We continue to introduce you to coaching tools that you can use yourself to put things in order in your head, structure your thoughts, increase awareness, make decisions, increase motivation and, as a result, for a more effective and exciting movement towards your goals.
Very often, the reason for failure to achieve goals is not a lack of motivation, not a poorly thought-out plan, or even procrastination, most often it is a banal miscalculation of resources. One of the most important resources is our knowledge, abilities and skills.
Interesting: The skills needed to achieve a goal do not necessarily have to be perfectly developed. Mihaly Csiksendmihalyi, who first described the state of flow, which is characterized by complete immersion in the process of performing a specific task, compiled a list of conditions under which such a state can arise. One of the conditions is the complexity of the task being performed. That is, the skills must be developed enough to ensure that the task remains both challenging and feasible. Because if the skills are not developed enough, completing the task will be too difficult, which will quickly cause interest and motivation to disappear. If the skills are too well developed, the task will turn out to be too easy and working on it will quickly cease to be fun. Therefore, when setting a goal, it is important not only to evaluate the existing skills and understand how to develop the necessary skills, but also to take into account the correspondence between the desired goal and the degree of development of the required skill.
Today I will tell you about a coaching tool, after working which you will find answers to the questions: “What knowledge and skills is important for me to develop to achieve my goal?” and “How can I do this?”
Surely many of you have heard about the Wheel of Balance. I propose to consider an alternative use of this tool. So, meet (drum roll) the Skill Wheel!
The skill wheel is a universal name. In fact, it can include any skills, knowledge and abilities. These are the resources that will always be with you, no matter where you are and with whom.
Algorithm for working with the skill wheel
The algorithm for working with the skill wheel is the same as with the balance wheel.
1. Determine what knowledge, skills and abilities you need to achieve your goal. Preferably no more than 8. The less, the better for focusing.
Recommendation: Answer the question: “Who am I when I achieve this goal?” For example, your goal is to start earning money remotely. And the answer to the question “Who am I when I achieve this goal?” maybe "Freelancer". This means that for your list you choose qualities, skills, knowledge that are important for a successful freelancer. Or “I want to take my business to the next level.” Who am I? Entrepreneur. And look for what characterizes a successful entrepreneur. Or “I want ripped abs.” Who am I? Attractive guy with ripped abs. Now think about who you can call “Attractive guy with ripped abs” 🙂 What qualities, skills, abilities helped him achieve this goal?
2. Answer the question: “How should each skill ideally be demonstrated (applicable to your goal)?”
3. Write down separately all the criteria for the ideal manifestation of a skill.
4. Draw a wheel, dividing it into sectors corresponding to the number of skills you have chosen. The pattern will look like a wheel with spokes. Each spoke is a skill.
5. Divide each knitting needle into 10 parts so that each part is worth 1 point. We count points from the center, starting from 1.
6. Rate on a 10-point scale how well each skill is currently demonstrated. That is, what score can you assign to the skill now if 10 points is the ideal manifestation of the skill (according to your description).
7. Place a dot on the score you assigned to the skill on each spoke and connect the dots. This way you can comprehensively assess the existing picture of your skills today.
Action Plan
Now let's move on to compiling a list of actions.
8. Select the skill you want to start with.
9. Think about how your skill will change if the degree of its manifestation increases by just 1 point? What new things will appear in you? And what can be done to develop a skill by just 1 point? Write down the actions you choose.
10. Now think about how your skill will change if the degree of its manifestation increases by another 1 point? What new things will appear in you? And what can be done to develop the skill so that its manifestation increases by one more point? Write down these actions too.
11. Continue moving up 1 point and recording your chosen actions until you reach 10 points.
Note: This step-by-step scoring method of movement is believed to better structure thoughts in the action area. But if you're more comfortable making a list of actions right away, that's your choice. The proposed algorithm can and should be adjusted to suit yourself, only then will it be as useful as possible.
The skill wheel can be used for almost any goal or subgoal, as long as it is as specific as possible.
An example of a wonderful elaboration of this exercise was shown by WinWin program participant Mira Charlie. Her goal is to get a job in the personnel department of a large company. One of the most important stages is the interview. In order to prepare for this stage as effectively as possible, Mira created an ideal interview wheel, listing in it everything that, in her opinion, a successful candidate needs.
I really hope that this tool will be useful to you when analyzing resources and planning development actions.
Other ways to use the balance wheel, as well as various useful coaching models and techniques, can not only be learned, but also practiced both as a coach and as a client, by enrolling in the “Coaching Fundamentals” course.
Topic No. 9. Society as an integral self-developing system.
1. Basic concepts of society as a system
System– an ordered set of interconnected and interacting elements (for example, a solar system, a state, a company, but not objects in a bag)
Structure– a relatively stable set of connections between elements of the system.
Society is a special complexly organized system, which has a much more complex structure and organization than the rest of nature.
At the same time, individual parts create society as a single system with special properties that its individual parts do not have.
Society as system (whole organism) characterized by the following properties:
Self-organization – the ability to organize yourself
Self-development – the ability to develop independently
Self-sufficiency – autonomy of existence and development.
Self-sufficiency - the ability of a system to create and recreate everything through its own activity necessary conditions own existence, to produce everything necessary for collective life.
At the same time, self-sufficiency is characteristic only for society in general, while self-organization and self-development may be present in individual parts of society!
In addition, the parts of the social system are not only interconnected, but also mutually penetrate into each other (for example, economics and politics).
2. Social (public) activity and its structure.
Elements, types (types).
All the infinite variety of phenomena of public (social) life essentially represent only one or anothertype of joint activity of people (O. Comte).
Thus, human activity is the basis of all social(all processes in society).
Social (public) activities- is a specifically human form of people’s active relationship to the world around them, its content being the purposeful development and transformation of this world.
The simplest manifestation of activity is social action(the influence of the subject in relation to the object).
The activity includes 4 elements.
Basicelements social activities:
1. person(s);
2. physical things;
3. symbols;
4. connections between them.
1. Person(s). They are subject of activity(i.e. the active side), which is aimed at certain objects.
2. Things, acting as objects of activity with the help of which a person changes the environment in order to adapt it to his various needs.
Things are divided into two groups:
Tools and means material production (mechanisms, machines);
Guns spiritual production (pencil, pen, typewriter and especially a computer(!)).
Besides,object activities (except things) can bethe people themselves , if the action of a person as a subject is directed at them.
3. Symbols: sign language, audio and written speech, information (on paper and electronic media, books, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, discs, graphic images, paintings, banknotes, etc.).
They provide purposefulness and consistency to human activity.
If physical things directly serve a person to adapt him to the surrounding reality, then symbols greatly facilitate this process of adaptation for a person.
4. M repeated and stable connections and relationships between the above mentioned factors of social activity. They form real social activity. Outside these connections between the activity itself cannot exist.
Basictypes (species ) social activities
So there are 4element human activity: people, things, symbols, connections between them. Implementation of any type of joint activity of people without them is impossible.
Highlight4 main type (type) of social activity:
Main types of social activities:
Material production;
Spiritual activity (production)
Regulatory activities
Social activity (in the narrow sense of the word)
1. Material production– creates practical means of activity that are used in all its types. Allows people physically transform natural and social reality. Everything necessary for everyday people's lives (housing, food, clothing, etc.).
However, we cannot talk aboutabsolutization the role of material production in social activities. The role is constantly increasinginformation resources. INpost-industrial society is growing sharplythe role of culture and science, transition from the production of goods to the service sector. Therefore, the role of material production will gradually decline.
2. Spiritual production (activity)- produces not things, but ideas, images, values (paintings, books, etc.).
In the process of spiritual activity, a person learns about the world around him, its diversity and essence, develops a system of value concepts, determining the meaning (value) of certain phenomena.
“Mumu”, L. Tolstoy “Vanya and plums”, sausage in the toilet.
His role is constantly increasing.
3. Regulatory activities– activities of administrators, managers, politicians.
It is aimed at ensuring consistency and orderliness in various spheres of public life.
4. Social activities(in the narrow sense of the word) – activities related to direct service to people. This is the activity of a doctor, teacher, artist, workers in the service sector, recreation, and tourism.
Creates conditions for maintaining the activity and life of people.
These four basic types of activity exist in any society and form basis spheres of public life.
Social studies test Society as a complex dynamic system for grade 10 with answers. The test includes two parts. Multiple choice tasks (10 tasks) and short answer tasks (3 tasks).
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Does not relate to the characteristics of society as a system
1) the presence of many levels, subsystems of elements
2) completeness, linearity of development
3) alternative development
4) the presence of elements of different quality
2. The main subsystems of society include
1) state
2) religion
3) economics
4) class of entrepreneurs
3. A social institution is
1) the totality of all types of transformative activity, as well as its result, including the transformation of the person himself
2) a historically established, stable form of organizing the joint activities of people performing certain functions in society, the main one of which is the satisfaction of social needs
3) a person’s way of relating to the outside world, which consists of transforming and subordinating it to the person’s goals
4) relatively stable connections between social groups, peoples, states and other associations of people arising in different spheres of human activity
4. The main political institution is
1) institution of multi-party system
2) the institution of the judiciary
3) the institution of presidential plenipotentiaries
4) state institution
5. Are the following judgments about the relationship between spheres of public life correct?
A. The relationship between the spheres of public life is characterized by their independence from each other.
B. The relationship between the spheres of public life is characterized by their complex relationships and mutual influence.
1) only A is correct
2) only B is correct
3) both judgments are correct
4) both judgments are incorrect
6. Are the following judgments about society as a system true?
A. Society as a system is characterized by self-sufficiency.
B. Society as a system is characterized by self-government.
1) only A is correct
2) only B is correct
3) both judgments are correct
4) both judgments are incorrect
7. Are the following judgments about social institutions true?
A. Social institutions make connections between people random and chaotic.
B. Social institutions unite large masses of people to satisfy one or another need.
1) only A is correct
2) only B is correct
3) both judgments are correct
4) both judgments are incorrect
8. The institution of parliamentarism arose in the political life of our country. What function of society as a system does this example illustrate?
1) integration
2) adaptation
3) goal achievement
4) sample maintenance
9. The activities of the media are aimed at meeting the needs of people to obtain objective information about the development of society, its achievements and problems. What additional information will allow us to conclude that the media is an institution operating in the spiritual sphere of society?
1) lack of integration into the socio-political structure of society
2) the presence of guarantees from control and regulation by society
3) the presence of institutions supplied with material resources for a certain type of activity
4) lack of a system of legal norms regulating relevant activities
10. In the country of K., the political system of society hinders the development of the economy. This example illustrates
1) cyclicality as the basis of the existence of society
2) the complex structure of the main spheres of social life
3) constant change in social life
4) the relationship between spheres of public life
Short answer questions
1. Write down the word missing in the fragment of the table.
Features of the social system
2. Establish a correspondence between social institutions and their types: for each position given in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.
Social institutions
A) army
B) motherhood
B) exchange
D) money
D) party
Types of social institutions
1) economic institutions
2) political institutions
3) the institution of family and marriage
3. Find the key institutions in terms of the organization of society in the list below and write down the numbers under which they are listed.
1) power
2) forensic examination
3) property
4) factory
5) twinning
6) family
Answers to the social studies test Society as a complex dynamic system for grade 10
Multiple Choice Questions
1-2
2-3
3-2
4-4
5-2
6-3
7-2
8-1
9-3
10-4
Short answer questions
1. self-sufficiency
2. 23112
3. 136
Library
materials
State the topic and purpose of the lesson.
Intensification of educational activities.
Is there a connection between various events and phenomena in the life of society? What gives stability and predictability to the development of society?
Presentation of program material.
A story with elements of conversation
Features of the social system
In other words, society is a complex system of systems, a kind of supersystem.
Secondly, characteristic feature society as a system is the presence in its composition of elements of different quality, such as material (various technical devices, institutions, etc.) and ideal (values, ideas, traditions, etc.). For example, the economic sphere includes enterprises, vehicles, raw materials, manufactured goods and, at the same time, economic knowledge, rules, values, patterns of economic behavior and much more.
Thirdly, main element society as a system is a person who has the ability to set goals and choose means of carrying out his activities. This makes social systems more changeable and mobile than natural ones.
Social life is in constant change. The pace and extent of these changes may vary; There are periods in the history of mankind when the established order of life did not change in its fundamentals for centuries, but over time the pace of change began to increase.
Hence, Human - it is a universal element of all social systems, since it is necessarily included in each of them.
Like any system, society is an ordered entity. This means that the components of the system are not in chaotic disorder, but, on the contrary, occupy a certain position within the system and are connected in a certain way with other components. Therefore, the system has integrative quality that is inherent in it as a whole. None of the system components, considered separately, possesses this quality. It, this quality, is the result of the integration and interconnection of all components of the system. Just as individual human organs (heart, stomach, liver, etc.) do not have the properties of a person, the economy, health care system, state and other elements of society do not have the qualities that are inherent in society as a whole. And only thanks to the diverse connections that exist between the components of the social system, it turns into a single whole, that is, into society (just as thanks to the interaction of various human organs there is a single human body).
Integral, i.e. general, inherent in the entire system, qualities of any system are not a simple sum of the qualities of its components, but represent new quality, resulting from the interconnection and interaction of its constituent components. In its most general form, this is the quality of society as a social system - ability create all the necessary conditions for its existence, to produce everything necessary for the collective life of people. In philosophy self-sufficiency considered as main difference society from its constituent parts. Just as human organs cannot exist outside the whole organism, so none of the subsystems of society can exist outside the whole - society as a system.
Another feature of society as a system is that this system is one of the self-governing. Performs managerial function political subsystem, giving coherence to all components that form social integrity.
Any system, be it technical (a unit with an automatic control system), or biological (animal), or social (society), is located in a certain environment with which it interacts. Wednesday The social system of any country is both nature and the world community. Changes in the state of the natural environment, events in the world community, in the international arena are a kind of “signals” to which society must respond. It usually seeks to either adapt to changes occurring in the environment or adapt the environment to its needs. In other words, the system reacts to “signals” in one way or another. At the same time, it implements its main functions: adaptation; goal achievement, that is, the ability to maintain its integrity, ensuring the implementation of its tasks, influencing the surrounding natural and social environment; maintaining the sample – ability to maintain one's internal structure; integration– the ability to integrate, that is, to include new parts, new social formations (phenomena, processes, etc.) into a single whole.
Social institutions
The word "institute" translated from Latin institute means "establishment". In Russian it is often used to denote higher educational institutions. In addition, as you know from the basic school course, in the field of law the word “institution” means a set of legal norms governing one social relationship or several relationships related to each other (for example, the institution of marriage).
In sociology social institutions call historically established stable forms of organizing joint activities, regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at meeting the fundamental needs of society.
This is a definition that it is advisable to return to after reading to the end educational material By this issue, we will consider based on the concept of “activity” (see §1). In the history of society, sustainable types of activities have developed aimed at satisfying the most important needs of life. Sociologists identify five such public needs:
the need for reproduction;
need for security and social order;
need for subsistence;
the need for knowledge acquisition, socialization of the younger generation, personnel training;
the need to solve spiritual problems of the meaning of life.
institution of family and marriage;
political institutions, especially the state;
economic institutions, primarily production;
institutes of education, science and culture;
Institute of Religion.
Each of these institutions unites large masses of people to satisfy one or another need and achieve a certain goal of a personal, group or social nature.
The emergence of social institutions led to consolidation specific types of interaction, making them permanent and mandatory for all members of a given society.
So, a social institution is, first of all, a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and ensuring, in the process of this activity, the satisfaction of a certain need that is significant for society (for example, all employees of the education system).
Next, the institute enshrined in a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs, regulating appropriate types of behavior. (Remember, for example, what social norms regulate the behavior of people in the family).
One more characteristic feature social institution – presence of institutions, equipped with certain material resources necessary for any type of activity. (Think about what social institutions the school, factory, and police belong to. Give your own examples of institutions and organizations that relate to each of the most important social institutions.)
As new needs and conditions arise in the course of the historical process, new types of activities and corresponding connections appear. Society is interested in giving them orderliness and a normative character, i.e. in their institutionalization.
Practical conclusions.
Society is a highly complex system, and in order to live in harmony with it, it is necessary to adapt (adapt) to it. Otherwise, you cannot avoid conflicts and failures in your life and activities. Condition for adaptation to modern society is the knowledge about it that a social studies course provides.
It is possible to understand society only if its quality is identified as an integral system. To do this, it is necessary to consider various sections of the structure of society (the main spheres of human activity, the totality of social institutions, social groups), systematizing, integrating connections between them, features of the management process in a self-governing social system.
IN real life you will have to interact with various social institutions. To make this interaction successful, you need to know the goals and nature of the activity that has taken shape in the social institution you are interested in. Studying the legal norms governing this type of activity will help you with this.
In subsequent sections of the course, characterizing individual areas of human activity, it is useful to revisit the content of this paragraph in order, based on it, to consider each area as part of an integral system. This will help to understand the role and place of each sphere, each social institution in the development of society.
Document.
From the work of a modern American sociologist E. Shilza"Society and societies: a macrosociological approach."
...So, we are convinced that society is not just a collection of united people, primordial and cultural groups interacting and exchanging services with each other. All these groups form society by virtue of their existence under general power which exercises control over territory marked by borders, supports and enforces more or less general culture. It is these factors that transform a collection of relatively specialized initial corporate and cultural groups into a society.
Questions and tasks for the document
What components, according to E. Shils, are included in society? Indicate which areas of society each of them belongs to.
Select from the listed components those that are social institutions.
Self-test questions.
What does the term “system” mean?
How do social (public) systems differ from natural ones?
What is the main quality of society as an integral system?
What are the connections and relationships of society as a system with the environment?
What is a social institution?
Describe the main social institutions.
What are the main features of a social institution?
What is the significance of institutionalization?
Assignments.
Using a systematic approach, analyze Russian society at the beginning of the 20th century.
Describe all the main features of a social institution using the example of an educational institution. Use the material and recommendations from the practical conclusions of this paragraph.
The collective work of Russian sociologists states: “...society exists and functions in diverse forms... Indeed important question comes down to not losing society itself behind the special forms, the forests behind the trees.” How does this statement relate to the understanding of society as a system? Give reasons for your answer.
Thoughts of the wise.
V. S. Solovyov (1853-1900), Russian philosopher
Evaluating student responses.
Find material for any lesson,
indicating your subject (category), class, textbook and topic:
You can also select the type of material:
Brief description document:
Social studies lesson on the topic “Society as a complex dynamic system”
Goal: 1.to get acquainted with the main components of society as a social system
2.characterize the main social institutions
3. identify the main features of a social institution.
I. Statement of the topic and purpose of the lesson.
II. Intensification of educational activities.
Is there a connection between various events and phenomena in the life of society? What gives stability and predictability to the development of society?
III. Presentation of program material.
A story with elements of conversation
The second part of the definition of the concept of “society” given in §1 emphasizes the idea of the interconnection of people and the interaction of various spheres of public life. In philosophical literature, society is defined as a “dynamic system.” The new concept of “system” may seem complicated, but it makes sense to understand it, since there are many objects in the world that are covered by this concept. Our Universe, the culture of an individual people, and the activities of man himself are systems. The word "system" Greek origin, means “a whole made up of parts,” “totality.” Thus, each system includes interacting parts: subsystems and elements. The connections and relationships between its parts become of primary importance. Dynamic systems allow various changes, development, the emergence of new parts and the death of old parts and connections between them.
Features of the social system
What are the characteristic features of society as a system? How does this system differ from natural systems? A number of such differences have been identified in the social sciences.
Firstly, society as a system is complex, since it includes many levels, subsystems, and elements. So, we can talk about human society on a global scale, about society within one country, about the various social groups in which each person is included (nation, class, family, etc.).
The macrostructure of society as a system consists of four subsystems, which are the main spheres of human activity - material and production, social, political, spiritual. Each of these spheres known to you has its own complex structure and is itself a complex system. So, political sphere acts as a system that includes a large number of components - the state, parties, etc. But the state, for example, is also a system with many components.
Thus, any of the existing spheres of society, being a subsystem in relation to society, at the same time itself acts as a rather complex system. Therefore, we can talk about a hierarchy of systems consisting of a number of different levels.
In other words, society is a complex system of systems, a kind of supersystem.
Secondly, a characteristic feature of society as a system is the presence in its composition of elements of different quality, both material (various technical devices, institutions, etc.) and ideal (values, ideas, traditions, etc.). For example, the economic sphere includes enterprises, vehicles, raw materials, manufactured goods and, at the same time, economic knowledge, rules, values, patterns of economic behavior and much more.
Thirdly, the main element of society as a system is a person who has the ability to set goals and choose the means of carrying out his activities. This makes social systems more changeable and mobile than natural ones.
Social life is in constant change. The pace and extent of these changes may vary; There are periods in the history of mankind when the established order of life did not change in its fundamentals for centuries, but over time the pace of change began to increase.
From a history course, you know that in societies that existed in different eras, certain qualitative changes occurred, while the natural systems of those periods significant changes did not suffer. This fact indicates that society is a dynamic system that has a property that in science is expressed by the concepts of “change”, “development”, “progress”, “regression”, “evolution”, “revolution”, etc.
Consequently, man is a universal element of all social systems, since he is necessarily included in each of them.
Like any system, society is an ordered entity. This means that the components of the system are not in chaotic disorder, but, on the contrary, occupy a certain position within the system and are connected in a certain way with other components. Consequently, the system has an integrative quality that is inherent in it as a single whole. None of the system components, considered separately, possesses this quality. It, this quality, is the result of the integration and interconnection of all components of the system. Just as individual human organs (heart, stomach, liver, etc.) do not have the properties of a person, the economy, health care system, state and other elements of society do not have the qualities that are inherent in society as a whole. And only thanks to the diverse connections that exist between the components of the social system, it turns into a single whole, that is, into society (just as thanks to the interaction of various human organs there is a single human body).
The connections between subsystems and elements of society can be illustrated with various examples. The study of the distant past of mankind allowed scientists to conclude that the moral relations of people in primitive conditions were built on collectivist principles, that is, in modern terms, priority was always given to the collective rather than to the individual. It is also known that the moral norms that existed among many tribes in those archaic times allowed the killing of weak members of the clan - sick children, old people - and even cannibalism. Have these ideas and views of people about the limits of what is morally permissible been influenced by the real material conditions of their existence? The answer is clear: undoubtedly, they did. The need to collectively obtain material wealth, the doom of a person who has become separated from his clan to quick death, laid the foundations of collectivist morality. Guided by the same methods of struggle for existence and survival, people did not consider it immoral to free themselves from those who could become a burden to the collective.
Another example could be the connection between legal norms and socio-economic relations. Let's turn to the famous historical facts. One of the first sets of laws of Kievan Rus, called Russkaya Pravda, provided for various punishments for murder. In this case, the measure of punishment was determined primarily by a person’s place in the system of hierarchical relations, his belonging to a particular social stratum or group. Thus, the fine for killing a tiun (steward) was enormous: it was 80 hryvnia and equal to the cost of 80 oxen or 400 rams. The life of a serf or serf was valued at 5 hryvnia, i.e. 16 times cheaper.
Integral, i.e., common, inherent in the entire system, qualities of any system are not a simple sum of the qualities of its components, but represent a new quality that arose as a result of the interconnection and interaction of its components. In its most general form, this is the quality of society as a social system - the ability to create all the necessary conditions for its existence, to produce everything necessary for the collective life of people. In philosophy, self-sufficiency is considered as the main difference between society and its constituent parts. Just as human organs cannot exist outside the whole organism, so none of the subsystems of society can exist outside the whole - society as a system.
Another feature of society as a system is that this system is self-governing. The managerial function is performed by the political subsystem, which gives coherence to all components that form the social integrity.
Any system, be it technical (a unit with an automatic control system), or biological (animal), or social (society), is located in a certain environment with which it interacts. The environment of the social system of any country is both nature and the world community. Changes in the state of the natural environment, events in the world community, in the international arena are a kind of “signals” to which society must respond. It usually seeks to either adapt to changes occurring in the environment or adapt the environment to its needs. In other words, the system reacts to “signals” in one way or another. At the same time, it implements its main functions: adaptation; goal achievement, i.e. the ability to maintain its integrity, ensuring the implementation of its tasks, influencing the surrounding natural and social environment; maintaining a pattern - the ability to maintain one’s internal structure; integration - the ability to integrate, that is, to include new parts, new social formations (phenomena, processes, etc.) into a single whole.
Social institutions
The most important component of society as a system are social institutions.
The word “institute” comes from the Latin instituto meaning “establishment”. In Russian it is often used to refer to higher educational institutions. In addition, as you know from the basic school course, in the field of law the word “institution” means a set of legal norms governing one social relationship or several relationships related to each other (for example, the institution of marriage).
In sociology, social institutions are historically established stable forms of organizing joint activities, regulated by norms, traditions, customs and aimed at meeting the fundamental needs of society.
We will consider this definition, which it is advisable to return to after reading the entire educational material on this issue, based on the concept of “activity” (see §1). In the history of society, sustainable types of activities have developed aimed at satisfying the most important needs of life. Sociologists identify five such social needs:
− the need for reproduction;
− need for security and social order;
− need for means of subsistence;
− the need for acquiring knowledge, socializing the younger generation, and training;
− the need to solve spiritual problems of the meaning of life.
In accordance with the above-mentioned needs, types of activities have developed in society, which, in turn, required the necessary organization, streamlining, the creation of certain institutions and other structures, and the development of rules to ensure the achievement of the expected result. These conditions for the successful implementation of the main types of activities were met by historically established social institutions:
− institution of family and marriage;
− political institutions, especially the state;
− economic institutions, primarily production;
− institutes of education, science and culture;
− Institute of Religion.
Each of these institutions brings together large masses of people to satisfy one or another need and achieve a certain goal of a personal, group or social nature.
The emergence of social institutions led to the consolidation of specific types of interaction, making them permanent and mandatory for all members of a given society.
So, a social institution is, first of all, a set of persons engaged in a certain type of activity and ensuring, in the process of this activity, the satisfaction of a certain need that is significant for society (for example, all employees of the education system).
Further, the institution is enshrined in a system of legal and moral norms, traditions and customs regulating the corresponding types of behavior. (Remember, for example, what social norms regulate the behavior of people in the family).
Another characteristic feature of a social institution is the presence of institutions equipped with certain material resources necessary for any type of activity. (Think about what social institutions the school, factory, and police belong to. Give your own examples of institutions and organizations that relate to each of the most important social institutions.)
Any of these institutions is integrated into the socio-political, legal, value structure of society, which makes it possible to legitimize the activities of this institution and exercise control over it.
A social institution stabilizes social relations and brings consistency into the actions of members of society. A social institution is characterized by a clear delineation of the functions of each of the subjects of interaction, the consistency of their actions, high level regulation and control. (Think about how these features of a social institution manifest themselves in the education system, particularly in school.)
Let us consider the main features of a social institution using the example of such an important institution of society as the family. First of all, every family is a small group of people based on intimacy and emotional attachment, related by marriage (spouses) and blood relationships (parents and children). The need to create a family is one of the fundamental, i.e. fundamental, human needs. At the same time, the family performs in society important functions: giving birth and raising children, economic support for minors and the disabled, and much more. Each member of the family occupies its own special position in it, which presupposes appropriate behavior: parents (or one of them) provide a livelihood, manage household chores, and raise children. The children, in turn, study and help around the house. Such behavior is regulated not only by family rules, but also by social norms: morality and law. Thus, public morality condemns the lack of care of older family members for younger ones. The law establishes the responsibilities and obligations of spouses towards each other, towards children, and adult children towards elderly parents. The creation of a family and the main milestones of family life are accompanied by established traditions and rituals in society. For example, in many countries, marriage rituals include the exchange of wedding rings between spouses.
The presence of social institutions makes people's behavior more predictable and society as a whole more stable.
In addition to the main social institutions, there are also non-main ones. So, if the main political institution is the state, then the non-main ones are the institution of the judiciary or, as in our country, the institution of presidential representatives in the regions, etc.
The presence of social institutions reliably ensures regular, self-renewing satisfaction of vital needs. A social institution makes connections between people not random or chaotic, but constant, reliable, and sustainable. Institutional interaction is a well-established order of social life in the main spheres of people’s lives. The more social needs are satisfied by social institutions, the more developed the society is.
As new needs and conditions arise in the course of the historical process, new types of activities and corresponding connections appear. Society is interested in giving them order and a normative character, that is, in their institutionalization.
In Russia, as a result of reforms at the end of the 20th century. For example, such a type of activity as entrepreneurship appeared. The streamlining of these activities led to the emergence various types firms, required the publication of laws regulating business activities, and contributed to the formation of corresponding traditions.
In the political life of our country, the institutions of parliamentarism, a multi-party system, and the institution of the presidency arose. The principles and rules of their functioning are enshrined in the Constitution Russian Federation, relevant laws.
In the same way, the institutionalization of other activities that emerged in recent decades took place.
It happens that the development of society requires the modernization of the activities of social institutions that historically developed in previous periods. Thus, in the changed conditions, the need arose to solve the problems of introducing the younger generation to the culture in a new way. Hence the steps taken to modernize the institution of education, which may result in the institutionalization of the Unified State Exam and new content of educational programs.
So we can go back to the definition given at the beginning of this part of the paragraph. Think about what characterizes social institutions as highly organized systems. Why is their structure stable? What is the significance of deep integration of their elements? What is the diversity, flexibility, and dynamism of their functions?
III. Practical conclusions.
1. Society is a highly complex system, and in order to live in harmony with it, it is necessary to adapt (adapt) to it. Otherwise, you cannot avoid conflicts and failures in your life and activities. A condition for adaptation to modern society is knowledge about it, which is provided by a social studies course.
2. It is possible to understand society only if its quality is identified as an integral system. To do this, it is necessary to consider various sections of the structure of society (the main spheres of human activity, a set of social institutions, social groups), systematizing, integrating connections between them, and features of the management process in a self-governing social system.
3. In real life, you will have to interact with various social institutions. To make this interaction successful, you need to know the goals and nature of the activity that has taken shape in the social institution you are interested in. Studying the legal norms governing this type of activity will help you with this.
4. In subsequent sections of the course, characterizing individual spheres of human activity, it is useful to revisit the content of this paragraph in order, based on it, to consider each sphere as part of an integral system. This will help to understand the role and place of each sphere, each social institution in the development of society.
IV. Document.
From the work of modern American sociologist E. Shils “Society and societies: a macrosociological approach.”
What is included in societies? As has already been said, the most differentiated of them consist not only of families and kinship groups, but also of associations, unions, firms and farms, schools and universities, armies, churches and sects, parties and numerous other corporate bodies or organizations which, in in turn, have boundaries defining the circle of members over which the corresponding corporate authorities - parents, managers, chairmen, etc., etc. - exercise a certain measure of control. This also includes systems formally and informally organized along territorial lines - communities, villages, districts, cities, districts - all of which also have some features of society. Further, it includes unorganized collections of people within society - social classes or strata, occupations and professions, religions, linguistic groups - who have a culture inherent more to those who have a certain status or occupy a certain position than to everyone else.
...So, we are convinced that society is not just a collection of united people, primordial and cultural groups interacting and exchanging services with each other. All these groups form a society by virtue of their existence under a common authority, which exercises its control over the territory delineated by borders, maintains and enforces a more or less common culture. It is these factors that transform a collection of relatively specialized initial corporate and cultural collectives into a society.
Questions and tasks for the document
1) What components, according to E. Shils, are included in society? Indicate which areas of society each of them belongs to.
2) Select from the listed components those that are social institutions.
3) Based on the text, prove that the author views society as a social system.
V. Questions for self-test.
1. What does the concept of “system” mean?
2. How do social (public) systems differ from natural ones?
3. What is the main quality of society as an integral system?
4. What are the connections and relationships of society as a system with the environment?
5. What is a social institution?
6. Describe the main social institutions.
7. What are the main features of a social institution?
8. What is the significance of institutionalization?
VI. Assignments.
1. Using a systematic approach, analyze Russian society at the beginning of the 20th century.
2. Describe all the main features of a social institution using the example of an educational institution. Use the material and recommendations from the practical conclusions of this paragraph.
3. The collective work of Russian sociologists says: “...society exists and functions in diverse forms... The really important question comes down to ensuring that society itself is not lost behind the special forms, or the forests behind the trees.” How does this statement relate to the understanding of society as a system? Give reasons for your answer.
VII. Thoughts of the wise.
“Man is a social being, and the highest task of his life, the final goal of his efforts lies not in his personal destiny, but in the social destinies of all mankind.”
V. S. Solovyov (1853-1900), Russian philosopher
Evaluating student responses.
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The designer must have certain knowledge, skills and design abilities, which must be aimed at creating a specific design. Ultimately, the created structure must meet all the requirements that were imposed on it at the beginning of the design. In addition, the designer must have qualities that contribute to the creative process.
Knowledge is a system of concepts acquired by a person. The volume and quality of knowledge required by the designer are determined by his qualification characteristics and are divided into two groups.
The first group includes general knowledge that is necessary for the design of any machines. This includes the entire complex of polytechnic knowledge that underlies the qualifications of an engineer: for example, strength of materials, theoretical mechanics, machine parts, metallurgy, etc.
The second group includes special knowledge associated with the specific operating conditions of the designed machine. This includes knowledge of the technological, design and operational features of the industry to which the new product belongs.
When designing machinery and equipment for the food industry, for example, it is necessary to know technical techniques and devices for ensuring hygienic requirements for manufactured products; when designing aircraft - techniques for ensuring minimum weight and maximum reliability, etc. In addition, it is required to know the basic standard designs of the industry, characterizing the existing level of technology and directions for future development. This group of knowledge also includes knowledge of the specific capabilities of production producing a new product.
If the general knowledge of a design engineer is universal and can be used in any industry, then special knowledge is lost when moving to work in another industry and other design organizations. In this case, retraining of the designer is required to meet the new working conditions.
Design skills and abilities are based on knowledge and are formed in the process of practical activity. Knowledge and understanding of their work, the correct methodology for performing it, allow the designer to acquire those personality qualities that lead to mastery and success. A skill is the ability, in the process of purposeful activity, to perform the particular actions that comprise it automatically, without special attention directed to them. Skill is a person’s ability to perform their work productively, with the proper quality and at the appropriate time.
After designing certain parts of machines, mechanisms and products, when performing them again, the designer usually copes with his tasks much faster and with less mental stress. Thus, knowledge, skill and ability contribute to the design process. However, in addition to these qualities, the designer must have certain professional abilities, which are revealed during the design process and contribute to the successful creation of new machines. Professional abilities are a set of fairly stable, although, of course, changing under the influence of education of individual psychological qualities of a person’s personality. The following professional abilities are most important for a designer.
Technical thinking- the ability to use the entire complex of polytechnic knowledge to understand the essence of technical systems and quickly navigate all technical issues. Developed technical thinking allows you to quickly understand the principle of operation of previously unknown machines and its individual components and mechanisms, to navigate the overall scheme and the interaction of parts of the structure. Technical thinking allows us to perceive any machine as a synthesis of functional units, determine its purpose and find the causes of malfunctions.
Spatial imagination is of decisive importance in the work of the designer. The ability of spatial imagination allows you to draw up and read drawings. The simplest case of using spatial imagination is the compilation of orthogonal projections of a real spatial product. The designer solves a similar problem when drawing up drawings of parts of operating machines for carrying out repair work and restoring worn out and failed parts. In the process of designing new products, the designer makes drawings of parts and assemblies that do not really exist, but are imagined by him. Imagining a complex machine, mechanism and assembly located in space requires constant training and some experience. The designer must imagine the coordinates of the location of these mechanisms and components and their kinematic and design connections. Errors are often made in the design of the machine due to
with a lack of space for the extreme positions of mechanisms or the inability to assemble parts and mechanisms inside cramped housings. These errors are caused by a lack of spatial imagination.
Spatial imagination is necessary for reading drawings, when from flat projections it is necessary to imagine a spatial body with all the features of its structure and shape. Like any ability, spatial imagination can be improved by a person through practical exercises. This is achieved by solving descriptive geometry problems and studying drawings of various structures. As practice shows, not all people can develop spatial imagination to the degree required by a designer, so testing for spatial imagination is a limiting test when determining the professional suitability of designers.
Creative abilities allow the designer to create new, original machines. When solving a given problem, the designer can go in two ways: 1) apply known standard solutions, generally accepted schemes; 2) solve the problem creatively, strive to complete all design elements in a new, original way. These directions determine the work of the designer, on the one hand, as a technical worker performing pre-developed technical diagrams, and on the other hand, as a creative worker who creates new designs at the inventive level.
The predominance of creative abilities among designers is often caused not only by the amount of acquired knowledge and accumulated experience, but also by the peculiarities of their personality. Such workers are especially valuable for development terms of reference and in the initial stages of design or in cases where the task at hand requires an innovative, non-standard solution. However, creative individuals are the least likely to take real conditions and limitations into account. Valuing theoretical and aesthetic aspects, they do not always take into account economic and social ones. They work enthusiastically at the stage of creating design principles and solving fundamental development issues. When these issues are basically resolved, their interest in them sharply decreases. If designers with a strong creative personality have to solve design work issues that are routine in nature, they are performed carelessly and negligently. As a result, the design may turn out to be of poor quality and inoperable, despite its originality and progressive design.
The lack of strong creative abilities does not mean that a designer cannot develop products. With knowledge of the typical structural elements of machines, standards and design methods, he can develop new equipment of medium complexity and work under the control of a more capable specialist. The bulk of a designer’s work cannot be called creative. Development working documentation- painstaking work, in which designers and performers are most valued. In addition to the considered abilities, which allow us to evaluate the business qualities and creative potential of the designer, there are a number of characteristics of a creative personality that influence the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the work performed.
Ingenuity is one of the types of creative abilities; it is the ability to create new technical solutions that are useful in each specific case. Ingenuity is promoted by a sense of the new, directed work towards a fundamentally new solution to a problem. Ingenuity is especially highly effective in combination with the creative activity of the employee.
Willingness to accept the new, unusual - the ability to analyze, select and use new things in development, and not be afraid to abandon old, familiar technical solutions.
there is formal and sometimes unfounded criticism from the developer’s managers.
Speed of thought process ensures productivity of mental activity.
Flexibility of thinking characterizes a productive switching of the thought process to other problems and does not damage previously resolved issues.
Ability to direct attention to solve the main problems. Attention is the direction of mental activity in a certain direction related to the work being performed. The more interest is shown in the work being performed, the less effort is required to concentrate on it.
Ability to Observe- the ability to pay attention to what is associated with achieving a goal. Identification of the main, essential in the object of research, assessment of its usefulness makes it possible to develop technical solutions based on them and apply these observations in new developments.
Developed professional memory, its large capacity allows you to quickly solve design problems. In the economical use of memory, the organization of the memorization process is important. To relieve memory, it is advisable to use card indexes of solutions of interest, make data records, sketches of layouts, design solutions, and diagrams.
Ability to conduct engineering analysis means the ability to break down a structure element by element into individual parts, a process into individual operations and movements for their detailed study. Engineering analysis allows you to evaluate options and compare them.
Maturity of judgment- the ability to think logically and make sound decisions. Maturity of judgment is characterized by the ability to see the future and correctly use the data obtained.
Decision making ability- skillfully use the results of engineering analysis and choose a design with optimal performance.
Having your own point of view- developing the habit of creating your own version or your own assessment of the issue in all issues that you encounter, even when the situation does not require it. The point of view developed must be based on objective data.
|
Characteristic |
Significance of the feature, % |
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|
Business qualities |
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|
Professional competence |
Level of gaping. Obtaining general and special education. Compliance of education with the profile of the work performed. Breadth of outlook and general erudition. Experience in this specialty. Ability to think and act scientifically and creatively. The ability to logically and clearly express your thoughts. Improvement of skills and knowledge | |
|
Responsibility for the work performed |
The employee does not avoid responsibility, but strives to increase it. Responsibility is based on intuition of a real situation or technical calculation | |
|
Independence and initiative |
The ability to perceive and process a variety of information. The employee independently makes decisions on various technical issues and does not need the support of authorities. Decisions are immediately made that are optimal for the given situation | |
|
Ability to solve new problems and use new methods in work |
The employee easily learns and masters new work methods and new areas of engineering activity. The employee intelligently decides on the application of new methods in his work. Ability to work unconventionally and creatively. Ability to think and act scientifically and creatively. Participation in rationalization and inventive work | |
|
Performance |
Ability to concentrate, productive work for the entire period of activity. Psychological balance. Perseverance | |
|
Ability to organize and plan your work |
Internal composure, the ability to focus on the main thing. The ability to rationally organize your developments. Knowledge of development stages. Ability to create clear order in work | |
|
Ability to communicate with people |
Psychological compatibility employee in a team. Activity in working together, the ability to collectively generate ideas. The employee is the initiator of the competition. Ability to maintain contacts with people (employees). Personal charm, friendliness, willingness to help a friend | |
Table 7.1 Signs that determine the creative contribution of the designer
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Characteristic |
Significance of the feature, % |
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|
Labor results |
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|
Quality of work performed |
High technical level of design solutions; scientific achievements were used in the development. High degree of standardization and unification, promising developments, economically justified. The development is error-free and neat. Developments comply with the assignments and requirements of rules and standards | |
|
Meeting deadlines for completing assignments |
The employee completes his tasks on time and tries to complete them ahead of schedule. After completing planned tasks, the employee willingly takes on additional work | |
|
Number of works performed |
Number of completed scheduled and unscheduled tasks. The creative activity of the employee, his rationalization and inventive activities, the achieved economic effect | |
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Complexity of functions performed |
||
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Degree of novelty and element of creativity |
The employee completes all tasks creatively. The working principle of development is carried out in a unique way, at the level of inventions. The developments are a generalization of the world level, borrowed from technical information | |
|
Degree of responsibility |
Quantity (mass scale) of manufactured products according to the developed documentation. Functional responsibility of the developed products | |
|
Degree of complexity of design developments |
The degree of complexity of design documentation depending on the complexity of the product being designed. Complete development of design documentation. Number of technical and economic calculations of the project | |
|
Degree of variety of work |
Design of products of varying complexity and specializations. Carrying out various stages of design development | |
Ability to express one's thoughts correctly and is clear in both written and oral form. This is associated with the ability to make logical generalizations, with the ability to take necessary notes and take part in discussions, as well as report on the results of their work.
The designer's initiative speaks of the ability to force oneself to work and refuse easy ways in resolving issues if this entails a deterioration in quality. Initiative is evidenced by the fact that in order to create a better design of the product, the designer solves issues not covered by the technical specifications.
Willingness to work hard speaks of the designer’s ability to devote himself entirely to solving a specific issue. Willingness to work develops into an inclination to work, to passion. This readiness helps resolve all issues to the end.
Broad outlook designer means that he has fundamental knowledge not only of his specialization, but also of many issues related to this specialization. As a rule, a wide range of interests provides a broad outlook.
Discipline characterizes the accuracy of the design instructions carried out by the designer, his diligence and hard work. The criteria for determining the creative contribution of designers in developments are the signs (Table 7.1).