Structuration

Structuration

Structuration is the concept that every social system’s laws, operating processes, and tools derive from participants’ verbal and nonverbal contact. Structuration theory is a social theory that examines how social processes are formed and replicated by the study of agents and mechanisms. Anthony Giddens, a sociologist, formulated this hypothesis and examined how social practices interact with institutions and agents (Ritzer)

Assumptions of Structuration

The principle of structuration is predicated on three main assumptions. The first assumption is that the manner in which a particular group of individuals behave is constrained by rules of the society in which they live in, structures relevant to the specific group they are found in and the behavior of other individuals within the specific group. The second assumption is that individuals within the specific society can make a deliberate decision to obey and follow the rules or they may choose to disregard them completely. The third important assumption is that creation of a group is a process, initially the group creates itself and after that it continues to recreate itself, changing in incremental ways, with communication as the instrument for this creation and constant recreation (Mouzelis)

Example of Structuration Behavior

A hypothetical example of a structuration behavior is in a new learning institution setting where we have a group of teachers. On the reporting day, the staff members meet at the reception area and as they wait for the principal to arrive, they initially introduce themselves formally as Mr. or Mrs. But as they begin to open up about their personal lives they start referring to each other on first name basis. Norms of informality and friendliness will start to develop amongst the teachers and this will impact on how they’ll interact at the school and outside school setting. In the event that there’s a minor misunderstanding between two teachers (Mike and Alice) and instead of solving it amongst the group of teachers, Alice decides to go directly to the principal, this action will have an impact on how the Alice will relate with the rest in the future. She would have violated the friendliness and casual norm that has been developed and she will be treated with some level disdain and not be involved in the group’s informal talks and activities. She will only be included when talking about formal institution’s issues as per the set rules and regulations in the institution.

Listening and Its Importance

What is listening? Why is it important to listen well when others speak? How is a people-oriented listener different from a content-oriented listener? State the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Listening is when the brain absorbs the meaning of words and sentences which results in understanding the facts and ideas being expressed. It entails incorporation of concentration which is focusing one’s mind on what is being discussed to avoid unnecessary distractions. Attitude, attention, and adjustment are the three major skills that differentiate a good and a bad listener.

It’s very important to listen while others speak. Listening is crucial in building trust and credibility since you will be perceived as capable of working with others. Listening is also a sign of support when someone is emotionally down. A good listener gains a lot of information and gets things done very easily. Listening to other people’s views also makes them listen to you therefore enabling exchange of information. Attentive listening also enables one to process what is being said and therefore have all the important facts at the end of the session, therefore one can think before speaking.

Differences between People-Oriented and Content-Oriented Listeners

People oriented listeners respond to feelings, emotions, seek to develop a connection with the speaker and listen with relationships in mind while Content oriented speakers are interested in the message itself, whether it makes sense, what it means, facts and evidence and the credibility of the source. The strengths of a people oriented listener is that they provide clear verbal and non-verbal cues and respond well to humor and illustrations. However, they may be seen as intrusive because they want to know about personal issues, they are also likely to be more attentive to the speaker than to the message. In the case of a content oriented speaker, their strengths is that they do not mind technical information or speaking in groups and they make sure that conclusions are related to the facts. Their weakness is that they may intimidate people because they ask tough questions, and take a long time making decisions.

References

Mouzelis, N. Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? Diagnosis and Remedies. London: Routledge, 1995.

Ritzer, G. Contemporary Sociological Theory and its Classical Roots,. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.