FOR KIM WODS ONLY

Problem statement

The Evolution of Social Behavior and Opportunities That Arise

Social evolution in human society offers a unique premise to study and determine the effects and outcomes of social changes to organizations, societies, individuals, and businesses. This is because as long as man exists, social changes will always form a part of life, and since these changes take place within society, their effects reverberate through all society. Triggers of social change include current technology, environment, economy, and demographic features, and understanding these trigger points in history, can point out major social evolutions (Rousseau, 2006). Nonetheless, a major outcome of social change is the resultant gap in society marked by new needs and wants, non existent before the social change, and the subsequent opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Reference

Rousseau, J. (2006). Rethinking social evolution: The perspective from middle-range societies.

Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.

References

Alonso, H. H. (1993). Peace as a women's issue: A history of the US movement for world peace

and women's rights. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Bergman, J. (2002). Darwin’s critical influence on the ruthless extremes of capitalism. Technical

Journal, 16(2), 105-109. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://creation.com/darwins-critical-influence-on-the-ruthless-extremes-of-capitalism

Boesch, C. (2012). The ecology and evolution of social behavior and cognition in primates. The

Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 486-503. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/staff/boesch/pdf/Boesch_Encyclopedia_Social_in_Primates.pdf

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2013). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of

racial inequality in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Chasin, A. (2001). Selling out: The gay and lesbian movement goes to market.

Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chaves, L. S. (2011). Sexually explicit, socially empowered: Sexual liberation and feminist

discourse in 1960s playboy and cosmopolitan(University of South Florida). Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4236&context=etd

Clendinen, D., & Nagourney, A. (2001). Out for good: The struggle to build a gay rights

movement in America. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Cohen, N. (2012). Delirium: How the sexual counterrevolution is polarizing America. Berkeley,

California: Counterpoint Press.

Case study history

Racial inequality and race have been important elements in the creation of the American nation. This is because the nation was built on the premise of political and religious freedom, as well as economic liberty. With the nation being built on inequality, oppression, slavery and denial of fundamental freedoms it is easy to see a problem in race. Today, minorities in the United States lag in virtually all areas of social life, likely to be poorer than whites, earn 40% less than whites, get inferior education, live in poorer neighborhoods and generally have lower quality of life (Bonilla-Silva, 2013). Although the American society is one of the most democratic espousing values such as freedom and equality, it is still engaged in a fight with an unseen enemy: racism. Racism links to slavery on the evidence that slave owners had to look for reasons as to why slaves could not be free. After dealing with the issue it was for this reason and more stereotypes that fueled the need for the racial evolution.

The drive of the racial evolution was the desire to have equal rights for all men regardless of race, gender, or social standing. In fact the evolution is fundamental in today’s society because it espouses the most basic human right; freedom and as such other social evolutions like the gays and lesbians movements have staked their foundation on this evolution. An example of the laws demolished during the racial evolution was the court case Brown vs. Board of Education. The accomplishment of racial evolution was passed through by the civil rights movement. Nonetheless, the fight for racial equality has been a long struggle, and one that has reaped benefits because today, although inequalities still exist in income, housing, education and access to credit between whites and minority groups, these gaps have reduced compared to the fifties.

Another problem throughout society is the fight for gay and lesbian rights. The fight for gay and lesbian rights is an uphill task because more than facing opposition from part of the public, they also face opposition from a number of religious as well as the conservative wings of government. The black civil rights movement and the women’s liberation movement marked by the sexual revolution of the sixties fueled the development of the gay and lesbian rights movement. Therefore, the gay and lesbian movement developed along the same lines as these movements even using some of their tactics such as civil disobedience and protest.The fight for gay and lesbian rights largely relates to the fight for individual identity in the larger society. This is because the fight for these rights is so that society looks upon the gay and lesbian community as similar to the rest of society. Nevertheless, similar to other social evolutions, the fight for gay and lesbian rights has also created opportunities for entrepreneurs primarily because of the refusal by mainstream society to cede ground to the gay and lesbian community. The premise of freedom and personal rights that makes the fight for gay and lesbian rights a landmark social evolution. This is because sexual orientation is a private matter, and the right to have any sexual orientation is personal choice. Therefore, if society stops the fight for gay and lesbian rights, then human society will have passed a milestone in human sociology and the perception of rights in society.

Reference(s):

Bonilla-Silva, E. (2013). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of

Racial inequality in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Organizational Culpability

Is there evidence of corruption, prejudice and discrimination in the behavior of the organization or organizations that carry primary responsibility for the problem?

There is a lot of individualism among these organizations and also discrimination in carrying out primary responsibility of solving a certain problem. On the other hand for any organization to seek new opportunities there must be change in the behavior of individuals and hence this has therefore increased prejudice and corruption so as to achieve such opportunities. Corruption is common since organizations have to seek favor from specific parties to acquire certain needs.

Does globalization play a part in the problem? Why or why not?

Globalization takes part in the problem since as the living conditions continue to change and advance, the more human being fight to optimize their chances of survival and adapt to the new surroundings.

What strategy has the institution that bears primary responsibility for the problem employed to legitimize their conduct?

Most of the institutions that mostly bears the primarily responsibility of mitigating the grievances in the society are planning to improve and introduce new mode of technology since it is the latest social paradigm and gives all individuals opportunities to interact with the surroundings.

How have they justified their actions?

Such companies have justified their actions since changes in technologies have proven to be the tip point as well as the revolution that has triggered social evolution in the society today. They also believe that many people’s behavior is going to change in any case where we have new opportunities such as the technology that is currently at the tip in this perspective. Hence they believe this tool will lead to societal changes and eventually social evolution regulating many grievances.

What is the organization doing to reduce or alleviate the problem? Is it doing anything?

The organization is doing several things to make sure that problem has been alleviated such as educating people through media and other sources of information to make sure that there is flow of information from one person to person. On the other hand there are a lot of organizations who are fighting for the civil rights of those people who are mostly under rated in the society. I can therefore conclude that the organization is doing a lot to make sure this societal problem has been resolved by making life fair and easy for every human kind regardless of the class or the community.

What seems to be the motivation for this action?

The major thing that appears to be the motivating factor for this action is the increased social changes that are taking place in the society today. Social changes or social evolution is responsible for creating gaps in the business and the society as a whole and hence the society continues to become problematic due to social differences and eventually there is need to take the appropriate action.

How is the action being reported to civic groups, governmental agencies, national or international monitoring bodies and the public? Do the efforts at remediation (if there are any) appear to be succeeding?

The action is being reported to these organizations by use of technological means such as Smartphone to seek information as well as the use of media to transfer communication from one party to the other(Ellison, 2007)..

References

Boesch, C. (2012). The ecology and evolution of social behavior and cognition in primates. The

Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 486-503. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from

Duckworth, R. A. (2009). The role of behavior in evolution: A search for mechanism.

Evolutionary Ecology, 23(4), 513-531. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rad3/pubs/Duckworth_EvolEcol.pdf

Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of

Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x/full

Social Impact

Culture

Culture can simply be referred to as a way of life of a given people. It encompasses elements such as values, norms, and morals. Human beings exist in a social environment that is dynamic; it keeps changing as time moves. This results into what is termed as social evolution. As humans interact with others across the globe, they are affected socially and culturally; cultural elements such as values, norms and morals are likely to change. This change can either be positive or negative depending on how an individual has been affected. Basically, evolution of social behavior affects culture.

Contribution of cultural elements to the problem

Cultural elements have a significant effect on overall social behavior of a given society. This implies that culture directly contributes to change in social behavior. This is attributed to the fact that it is culture that determines the general behavior and the social life of people therefore it has a direct impact on how a society will behave. The elements of culture contribute to evolution of social behavior.

Sociological theory of stratification (Structural functionalism)

According to structural functionalists, it is important for the society to be stratified for efficient operation (Christopher, 2013). For instance, in the case of jobs and specialization, the society needs to be stratified in order to benefit members. Stratification motivates individuals to meet goals in life. For instance, there are some jobs that can be done by anyone; they don’t need specialized skills such as cleaning toilets. But other jobs like brain require highly trained members of the society. Through social stratification based on functions, individuals are motivated to belong to the class of the important few.

Summary and application of the theory

Structural functionalism basically concerns itself with stratifying the society on the basis on function or what people do. People need to be classed for a society to be effective. Not everybody can do everything; different people should perform different functions in the society. A brain surgeon needs someone to clean his toilet while a toilet-cleaner needs someone to attend to him when sick. The society needs different classes for coexistence.

In relation to the topic under study, this theory is applicable in the sense that when an individual is motivated to pursue better jobs, his social behavior changes. There is an evolution of social behavior as an individual moves from one social status to another.

Role of status, power, and privilege

Status, power, and privilege play a crucial role in the change of an individual’s behavior (Duckworth, 2009). For instance, a person who has higher social standards is very powerful in the society and has more privileges as compared to other members of the society. Opportunities are likely to make someone proud in the sense that they don’t feel that they need others. Status, power, and privilege contribute to the problem.

The problem and its conditions

The problem has affected the status attainment of those involved because it makes them feel more important than other members of the society.

Globalization

Globalization plays a significant role in the problem because it causes interaction that affects people’s behavior; people meet others and they change their behavior.

References

Christopher, B. (2013). Social inequality and social stratification in the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Duckworth, R. A. (2009). The role of behavior in evolution: A search for mechanism. Evolutionary Ecology, 23(4), 513-531