"SOCIAL NORMS"

William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)

Sumner was one of the first Americans to teach sociology in a major university (Yale). He published "Folkways" in 1906 which sought to describe the origins of social norms."

Norms
Are standards or guides for behavior. Norm specify behavorial expectations by defining what are correct and incorrect ways of responding to situations. William Graham Sumner Classified Norms into 3 Major Types: a) Folkways - are relatively weak norms which are only mildly enforced in a society. (not against the law)

Example of Folkways
1. Correct manners. 2. Appropriate dress. 3. Proper eating behavior. b) Mores - are the strong and important norms of a society. Violation of mores will evoke severe punishment. (against the law most of the time.) Example of Mores 1. Bigamy 2. Incest 3. Cannibalism c) Laws - are norms which are designed, maintained and enforced by the political authority of a society. Examples of Violations of Laws

1. Speeding 2, Cheating on Income Tax 3. Murder Reasons for Conformity to Norms: a) Indoctrination - being told over and over to do something the "right" way. b) Habituation - doing something the same way over and over again. c) Practicality - other members of society know in advance what your behavior will be. d) Desire for approval - other members of society will approve of your behavior because you are doing the "right thing".

Ethnocentrism (Sumner)
Is the view of things in which one's own group is the center of everything and all others are viewed with reference to it. Each group looks upon its ways of doing things as being the best and natural and better than all others. To Go Back to the main menu CLICK HERE

What Are Beliefs Attitudes And Values?

Beliefs are the assumptions we make about ourselves, about others in the world and about how we expect things to be. Beliefs are about how we think things really are. Beliefs tend to be deep set and our values stem from our beliefs Values are about how we have learnt to think things ought to be or people ought to behave, especially in terms of qualities such as honesty, integrity and openness which when people are asked what are their values tend to be the main values. Attitudes are the established ways of responding to people and situations that we have learned, based on the beliefs, values and assumptions we hold. How we respond to situation and our behaviour can reflect our attitude. However we can control our behaviour in away that does not reflect our beliefs and values. Which in order to embrace a diverse culture and behaviours as a successful manager we have to adapt out behaviour in a positive manner. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving