SOCIAL INSTITUTION
SOCIAL {{about|a sociological concept|[[zoosemiotics]] term|Social animal}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2007}}
'''Social organization''' or '''social institution''', refers to a group of [[social position]]s, connected by [[social relation]]s, performing a [[social role]]. It can also be defined in a narrower sense as any [[institution]] in a [[society]] that works to [[Socialization|socialize]] the groups or people in it. Common examples include [[education]], [[government]]s, [[Family|families]], [[economic system]]s, [[religion]]s, and any people or groups that you have [[social interaction]] with. It is a major sphere of social life organized to meet some human needs.
They are patterns of relationships (Role, Status) which is expected to be maintained as per certain rules and regulations, with a focus and functions to be performed, and to bring about social change/order. Eg. family, religion, economy, polity.
Social organizations can take many forms, depending on the [[social context]]. For example, for family context the corresponding social organization is the [[extended family]]. In the business context a social organization may be an [[Business|enterprise]], [[company (law)|company]], [[corporation]], etc. In the educational context, it many be a [[school]], [[university]], etc. In the political context it may be a [[government]], [[political party]], etc. Commonly, experts officially recognize these five major social institutions that have been evident in some way in every [[civilization]] in [[history]]: [[government]], [[religion]], [[education]], [[economy]], and [[family]].
To give a simple example: sex institutions are dependent on educational institutions for a skilled workforce, educational institutions are dependent on the government for their funding, and government institutions, in turn, rely on productive institutions to create wealth to finance government spending. Sociologists call this institutional interdependence.<ref> R. Gosling (ed.) and S. Taylor with the Department of Sociology, LSE. Principles of Sociology (University of London Press, 2005) Chapter 1, pp. 17 ''this is a Subject Guide from the University of London External System'' </ref>
[[Max Weber]] concluded that in the history of mankind, organizations evolved towards [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]] in the form of a [[Rational-legal authority|rational-legal organization]], like [[bureaucracy]].
==Organization vs. institution==
The term organization is in sociology sometimes used interchangeably with the term institution, as when referring to a formal organization like a hospital or a prison. In other parts of sociology, such as the [[sociology of organizations]] and especially [[new institutionalism]] (also new [[institutional economics]] in economics and [[historical institutionalism]] in political science), 'organization' and 'institution' refer to two different phenomena. Organizations are a group of individuals pursuing a set of collective goals with established roles, methods of coordination, procedures, culture and space.<ref>(Jonnsson, 2007)</ref> Organizations can include political bodies (political parties, Congress, Department of Corrections), social groups (churches, clubs, athletic associations), economic bodies (unions, cooperatives, corporations), and educational bodies (schools, training centers, colleges). <ref>(North, 1990)</ref> Institutions are ideas about how something should be done, look or be constituted in order to be viewed as legitimate. Institutions can be defined as a “stable collection of social practices consisting of easily recognized roles coupled with underlying norms and a set of rules or conventions defining appropriate behavior for, and governing relations among, occupants of these roles” .<ref>(Jonsson, 2007, p. 5)</ref> Institutions provide structure, guidelines for behavior and shape human interaction. <ref>(Martin, 2004; North, 1990; Scott, 1995)</ref> Institutions are also characterized by social practices that reoccur or are repeated over time by members of a group <ref>(Martin,2004)</ref>. Institutions may or may not involve organizations. The issue is complicated by the fact that one may talk of institutions that govern organizations and the organization as an institution.
==References==
<references/>
*Jonsson, C. (2007). Organization, institution and process: Three approaches to the study of international organization. Prepared for ACUNS 20th Annual Meeting, New York, 6-8 June, 2007. Available at http://www.igloo.org/acunsnet/download-nocache/Programs%20and%20Events/ACUNS%20Annual%20Meetings/annualme/am2007pa/christer
*Martin, P. Y. (2004). Gender as a social institution. Social Forces, 82, 1249-1273.
*North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
*Scott, W. R. (1995). Institutions in organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
[[Category:Organizational theory]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[eo:Socia Organizo]]
[[id:Organisasi sosial]]
[[ru:Социальные институты]]
