Functionalism, weberian and postmodern theories of class

Functionalism, weberian and postmodern theories of class Karl Marx developed the idea of Marxism between 1818 and 1883. He believed that the basis of class was driven by the mode of production and that class division in society was based on economic power, With the workers, the proletariat, being ruled and exploited by the ruling class, the bourgeoisie. Marx described the Proletariat as being the subordinate class who sold their labour power to the ruling class, the Bourgeoisie. The proletariat made their living by working for profit making companies where they had no power over business decisions. On this basis Marx said society was in continual conflict, with an unequal relationship between the rich and poor where the poor were exploited. Marx said that the relentless pursuit of profit was at the heart of the conflict that he called Capitalism. The surplus wealth made as a result of profit, staying with the Bourgeoisie. The workers were exploited to increase profit with longer working hours and harder working conditions in order to produce as much profit as possible for the wealthy. The workers did not benefit from this profit. Marx believed the working classes suffered from false class-consciousness. They were brainwashed and did not realise that they were being exploited and being fooled by the media and education into believing capitalism was fair. However, Marx believed that society would eventually become polarised leading to two extremes with rich and poor leading very different lifestyles, having very different life chances and opportunities to education and health, so that eventually the workers would revolt and start a revolution. A criticism of the Marx theory of social class is that his view was too deterministic. He limits his theory to the idea of economic power and the relationship between the Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie. However there are many other conflicts in society such as religion, nationality and gender. These conflicts cannot be explained in terms of economic power. Marx made predictions that have not come true such as a life of poverty for the working classes. This has proved false. Living standards for the working class have improved with the introduction of the welfare state and the compulsory education system. These benefits have given the working class better life chances, with the opportunity to gain a profession and become socially mobile, thus the Middle class has grown. Marx also predicted that communism would eventually replace Capitalism. This has not happened and in Eastern Europe communism has been rejected. We could also argue that rather than the working class being brainwashed into a false class-consciousness, they could actually be sensibly reconciled to capitalism, where they can earn a decent days wage for an honest days work without the responsibility of making important decisions whilst still able to maintain a good standard of living for their family. Also, voting rights and trade unions have given the working classes more power and influence than that predicted by Marx. Marx also predicted that their would be a revolution, however the working classes were more interested in improving their own pay and working conditions than overthrowing the Bourgeoisie. It could be that we accept this stratification because we see the benefit of where that economy supports our lifestyle no matter what our class. Another theory of social class is the functionalist described by Emile Durkheim 1858-1917 this theory is based on a value consensus with shared values and norms creating harmony, integration and equilibrium. Functionalist do not recognise the Marxist view of a society in conflict. Durkheim thought that social stratification is positive and beneficial to social order, comparing society to the human body with each class like an organ of the body, having an important role essential for overall well being. He saw the basis of class as a meritocracy where society is based on a reward system. We receive merits for achievements based on our incomes and status, educational ability and occupation with society existing of high and low achievers Davis and Moore 1945 support the Functionalist approach theory stating that social stratification exists in all humans societies, such as the family and religion and so therefore it must be functional and beneficial. Davis and Moore believe that social stratification is a devise by which the most important roles are filled by the most qualified person. They defined functionalist importance according to the uniqueness of the position and the ability of others to perform the task. Therefore doctors are judged to be more important than nurses as doctors would be able to take on the role of a nurse but nurses would not be able to do the job of a doctor. Davis and Moore also believed that by awarding unequal rewards people will continue to work hard to keep these rewards and not loose a particular lifestyle and all the trappings that come with it such as home, car and holidays. Tumin was a critic of this analysis. He said that certain functions in any society are more important than others. How do we know which functions are more important and who makes that decision? He also argued that people could be attracted to jobs for reasons other than high financial reward and status, such as job satisfaction and a sense of duty and service. Another criticism of the functionalist theory could be that nurses do a very important job and are not rewarded accordingly and that we have people in positions of power, earning high salaries, that do not deserve such status and salary. Entrance in to high status and salary professions such as law and medicine are often limited to those with access to the best education, often private, and the most expensive Universities therefore keeping all the power and wealth within a certain class, those who already have wealth and power. The majority of positions in our Government; the people in power are held by people that attended the top private schools in the country. With the present economic climate there is real resentment for the unequal distribution of pay and wealth and anger grows at fat cat levels of pay and the huge bonuses paid out to company directors and those that work in the finance sector. The functionalist approach ignores the dysfunction of stratification, in that poverty is a major problem for many people with a negative impact on life chances such as health education, mortality and family life. This poverty traps them in a certain lifestyle with limited opportunity to improve life chances. Max Weber 1864-1920 proposed a different theory on social class called Weberianism he introduced the idea of social class being linked to marketability. Weber agreed with Marx that social inequality resulted from a struggle for scarce resources in society (Moore et al 2006). He agreed that this struggle was mainly concerned with economic recources, however he introduces a third dimension such as status and political power. We can identify with this idea by looking at powerful trade union leaders such as Arthur Scargill who would see themselves as staunchly working class, whilst holding a position of great power and influence. Weber believes that society can be competitive with individuals able to fight for economic gain status and political power (Moore et al 2006). Weber divided society into seven different classes of hierarchy with an upper class at the top and an underclass at the bottom but does not distinguish clearly between the classes. Weber believes it is hard to define as people may be untruthful about their wealth and that we have varying degrees of power of control at different times. The identity tags of a certain class are more available to all, such as new cars and holidays. The working classes may obtain these experiences and material possessions on credit however that would not be clear to someone looking on from the outside, making it harder to be placed in a particular class group. Weber also recognised the importance of social networking as a means of gaining a particular lifestyle. Groups such as the Masons offer this as people from different professions as diverse as doctors and plumbers get together to support each other with a system of favours, supporting the saying its not what you know its who you know. Max Weber predicted that society would be become more fragmented with the many different layers of class. This contradicts Marx who believed that society would become polarised with just two extremes of rich and poor. The main criticism of the Weber theory is that he underestimates the importance of class divisions in society. Weber also ignores the link between status class and political power, which is evident when looking at the social class of those who hold positions of power in our country today. All are mainly middle or upper class from a privileged background of wealth and private education. A more recent argument has been put forward by Paluski and Waters (1996) who believe that class is dead. This view is called Postmodernism and they believe that profound social changes such as globalisation means that class divisions are now actually status divisions. This is a very different way of defining society. It is believed that society is now too fluid and diverse to be able to define our identity and behaviour by a class system. We must understand the role of consumerism and the world media in shaping our identity. Postmodernists believe that we can buy the image that we wish to portray and this then becomes our identity. Polemus (1997) believes that we now live in a pick and mix society where there is a mix of so many identities that it becomes impossible to pigeon hole people into a particular class.

Religious participation and religious organisations Essay

While it is difficult to know precisely whether or not religious beliefs differ in relation to males and females, it is evident that religious practice and participation does show relatively clear gender differences. This is true across all forms of religious organisation. Almost two-thirds of churchgoers are women. However, as with social factors like class and age, it is clear that there is no overall pattern of male / female religious attendance, since there are evident differences between denominations. For example: For the Anglican Church, the male to female ratio is approximately half and half. For all Christian churches the male female ratio is approximately twenty to eighty percent. While women are more likely than men to be involved in religious organisations, it is relatively clear that, in hierarchical terms, men tend to dominate the most significant positions in any religious organisation. This tends to hold true across the majority of the world’s major religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. In most religions, women tend to be portrayed in terms of their â€Å"traditional† social characteristics. The â€Å"Virgin Mary† in Christian religion is a good example here. Although a powerful figure as the Mother of Christ, her power, is ideological rather than political, the virtues of purity, chastity, motherhood and so forth are personified through her as ideals for womanhood. In relation to non-Christian religions, Giddens â€Å"Sociology† notes: â€Å"Females appear as important figures in the teachings of some Buddhist orders†¦but on the whole Buddhism, like Christianity, is an overwhelmingly male-created institution dominated by a patriarchal power structure in which the feminine is most closely associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect.†. An obvious example drawn from Christianity might be Mankind’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the result of female duplicity. â€Å"According to the book of Genesis, God first created man. Woman was not only  an afterthought, but an amenity. For close on two thousand years this Holy Scripture was believed to justify her subordination and explain her inferiority for even as a copy she was not a very good copy, there were differences. She was not one of his best efforts†. While women, as has been noted above, feature strongly in both religious participation and, to a certain extent, imagery, it is evident that there has tended to be a very marked inequality between males and females in terms of positions of power and authority within religious organisations. Although some sects have allowed women to â€Å"preach and teach†, the majority of the world’s major religions have tended to relegate women to relatively minor roles in their organisation. In relation to Christianity, the decision, in November 1992 by the Church of England to ordain women as priests is a significant development to note. This decision was not taken lightly and has lead to a great deal of conflict within the Church. While the Church of England has traditionally been more â€Å"liberal† regarding the position of women within its organisation, the Roman Catholic Church has resisted pressure to ordain women, tending to fall back upon the argument that to do so would be blasphemous. Christ â€Å"ordained† twelve disciples, none of whom were women, therefore, women should not be allowed to be ordained. Once again, within a wide variety of sects, women tend, in the main, not to feature in the highly at the top of organisational hierarchies, although there are exceptions to this general rule. The diversity of sects perhaps makes it difficult to generalise about participation along gender lines. However, given that women tend to become involved in all types of religious activity with greater frequency than men, there is little reason to suppose that, in broad terms, sect membership does not conform to this norm. If it is difficult to estimate the numbers involved with New Age cults, it is doubly difficult to estimate with any degree of certainty the ration of male to female involvement. The â€Å"private sphere† of cult activity relates to traditional forms of gender roles for women, motherhood, the home, and child  rearing. New Age philosophy contrasts the concept of Nature unfavourably with a modern technological world, which tends to be characterised as masculine. Historically, where concepts of Nature have been employed, the role of women has tended to be seen in terms of their â€Å"essential femininity†; that is, as naturally different creatures to males, more attuned to the supposed natural rhythms of life and so forth. Thus, within New Age cults, women tend to be afforded a much higher status than men in terms of the various philosophies on which these cults are based, which is one reason that explains higher female involvement.

McDonald’s Code of Ethics for Employees Essay

The code of ethics that McDonald’s employees are expected to abide by is covered in the corporation’s Standards of Business Conduct document. Each year, all employees must sign a document certifying that they’ve read the document and will follow its precepts. Employees also attend training related to the ethical standards. The document is 40-plus pages and covers six themes. 1. Obligations to Customers McDonald’s fosters an ethical obligation to provide clean, hygienic restaurants; child-friendly toys; and a safe atmosphere for all customers. This means that safety standards for food and toys should match or exceed government standards. The obligation includes ensuring that all advertising is honest and tasteful, and that confidential information is not shared. 2. Obligations to Employees McDonald’s standards booklet includes a section on providing a positive experience for its employees. For example, employees are encouraged to report misconduct without fear of retaliation. The work environment should be positive and fair, free of harassment and violence. Harassment can include sexual harassment, racial jokes and offensive comments. The corporation believes in diversity and treating all employees equally, according to the ethics code. 3. Corporate System McDonald’s believes that its corporations and employees have an ethical obligation to act in the best interest of McDonald’s itself — and not for personal gain. Owners and operators of McDonald’s restaurants should act independently but with integrity, following all relevant laws and safety guidelines. Suppliers should also be treated fairly. 4. Ethical Guidelines The corporate standards book includes a section on ethical guidelines for dealing with McDonald’s assets. These obligations include protecting the  intellectual property of McDonald’s and its assets. For example, employees shouldn’t use company computers to transmit illegal information or use the McDonald’s logo for personal gain. Any conflicts of interest should be immediately shared with the company’s Global Compliance Office. This includes working with family and friends. Bribery is strictly prohibited. 5. Helping Out Communities One of the cornerstones of McDonald’s employees’ ethical obligations is giving back to the community. Employees donate millions in money and hours of service every year, the company says. However, political donations made by the company must be approved by the government relations department. An employee who wants to donate time or money to a political candidate is free to do so, but only on his personal time and at his own expense. McDonald’s also focuses on environmental health, such as investing in climate change innovations and conservation efforts. 6. Seeking Profit and Improvement While seeking profit and growth is of utmost importance to McDonald’s, its corporate standards book stipulates that no employee should engage in such actions if it violates antitrust or fair competition laws. Competitive advantages shouldn’t be gained through unfair or illegal trade, but through research, marketing and quality service. An independent Board of Directors provides monitoring and communication to the shareholders and internal investigations will be ordered to look into any potential employee misconduct. Starbucks Code of Ethics Our Starbucks Mission To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time. Here are the principles of how we live that every day: Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality. We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers—even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life— sometimes slow and savoured, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business. We can be a force for positive action— bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility—and our potential for good—is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Our Shareholders We know that as we deliver in each of these areas, we enjoy the kind of success that rewards our shareholders. We are fully accountable to get each of these elements right so that Starbucks—and everyone it touches—can endure and thrive. Code of Ethics of Pizza Hut There are specific rules and principles, which are being involved in the code of conduct at pizza hut. Each employee which is working at pizza hut has to sign the code of conduct documentation which ensures that he/ she will observe all the rules. Raw material ethics According to the given percentage the head office located in Karachi provides 90% of the raw materials that are being used at pizza hut. The raw material, which is being provided, is tested for quality and hygienic measures and then it is provided to the end users. For the rest 10% raw material pizza hut is using the JIT (just in time) concept. It is done on the basis of fair transactions with vendor and suppliers. The transactions are credit based. The issue regarding the raw material is some time payments get late according to the fixed schedule. Opportunity and growth ethics Opportunity and growth are the basics, which an organization must follow to earn the future success. At pizza hut opportunity and growth is considered as the basic right of the employee. The employees are given the opportunity in the form on training courses, which help them to enhance their speaking, managing, cooking, maintenance and dealing capabilities. I.e. the manager has done 6 courses in time period of 6weeks all being sponsored by pizza hut to enhance his managing skills. Security ethics The security ethics are being observed in many ways. There are 4 guards, which are performing their duties at pizza hut. One guard is at the entrance making sure the no body is carrying a prohibited thing with him and its also being aided by a metaldetector installed at the entrance door. Others are in the parking area to keep the vehicles safe. Pizza hut have also installed cameras in the sitting areas, everyone is being monitored for the sake of the security. All these arrangements have made pizza hut a safe place to dine-in. Recruitment ethics The recruitment which is being done at pizza hut is under the HRM department .the employee are recruited on the basis of their education, personality, speaking style, and facial expressions because they have given a very strong importance level to their customers so employee are selected on the basis with whom the customer feels comfortable to talk and deal with. The manger level recruitment is done by the headoffice n lower employee recruitment is done on the third party basis.

The Economy Of The United States Of America - 3174 Words

The economy of the United States of America PRESENTATION Location Bounded on the north by Canada, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Gulf of Mexico and the Republic of Mexico and west by the Pacific Ocean. It extends from 26 º to 49 º north latitude and from 67  ° up to 124  ° 40 west of Greenwich. Political and administrative organization It is a federation of 50 states and a federal district with a total area of nearly ten million square kilometers. These states are almost entirely distributed in the continent of North America, except Hawaii, which geographically is located in Oceania. Washington, District of Columbia, is the seat of the federal government. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. Something†¦show more content†¦English Rental companies formed, usually wealthy merchants and landowners who expected increase personal earnings. Additionally, the fishing industry was the primary resource Massachusetts; certain houses produced candles and soaps, food reserves, beer and make clothes. in North and South Carolina and Virginia all kinds of jewelry was imported in exchange for snuff, rice, etc. During the eighteenth century the economy strengthened. The new English colonies produced large quantities Boat. And snuff plantations along with rice and indigo were a vital economic activity importance. In 1778 after independence the colonial period was left behind, thus leading to the United States of America. The creation of this new state led to the American Constitution, which establish some economic issues (including the entire nation was unified as a market common, no fees or taxes * in interstate commerce and also the Constitution ensured that the federal government could regulate the value of money; fix the standards in size and weight; condicionaban regulations patents and trademarks.) Their economic activities still revolved mainly around raw materials, with gradual improvements. In 1835, the US began to go through a crisis, known as commercial panic (mainly 1debido to that after the Assumption of Jackson as president was preferred to put government deposits US banks controlled by their political allies) State; it lasted until 1937, that the trade then had paralyzed. However