Essay on Essay Salient Aspects of Social Organisation – According to Ogburn and Nimkoff, social organisations reveal the following aspects:
1. Social Organisations are not functioning in the same way in all societies. Monkeys and apes do not have much social organisation. Pre-literate human groups in the hunting and food-gathering stages of culture have social organisations in the form of families, hunting parties, clans, age societies, ceremonial organisation in religion, etc.
2. Social Organisations are not found in equal number everywhere. Their number differs with the size of population; the larger the population the more organisations there are. In small communities we may find one or two organisations with several functions and not several organisations with one function each.
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3. Social Organisation differs with the extent of accumulation of culture. Tribals, for example, do not have sophisticated organisations such as a bank, court, a flying club, etc. The Eskimos, for example, do not have chess clubs or flying club, or Rotary Club or Lions Club, because their culture has not accumulated to that extent.
4. Social organisation is also a function of the division of labour that is, of specialised activities. Greater division of labour and specialisation are to be found in more complex societies. The need for social organisation is greater in complex societies than in simple societies.
5. When the number of social organisations increases more and more single-purpose organisations come to be established. Example: Chess club, flying club, philatelic club, etc. Further, due to social changes, an organisation having many functions may lose or transfer some of them to other multi-purpose organisations.
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For example, family has almost lost its economic function and has transferred educational and recreational functions to other organisations such as school, college on the one hand, and cinema cause, sports club, entertainment club, etc., on the other.
6. Of the various social organisations some are not only multipurpose in nature but also almost universal in nature. They have existed over hundreds of thousands of years and in many different cultures. They are expressed in institutions such as – the family, religion and government. They have more than one function. Family, for example, performs functions such as procreation, education and regulation of sex relations.
7. Social Organisations found in the form of associations have a shorter history and are less widely distributed. They often have only one function or very few functions. Examples: A parent- teacher association, an athletic club, or a secret fraternal society.
8. There are minor social organisations which function as the subdivisions of associations and institutions. Example-. Individual business, committees or social clubs. These are more short-lived, less widespread and more specialised.
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9. Further, social organisations may be formal or informal in nature. Organisations characterised by a specific function, division of labour, a hierarchy of authority, and formal relations are formal organisations. Example: Bank, hospital, army, court, corporation, government departments, political party, etc.
Some organisations are ‘informal’ in nature. They are smaller in size and are based on informal relations. These develop to supply needs neglected or not fully met by the formal organisations. Example: clique, friendship groups, gangs, bands, etc. These organisations normally develop within the formal organisation.
The formal organisations in their efforts at fulfilling some established purpose or interest with efficiency many neglect or sacrifice some human values. To achieve these personal values, informal organisations may develop within the formal organisation. For example: for the sake of friendship and fellowship, cliques or gangs may develop within a bank or a factory.