CHAPTER: SEVEN

SOCIAL CHANGE

7.1 Meaning and definition of social and Cultural Change.

7.1.1 Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of
social progress or socio-cultural revolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by
dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic
structure, for instance a shift away from feudalism and towards capitalism. Social change may be
driven by cultural, religious, economic, scientific or technological forces. Social change is any
modification in social organization of society in any of its social institutions or patterns of social
roles. Usually, social change refers to a significant change in social behavior or a change in some
larger social system rather than no minor changes within small groups. Thus, social change refers
to changes in the established patterns of social relationships, for example, in family, religious or
economic life.
Change is the law of nature. What is today shall be different what it would be tomorrow.
The social structure is subject to incessant change. Forty years hence government is due to make
important changes. Family & religion will not remain the same during this period because these
institutions are changing. Individuals may strive for stability, societies may create the illusion of
permanence, the quest for certainly may continue unabated, yet the fact remains that society is an
ever changing phenomenon, growing, decaying, renewing & accommodating itself to changing
conditions & suffering vast modifications in the course of time. Our understanding of it will not
be complete unless we take into consideration this changeable nature of society, study how
differences emerge & discover the direction of change.
According to Gillin & Gillin, "Social changes are variations from the accepted modes of life;
whether due to alteration in geographical conditions, in cultural equipment, composition of the
population or ideologies and whether brought about by diffusion or inventions within the group."
According to MacIver and Page, “our direct concern as sociologist is with social relationships. It
is the change in these relationships which alone we shall regard as social change.”
7.1.2 Characteristics of Social change
Social change is generally a change in social interaction, social relation, social patterns, social
organizations etc . but C.N. Rao has mentioned the following characteristics of social change.
1. Social change is Continuous: Society is undergoing endless changes. These changes cannot
be stopped. Society cannot be preserved in a museum to save it from the ravages of time.
From the dawn of history, down to this day society has been in continuous flux.
2. Social change is Temporal: Change happens through time social change is temporal in the
sense it denotes the time-sequence. In fact society exists only as a time-sequence. As MacIver
says" it is a becoming, not being; a process, not a product."
 3. Social change is Environmental: It must take place within a geographic or physical &
cultural context. Both these contexts have impact on human behavior & in turn man changes
them. Social changes never take place in vacuum.
4. Social change is Human change: The sociological significance of the change consists in
the fact that it involves the human aspect. The composition of society is not constant, but
changing. The fact that people effect change & are themselves affected by it makes change
extremely important.
5. Social change Results from Interaction of a Number of Factors: A single factor may
trigger a particular change, but it is always associated with other factors. The physical,
biological, technological, cultural & other factors may, together bring about social change.
This is due to the mutual interdependent of social phenomenon.
6. Social change may Create Chain Reaction: Change in one aspect of life may lead to a
series of changes in its other aspects. For example. Change in rights, privileges & status of
women has resulted in a series of changes in home, family relationships & structure, the
economic & to some extent, the political pattern of both rural & urban society.
7. Social change is Universal process: Social change in every society. There is no static
society in the world. It may take a longtime the of change may very but it certainly occurs.
It is a universal process.
8. Social change may be Planned or Unplanned: the direction & tempo of social change are
often conditioned by human engineering. Man in order to determine and control the rate and
direction of social change may lunch plans, programmed & projects. Unplanned change
refers to change resulting from natural calamities such as famines & floods, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions etc.
7.1.3 Cultural Change
Cultural change is related to culture. When there is change in culture, it indicates the cultural
change. Culture is manmade part of environment. For example, language, art, religion, law, road,
car, bus, dress etc. are cultural components. It also refers to any changes in both material and non
material aspects of culture and social life.
Material cultures are tangible. We can see, touch and feel the material culture. They are manmade
objects such as tools, furniture, auto mobiles, buildings, roads, bridges etc. it also includes
technical and material equipment like a pen and paper, television, computers and so on. Material
cultures change faster than non material culture. Non material cultures are intangible. We can feel
and sense but not see and touch for example language, religion, law, customs etc.
According to Kingsley Davis, “cultural change embraces all changes occurring in any branch of
culture including art, science, technology, philosophy etc. as well as changes in the forms and rules
of social organization.”
According to David Dressler & Donald Carns, "cultural change is the modifications or
discontinuance of existing 'tried' and 'tested' procedures transmitted to us from the culture of the
past as well as the introduction of new procedures."
7.1.4 Characteristics of Cultural change
1. Cultural change is regular process.
2. Cultural change in whole life style and behavior change.
3. Cultural change is material & non-material change.
4. Cultural change helpful in social change.
5. Cultural change in fooding and dressing change.
6. Cultural change is broad change.
7. Cultural change is general law.
8. Cultural change affected by diffusion, adaptation, developmental activities & acculturation. etc.
7.1.5 Social and Cultural Change
The difference between social change & cultural change has a great sociological
importance. By 'social change' is meant only such alterations as occur in social organization, that
is, structure & functions of society. Social change, in this sense, is only a part of what is essentially
a broader category called "cultural change". The term 'cultural change' according to Kingsley
Davis, "embraces all changes occurring in any branch of culture including art, science, technology,
philosophy etc as well as changes in the forms and rules of social organization."
All social changes are cultural changes, but all cultural changes need not necessarily be the
social changes also. Cultural changes can be called social changes only when they affect human
relations & the social organization & cause some variation in them. Example changes in the
musical styles, painting styles, rules of writing poetry & purely cultural changes. They cannot be
called social changes, because they do not in any way affect the existing pattern of human
interactions, social system & social organization.
On the other hand, the rise of organized labour in the capitalistic society & the introduction
of communism in the place of democracy, represent social change. These two changes may cause
series of changes in human relations & social organization. They represent a basic alteration in the
relation of employer & employee, rulers & the ruled. They may contribute to the changes in
economic organization, methods of administration, legislations, economic policies & programmes
& so on. These may, in course of time affect the way of life of people. Hence, they can also be
called cultural change.
Cultural change is thus much broader than the social change. No part of culture is totally
unrelated to the social order, but it remains true that changes sometimes occur in these branches
without noticeably affecting the social system. Sociologically, therefore, we are interested in
cultural change only to the extent that it arises from or has an effect on social organization.
7.2 Factors of Social and Cultural Change
Socio-culture change has occurred in all societies & in all periods of time. Various forces & factors
internal as well as external are at work to make society changeable. The physical, biological,
technological, economical, education, demographic etc factors have been generally regarded as
potential factors of socio-cultural change.
1. Technological Factor of Socio-cultural Change:- Technology affects society greatly in
that a variation in technology causes a variation in some institution or custom. The
introduction of machine technology has far reaching consequences in the culture and the
society at large. Innovations and discovery are significant characteristics of our age.
 2. Education Factor Socio-cultural Change:- Education is one of the factors of social change.
Education can initiate social change by bringing about a change in the outlook and attitudes
of man. Modern education has changed our vision about life and society as well. According
to Francis Brown, “education is a process which brings about changes in the behavior of the
society. It is the process which enables every individual to effectively participate in the
activities of the society, and to make positive contribution to the progress of the society.”
3. Biological Factor Socio-cultural Change:- Under this factor plants and animals, and human
beings themselves are included. Human utilize the available plant and animal in a way
determined by their culture. The changes in the composition of plant and animal of the
surrounding area affect on the food habit as well as pattern of farming in turn may affect on
nature of struggle for existence. Economic Factor Socio-cultural Change:- Man is not
only a social animal; he is also an economic being. He is incessantly engaged in what are
known as economic pursuits or activities. These economic activities are so multifaceted,
varied & complex that they constitute what is as an economy. The economy may be treated
as a system or a sub-system. It is possible to view the economy as the parent system &
analyze its constituent clusters of activities-production, investment, innovation & so on-as
themselves constituting sub-system. Then, within the economy, we could take a more
concrete structure, such as a bank, or a co-operation & analyze it in terms of the basic
functional necessities of social systems.
4. Geographic or Physical Factors of socio-cultural change:- The physical factors consist
of the surface of the earth, climate, rainfall, rivers, mountains, natural vegetation, forests,
animal life, minerals etc. They have a profound influence upon the human society. Social
change is to some extent, conditioned by the physical or geographical factors. Rate or
direction of socio-cultural change is governed by the physical environment. At the Polar
Regions & in the deserts there can be no cities & almost changeless stabilities are maintained.
The surface of the earth is never at rest. Slow geographic changes as well as the occasional
convulsions in the form of storms, famines & floods, cyclones & hurricanes & earthquakes
do take place. They may bring socio-cultural change.
5. Political Factors of socio-cultural change:- political factors is most important of socio-
cultural change. Political system is an instrument and mechanism based on certain rules and
regulations designed to rule the country and the society. It can be defined as the mechanism
through which we try to mobilize our valuable resources appropriately. Making rule,
regulation & implementation for the social change. Welfare state is commonly understood
as an agency of social service tan as an instrument of the power which carries out various
functions for the welfare of the society & state as a whole.
7.3 Connection of Management and Business Administration to Social and Cultural
Change.
• Social and cultural change comes along with changes in the pattern of human relation.
• It introduces new social system, new institutional practices, use of new technologies etc.
• Any organization of the society can’t remain static for a long period because they are the
functional units of the society.
• As the society changes, the social organization and its nature and function also changes.
• It brings new possibilities in the field of business and management. For example, this is
the age of information technology.
• The more one is able to cope with the time, the more he/she gets benefited.
• The culture and the relationship of the economic world are also changeable as well as
changes in social world also influences the economic world.
• Social and cultural changes create new working environments due to new technology,
attitudes of the people and institutional changes.
• In this new environment, the mode of business and administration takes newer direction.
• If they can’t modify themselves according to the needs and the demand of the public, they
can't move along the current of time.