Organizations form a group of the oldest social structures on Earth. The root of this concept is the Latin word organize, which translates as "doing together, arranging, slender look." The article will focus on the concept of organization as a system, types of social organizations and other aspects of the issue.
General Provisions
An organization may be considered in terms of a process or phenomenon. Being a process, it is a set of actions that lead to the creation and further improvement of the relationships between the components of a single whole. The concept of organization as a phenomenon involves the combination of elements for the implementation of certain goals or programs that operate on the basis of specific procedures and rules.
Organization as a social system is one of the most mysterious and interesting phenomena of life, about the same as the person himself. She really is not inferior to the individual in terms of complexity. That is why many-sided attempts to introduce a very universal theory of organization and its sociology to date have not been successful both in the Russian Federation and abroad. The main reason for this is that the organization as a social system and the object of numerous research in the field of science was simultaneously in the center of attention of a number of areas. We are talking about economic theory, sociology, as well as administrative sciences, each of which, it is important to take into account, reflected a different attitude to such a complex phenomenon. So, to date, a single understanding of the nature of the studied structure, its history and genesis has not been formed.
Historical aspect
Despite the fact that the phenomenon of organization as a socio-economic system has existed for tens of thousands of years, its study and scientific understanding began only in the 19th century in connection with the emergence of social sciences. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, when management and the theory of organization appeared, the term in question began to be applied in a narrower sense, as a rule, to firms (economic organizations), which to this day are good examples of “consciously established cooperation”. However, one way or another they are endowed with an artificial origin.
Organization as a socio-economic system interested in many sciences of public importance. This includes economic and sociological directions, which determine the basic attitude to this object of study. The sociological sciences consider organizations as social institutions. Economic (socio-economic) - as systems or institutions. A little later - due to the separation and further estrangement of social sciences, the disagreement between them regarding the concept of organization as a social system and its essence intensified. All this left a mark on the current state of organization theory, which is an interdisciplinary scientific field. It is called upon to develop an agreed point of view regarding the category of organizations. It is worth noting that the general theory of organization as a social system is based not only on the results of scientific research, but also on practical methods for improving and designing structures. A significant contribution to the solution of these problems was made by domestic scientists V.N. Vyatkin, V.N. Burkov, V.S. Dudchenko, V.N. Ivanov, V.A. Irikov and V.I. Patrushev.
The concept of organization as a system and social institution
By organizational it is necessary to understand such systems that are characterized by a management function (purposeful, conscious activity) and in which people are the main elements. The concepts of organization, organizational system and social system are synonyms. All of them direct science and practice primarily in search of patterns, as well as mechanisms for combining completely different components into a single effective formation. The modern organizational system has all the key features and properties of complex systems. So, it is advisable to include the following items in the system features:
- A large number of components.
- The unity of the main (strategic) goal for all elements.
Strong connection between components, unity of elements and integrity.
- Hierarchy and structure
- Relative independence.
- A management system that is clearly defined.
A subsystem should be considered as a set of elements that reflect an autonomous share within the system. The main properties in relation to the system are the following properties:
- The desire to preserve its structure, which is based mainly on the objective law of the organization as a social system - the law of self-preservation.
- The need for management. It should be noted that a person, society as a whole, an individual animal or herd also has a certain set of needs.
- The presence of a rather complex dependence on the characteristics of its subsystems and elements. So, the system may have specific features that are not inherent in its components, but these characteristics may not exist.
Classification of systems. Social system
Each system is endowed with input, its processing technology, end results and feedback. Under the main classification of systems it is necessary to understand the division of each of them into the following subsystems: biological, technical and social. It is important to note that the latter is distinguished by the presence of a person acting as a subject, as well as a control object of interrelated elements in the aggregate. A typical example of a social subsystem is a family, a production team, an informal organization, or even one person.
Social subsystems are significantly ahead of biological ones, judging by the variety of functions implemented. The set of decisions in the subsystem of the social type is characterized by a greater degree of dynamism. This can be explained by a rather high rate of change in public consciousness, as well as some nuances in its reactions to similar or identical situations. It should be borne in mind that the biological and technical subsystems can enter the social subsystem.
Social systems are natural and artificial, closed and open, partially or completely predictable, soft or hard. A system designed for an individual or in the aggregate of components of which a person is included is called social. In accordance with the goals it may have a political, economic, educational, legal or medical focus. The most common are socio-economic systems. In reality, social systems are implemented in the form of organizations.
Social organizations
Organization as an open social system realizes itself in the production of marketable products, services, knowledge and information. Any social organization unites social activities. The interaction of individuals through socialization forms certain prerequisites and conditions for improving production and social relations. So, in the theory of organization, it is customary to distinguish socio-political, socio-economic, socio-educational and other types of organizations.
Each of these types is determined by the priority of its own goals. So, the main goal of socio-economic organizations is making a profit; socio-cultural - the achievement of the specific goals of the aesthetic plan, as well as making a profit that goes by the wayside; socio-educational - the assimilation of modern knowledge and secondary - profit.
Today, there are many definitions of organization as a form of social system. All of them reflect the complexity of this phenomenon. In addition, there are a large number of scientific disciplines that are engaged in its study. These are organization theory, organization sociology, organization economics, management and so on.
Which organization concept is paramount?
The concept of organization as an element of a social system involves many interpretations in sociology and economics. At the same time, the target (rationalistic) definition dominates, which consists in the fact that an organization is a rationally formed system that acts to achieve common goals. The organization in the general sense is considered as a set of ways to regulate and streamline the actions of individuals and social groups. In a narrow sense, it is a relatively autonomous part of society as a system of social organization. It is worth adding that it is focused on achieving predetermined goals, the implementation of which involves joint coordinated actions.
One of the difficulties in defining this concept is that the organization process is not a material, concrete entity, but at the same time it can be determined by a number of characteristics of the material or non-material plane. Any organization as a social management system has a property complex, material objects and other benefits. In addition, it has many social aspects that cannot be seen or touched, for example, human relations.
Functional Features
Further, it is advisable to consider the functions of the organization as a social system:
- Social production. An organization is a group of people who are engaged in labor as the main activity. The main objective of the organization is the satisfaction of social needs in a particular product.
- Socio-economic. The key objective of the organization is to produce the right amount to meet consumer demand. Moreover, the product must have a certain quality that meets the requirements of a developed industrial society.
- The economic function is aimed at making a profit through the sale of the product.
- Social and technical. The activity of the studied category consists not only in observing the rules and norms of the technical process, as well as in servicing equipment, but also in the development of new technologies and techniques, their design, reconstruction, modernization to achieve competitiveness in the world market and the level of world standards.
- Managerial. One of the organization's tasks is to create conditions for the growth of labor productivity, the selection and further placement of both managerial and executive personnel, and to ensure an effective system for organizing the production process.
Additional functions
Due to the proper development of the organization as a social system, in addition to the functions presented above, there are additional ones:
- Psychological and pedagogical. This function consists in creating a favorable socio-psychological atmosphere in the structure, providing personnel to assist in the professional and social formation of new employees, and creating a system of professional development for all staff.
- Socio-cultural. In accordance with it, the organization is aimed at developing not only objects of mass consumption, but also those items that are of spiritual and material value for society as a system of social organization. Numerous cultural works, for example, unique technologies and technical innovations, are currently being created not by individuals, but by full-fledged social groups in the process of joint creative activity.
- Social and household. For uninterrupted, normal, and most importantly - economically profitable work, it is necessary to create certain social and living conditions for the employees of the company. Unfortunately, today due to economic instability, not all structures are able to provide even the most necessary in this direction. Nevertheless, the importance of this function to entrepreneurs and managers should not be forgotten.
What unites different organizations?
You need to know that all organizations have common elements:
- Social systems, in other words, people united in groups.
- Purposeful actions (members of the organization have an intention, a goal).
- Integrated activities (people work together).
Between individuals in the organization there are diverse relationships that are built at different levels of sympathy, leadership and prestige. A substantial part of these relations is standardized through norms, codes, and rules. Nevertheless, many of the nuances of organizational relations today are not reflected in regulatory documents either because of their novelty, or due to complexity, or because of inexpediency.
Conclusion
So, we have fully understood the concept, functions, and also the issue of the development of an organization as a social system. In conclusion, it is advisable to generalize the material and define the organization as a continuous system of coordinated and differentiated types of social activity, which consists in applying, transforming and combining a rather specific complex of material, labor, intellectual, financial and natural resources into a unique “whole” that is able to solve emerging issues . The function of the “whole” is to satisfy the individual needs of the individual through interaction with other systems, which include various types of social activities, as well as the resources surrounding people. Also, the work of any organization is a complex of interrelated social, psychological, production and other functions that we have analyzed in detail in the article. A clear performance by one or another social group of its own functionality is the key to the effectiveness of its activities, and, as a result, to the success of a common cause.