compare structural functionalism and conflict theory

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These two contrasting interests often lead towards conflicts. It should be noted that the objective of the organization or the manager is to derive the maximum out of the employee by giving him/her the least salary possible whereas that of the worker is to achieve maximum salary with minimum efforts. Such a thought will create a sense of dissatisfaction in his/her mind, and he/she may join trade unions to fight for his/her rights. He may develop a feeling that irrespective of his hard work, the manager or the company is not delivering enough salary or incentives to him. The worker would definitely compare his standard of living with that of the manager. Imagine the living standards of a manager and an ordinary worker working in the same company. Marx’s conflict theory can be made clearer using the following example. “Class, for Marx, is rooted in social relations of production, and cannot be referred in the first place to relations of distribution and consumption or their ideological reflections” (Slaughter). “Marx believed that he could study history and society scientifically and discern tendencies of history and the resulting outcome of social conflicts” (“Karl Marx”). Karl Marx is one of the major contributors to the conflict theory. Structural functionalism studies these independent and interrelated elements of people in the society. In other words, Obama is an independent person at the same time, he is interrelated to many things in the society. Obama is the husband to Michel whereas he is the leader to all Americans.

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On the other hand, the same individual could be a friend, leader, or professional in the society. For example, an individual could be a son/daughter, husband/wife, or brother/sister in a family. However, individuals have different roles in the family and society. Individuals constitute families, and families constitute societies. All the elements or parts of the society are independent as well as interrelated, according to this theory. It formulates its principles by viewing the society as a whole. Structural functionalism is a macro level sociological theory which focuses on structures and institutions in a society on a large scale. Even though these theories have many common elements, they have many differences also. Structural functionalisms, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism are some of the sociological theories which try to explain the behaviors of a society through different angles. In short, it is necessary to study deeply different parameters of a society to get proper awareness of its functioning. For example, different states in America have different laws with respect to the drink age or abortion. Since these elements are different in different societies, it is difficult to have two similar societies even in the same country. According to Pitt, the four elements that compose the sociological tradition are social action, embeddedness, social problems, and social construction (186). Different parameters can influence the behaviors of society. It provides tools for understanding how and why our society functions, impact of social intuitions on individual lives, and the challenges of social interaction between individuals and society” (“What is sociology?”). “Sociology is the scientific study of human groups. Similarities and differences between structural functionalisms, conflict theory and symbolic interactionism

Compare structural functionalism and conflict theory