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SOCI 333 > Test #2: 7 > Flashcards

Test #2: 7 Flashcards

1
Q

If something is institutionalized, what does it mean?

A

-it is stable and reproduced over time

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2
Q

Some times institutions is synonymous with what?

A

-social structures

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3
Q

Parsons, Berger & Luckmann conceptualize institutions as?

A
  • stable, abstract and integrated sets of roles and associated actions
  • reproduced over time and space
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4
Q

What are examples of institutions?

A

-Peters drive-in, gender, hand-shakes

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5
Q

What two things are institutions defined by? Use the example of education

A
  • roles and actions
  • teachers & students
  • lesson planning, teaching, homework etc.
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6
Q

What is the true institution?

A

-the abstract idea of the roles

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7
Q

What do functionalists say about institutions? Use the example of education

A
  • they work to support the maintenance of society as a whole
  • education socializes the new generations with knowledge to fill institutionalized roles
  • this reproduces institutions as a whole
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8
Q

How do marxist’s see institutions?

A

-an economic base institution of material production gives rise to a superstructure of institutions aimed at solidifying the base

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9
Q

What is the economic base compromised of?

A
  • roles, relations and means of production

- that allow society to produce its necessities

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10
Q

Explain how marxist’s see education?

A
  • Education instills the new generation with capitalist ideology
  • they see things like private property and the market as normal and natural
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11
Q

What is similar about the way functionalists and marxists view institutions?

A
  • they see institutions as fitting coherently together in support of the status quo
  • they disagree if the status quo is good or not
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12
Q

Define organizations

A
  • concrete systems of coordinated and controlled activities

- arise when work is embedded in complex networks of technical relations and boundary-spanning exchanges

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13
Q

Simpler definition of organizations?

A

-people coming together in coordination and coorporation to create structures

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14
Q

How do organizations operate? Give an example using education

A
  • they operate in relation to institutionalized templates

- U of C is an organization based on the institutionalized template of the university

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15
Q

Why did neo-institutionalism emerge?

A

-emerged in reaction to shortcomings of rational-choice theory, functionalism and Marxism

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16
Q

What did neo-institutionalism not like about the way functionalists and marxists viewed institutions?

A
  • they understood society as a rationally and coherently-organized set of institutions
  • static as opposed to dynamic
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17
Q

How do neo-institutionalists say marxists and functionalists are wrong in their opinions on institutions?

A
  • empirical evidence demonstrates that organizations are often “dumb”
  • institutions often exist for no reason (irrational and dysfunctional)
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18
Q

What do neo-institutionalists believe about institutions? (3)

A
  • they’re dynamic fields
  • where organizations are constantly positioning themselves relative to each other
  • driven by a concern for legitimacy rather than utility
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19
Q

What do neo-institutionalists mean when they say institutions are driven by a concern for legitimacy and not utility?

A

-institutions focus on sending the right signals to their audience

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20
Q

At the individual level, what do neo-institutionalists mainly draw from?

A
  • theories of practice and pragmatism

- emphasize automatic cognition over RTC/norm based theories

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21
Q

What is the main question in DiMaggio and Powell’s Paper?

A
  • Why are organizations all so similar?
  • tried to answer the questions without assuming efficiency maximization (b/c neo-instit don’t believe institutions are functional)
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22
Q

How did DiMaggio and Powell answer their main question?

A

Institutions as organizational fields:

  • organizations interact with each other
  • they’re involved in a common enterprise
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23
Q

How are organizational fields often influenced?

A

-by common suppliers, resource and product consumers and regulatory agencies

24
Q

What is a product of an organizational field?

A

-isomorphism

25
Q

What is isomorphism?

A
  • a constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units
  • that face the same set of environmental conditions
26
Q

What are the three sources of isomorphism?

A
  • coercive
  • mimetic
  • normative
27
Q

What is coercive?

A
  • formal and informal pressure exerted on organizations by other organizations
  • which they are dependent on
  • by cultural expectations in that society
28
Q

What is an example of coercive?

A

-government policies and laws

29
Q

What is mimetic?

A
  • uncertainty is a powerful force that encourages imitation
  • when goals are ambiguous or the environment creates symbolic uncertainty
  • organizations may model themselves on other organizations
  • particularly that they perceive to be more legitimate or successful
30
Q

What is an example of mimetic?

A

-urban planners look to successful cities like Vancouver

31
Q

What is normative?

A
  • organizations often rely on professionals
  • defined by similar knowledge base, professional norms and networks
  • that cut across individual organizations
32
Q

What is an example of normative?

A

-accounting practices being more determined by professional norms that by decisions made within the organization itself

33
Q

What is George Simmel’s formal sociology?

A
  • a focus on social form over the content
  • can focus on the size of the groups (dyad vs. triad)
  • or the type of interactions (superior vs. subordinate etc)
34
Q

What did Simmel say about a dyad vs a triad?

A

-in a dyad any member of the group can destroy it but this is not possible in a triad

35
Q

Who picked up Simmel’s formal sociology and what question did they try to answer?

A
  • John Levi Martin in his book social structures

- What forms of social relationships can develop into large scale social institutions ?

36
Q

What two types of social institutions did Levi Martin talk about and what was important about each?

A
  • clique vs. patronage triangle
  • in the clique, everyone knows everyone and it is symmetrical however, it cannot grow very large
  • in the patronage triangle, it can grow really big but you only know a few people
37
Q

What did Levi Martin’s ideas lead to?

A

-a method of sociology called Social network analysis

38
Q

What was important for social network analysis and how many rules are there?

A
  • nodes and ties

- there are 9 rules that I am not listing here they’re in lecture notes

39
Q

What are brokers?

A

-red node that bridges gap between two social networks

40
Q

What are the two important uses of brokers?

A
  • they bridge a gap in social structure

- they help goods, information, opportunities or knowledge flow across the gap

41
Q

What twos studies were the basis for the idea of brokers?

A
  • Mark Granovetter’s “The strength of weak ties”

- Raymond Burt’s “Structural Holes and Good ideas”

42
Q

What did Mark Granovetter’s, “The strength of weak ties” talk about?

A
  • bonding ties exist within tight knit networks and are more emotional
  • bridging ties span otherwise unconnected networks and are emotionally weaker but provide access to new information and resources
43
Q

What did Raymond Burt’s “Structural Holes and Good ideas” talk about?

A
  • structural holes are irreplaceable connections
  • argued being connected to actors who are themselves unconnected will enhance access to fresh ideas and opportunities
  • thus, improve performance
44
Q

What relates to the concept of social capital?

A

-brokerage

45
Q

Who developed social capital?

A
  • Pierre Bourdieu

- it then emerged separate in the USA by James Coleman who was a RTC

46
Q

What is the individual level definition for social capital?

A

-the ability of actors to secure benefits by virtue of membership in social networks or other social structures

47
Q

What does individual capital provide?

A

-competitive advantage for employment, promotions etc.

48
Q

What is the community/group definition of social capital?

A

-networks, norms and social trust

49
Q

What are networks in community capital?

A

-the number of people that know each other and interact frequently

50
Q

What are norms in community capital?

A

-the number of people who share similar values and ideas of right and wrong

51
Q

What is social trust in community capital?

A

-the number of people who trust each other and assume everyone is inherently good

52
Q

What do community level social capital’s facilitate?

A
  • collective actions

- which is important for democracies

53
Q

What theories does Mario Small combine in his article, “Daycares as resource brokers?”

A
  • neo-institutionalism (isomorphism)

- network analysis (brokerage)

54
Q

What is the background for Mario Smalls article?

A
  • racial and economic segregation has led to concentrated poverty in American cities
  • where residents are cut off from mainstream institutions and their resources
55
Q

What was Small’s argument?

A
  • neighbourhood organizations act as resource brokers
  • connect poor neighbourhoods to mainstream societal institutions and create connections between neighbours
  • this is above and beyond their formal role
56
Q

What does Small’s article demonstrate the importance of?

A

-analyzing formal vs. informal

57
Q

What is Small’s conclusion?

A
  • neighbourhood institutions can improve the inequality in poor neighbourhoods to some extent
  • because they function as resource brokers

SOCI 333 (6 decks)

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