Sociology in Real World Cultures Essay.
Sociology in Real World Cultures Worksheet
Complete Parts I–III below. Respond to each question in complete sentences using at least the number of words indicated. Do not copy or plagiarize someone else’s writing; include citations to reference the location of any information that you use from the textbook or other resources.
Part I: Sociological Imagination
This week, you were introduced to sociology and the ways that culture shapes an individual’s experiences within a society. Sociologists use their sociological imagination to examine the relationship between an individual’s behavior and experiences and the wider culture that shapes their choices.
Respond to the prompts in the table below.
| Question | Response |
| Define sociology. | Analysis of human society, group dynamics, cultures, and social relationships at a group level. |
| Define sociological imagination. | The understanding and connection between personal knowledge and culture on a broader level. |
| Apply your sociological imagination to your decision to get your college degree. Explain why you chose the degree path you did, and what social forces or trends may have impacted your decision.How much of your choice of college major was influenced by your personal life experiences?How much was influenced by a larger structural force? (For example, to explain an increase in women joining the military, sociologists could examine women’s individual experiences and cultures that shaped their desire to enlist, as well as larger forces at play, such as policy changes at the Department of Defense.) | I chose a degree concentration in Business in large part because I had twenty-five years in business and personal experience in health care beginning with healthcare claims, customer service/call center, and progressing to a laboratory call center. The tipping point not getting a job that I was more than qualified for but lacked a degree and lastly deeply influenced by my age, the opinions of my peers, and senior leadership in terms of my ability to manage staff in a laboratory call center. These factors ultimately lead me to go back to school to earn a degree. |
Part II: Sociological Theories
When examining the world, sociologists use theories to evaluate social issues. Theories are used to analyze a variety of perspectives on social issues and how different aspects of society may work.
Define each theory in the table below in your own words.
| Sociological Theory | Definition |
| Symbolic Interactionalism | Symbolic interactionism suggests that people learn their behaviors and their meaning through the interactions and symbols present in society. People learn the meaning of their behaviors by observing, interacting, and interpreting the meanings of their actions. |
| Structural Functionalism | Structural functionalism indicates that society, as a whole is a dynamic framework that includes social norms, family, gender roles, public establishments, governments, beliefs; history, etc. are all forms of social constructs. |
| Conflict Theory | Suggests civilization is in a state of perpetual struggle between groups vying for finite resources. Conflicts occur as influence and wealth are unevenly dispersed among these communities, thereby causing social evolution. |
Part III: Corporate Culture
Answer the questions in the table below after reviewing the following segments of “It’s All About Culture” from the University Library:
- Segment 1, “What Is Corporate Culture?”
- Segment 2, “Levels of Culture Within an Organization”
- Segment 3, “Types of Corporate Cultures”
| Question | Response |
| Define culture and subculture. | Culture – Shared way of life for the majority for example language, traditions, or religion. Subculture – Self organized distinct from the majority for example lifestyles, customs, or tastes. |
| What is corporate culture? How is it manifested in the workplace? List two examples. | Corporate culture a unique set of employee aligned customs, values, attitudes, and traditions of an organization, which reflect the company’s ability to perform and communicate successfully beyond the business transactions. Corporate culture demonstrated through company policies for example code of conduct or pay for performance initiatives. |
| What are the three levels of corporate culture within each organization? Define each and provide examples of how you might encounter each level in your current or future career. | Physical – Aesthetics, logos, dress code, a mission statement. In the laboratory, we exist simply to help improve the health of our community as efficiently as possible. The foundation in laboratory diagnostics, our academic roots, and our community engagement. Values – Norms, company or justification, and philosophy. Our values communicate what we believe our organization can deliver to the community we see the potential to positively influence population health as the industry moves toward value-based care and lab initiatives. Beliefs – Created by employees, rewards, purpose, and the people we serve through integrity, compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence. |
| How can acknowledging the levels of corporate culture benefit the workplace? | The benefits of corporate culture in the workplace represents the way you do business and includes enhancing trust, transparency, motivating employees, and effective decision making. |
| Select two of the four types of corporate culture from the video and define them in your own words. How do they differ? | Power Culture – Hard work and commitment are respected and the individual in authority determines what happens and how easily it happens, but this culture can also turn destructive and inefficient. Role Culture – Efficient systems are developed, where people know their work, task oriented, respect quality and consistency above all else. Power Culture is individual control vs Role Culture procedure/task controlled. |
References
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2017). Interpersonal Communication Relating to Others (8th ed.) Retreived from https://phoenix.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134204321/cfi/0!/4/4@0.00:0.0
Cancialosi, C. (2017, July 17). What is Orginizational Culture? Retrieved from Gotham Culture https://gothamculture.com
Films Media Group. (2009). It’s all about culture. Films On Demand. https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=18566&xtid=49856.