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Assignment 1
Elaborate on the most important theories of the best sociological
thinkers; Emile Durkheim and Max Weber with detailed examples.

- Theory of social facts:

French sociologist Emile Durkheim also known as the second father of
sociology understood the term in its deeper meaning. According to Emile
Durkheim, sociology is the study of social facts. Social facts are things that
are external to an individual and constrain their behavior. They are general
in nature, which means that they are collective representations of the social
behavior of a group of people. A social fact consists of collective thoughts
and shared expectations that influence the actions of an individual.
Durkheim used many examples to demonstrate his theory of social facts,
including:

Marriage: Social groups tend to have the same ideas toward marriage,
such as the appropriate age to get married and what a ceremony should
look like. Attitudes that violate those social facts, such as bigamy or
polygamy in the Western world, are regarded with disgust.

Language: People living in the same area tend to speak the same
language. In fact, they can develop and pass on their own dialect and
idioms. Years later, those norms can identify someone as being part of a
particular region.

Religion: Social facts shape how we view religion. Different areas have
different religious strongholds, with faith being a regular part of life, and
other religions are considered foreign and strange.

Social facts and control: Social fact is a technique of control. Societal

norms shape our attitudes, beliefs, and actions. They inform what we do
every day, from who we befriend to how we work. It's a complex and
embedded construct that keeps us from stepping outside the norm.
Social fact is what makes us react strongly to people who deviate from
social attitudes. For example, people in other countries who have no
established home, and instead wander from place to place and take odd
jobs. Western societies tend to view these people as odd and strange
based on our social facts, when in their culture, what they're doing is
completely normal.
In keeping in mind how society influences your beliefs, you can temper
your reactions to what is different.

- Theory of suicide:
In 1897, a book titled ‘le suicide’ (the suicide) written by Emile Durkheim,
explains the first methodological study of a social fact in the context of
society. The book was the first to present a sociological study of suicide,
and its conclusion that suicide can have origins in social causes rather than
just being due to individual temperament was groundbreaking at the time.
Durkheim analyzed the statistical records of suicide and defined it as:
“Every death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or
negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this
result”
This definition has two components firstly is ‘the knowledge about the
result’ and secondly ‘death caused direct or indirect action’.
Knowledge about the result: the person is aware of the result of his
action that it would lead to his death. The point to understand here is that
the intention of the person may or may not be to kill his own self, but he
must know that his action will result in his death. For instance, the intention
of a suicide bomber is not of self-destruction but is to kill others. He simply
uses his body as a weapon to kill others. However, since he knows that this
action would also lead to his own death, such a death qualifies for being
called suicide.
Death caused direct or indirect action:
- Direct actions are those actions that result is ending one’s life directly
such as hanging, taking poison or a huge quantity of sedatives, shooting
one’s self.
- Indirect actions are those that result in killing one’s self indirectly such
as by not eating food for a long time to starve oneself to death, by not
fleeing out of a building that is on fire
Durkheim argued that suicide can be a result not only of psychological or
emotional factors but of social factors as well. Durkheim reasoned that
social integration, in particular, is a factor. The more socially integrated a
person is; that is, the more he or she is connected to society, possessing a
feeling of general belonging and a sense that life makes sense within the
social context, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide. As social
integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide. This
applies to the degree of regulation in making an individual vulnerable to
suicide.
Based on his theories, the typology of suicide explains the different effects
of social factors and how can they lead to one’s suicide:

- Anomic suicide:
It is an extreme response by a person who experiences a sense of
disconnection from society and a feeling of not belonging resulting from
weakened social cohesion. It occurs during periods of serious social,
economic, or political upheaval, which result in quick and extreme changes
to society and everyday life. In such circumstances, a person might feel so
confused and disconnected that they choose to commit suicide.

- Altruistic suicide:
It is often a result of excessive regulation of individuals by social forces
such that a person may be moved to kill themselves for the benefit of a
cause or society at large. An example is someone who commits suicide for
the sake of a religious or political cause, such as the infamous Japanese
Kamikaze pilots of World War II, or the hijackers that crashed the airplanes
into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania in
2001. In such social circumstances, people are so strongly integrated into
social expectations and society itself that they will kill themselves in
achieve collective goals.

- Egoistic suicide:
It is a profound response executed by people who feel detached from
society. Ordinarily, people are integrated into society by work roles, ties to
family and community, and other social bonds. When these bonds are
weakened through retirement or loss of family and friends, this absence
can give rise to meaninglessness, apathy, melancholy, and depression,
and the likelihood of egoistic suicide increases. People, who suffer these
losses most profoundly, are highly susceptible to egoistic suicide. It was
also found that suicide occurred more often among unmarried people,
especially unmarried men, whom he found had less to bind and connect
them to stable social norms and goals.
- Fatalistic suicide:
It occurs under conditions of extreme social regulation resulting in
oppressive conditions and a denial of the self and agency. In such a
situation a person may elect to die rather than continue enduring the
oppressive conditions, as some prisoners might prefer to die than live in a
prison with constant abuse and excessive regulation.

- Theory of social solidarity:

Social solidarity emphasizes the interdependence between individuals in a
society, which allows individuals to feel that they can enhance the lives of
others. It is a core principle of collective action and is founded on shared
values and beliefs among different groups in society.
In The Division of Labor in Society, Emile Durkheim outlined two theories
that attempt to explain how social order and solidarity are established and
maintained. Solidarity describes connections between individuals that allow
them to form a cohesive social network. Durkheim argued solidarity is
significant because it is a necessary component of a functioning civilization
and a necessary component of a fulfilling human life. Durkheim described
two forms of solidarity: mechanical and organic, roughly corresponding to
smaller and larger societies.

 Mechanical solidarity:

Mechanical solidarity refers to connection, cohesion, and integration born

from homogeneity, or similar work, education, religiosity, and lifestyle.
Normally operating in small-scale ” traditional ” societies, mechanical
solidarity often describes familial networks; it is often seen as a function of
individuals being submerged in the collective consciousness. Collective
consciousness is achieved when individuals begin to think and act in
relatively similar ways. Though traditional small towns, familial networks,
and religious congregations are often cited as examples of mechanical
solidarity, dispersed religious communities would also qualify if they can be
said to share a collective conscience.

 Organic solidarity:
Organic solidarity is born from the interdependence of individuals in more
advanced societies, particularly professional dependence. Although
individuals perform very different roles in an organization, and they often
have different values and interests, there is cohesion that arises from the
compartmentalization and specialization woven into “modern” life. For
example, farmers produce the food to feed the factory workers who
produce the tractors that allow the farmer to produce the food.

 Theory of social action

The Social Action Theory was developed by the German sociologist Max
Weber, who with this theory pursued to highlight the importance of human
behavior as it relates to cause and effect (instrumentally rational) in the
social sphere. Max weber’s social action explains the behaviors, effects,
and consequences of human behavior and how this behavior can influence
the behavior of other people and become a social movement, where it is no
longer an isolated behavior, but part of a whole (society). Weber relied on
existing research to argue that sociology is fundamental to scientific
research
human beings adapt their actions according to social contexts and how
these actions affect the behavior of others.
According to Max Weber, social action can trigger means and ends for
social actors and social interaction who want to achieve something specific.
For example, a company organizes activities for each individual and
assigns a different role to each employee, but each action performed by
employees is connected in order to keep the frame work going.
The responsibilities and rules that employees take on, help the social
action to be organized and these individuals interact with each other in the
organization to deliver the results that the organizational hierarchy wants.

Max weber explained 4 types of social actions

1. Instrumentally rational action: Action performed to efficiently

achieve a goal, for example, cutting vegetables to make a salad or
putting on spiked football shoes to play a football game.
2. Value rational action: Action performed because it is desirable or
expresses a value, for example, a person enlisting as a soldier
 because they are patriotic, or a person quitting a company that does
not align with their values
3. Traditional action: Action that is done out of a custom or habit for
example making something sweet on Eids
4. Affectional action: Action by which you express emotions or feelings
for example hugging someone when you see them after a long time,
or crying at a sad film.
In conclusion, The Social Action Theory is not the imitation of what a
person does with behavior. Social Action goes beyond replication or
imitation that can be exercised by human beings. Max Weber takes social
action as a subjective form that a person can have in their way of thinking
and acting and how these forms can influence the behavior of others,
forming society as it relates and connects with others. A group of people
with similar behaviors who believe in something related, without neglecting
their personality.

With the social actions explained by Weber, cultures were formed, ways of
thinking and acting in the community that start from an individual and are
generalized by others (society). These social actions have undergone
transformations and modifications as times have changed.

 Theory of bureaucracy:

Bureaucracy: It is a system of rules and procedures that are designed to

make the operation of an organization or society as efficient, effective, and
rational as possible. Bureaucracy can be divided into two categories formal
and informal.

Formal bureaucracy: Formal bureaucratic systems have explicit written

rules that are enforced by the organization’s hierarchical structure. They
are often characterized by impersonality, rigidity, inefficiency, and
inflexibility.

Informal bureaucracy: Informal bureaucratic systems operate outside of

any formalized process with only implicit agreements between individuals
who work together regularly. These may include unwritten norms about
how decisions should be made or what information should be shared.
The bureaucratic theory is a way of understanding organizations as
systems that are primarily characterized by hierarchical chains of command
and control. According to Max Weber, the ideal type of bureaucracy is one
that can be described as a machine.
The principle of hierarchy & discipline requires that everyone follow orders
from their superiors without question .

Weber’s Six Principles Of Bureaucracy:

1. Principle of Authority Hierarchy: Bureaucratic structures can be

traced back to medieval and Roman law, which rested upon hierarchy
and authority principles. The importance of the Authority Hierarchy
comes from the fact that it provides formalized rules for who gets to
give orders to whom within an organization. Naturally, this creates
power dynamics with those at higher levels giving commands to
those lower down in rank within formalized channels.
2. Principle of Formal Rules and Regulations: The Formal Rules and
Regulations in an ideal bureaucracy are the guidelines that dictate
how things should be done. The documents on which these rules and
regulations rest include manuals, directives, handbooks, instructions,
policies, etc. They provide a clear definition of what needs to happen
for an organization to function appropriately.
3. Principle of Division of Labour: Max Weber argued that a well-
functioning bureaucracy that was been designed with the division of
labor in mind will be more efficient and productive than one without it.
Without labor division, people would have to do many tasks that they
are not equipped for, and everything becomes incomplete or
unorganized because there isn’t enough time to complete them all
simultaneously as another task begins. This makes productivity
difficult and decreases efficiency. With specialization (division),
quality improves and costs decrease as only those qualified perform
the tasks.
4. Principle of Impersonality: Bureaucracy should be autonomous,
impersonal, and impartial to achieve the goals of a bureaucracy.
According to Weber, the relationship between employees must be
professional. The impersonal bureaucratic atmosphere is structured
to foster decision-making solely on evidence and critical thought. The
rules are well-defined, and clear and are applied in the same way to
 everyone across the board. The rules are there to prevent favoritism,
nepotism, and the participation of outsiders or political interference
with the organization’s purpose.
5. Principle of Career Orientation: In an ideal bureaucracy, it is that
every employee has a unique set of skills. It’s the employer’s
responsibility to match their employees with the jobs that best suit
them. In other words, employees should be given career paths where
they can grow into different roles over time, while still getting
opportunities to try new things. This way, everybody wins.
6. Principle of Formal Selection Process: Another key concept in an
ideal bureaucracy is that management can inspire workers to develop
a long-term careers in the company by providing them with job
security and performance-based rewards.

the term bureaucracy has a negative connotation and is often linked to

government agencies and large organizations. Nevertheless, the great
benefit of a bureaucracy is that large organizations with many hierarchical
layers can become structured and work effectively. It is precisely the
established rules and procedures that allow for high efficiency and
consistent execution of work by all employees. All this makes it easier for
management to maintain control and make adjustments when necessary.
Bureaucracy is especially inevitable in organizations where legislation plays
an important role in delivering a consistent output. For these organizations,
the Weber theory provides a solid framework

Bureaucracy is characterized by a large amount of red tape, paperwork,

many desks, certain office culture, and slow bureaucratic communication
due to its many hierarchical layers. This is the Weber theory’s biggest
disadvantage of a bureaucratic organization. It is also unfortunate that
employees remain fairly distanced from each other and the organization,
making them less loyal.
Bureaucracy is also heavily dependent on regulatory and policy
compliance. This restricts employees to come up with innovative ideas,
making them feel like a number instead of an individual. Later research (the
human relations theory) demonstrated that employees appreciate the
attention and want to have a voice in decision-making. This is something
that the Weber theory does not consider.