Lesson - Social Institution

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS
LESSON: SOCIAL INSTITUTION (4QTR/WEEK 1)

INTRODUCTION
A social institution “consists of all the structural components of a society
through which the main concerns and activities are organized, and social needs … are
met” (Marshall 1998: 317–318). Generally, institutions evolve over time as a result of
the changing relationship among groups in society. There are institutions, however,
that persist despite changes in the economic, social, and political landscape. In
Philippine society, some important institutions are family, religion, and civil society.
Other institutions such as market and economy, education, and health are also
notable.
THE MAJOR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

1. Family is a social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative
groups to care for one another, including any children (Macionis 2012: 418). The
nuclear family is a family composed of one or two parents and their children. It is
also known as a conjugal family.
As an extended family is a family composed of parents and children as well as other

kin. It is also known as a consanguine family (Ibid). Shimizu (1991: 106) observed
that while the nuclear family is the basic form of household in the Philippines, the
nuclear family is “not a closed, isolated unit consisting of only the married couple and
their unmarried children It has frequent and intimate interactions with the families
living nearby. It is not unusual to find elderly parents or elderly unmarried siblings of
the household’s head still living together in the same household.”
A reconstituted family is a family whose composition and form of emotional care differ
from those of the nuclear or extended family. One example is the female- headed
transnational family, a household with “core members living in at least two nation-
states and in which the mother works in another country while some or all of her
dependents reside in the Philippines” (Parreñas 2001: 361). From Parreñas’s definition
of a female-headed transnational family, we can define the transnational family as one
with core members living in at least two nation-states.
Kinship. Family ties are also called kinship, a “social bond based on common ancestry,
marriage, or adoption” (Macionis 2012: 418). A more traditional understanding of
kinship follows the idea that persons who extend duties and privileges to one another
on the basis of consanguinity or blood relations are considered members of the same
kin group. Kinship relations around the world, however, are organized differently and
in ways that do not simply follow blood or biological relations. There are several types
of kinship relations within groups. For instance, some societies organize themselves
through a matrilineal descent, where people are regarded as members of the mother’s
group by birth and throughout their lifetime. Societies organized along a patrilineal
descent automatically consider people as members of the father’s group by birth and
throughout their lifetimes. Societies with bilateral descent, such as many of the
societies in the Philippines, trace automatic membership to both sides of descent. Many
societies share the idea that members of a kin group help each other take care of a
person’s welfare, protection, marriage, offspring, career, and identity (Service 1962;
Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).
Ritual kinship refers to ritual parent-child relations such as the godparent-godchild

relationship established through the baptism ceremony of Roman Catholics. In the
Philippines, this is called the compadre system (Shimizu 1991: 118).
Bands. In many areas of the world, small groups of people connected mainly by kinship
ties organize themselves into a community. This form of organization is called a band.
A band is usually led by a headman who members of the community considered as
either their best hunter or wisest member. A band, which is by itself a politically
autonomous organization and a type of society, typically comprises about 100 persons
and occupies a large local territory that serves as their hunting or foraging ground.
Members of the band either live within one community or scatter themselves across
their territory. Nearly all societies established before the development of farming some
10,000 years ago organized themselves into bands. More recent nomadic and foraging
societies also establish themselves into groups that may resemble the anthropological
description of band (Service 1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).
Tribes. Some kindred groups from multiple localities integrate themselves into a larger
unit of relations. That integrated formation of multi-local kin groups can be referred as
a tribal society or a tribe. As a tribe, communities of kin form an informal structure
especially in cases of outside threats but breaks up and return to a state of self-reliance
once that threat subsides. A tribe is rather fragile as a political system but militarily
and organizationally efficient in dealing with threats whether from an external enemy or
natural calamities. In the Philippines, some wrongly consider a linguistic group as a
tribal formation. Members of the same linguistic groups do link together for various
reasons but do not necessarily integrate themselves into larger political units in times
of external threat and then dissolve that integration when a threat has passed (Service
1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).
Chiefdoms. Some societies organize some form of formal structures that integrate
several communities into a political unit under the leadership of a council with or
without a chief. These societies are referred as chiefdoms. A chiefdom, however,
is usually headed by a chief, a person of higher rank as well as authority
compared to other members of a council. The council that makes up a chiefdom
normally comprises the chiefs of a community or multiple communities (district).
Many chiefdoms have an established system of social stratification with some
members, particularly the chief and the district chiefs, being bestowed with a
higher rank and accorded a status of prestige. The primary role of the chief is to
resolve conflicts, distribute goods, plan the use of resources and public labor,
supervise religious ceremonies, and command military affairs in accordance with
the interest of the chiefdom (Service 1962; Ember, Ember, and Perigrine 2011).
2. Economy is the “social institution that organizes a society’s production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and services” (Macionis 2012: 370).
The economy has three sectors (Ibid: 372). The primary sector relies on raw
materials from the natural environment. It is the most important sector in low-
income nations. Examples are agriculture, fishing, and mining.
The secondary sector is the manufacturing sector which transforms raw
materials into manufactured goods. This sector has a significant shareof the
economy in low-, middle-, and high-income nations. Examples are
automobile and clothing manufacturing. The tertiary sector produces
services rather than goods. It is the dominant sector in low-middle and high-
income countries. Examples are call center services, sales, and teaching.
3. Nonstate actors are organizations, groups, or networks that participate
in international relations and global governance. They are deemed to have
sufficient power and influence to advocate for and cause changes in international
norms and development practices. They include civil society, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and international NGOs (INGOs), economic and social
groups, including trade union organizations and transnational corporations, and
the private sector. In practice, nonstate actors include, among others,
community-based organizations, human rights association, universities and
research institutes, and chambers of commerce.
4. Civil society is “the population of groups formed for collective purpose
primarily outside of the State and marketplace” (van Rooy 1998: 30).
5. Education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values and beliefs. There
are many competing ideas about education as an institution. For some, it is
viewed as a socializing process while others view education as a status
competition. Finally, education can also be seen as a system of legitimation,
where it restructures entire populations, creating elites and redefining the rights
and duties of its members (Meyer 1977). Mass education, or public education,
is an example of how education can restructure entire populations and redefine
the rights and obligations of citizens.
6. Religion. Giddens and Duneier (2013) cite Durkheim’s definition of religion
as involving a set of symbols that invoke feelings of reverence or awe, which are
linked to rituals practiced by a community of believers.
STRUCTURE OF INSTITUTIONS
A social institution consists of different components. Two of them are authority
and bureaucracy. Authority refers to the legitimate power of individual to control and
judge or phohibits others action. Bureaucracy is the organizational structure of the
organization (i.e., institution) which is strickly followed in order to attain the
organization’s purpose. Max Weber (1864-1920) explains how authority and
bureaucracy works in an institution.
Weberian Types of Authority (Weber 1961: 173–179)

Max Weber’s work on social action showed one of the clearest links
between individuals and institutions. As defined by Weber, social action is one
that individuals attach subjective meanings to. In other words, social action is
action that is meaningful.
Weber identified four types of social action.
 Traditional action is determined by the actor’s habitual and customary
ways of behaving.
 Affectual action is determined by the emotional state of the actor.
 Value rationality is determined by a conscious belief in the value of
some ethical, aesthetic, religious or other forms of behavior.
 Means-ends rationality is determined by goal orientation.
These four types of social action form the bases of the structures of authority,
or the legitimate forms of domination. There are three types of authority
according to Weber.
 Traditional authority is associated with hereditary authority (example:
monarchy).
 Charismatic Authority is associated with charismatic leaders whose
authority comes from followers’ belief in the leaders’ special personal
qualities (example: cult leaders, benevolent dictators).
 Rational-legal authority is associated with leadership that is goal-
oriented for the benefit of society (example: duly-elected government
officials; bureaucrats). The ultimate form of goal-oriented action is the
bureaucracy.
A bureaucracy is a large, rational organization, designed to perform tasks
efficiently (Macionis 2012: 153).
Weber identified the following as features of a bureaucracy:
 Specialization: There exists a specialized division of labor.
 Hierarchy of position: Jobs are structured from greater to lesser amounts
of authority.
 Rules and regulations: Formal rules and regulations guide a
bureaucracy’s operations.
 Technical competence: Bureaucratic workers are technically trained.
 Impersonality: Rules and regulations, not personal whim, govern the
treatment of both clients and workers so that they are treated in the same
way.
 Formal, written communications: There is a reliance on records and
files.
References:
Candelaria, Anne Lan, Jose Jowel Canuday and Czarina Saloma. Understanding
Culture, Society and Politics: A Reader. Pasig City: Department of
Education. 2016.
Candelaria, Anne Lan, Jose Jowel Canuday and Czarina Saloma. Understanding
Culture, Society and Politics: A Teacher Guide. Pasig City: Department of
Education. 2016.

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UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS

LESSON: SOCIAL INSTITUTION (4QTR/WEEK 1)

THE MAJOR SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

As an extended family is a family composed of parents and children as well as other

Ritual kinship refers to ritual parent-child relations such as the godparent-godchild

Weberian Types of Authority (Weber 1961: 173–179)

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