NATURE OF ORGANISATIONS

• Modern civilised society is characterised by a large number of organisations, which play a central role in fulfilling desires and aspirations.
• The term organisation can refer to an association or associational group, or, in a specific sense, to bureaucracy like businesses, governments, or industries.
• The term may also refer broadly to social organisation, meaning any organised group as opposed to an unorganised group.
• Early sociologists used “social organisation” to describe societies:
  • Auguste Comte defined it as social agreement or social consensus, emphasizing the importance of social support for government.
  • Herbert Spencer saw it as the interrelation of different divisions of society (economic, political, etc.).
  • Emile Durkheim linked it to social integration and regulation through consensus on morals and values.
  • C.H. Cooley viewed it as the “differentiated unity of mental or social life” formed through shared activities and understandings.
• Modern use of the term “social organisation” refers to the interdependence of parts within groups, such as hospitals or factories.
• Sociologists now prefer the term social system instead of social organisation to describe society and its components.
• The term “social organisation” is now used to study how the parts of society are related and how they contribute to the functioning of society.
• Social organisation is essential for the survival and functioning of groups and societies, playing a key role in most sociological research and theory.
• Definitions of social organisation:
  • Duncan Mitchell: The interdependence of parts in enduring collective entities (groups, communities, societies).
  • Ogburn and Nimkoff: An organisation is an articulation of parts performing various functions.
  • Leonard Broom and Philip Selznick: Patterned relations of individuals and groups as a source of order in social life.
  • Louise Weston: The pattern and processes of relations among individuals and groups.
  • H.M. Johnson: Refers to an aspect of interaction systems.
  • Elliott and Merrill: A state of being where various institutions function in accordance with their recognised or implied purposes.
• Organisation is essential for complex activities in society, making tasks possible and more efficient.
• Examples of how organisation is crucial:
  • A well-organised football team can defeat an unorganised one.
  • A small, organised police force can control a large crowd.
  • A small group acting as a government can rule a nation.
  • A small board of trustees can manage a university.
• The term “organisation” can refer to many associational groups such as corporations, armies, schools, churches, banks, and prisons.
• Society consists of innumerable organisations, with examples like the state as a political organisation, a factory as an economic organisation, and a school as an educational organisation.
• Social organisation refers to the whole of society as an organised group of interacting individuals, with multiple organisations forming society.