Structural Functionalism And Structural Theory

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

Justice System. It is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Our Justice System is not effectively punishing and rehabilitating criminals to the right punishment of their crimes. Our justice system have three parts to it; which are police, courts, and corrections. Ethics are the foundation of the criminal justice system: It’s what helped us develop the moral reasoning we use, how we define criminal activity, and what we as a society deem as acceptable punishment. It’s an important because our criminal justice system is most effective when it’s operating in an ethical

The criminal justice system goal is to maintain social control and crime through sanctions and rehabilitation. There are laws in place to help keep people in control, because society needs a way to keep control of individuals who violate the law. You can see examples of the criminal justice system in the 2003 film Monster. You see the fear and risk of victimization, homicide, and police corruption. It shows realism that is happening in the world around us.

The Criminal Justice System (CJS) aims to balance the rights of the victim, offender and society (VOS) by relieving tension between community interests and individual rights, in order to ultimately achieve just outcomes. The CJS must be properly maintained and protected in order to achieve justice for VOS.

Definition: Structural Functionalism is a sociological theory that attempts to explain why society functions the way it does by focusing on the relationships between the various social institutions that make up society.

The idea that the society functions as a whole, comes from the perspective of a structural functionalist. It draws upon the human body as a metaphor, and anyone that has illness or disease it is viewed as threat or deviance. So epistemologists and other fields of medicine study illnesses and disease to identify the risk factors and come up with preventative measures. People are no longer a diabetic; they are now identified as being at risk of diabetes. This has become a new way of identifying a person. A person has now formed an identity without actually having the health issue. From the Foucauldian perspective we can understand health as a source of identity. The notion of identifying ‘risk factor’ can be described as creating a biological

In this class, we covered many theories. One theory is called “Structural Functionalism” and it focus centers on reducing the chance of riots or revolution. This theory works well in modern society but it did not work well in the 17 century when it was invented. Then, there were few people who believed that this is true because they were mostly living in cities and the plague was the top priority. For these reasons, I won’t be covering this theory in my paper. Another theory is “Interactionism” and they oppose the structure theories because they say that “reality is constructed” so they do not work in the confines of structures at all. “What men believe is true, becomes true in the consequences.” (Miller).

There are three perspectives on how to view our world, sociologically. They are called structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction. Each three take different views on how the world interacts and runs. While there are examples to support each and many historical figures have adjusted their plans to combat them, I believe that we can see the identity of our world in structural functionalism. However, each have their similarities to the world that we live in.

How one defines and sees the world may be different than how the person across the room view of the world. The greater term is Socialization which is, “how people learn to fit in and function in a society through the association of others.” (Larkin, 2016) There are essentially three ways to view the world sociologically; structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic internationalism. The perspective of Structural Functionalism stood out the most to me, of how I view the world, there are various factors that lead to that perspective, and real world events.

Structural functionalisms are societies that are organic being of interrelated parts that work together in harmony like a human system. Talcott Parsons was the father of structural functionalism and Robert Merton expanded Parsons understanding of structural functionalism. Structural functionalisms are more concentrated on the position individuals

In the study of sociology, functionalist perspective is a view of society that focuses on the way various parts of society have functions and live in a ‘consensus’ that maintain the stability and social order of the whole. Functionalist model of how society works tends to focus to be an organized, stable, well integrated system , in which most members agree on basic values which is as called’ ‘value consensus’. However, functionalist theory alongside the other school of theories such as marrxism (conflict theory) and interactionism is criticized for having many limitsaitons of explaining thew social

Structural functionalism views society as many parts, or structures, that work together to form a complete unit (Larkin, 2015). Structures work together to accomplish purposes, and structures can interact and influence one another. In structural functionalism, society is viewed as a whole, and because of this, it is important for there to be general agreements on views within the population (Larkin, 2015). When a community is all in agreement on social norms, values, and beliefs, society functions easily. However, if there are dysfunctions, it can affect the stability and strength of the society. Luckily, in our society, there is more function than dysfunction, which allows it to adjust without falling apart (Larkin, 2015). Accordingly, when there are major changes that happen in the community there must be adjustments made to preserve the equilibrium of the societial unit (Larkin, 2015). Structural functionalism is like the human body, when you are healthy and your body is properly functioning things are great; however, when one of your organs begins to fail, things can get very dysfunctional. This may cause your body to adjust in order to maintain an

When discussing structural functionalism, our book defines its as a “macro-level theory that views a society as a complete unit, in much the same way one might look at a human body as a complete organism that is made up of vital parts and systems” (Larkin, 2015). When using the body as an example it is understood that humans are composed of so many parts and without one of those parts the body wouldn’t function correctly or if at all. It goes the same way with society; it is made up of different groups, class systems as well as different authority positions that all work together to keep the society functioning.

In those days, she said, a lot of men’s violence towards women was not really treated as a crime. The police in the USA and the UK usually treated attacks like this – even very violent ones – as ‘domestic’ incidents and hence private matters. Worse, common wisdom at that time assumed that any woman stupid or brazen enough to be out on the streets at 3 o’clock in the morning was to be regarded as ‘fair game’. According to Cherry, this was not so much about ‘bystander apathy’ in general but, rather, a specific form of ‘turning a blind eye’ to something that is ‘none of your business’, a very different kind of explanation.

In any political system are structures that have different functions to ensure an effective and smooth running of things in that particular political system. This is why this essay will discuss the problems faced by opposition political parties in Zambia using the structural functionalist theory. First it will explain what structural functionalism is, then it will define structures, functions, a political party and an opposition party then before giving the conclusion it will discuss the problems faced by opposition parties in Zambia.