act that emotional and behavioral troubles ( EBD ) as a term was introduced and accepted for the first time.The old Educational Act ( 1944 ) had instigated the term “ maladjusted ” by doing a more medical attack of these troubles whereas in the 19th century, these students were confused with delinquents or “ mental defectives ” . ( Cole &  Knowles 30p. ) However, despite the abolition of ”maladjusted kids ” as a definition, the Education Act continued to advance integrating and non the inclusion of people with particular demands in general… ..Besides, this advancement from covering these pupils as being maladjusted or holding emotional upsets to kids with multiple troubles was besides considerable for switching off from the medical theoretical account and traveling towards the societal .

Many research workers argue that there is non a globally accepted definition for kids with emotional and behavioral troubles ( see e.g Benett & Aalsvoort, 2005 ) even though many alterations in policy have been made through governmental paperss in order to advance inclusion of these pupils in mainstream schools ( Goodman, 2010 ) . It is used as a “ quasi-official term ” that concerns pupils ‘ behavior described as “ riotous ” , “ exlcuded ” , “ disputing ” or “ at hazard ” ( Clough, Garner, Pardek, Yuen 2005 p.7 ) . Despite the vagueness and the multiple definitions existed, there have been many governmental alterations that increase the opportunities for pupils with SEN such as those characterised as holding SEBD to be portion of mainstream instruction. ( Goodman & Burton 2010 ) .

For case, SEN Code of Practice explains SEBD as:

• “ a acquisition trouble where kids and immature people demonstrate characteristics of emotional and behavioral troubles such as: being withdrawn or isolated, interrupting and disrupted ; being overactive and deficient concentration ; holding immature societal accomplishments ; or
• showing disputing behavior originating from other complex particular demands ” ( DCSF 2008, paragraph 49 ) .

Indeed, it is an imprecise term, as Goodman and Burton note, that is connected with many different behaviors, internalizing and projecting but besides with other troubles such as the job in acquisition or the hyperactivity. However, one of the most of import issues that might be raised is how teaching and inclusion can be effectual when the significance of umbrella footings such as SEN or SEBD have so many premises. ( Campbell 2002 ) .Furthermore, contemplations should be made about how to gain the purposes of inclusion and why all these barriers for its accomplishment exist.Is it appropriate to speak about a spread between theory and pattern? Jull ( 2009 ) summarises that inclusion of kids with SEBD faces many jobs in execution because of deficiency of educational and administrative administration but besides because of the behavior itself of pupils as the chief trouble to accomplish inclusion. Indeed, kids with SEBD are at great hazard of being excluded ( DfeS, 2004 ) as their antisocial behavior is thought to be a great challenge ( White Paper 2010 ; Green Paper, 2007 ) .

The troubles briefly outlined above high spot the complexness of inclusion of kids identified as holding SEBD in UK context as there is a scope of issues, challenges and quandary being raised. As a consequence, after analyzing these barriers, I will propose possible ways frontward to get the better of them. Furthermore, I will reason that despite the jobs and contemplations, inclusion can be achieved but in order to be effectual, a whole transmutation must be occurred in society and educational scenes. Therefore, I will do connexions to my ain personal experience in Greece as a six months volunteer instructor of handicraft and linguistic communication to striplings and grownups with high-functioning autism and Down syndrome who besides faced emotional and behavioral diificulties.

“Body Rituals among the Nacirema” is an article written by Horace Miner about a group of people, the Nacirema, and their everyday functions or rituals. Miner relates the culture, practices, values, and beliefs of a seemingly exotic and strange tribe. He vividly and descriptively describes behaviors and activities that are interpreted as unusual and strange. The tribe Miner depicts seems primal and uncivilized, and yet somewhat familiar. They are a “North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Creel the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles” (Miner).This area is the United States of America and upon recognizing the location, the reader starts to become cognizant of the presence of an ulterior message.

Miner’s depiction draws us in but shortly, we realize he is referring to American society; read backwards, Nacirema spells ‘American. ’ Instead of describing a far-away and exotic tribe, as the reader first expects, the article describes very ‘normal’ aspects of American life, such as dental hygiene and medicine. The use of language like “mouth-rite,” “holy-mouth-men,” and “medicine men” frames these aspects in a very abnormal way.Miner does an exceptional job of disguising the American culture as ‘Nacirema. ’ Once unveiling this disguise, many references can easily be seen and the article is interpreted in a whole new way; for example, the “cleansing shrine” as the washroom, “magical potions” as medicine, and “latipso” as hospital. This article is written as an observation on American society but could be generalized as ‘North American’ practices. The article demonstrates that attitudes about the body have a widespread influence on many social institutions.

Many of the rituals that we have in North America involve manipulating our image and this value contradicts the enlightened and rational creatures we sometimes imagine ourselves to be. Miner effectively convinces the reader of the somewhat ridiculous nature of (North) America’s obsession with health and visual appeal. This is accomplished by provoking readers to form an outside opinion of themselves before realizing they are their own subject. His analysis portrays himself and the reader as superior, civilized beings studying this tribe, which creates a distance and differentiation leading to comparison.By describing American culture from the perspective of an external observer, we can realize how a different perspective or standpoint can perceive our rituals as quite strange. As such, Miner’s article can be seen as speaking to how other cultures could view our own, and shows how ethnocentrism can affect how we see and interpret culture. Miner uses his style of writing to prove his apparent point that Americans are ethnocentric.

Furthermore, the tone of the article displays how this ethnocentrism can lead to judgment of other, unknown cultures.A resonating point for me throughout this article is Miner’s success in translating Peter Berger’s concept of the sociological perspective, making the reader see the strange in the familiar. By thinking of these familiar rituals as strange, a new perspective is formed and our regular, ‘normal’ world can be seen in a fresh, unique way. Importantly, the sociological imagination begins to engage and develop as we recapture the ability to be astonished by what we normally take for granted.This broadening of perspective and how we look at ourselves can lead us to think beyond our standpoint and better understand someone of a different background. Upon first reading, the rituals/institutions described have a familiarity, but in everyday life we have become socialized so as we do not see the odd and sometimes illogical actions we perform. As Miner begins, “the anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs.

I believe Horace Miner wrote this piece to touch on all of these points; to make us see the familiar as strange, to develop the sociological imagination, and to bring awareness to the ethnocentrism of our culture/society. The targeted audience may be fellow anthropologists, sociologists, scholars/ students, or even the general public. Miner challenges all North Americans to look at themselves in a new light, to look critically upon our own society. He is effective in conveying his messages through his unique approach to the idea, and ability to re-arrange our thought process.He seems to challenge the way cultures, and American culture in particular, may have been previously represented or misrepresented. Furthermore, the article breaks the barrier of viewing American culture as ‘normal’ and that which others may be measured against; he breaks the barrier of ethnocentrism. Another reason to comment on these points may have been to try to stimulate better, less biased research and inspire colleagues, students etc.

to consider the existence of perspective and potential for ethnocentrism in all that they do.I find the article relevant, personally, as a student studying sociology and business, and as a North American. Our society is continually becoming more culturally diverse, and international interaction (whether in business, academics or elsewhere) is becoming commonplace. Therefore, it is increasingly important to learn to step outside of our accustomed perspective and to be aware of others we interact with, as well as of our own biases, viewpoints, and barriers.The clever way Miner provokes looking at the familiar as strange lead me think of the many ways we view the ‘familiar,’ having become accustomed to our social norms and values. I have begun to see these in a new way, and will further keep in mind the sociological perspective and presence of potential ethnocentric views when evaluating situations. We naturally look at other cultures or societies through the lens of our own but if we are able to understand our own culture – our social context – the water in which we swim, we can develop our relationships and interactions with those from other waters.

Race and magazine covers is a sociological issue in the society today. Most magazine covers all over the world today select disproportionately the cast that is featured on their covers. Certain features on the magazine cover also get repeat appearances hence making it an issue in the society today. A magazine cover matters since the individuals that appear on the cover are the ambassadors of commercial appeal, beauty and success.

The impression of the faces projected on the magazine covers has a visceral impact. There is a danger that is presented through diversification of the models in the magazines while the covers remain white as it sends a message of hierarchical beauty standards which suggests that the models of color have their place that is not on the covers of magazines. This paper will use the three major classical sociological theories to explain and explore the race and magazine covers issue.

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory was suggested by Karl Marx and it claims that the society is in a state of continuous conflict as a result of competition for the limited resources, (Ritzer et all. 2017). The theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power and not consensus and conformity. According to Karl Marx in the conflict theory, the individuals that have wealth and power in the society try to hold on to it by all means possible mainly through the oppression of the poor and powerless individuals in the society.

The continuous conflicts in the society drive social change. in conflict theory, power is the control of resources and wealth, politics and the institution that constitute the society and an individual’s social status relative to others within the society. social status is not determined by only class but by the race, gender, culture, sexuality and also religion.

The groups that are associated with race and magazine covers include the models, celebrities in various industries like music, fashion and acting. The group that has historically benefited when it comes to power in race and magazine covers are the white celebrities who appear on the covers. Most magazines use white models as compared to color models however powerful, famous, and wealthy the color model may be, (Schug, et all. 2017 pg. 222).

The ideology associated with the topic of race and magazine cover is colorblindness that is depicted in the society today. the public has to take note of the issue of race and the refusal to take leads people to ignore manifestations of persistent discrimination in the society.

The powerful groups benefit in various ways including the fact that through having constant coverage on covers, they are able to maintain their powerful status in the society easily. the other way that they benefit is that it makes them more powerful in the society. Internalized oppression is where an oppressed group uses methods the group that oppresses them against itself.

It works when a group or individuals recognize a distinct inequality of value when compared to another group of individuals resulting in the desire to be like the more highly valued group. internalized oppression can lead to conflict and discrimination in the group, (Schug, et all. 2017 pg. 222). The color models experience internalized oppression when it comes to race and magazine covers since they receive little credit hence they have a feeling of inferiority thus strive to be like the white models who get coverage on magazine covers.

Structural Functionalism

Structural functionalism is a theory that views the society as a system that is complex whose parts jointly work together to promote stability and solidarity, (Ritzer et all. 2017). Structural functionalism takes a closer look at the society with a focus on social structures which shape the society. the approach looks at the social structures and social functions.

The two functions associated with race and magazine covers include advertising and stability. They are both manifest functions which are deliberately intended to have an effect on the society, (Sherry and Mark 2015 pg. 490-492). The kind of stability that the issue of race and magazine covers offer is where those groups involved identify themselves with certain positions on magazines and accept the positions without having to push for social change.

Symbolic Interaction Theory

Symbolic interactionism is a theory that provides a better understanding of how individuals interact with each other in a bid to create symbolic worlds and the world ends up shaping the behaviors of the individuals, (Ritzer et all. 2017). individuals live in the natural environment and also the symbolic environment. Symbolization in symbolic interactions highlights the processes through which events and conditions, people, and other features in the environment which have particular meanings become almost only objects of orientation. The behavior of individuals is partly contingent on what the object of orientation symbolizes or means.

The three symbols associated with race and magazine covers include style, beauty and celebrity lifestyle. Interactions and language assist in reinforcing the ideas on race and magazine by providing a platform which is easy to understand and relate to each other in the society. interactions and language also help in ensuring that individuals share different views and ideas hence assisting in the modification of ideas related to the issue of race and magazine covers, (Thibaut and John 2017). Cultural ideas related to race and magazine covers are learnt through the reading of popular culture which allows individuals to share their emotions, thoughts and deliberations in the society.

References

1. Ritzer, George, and Jeffrey Stepnisky. Modern sociological theory. SAGE Publications, 2017.
2. Schug, Joanna, Nicholas P. Alt, Philip S. Lu, Monika Gosin, and Jennifer L. Fay. “Gendered race in mass media: Invisibility of Asian men and
3. Black women in popular magazines.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 6, no. 3 (2017): 222.
4. Sherry, Mark. “Fantasies of identification: disability, gender, race.” (2015): 490-492.
5. Thibaut, John W. The social psychology of groups. Routledge, 2017.

If ultra is “everything’ and “everywhere” what exactly isn’t culture, and do we actually need a subfield in sociology to study it if everyone is already studying It anyway? Does this course sound confusing? Does it sound like something you’d best run away? Please don’t. You need not worry. Culture is both the norms, values, and rituals that you celebrate and hold dearly, and the one’s that you take for granted as “common sense. ” Culture is a mental map or schema that you use to make sense of the world and your place in it. Culture is a “way of life. ” Appeals to culture can be used to keep things room changing, or to change things.

Culture is also material objects such as books, movies, art, and fashion, as well as physical practices such as singing or dancing. Culture is produced and culture is consumed. This is a course about how culture -?which is both within you and all around you -works, doesn’t work, and why. Required Text * Wary, Matt. 2014. Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Goals and Objectives *Students will be able to display comprehension of major theories and perspectives in the sociological study Of culture, both historical and anthropometry. Students will be able to apply theories from these subfields to real-world settings and examples. *Students will leave the course with an analytic “tool- kit’ for studying the role of culture in groups, organizations, fields, and societies. Student Expectations Students will attend all scheduled meetings on time and prepared. Students will not falsify illness or injury to themselves, family, or friends if attendance is missed. Students will complete the readings assigned before class and to a level in which they would feel comfortable leading a group discussion.

Students will not skip the reading, skim the reading, or give up on the reading if they find it initially confusing. Students will respect each other, and our collaborative learning environment in the course. Students will not plagiarism. Instructor Expectations In agreement and in honor of your commitment to the course, I agree to be punctual and prepared; to use my knowledge of sociology to work through the material with you; and to be forthright, timely, and helpful in my communication and feedback.

I take our time together very seriously and work hard to provide opportunities within our course that will contribute to our goals, aspirations, and commitments inside and outside of CISTS. Assignments and Grade Breakdown: Class Attendance and Participation: You are expected to be in class every day and be an active and vocal member of our community. You need to be here to participate, and you need to be prepared to participate well. Attendance will be taken using a sign-sheet on each day. If you were not present to sign in on the sign-in sheet, you will be considered absent for that day of class.

Reading Quizzes: Over the term there will be five surprise reading quizzes. These will consist Of two to three short questions. Mid-Term Exam: The midterm will take place in Week 6 of the course. Details will be provided in class in advance of the midterm. Final Exam: The final exam will have a similar format to the mid-term. We will spend time during our last lecture discussing the final exam. Final grades will be broken down into the following categories: Class Attendance and Participation Reading Quizzes Midterm Exam Final Exam Total 15% 100% Late Work policy f you miss a reading quiz you will get a zero score for that week’s quiz.

Your lowest reading quiz score is dropped. If you miss the midterm without advanced notice and without an approved and excused absence your score will automatically be dropped by one letter grade. Assorted Policies having to do with Email Email Diana Miller Dianna. miller@utoronto. Ca with questions about the course. Questions that require two sentences or less to answer will be responded to by email, which basically excludes all emails asking for substantive course material to be “explained. ” For these types of inquiries and any other inquiries that will take longer to answer, please attend office hours or make arrangements by appointment.

Diana will forward me any questions that she cannot answer. Emails will be responded to within 48 hours. If your question has not been responded to within 48 hours, please forward it to me after that period. Do not expect a response Outside of normal business hours (e. G. A question emailed on Friday night will be responded to by the end of the working day on Tuesday). What “Participation” Means Participation can be either positive or negative. Being attentive, engaged, and asking and answering questions about the course material are examples of positive participation.

If you’re not comfortable speaking in front of the class, I encourage you to use this space to practice, but also accept that this may be an issue for you. If so, make sure you’re engaging in the other forms of positive participation, and not engaging in any forms of negative participation. Negative participation includes zoning out, coming late, leaving early, not paying attention, sleeping or distracting other students. If you are participating negatively and I or someone else finds it distracting, I’ll politely ask you to leave, and I strongly suggest you do so.

Simply put, if you’re too red or not ready to learn I’d rather you not come to class than sleep through it or distract other students. Feedback on our Course value and seek your feedback on our course. To that end, I will distribute a mid-term evaluation near the halfway point of the course to hear from you anonymously. This assists me in making any necessary adjustments in my teaching practice for the rest of our time together. Possible Changes to the Syllabus Every class is a bit different. As a result unforeseen problems may emerge and we may have to make adjustments to the syllabus as we go.

Although many people know that deviancy is apparent in American society, few realize that it is society itself that causes deviancy. Our social structure exerts numerous pressures among people in our society to engage in non-conforming and deviant behavior to achieve the American dream. American society does this by emphasizing certain success goals, and not emphasizing the correct means to achieve these goals. In addition, deviancy is reinforced in numerous elements of American social structure through culturally defined goals, institutionalized means, societal reactions, and various forms of sanctions.

Further, American society has a strong emphasis on wealth and an unreasonable demand for success. Therefore, Americans are lead to forms of innovation, deviancy, and live in a state of anomie. First, we must examine the definitions of deviance and norms. Henry defines deviance as a person who goes against the standards, expectations, and norms of their society (lecture). Further, deviancy is thought of as a personal attribute or behavior that results in social disapproval from others, or behavior that breaks the rules and norms for that society(Social Deviance 5).

Norms are rules of conduct, and each norm is a statement of desirable or undesirable behavior. Examples of desirable and undesirable states of being are messages like “don’t be too fat” and “don’t be too thin” (Social Deviance 5). In addition, norms are the shared expectations and evaluations of behavior or being that the majority of society’s members agree upon. Meier states that expectations refer to how people will act or be, and evaluations are how people should act or be (Social Deviance 5). These expectations and evaluations further reinforce the standards and expectations of our society.

Some sociologists previously believed that deviance was caused by biology. Sociologists once believed that deviant people were “born bad”, and that heredity, genes, and a persons body chemistry were all common denominators in deviant people. Merton contradicts this theory by noting that: With the more recent advancement of social science, this set of conceptions has undergone basic modification. For one thing, it no longer appears so obvious that man is set against society in an unceasing war between biological impulse and social restraint.

For another, sociological perspectives have increasingly entered into the analysis of behavior deviating from prescribed patterns of conduct. For whatever role the biological impulses, there still remains the further question of why it is that the frequency of deviant behavior varies within different social structure and how it happens that the deviations have different shapes and pattern in different social structures. (230) Now sociologists, such as Robert K. Merton, have new insight into the theory that deviancy is caused by the society in which we live, not biology or body chemistry.

This theory of deviance is also backed up by the belief that American society leads an individual to want the American dream, but does not afford them with the means to achieve them (Fanning). As members of a society obsessed with television and media, we have pressures that reinforce the popular belief that material possessions and wealth are extremely important in American society. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that if we can locate certain groups subject to the pressures of achieving the American dream, we should expect to find high rates of deviancy in its members.

In addition, some social classes do not have equal opportunity to achieve goals. Due to discrimination, members of lower classes, and certain racial and ethnic minorities, all suffer from blocked opportunities. The stress and strain that results from blocked opportunities causes the individual to question the legitimacy of traditional and institutionalized means (Fanning). In effect, these members of society begin to think of other, often illegal, ways to succeed.

Furthermore, when this occurs, respect for the traditionally accepted means of achieving goals crumble, norms weaken, and society is no longer able to regulate the methods its members use to obtain success. Therefore, high crime among lower classes can be attributed to the stresses caused by American society. If a person is born into a poor family, they might be forced to work while going to high school, and may not be able to focus on school work, like other classmates. Therefore, due to life chances, they might not have the opportunity to go to college due to bad grades or unaffordability.

While constantly struggling to make ends meet, they decide to commit a crime to be able to have material possessions, since they believe that they will never be able to save up to buy anything through traditional work. This new social theory states that deviancy is people simply responding normally to the social situation in which they are in. Furthermore, Merton states that “some social structures exert definite pressures upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming, rather than conforming conduct” (230). In addition, deviance varies culture to culture.

What we consider to be deviant is different than what other societies consider deviant. Deviant definitions also change rapidly. American society used to think that women who wore short skirts, or smoked cigarettes were deviant. Now, the same acts are not considered to still be deviant. In addition, Merton notes that “some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in society” (230). American society is a perfect example of a society that exerts unreasonable pressures, and therefore leads some of its members to deviant behavior.

This social theory is proven further by Merton’s theory of social structure. In American society, Merton believes that there are two elements of social structure; culturally defined goals, and institutionalized means. Culturally defined goals are integrated into society, involving various degrees of value and significance. Culturally defined goals are what society thinks its members should strive for, such as financial success. Institutionalized means are the regulations and norms that are the acceptable way of achieving the culturally defined goal (234).

An example of a culturally defined goal is a good education, and a good job. Our society gives a strong social reaction to those who deviate its norms. Societal reactions embrace the ways in which society responds to the individuals, their acts, or suspected deviance. Forms of societal reactions are sanctions and formal sanctions. Sanctions are “punishments usually designed to control suspect or actual deviance” (Social Deviance 5). Formal sanctions are the punishments administered by the state or other form of legal authority. Examples of formal sanction are fines or imprisonment.

Most often these formal sanctions have a negative stigma attached to them. Furthermore, sanctions are the ultimate measuring rod for identifying deviancy and deviant acts. An example would be a person given the formal sanction of a prison sentence being labeled a “ex-con”. Informal sanctions are sanctions from less official sources, such as family, peers and friends. Examples of informal sanctions are ridicule, peer disapproval, and criticism (Social Deviance 5). The next point to discuss is the common types of deviance that result from the pressures that American society puts on its members.

Merton says that members of American society are sometimes forced to innovate to reach the goals society prescribes for them. First, goals are internalized and thought of as important, such as wanting a nice car, money, and a home. These people conform to the expectations society gives them, and therefore try to achieve the goals. The person who wants a car to be accepted in society, so they conform by going to college to get a good job, to be able to buy the car. The problem occurs when members want these things, but may not have access to them.

Thus, this leads persons to have to innovate to achieve these goals (Merton 233). An innovator may be a person who is unable or unwilling to go to college to get a god job, so they rob a bank to be able to buy the home and car, and therefore can fit in to societies material demands. Deviancy is also caused by the numerous contradictions and variations American society has on what avenues are thought of as acceptable ways of achieving the goals. In addition, our society also has many double standards about what is seen as acceptable. Some cheat the system, but may be thought of as being crafty, or smart.

On the other hand, some equally dishonest acts have punishments, and are looked down upon by members of our society. An example of this is when a business owner price fixes. Even thought the business owner is being exploitative, he is thought of as a business genius, and intelligent. People who cheat on their taxes, or get paid under the table are dishonest and using morally wrong ways of attaining money. However, these lawbreakers are not criticized, looked down upon, or thought of as criminals. An example of this double standard is when we find an illegal act with the absence of social disapproval.

Without social disapproval, an illegal act is not considered to be truly deviant (Fanning). An everyday occurrence of this discrepancy is when someone is caught speeding. The act of speeding is illegal and punished with formal sanctions, such as fines, tickets, or license suspension, but is accepted in our society. We have police officers that are paid to regulate the highways, but no negative stigma attached to the act of speeding, or the punishment given by legal authority. The demand for success in American society is overwhelming. Success has become constructed as “winning the game” rather than “winning under the rules of the game.

Through the same process, tension generated by the desire to win in a poker game is relieved by a successful dealing one’s self four aces, or when shuffling the cards in a game of solitaire. Merton states that “cultural (or idiosyncratic) exaggeration of the success – goals leads men to withdraw emotional support from the rules” (232-233). On the other hand, a person who robs a bank to attain money is labeled a criminal, and given punishments. People who mug, rob, and burglarize are feared and hated in our society, but cheaters, plagiarizers, and perjurers are not.

These double standards create confusion, and lead members of our society to feel as if they are without guidance or clear morals. The next argument proving how American society causes deviance is due to American society putting too much emphasis on goals, and not enough value attached the correct means to achieve these goals. Merton states that “American culture continues to be characterized by a heavy emphasis on wealth as a basic symbol of success, without a corresponding emphasis upon the legitimate avenues on which to march toward this goal” (Social Structure 235).

Due to this lack of clear guidance, strong social pressure to achieve, and inadequate ways to achieve the pressures society inflicts causes members to be deviant to attain acceptable status in our society. Merton further emphasizes that: Of the types of societies that result from independent variations of cultural goals and institutionalized means, we shall primarily be concerned with the first – a society in which there is an exceptionally strong emphasis upon specific goals without corresponding emphasis upon institutional procedures.

No society lacks norms governing conduct. But societies do differ in the degree in which the folkways, mores, and institutional controls are effectively integrated with the goals which stand high in the hierarchy if cultural values. The culture may be such as to lead individuals to center their emotional convictions upon the complex of culturally acclaimed ends, with far less emotional support for the prescribed methods of reaching out to these ends. As this process continues, the society becomes unstable and there develops what Durkheim called “anomie,” or normlessness.

Anomie is caused by a society without clear norms, such as American society. Being without institutionalized structure, expectations, and regulations, leads people to become disorientated. Capitalist societies, such as America, are perfect examples of anomic societies. Through ruthless competition and lack of morals and values, capitalists strive for money. Therefore, our social order becomes upset and people lose their way in pursuit of wealth without real regulation. In addition, money in our society is thought of as more important than honesty, morals, family, and happiness.

As Merton states “in some large measure, money has been consecrated as a value in itself, over and above its expenditure for articles of consumption and or its use for enhancement of power. “Money” is a peculiarly well adapted to become a symbol of prestige” (233). Money can buy class, power and status, all of which are highly regarded in American society. Simmel emphasizes that money is highly abstract and impersonal. However acquired, fraudulently or institutionally, money can be used to purchase the same goods and services (Illuminating Social Life 84).

Therefore, it doesn’t really matter how one gets money; it just matters that one has money. The next argument as to why American society leads its members to be deviant is because our society puts a tremendous emphasis on wealth and success. Merton states that the United States has three cultural axioms. The first axiom is that everyone should strive for the American dream, which are wealth, success and independence. The second axiom states that present failure is only a slight setback; third, the only real failure is personal failure, and the withdrawal of ambition (235).

This social structure puts tremendous amounts of pressure on all individuals in American society. Our society looks down upon members who do not have wealth or success. Furthermore, there is a negative attitude towards people who do not wish to achieve the “American Dream. ” Some members of our society are satisfied with what they have, and do not strive for raises, promotions, or anything greater. These people are thought of as lazy, lacking ambition and work ethic, and put down in our society for simply being content with what they have.

In conclusion, many people think that money will solve all of their problems, and give them happiness. On the contrary, many wealthy people are miserable, and their money has created numerous problems for them. Merton notes that when he was an observer of a community in which the common annual was in the six figures. He witnessed one victim of the American Dream saying, “in this town, I’m snubbed socially because I only get a thousand a week. That hurts” (233). Competition among neighbors, community, co-workers, and club members is overwhelming.

Even after achieving monetary success, it seems as is there is no stopping point to the amount of money some strive for. Merton states that “in the American Dream there is no final stopping point. The measure of “monetary success” is conveniently indefinite and relative” (232). No matter how much money one has, it is never enough. No one can be “too rich” in America. Durkheim states that “to pursue a goal that is unattainable is to condemn ones self to a state of perpetual unhappiness. Our passions must first be limited by a moral force” (Suicide 229).

Since we put pressure on ourselves to reach unattainable goals, we are therefore always dissatisfied with our lives. These social pressures that are reinforced in almost every aspect of American society can further explain deviance. Merton states that: To say that the goal of monetary success is entrenched in American culture is to say that Americans are bombarded on every side by precepts which affirm the right or, often, the duty of retaining the goal even in the face of repeated frustration.

Prestigeful representatives of the society reinforce the cultural emphasis. The family, the school, and the workplace- the major agencies shaping the personality structure and goal formation of America- join to provide the intensive discipline required if an individual is to retain intact a goal that remains elusively beyond reach. (233) One of the major agencies that shape young Americans morals and values is our education system. Our education system places great emphasis on grades, test scores, and grade point averages.

It seems that achieving these things is more important than really learning and retaining information. Therefore, this leads to cheating on tests, bribing professors, and altering transcripts, and all of which are forms of dishonesty and deviance. Durkheim believes that once our society brings back morals and values we will begin to establish more acceptable and reinforced ways of achieving goals (Anomie 79). We must set achievable goals for ourselves and put more emphasis on attaining happiness, not monetary success.

Often we hear of the generation gap — that huge expanse between parent and child. Perhaps it is an acquaintance gap. Young people and adults do not know each other. The inability to communicate often enters the picture. Sometimes it is because neither knows what the other is interested in. They live under the same roof, but they rarely see one another, especially after the teenage years come along. The father goes off to work before the children are awake. Mother may go back to bed after seeing the husband off to work; or off to her own job.

Teenagers get themselves up and off to school without seeing either parent. Then after school there is ball practice, band practice, or something else that consumes their time; maybe a job that lasts until bedtime. Parents have things that tie them up in the evenings; so the days come and go, and there is precious little time spent together. A meal together is even a rare occasion. All of these activities may be wholesome and proper, but still the family suffers because there is so little time spent together.

This causes many children to make too many decisions on their own, and so often they will leave important and crucial matters out of their thoughts and plans. This generation often gets labelled by the media and the older people in society as the “youngsters who are tearing this country apart. ” The fact of the matter is that we are a product of our parent’s mistakes and remain to be misunderstood. In the past several years we have seen much media attention focused on the generation that followed the boomers, popularly known as Generation X.

Born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s, this is the most complex of the generation, and by far the least understood in spite of its current celebrity. This generation can best be described as the “Misunderstood Generation. ” They are the generation that dealt with and are still dealing with broken homes, drug addiction, AIDS, and bleak futures. A great deal of the young people in this “Misunderstood Generation” think very little about the future or present issues. This generation has lost sight of long terms goals and the idea that hard work pays off in the end.

Instead, the people in this generation concern themselves only with what will bring immediate satisfaction and gratification. This part of society cares only about money and themselves, never thinking about the consequences of their actions. The “Misunderstood Generation” feels overwhelmed with the idea of a country with a multi- trillion dollar deficit, a high rate of poverty, and relatively no jobs. The “Misunderstood Generation” wants less out of life. This generation has evolved from the children that came home from school to an empty house because mom had to go back to work after the divorce.

This is the generation that got its morals from watching T. V. after school and was parented by an older brother or sister. This is the generation that has unconventional ways and does not always reason for them. They are uncertain and need answers. They poke and prod to find what is lying ahead. They have loud voices but are seldom heard. This is the generation which has high expectations and are often disappointed. I, as well as all of the others born in my generation, were unleashed into an ever changing world.

The advances of today can easily be old news tomorrow. Along with this they, the people who have lived and controlled up until this day, have allowed the respect of the living to dwindle with the consistently increasing ease of everyday life. Transportation from one point to another can be the simplest of tasks. Communication with someone in any far off land can be reached with just the touch of a button. And access to almost all the information the world has to offer is free for all with the use of the Internet.

No other group of people have grown up with these things as being such the standards and necessities of life and living that they are today. We have never had a war in our country. All of the wars that might have occurred while we’ve lived our young lives could only be seen through the glare of the t. v. The same thing that has totally been a part of our life feeding us knowingly false images of what it means to “be”, but which seems to relate to us all. The same thing, however, does indeed show us the horrors of ever increasing crime and the vitality of these acts.

Living has become an easier accomplishment with every new device, but with each new mark we leave on this world a new problem arises for us and all that follow. Today the marks are abundant and the affects are already in motion. This is what has made us a generation set aside and why it appears that we are some wonder to the rest of society. Tomorrow, however, we will wonder the same. I believe movies such as Clerks, Reality Bites, and accurately portray the “Misunderstood Generation.

All of these movies deal with real life problems of this generation and have characters that seem extremely life like. For example, in the movie Reality Bites, the main female character gets out of college to discover that she can’t find a job making much more than minimum wage. Another character in the movie gets fired regularly from different minimum wage jobs, lives with different friends from week to week, and only worries about what will make him happy. These movies reflect the “Misunderstood Generation” in a way that all people can try to understand what it is like to grow up this day in age.

This is a generation that has never known a world without televistion. In my own research I have found that all this and much more to be true. A male 18, says “In ten years I see myself employed in my field of study and with my first girlfriend. ” When I asked him when the turning point of his live was he said; “It sounds really funny but it was when I read Catcher In the Rye. I went through a psychotic and depressing state of mind, after which I made a pact not to waste time and make the best out of every second of my existence.

His was just an example that justifies the fact that there are many things that could influence the awaking of an individual. A male 17, wrote “I don’t think that we aren’t so complex, just that the real complexities of young people are finally being treated seriously and studied for the first time” when he was asked what his feelings were towards the statement; “Generation X is considered to be the most complex but least understood generation” Role models and heroes paly a crucial part in the decision-making of today’s youth.

Many of us look to somebody who’s popular, good-looking and successful to imitate, look up to and take advice from. Xers will sacrifice their lives for a worthy cause. Many are ready to do so now. But we need evangelists who will take the time to befriend us and listen to us and be genuine the whole time. I am not too aggravated with the statement “Generation X is considered to be the most complex but least understood generation” anymore. After all, everybody is different, society is different, and lets face it, I am only one of the thousands maybe even millions of gen exers out there.