This chapter states three major sociological theories including functionalist theory. This theory depicts like if a certain group cant maintain or accomplish what needs to be done, like a school failing to teach what is needed for that grade. There’s conflict theory that states all social problems start from the exploitation of capitalism like when a individual is racist to all African American people. There’s symbolic interaction that states that if individuals are around criminal behavior than they will take after their traits and become a criminal. Much like if after so much a bullied kid becomes the bully.…
For the past 3 years, I have worked for a company called 2020 communications. This company has many different contracts with other companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, and other wireless providers. As a Territorial Manager I do not work for these global wireless companies, we manage the territories and make sure that the actual stores are selling the company’s products and services. 2020 Communications has a simple structure that consists of a single individual that runs the company. Under that individual there are 2 district managers and then there are territorial managers that work directly for the company. I am contracted to work for T-Mobile to manage 9 locations. In the company in which i work for they have a vertical organizational structure. The Thing that separates us from the cooperate locations is that we don’t have to worry about inventory and the stores themselves, we just focus on the sales in the stores and that’s all. We have one centralized headquarters in Dallas Texas, in which the CEO and the Human Resource team is located. As a company we don’t focus too much on the customer concerns and issues, that is the responsibility of the corporate stores. We tend to assist when we can to help the profit margin and the selling process of each location, but it is the job of the location and there management team to manage every other aspect of the company including inventory and the sales associates themselves.…
Social Disorganization Theory states that people’s choices are made because of their economical class. Shaw and McKay who brought this theory to peoples attention, proved that neighborhoods with higher crime have more poverty in them. Shaw and McKay studied Chicago’s neighborhoods. They could see that the lack of the social control was the reasoning behind the high crime rate. Crime is more likely to be high in disorganized areas such as schools, families, stores, and everything in neighborhoods.…
The social disorganization theory is accurate because living in low income areas definitely has a high impact on criminal activities, however there are other factors that can influence criminal activity, simply as feeling “safe” which was also discussed within the radio broadcast. Also having the money to move out of these low income areas is hard because the people that live there are basically stuck there because they cannot afford to move elsewhere. Leaving the residents to find the best way to make it. In Harper High School, social learning theory is basically in full motion. The police officer in the radio piece explained that one cannot avoid not being affiliated with a gang. The environment has changed where neutrons no longer exist. These students learn these rules from older people and how they are treated from outsiders of their…
One of these approaches is Merton’s Strain theory whose key idea is that deviance is the product of a delinquent subculture with different norms and values from the rest of society that provides an alternative opportunity structure for those denied a legitimate chance to succeed. According to Merton, deviance within society is a result of the culture and structure of society itself because he believes all members of society share common values and goals but do not always occupy the same economic and social positions. Therefore, they do not have equal opportunities to realise those goals. One example Merton uses is the ‘American Dream’ to illustrate his theory. The philosophy behind this believes anyone can achieve their goals of the American Dream regardless of their social background through normal means including hard work, determination etc. However, Merton argues that the pressure from society to achieve financial success actively pushes individuals to commit crimes because they want to achieve…
The social conflict theory states that criminal behavior is founded on the conflict with a ruling social class labeling specific behaviors as illegal because of a social or an economic interest in protecting that community’s status quo. This is based on the belief that instead of laws showing the values of an entire society, the laws only exhibit the values of the few in society that hold power, and has no oppositions in using the justice system as a means of ensuring that power is kept. If behaviors, such as these are not corrected later in one’s life with improvements such as jobs and positive relationships, wrongful acts of behavior will continue to exist, possibly leading to future criminal activity…
After researchers do a field study of deviant behavior during a riot, law enforcement officials demand that the researchers identify the persons who were observed looting. Rather than risk arrest as accomplices after the fact, the researchers comply and turn over the names.…
In this paper I will be exploring my social structure and defining my place in social groups. I will be using information learned from the textbook (The Sociology Project, 2013), as well as my own thought process to complete the paper. It will help with not only understanding myself and the class but with being able to finish my final project as well.…
To begin with, Social structure theories enlighten on how social economic structures can influence economic opportunities in our society, which then could also lay an impact on criminal tendency to a person. According to (author), strain theory, developed by Merton, states that there are certain things or circumstances that could increase the likelihood of a person to commit a crime, these are known as strains or stressor. These strains or stressors create a negative impact to the person’s emotions such as frustration and anger. These types of emotions influence the corrective actions and behaviors of an individual, thus committing a crime is an unavoidable result. Moreover, material success, such as cars,…
According to a study executed by San Diego State researchers, “One third of community college students in California face uncertain housing and even homelessness while 12 percent sometimes aren’t sure where they will get their next meal”. Luckily for the other two thirds we don’t have to think about this problem, at least not as heavily. In her quote, Wanda Katz-Fishman touches on an issue that everyone can see, yet nothing is being done about. This is the fact that the relationship between having a career and having a college education isn’t compatible anymore in this day and age. Both social-conflict theory as well as social construction theory play a major role in this relationship and can help us better understand our reality.…
The Social Control Theory as written by Travis Hirschi in 1969, can be divided into several parts, in this case, we will be looking at the Causes of Delinquency, more specifically, the Social Bond Theory and its four components. The Social Bond Theory links delinquent behavior in the individual with the quality of the bonds he or she has within the society. The theory suggests that the probability of an individual to commit delinquent acts is inversely related to how strong the individual's bond to society is. Ergo, the stronger the bond that the individual has with his or her society is, the less likely it is that they'll commit delinquent acts.…
The article Social Structure and Anomie, published by Robert K. Merton in 1938, focuses on societal pressures that an individual experiences in order to achieve a social goal, however, they do not have the necessary means to reach that desired goal. Merton emphases on the American Culture and Anomie as he believed that all United States citizens strived for the “American Dream”; however, the ways in which citizens obtain the “American Dream” of success are not the same, simply because not all citizens have the same opportunities and advantages (Bond, 2015). He concentrated on the five different types of deviances: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion (Bond, 2015).…
After much research I found that social disorganization theory helps us to understand why there are varying rates of crime in different communities. This theory categorizes the shared characteristics of high crime neighborhoods and it also uses other social theories to define why those specific characteristics lead to crime. Now, Organization is seen when people of all age levels are involved in community-led activities, but without these sort of activities, it leads to what researchers call social disorganization.…
Society’s obsession with the rankings of social class has been a problem for many years, and it will likely continue to be obsessed over. However, the classification of the people within each class has changed over time. The official definition of social class is: a broad group in society having common economic, cultural, or political status. One popular story that was written during a time when the top social class was the mercantile class was The Canterbury Tales. The story written by Geoffrey Chaucer was written and published at a time when new social classes were shaking up the rule of traditional social classes. As time progressed the top social classes have been changing, and those changes are not based so much on job types but they focused more on the “popularity” of the person. This was especially true in the setting of a high school, or any place with teens. A current movie that shows a theme of social classes playing a prominent role is High School Musical. Much like The Canterbury Tales, the students in High School Musical relied heavily on which class they were grouped in to decide their friends (Bryson). The way a person is perceived is not always accurate with how they actually are. Sometimes it is in a good way and sometimes it is in a not so good way. Over time the way the world classifies each social class has changed, but the overall idea of social classes ruling the way people are perceived by their peers is still the same.…
Sociological theorists believe delinquency coincides with conditions of poverty, long-term unemployment, neighborhood deterioration, and cultural values. For example, they believe that poverty leads to social disorganization, which coincides with an erosion of traditional values. They have determined that an absence of informal, social control leads to a weakened institutional control, which aides in the development of criminal areas. Adults then pass on the social norms they have been accustomed to, which leads to a cultural transmission, which then has the ability to translate into some adolescents becoming career…