Social System

The term ‘social system’ is a combination of two different words, i.e., social and system. Before understanding its meaning, one needs to understand the two terms separately.

Social refers to socialising in your peer groups simply by becoming a part of society where everyone is working to fulfil or achieve some goals, and system refers to the proper arrangement of each and everything by which a person is surrounded. Basically, a social system can be defined as socialising in the society and having proper arrangement patterns which help humans to achieve their desired results. 

What is Social System?

Think about the village or town you live in—what are the pieces that make up a community? There are probably private and productive businesses, public schools, government agencies, and perhaps a few religious institutions. Although we often think of these things as private organisations that provide us with certain services, they are individual pieces that connect the community.In sociology, social programs can be defined as the institutions and groups that come together to make one whole unit. Social programs can identify relationships that establish a connection of people to organisations, which eventually make a contribution to an even larger institution.For example, public education is a form of social system because it seeks to unite people by providing basic education, which will allow them to participate and contribute to the economy, thereby strengthening society as a whole.Previously, social scientists were dealing with all aspects of society as a social organisation. Earlier, they didn’t focus on the term ‘system’.The reason why sociologists abandoned the previous approach and adopted a systematic approach was that there was a need for a term that would emphasise the organisation and coordination of sectors.According to Talcott Parsons, the social system consists of a number of individual actors who communicate alone in at least one physical or environmental environment, actors who are culturally motivated to ‘fully satisfy themselves’ and are not related to their circumstances. 

Functions of Social System

According to Talcott Parsons, there are four vital tasks or functions which come under the purview of a social system, and the pattern of the four functions is called AGIL. The explanation for the same is given below:

Adaptation

It is crucial for any community to access the vital resources for its everyday functions, protection from threats (both social and physical), and developing information related to this that can be accessed by all. 

Goal achievement

The problem for an organisation is to make the connection to any integrated activities directed outside the social system.

Integration

This refers to the internal issue of retaining a satisfying relationship between the active members and avoiding conflicts that may disrupt the working of the social system. In small groups, the conflicts are largely interpersonal, i.e., between two or more people. In large organisations, they affect the relationships between groups.

Hidden pattern storage

The internal problem of the organisation is to plan the work patterns of the program and to adjust the requirements of the role for the members so that this is in line with their other responsibilities.

The first two problems of an organisation affect the external relationship of the social system and its environment, including its place of residence, the physical needs of its members, and the other social systems it meets. An internal social system organisation is a group of people united by people who work together with cultural commitment.

Types of Social Systems

Different sociologists have given different theories, and accordingly, they have classified the different types of social systems.

According to the Parson’s theory, the social system is divided into four types which are under two categories. These are as follows:

1. Particularistic Ascriptive Type.
2. Particularistic Achievement Type.
3. Universalistic Achievement Type.
4. Universalistic Ascription Type.

According to Luhman, the social system is categorised into three types as follows:

1. Societal System.
2. Organisational System.
3. Interaction System.

Some of the crucial elements on which the whole social system works are:

Status: Status can be defined as the ranking that one has earned in society. It is subjective and varies from person to person.

Norms: Norms are the rules and regulations that are followed by society and act as the standards to determine whether something is good or bad, appropriate or not.

Power: When people live with each other in a common place for a long time, there are high chances of conflicts. Among the two parties, one may be powerful and one might not be, and to control both the parties, there are some powers that are determined in the social system and the conflicted parties are controlled by those powers.

Conclusion

A social system, in simple words, is a structured and formal network of relationships that exists between people in a social setting. The members of a particular social system share certain common beliefs, ideas, principles, and norms. The most primary example of a social system is family. The members of a family, albeit independent, are codependent on each other for a multitude of things, i.e., they form a unit. Each member in the family has a particular role, status, objective, power, and norms, which are the elements of the social system.