The social sphere studies. Social sphere as an economic category and its structure

Not only social subjects are identified as parts, but also other formations - spheres of society's life. Society is a complex system of specially organized human life activity. Like any other complex system, society consists of subsystems, the most important of which are called spheres of public life.

Sphere of social lifea certain set sustainable relationships between social actors.

Spheres of public life are large, stable, relatively independent subsystems of human activity.

Each area includes:

  • certain types of human activities (for example, educational, political, religious);
  • social institutions (such as family, school, parties, church);
  • established relationships between people (i.e., connections that arose in the process of human activity, for example, relations of exchange and distribution in the economic sphere).

Traditionally, there are four main spheres of public life:

  • social (peoples, nations, classes, gender and age groups, etc.)
  • economic (productive forces, production relations)
  • political (state, parties, socio-political movements)
  • spiritual (religion, morality, science, art, education).

Of course, a person is able to live without satisfying these needs, but then his life will differ little from the life of animals. Spiritual needs are met in the process spiritual activity - cognitive, value, prognostic, etc. Such activities are aimed primarily at changing individual and social consciousness. It manifests itself in scientific creativity, self-education, etc. At the same time, spiritual activity can be both producing and consuming.

Spiritual production is the process of formation and development of consciousness, worldview, and spiritual qualities. The product of this production are ideas, theories, artistic images, values, spiritual world individual and spiritual relationships between individuals. The main mechanisms of spiritual production are science, art and religion.

Spiritual consumption is called the satisfaction of spiritual needs, the consumption of products of science, religion, art, for example, visiting a theater or museum, acquiring new knowledge. The spiritual sphere of society's life ensures the production, storage and dissemination of moral, aesthetic, scientific, legal and other values. It covers various consciousnesses - moral, scientific, aesthetic, etc.

Social institutions in spheres of society

In each sphere of society, corresponding social institutions are formed.

In the social sphere the most important social institution, within which the reproduction of new generations of people is carried out, is. The social production of man as a social being, in addition to the family, is carried out by such institutions as preschool and medical institutions, schools and others. educational institutions, sports and other organizations.

For many people, the production and presence of spiritual conditions of existence are no less important, and for some people even more important, than material conditions. Spiritual production distinguishes humans from other beings in this world. The state and nature of development determine the civilization of mankind. Main in the spiritual sphere institutions are performing. This also includes cultural and educational institutions, creative unions (writers, artists, etc.), the media and other organizations.

At the heart of the political sphere lies the relationship between people that allows them to participate in the management of social processes, to occupy a relatively safe position in the structure social connections. Political relations are forms of collective life that are prescribed by laws and other legal acts of the country, charters and instructions regarding independent communities, both outside and within the country, written and unwritten rules of various. These relations are carried out through the resources of the corresponding political institution.

On a national scale, the main political institution is . It consists of many of the following institutions: the president and his administration, government, parliament, court, prosecutor's office and other organizations that ensure general order in the country. In addition to the state, there are many organizations in which people exercise their political rights, that is, the right to manage social processes. Social movements also act as political institutions that seek to participate in the governance of the entire country. In addition to them, there may be organizations at the regional and local level.

Interrelation of spheres of public life

Spheres of public life are closely interconnected. In the history of the sciences there have been attempts to single out any sphere of life as determining in relation to others. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the prevailing idea was the special significance of religiosity as part of the spiritual sphere of social life. In modern times and the Age of Enlightenment, the role of morality and scientific knowledge was emphasized. A number of concepts assign the leading role to the state and law. Marxism affirms the determining role of economic relations.

Within the framework of real social phenomena, elements from all spheres are combined. For example, the nature of economic relations can influence the structure of the social structure. A place in the social hierarchy shapes certain political views and provides appropriate access to education and other spiritual values. Economic relations themselves are determined legal system a country that is very often formed on the basis of the people, their traditions in the field of religion and morality. Thus, at different stages of historical development, the influence of any sphere may increase.

The complex nature of social systems is combined with their dynamism, i.e., mobile nature.

Social sphere life of society is a collection of individuals who are united by historically established connections and relationships, and also possessing characteristics that give it its originality. This concept is directly related to satisfaction. And the opportunities through which you can get the desired result depend on:

  1. subject and his belonging to a certain social group.
  2. The level of development of the state and its place on the world political stage.

Note that society is not just a number of people. There are certain aggregates of which act in it that constitute social existence. Their classification may be based on class, national, age or professional characteristics. Division can also be carried out on the basis of territorial affiliation. That is why the social consists of classes, strata, professional and territorial communities, as well as production teams, families and institutions. Also in this area there is a macro- and microstructure, which includes families, work and educational groups, etc.

Note that all the components here are in interaction, which is based on the realization of basic needs and interests. They enter into certain relationships, of which there can be several types: economic, social, spiritual and political.

The social sphere of society includes the following structural components:

  1. Ethnic structure. Initially the most small group the family from which the clan consisted was considered. If several of them united, then a tribe was formed. Later, a nationality was formed, which was based on territorial ties between people. When feudalism begins to develop, the process of nation formation begins.
  2. Demographic structure. The general community of this structure is the population - a set of people that continuously reproduces their own kind.

The social sphere of society has a certain nature of relationships that are formed between its members. Their specificity depends on the position they occupy in the structure, as well as on the role assigned to them within the framework of joint activities. As a rule, the positioning of individuals is not equivalent. This inequality is expressed in the social distance that exists between members of society.

The social sphere of society is characterized by the dominant role of relationships, which strictly leads to the development of a new type of consciousness of representatives of society, which is called social. Its structural feature is that a community of people thinks and acts in a completely different way, not the same as its individual members if they were in a state of disunity.

Let us note that this area of ​​people’s lives is a structure that is in continuous development. Within its framework, processes always occur that can change the nature of relationships between individuals, as well as their content. They are capable of influencing the essence of social structure and

The social sphere of society is constantly being studied, because at the same time we comprehend the specifics of human relations, as well as the characteristics of the activities and behavior of members of society, social structures and their elements.

Let us note that the study of all these components is possible only within the framework of sociology. Of course, this area is studied by many sciences, but thanks to sociology we get a more complete understanding of all aspects of its existence and functioning.

group of industries providing social development both individual work collectives and society as a whole.

Social sphere

The social sphere is a set of industries, enterprises, organizations that are directly connected and determine the way and standard of living of people, their well-being and consumption.

SOCIAL SPHERE

this is the area of ​​​​relations between groups occupying different socio-economic positions in society, primarily differing in their role in the social organization of labor, attitude to the means of production, sources and size of the received share of social wealth.

SOCIAL SPHERE

industry national economy, not participating in material production, but ensuring the organization of service, exchange, distribution and consumption of goods, as well as the formation of the standard of living of the population and its well-being. The social sphere includes: trade, education, culture, social security, etc.

SOCIAL SPHERE

a set of industries, enterprises, organizations that are directly connected and determine the way and standard of living of people, their well-being, and consumption. The social sphere includes primarily the service sector (education, culture, healthcare, social security, physical culture, catering, public services, passenger transport, communications).

Social sphere

a number of economic sectors and government activities that have a direct impact on individuals and families. First of all, it includes sectors of the socio-cultural complex: education, culture, healthcare, and science. A major role in this area is played by housing and communal services, passenger transport, communications serving the population, trade, and the consumer market. An important place belongs to such activities as problem solving labor relations, employment and migration, implementation of social protection and social security of the population.

Social sphere

1) The social (non-productive) sphere of social production is a sphere where material benefits are not directly created. The social sphere includes: art, culture, sports, science, education, healthcare. 2) The social, material and spiritual conditions surrounding a person’s existence and activity.

In a broad sense (macroenvironment) it covers the socio-economic system as a whole - productive forces, the totality of social relations and institutions, public consciousness, and the culture of a given society. In the narrow sense (microenvironment), being an element of the social sphere, as a whole, it includes the immediate social environment of a person - family, team (work, school, etc.) and groups of people. It has a decisive influence on the formation and development of personality, at the same time, under the influence of creative activity, human activity itself changes and transforms.

Department of Automated Control Systems

Coursework

Discipline: “Management in socio-economic systems”

On the topic: “Application of methods and models of system analysis and management theory to management problems in the social and economic spheres”

Completed:

5th year student

group MIVT-16-1-2

Zenin Kirill Andreevich

Introduction. 3

Main part. 6

1. Social and economic sphere.

2. Methods and models of system analysis. 9

3. Methods and models of decision making theory. 13

Chapter II 16

1. Brief information about the company "SimpLAN". 16

2. Analysis of the economic subsystem of the organization. 17

3. Construction of a mathematical model and application of the simplex TPR method to analyze the model. 18

4. Application of the method of expert assessments based on a ranking assessment system with subsequent normalization, ranking and application of the method of median ranks to analyze the model of the economic subsystem. 29

5. Analysis of the social subsystem of the organization, construction of its model, improvement and analysis. 38

REFERENCES... 45

Introduction

Economics studies production, problems of goods and services, supply and demand, human economic behavior in general, and the use of money and capital. Sociology, in turn, seeks to develop models of economic behavior of various groups and explore the economic forces that influence people's lives. The relationship between the economic and social spheres is the influence of economic relations on the social structure of society and on the activity of social groups, as well as the influence of the system of social inequalities on socio-economic processes. The connection between economic and sociological factors is often overlooked in the decision-making process. It is the connection between these two components that generally reflects the state of the enterprise as a whole.

The object of organizational behavior is employees of organizations, represented by managers, specialists, and support service workers. In turn, the organization’s employees are its main capital, since the achievement of the organization’s goals depends on them. In order for employees to strive to achieve the goals of the organization, it is necessary that the organization, in turn, motivates them to do so.

The transition stage to market relations in the Russian economy is characterized by a crisis of motivation and a negative perception of the majority of enterprise employees about labor activity. The essence of work motivation has practically boiled down to the desire to have the maximum guaranteed salary with an indifferent attitude to the results of labor (quality, impact of labor). Poverty of motivation and a narrow range of needs satisfied through work activity have reduced the controllability of workers and made them weakly subject to stimulation.

The above applies not only to employees, but also to specialists and managers, in particular middle managers.

Some of the workers who have retained the moral foundations of labor consciousness and rich work motivation are a minority and are often at pre-retirement and retirement age. As for employers and senior managers, according to sociological surveys, 90% of them, as opposed to other forms of influence, give preference to administrative pressure, explaining this choice of management methods for the decline in discipline. Therefore, today the “carrot and stick” method, implemented through a system of simple economic and administrative incentives and sanctions, has become the most common method of influencing people in order to obtain the desired result. Such a system is quite effective in conditions of low content of work, authoritarian leadership style and significant unemployment. The “carrot and stick” method includes proportional additional payments and deductions, work on administration terms: fines, collective contracting and other well-known techniques.

This paper proposes to consider the applicability of the methodology of system analysis and decision-making theory in the social and economic sphere of an enterprise and to trace within its framework the impact of changes in one area on another.

The purpose of this course work is to increase the efficiency of the organization through management influence on its social and economic sphere.

The object of the study is the socio-economic system “SimpLAN”.

The subject of the study is an organization model, including social and economic components.

1. Consider the role and connection between the social and economic spheres.

3. Review models and methods of SA and TPR.

4. Analyze the enterprise from the social and economic spheres and build its model.

5. Apply TPR methods to improve enterprise productivity.

The scientific novelty of the work lies in the study of the possibility and significance of using models and methods of system analysis and decision-making theory to improve the economic and social performance of a small organization.

The practical significance of the work lies in increasing the efficiency of a small organization and its employees.

Main part

Chapter I

Social and economic sphere

According to T. I. Zaslavskaya and R. V. Ryvkina, the economic sphere is an integral subsystem of society, responsible for the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of material goods and services necessary for people’s livelihoods. It is formed by many partial systems of greater complexity relative to it.

The social sphere does not form a separate subsystem and cannot be considered on equal terms with the economic, political and similar spheres. To understand its nature, let us define the concept of “social attitude” (as main characteristic social sphere). Social relations are understood in scientific literature in two senses: broad and narrow. In a broad sense, they mean relations between any communities (for example, enterprise teams, the population of different regions, etc.), in a narrow sense - relations between classes, social strata and groups occupying different positions in society. According to M.N. Rutkevich, social relations- these are “relations determined by the position of people and groups in the social structure of society. The core of social relations are relations of equality and inequality in the position of people and groups in society. Social relations are always “present” in economic, as well as in political and other social relations (although they do not exhaust them).

What is the connection between the social sphere understood in this way and the economic sphere?

First of all, the position occupied by different groups in society is decisively determined by the system of economic relations. Moreover, the groups themselves, about which we're talking about in economic sociology, these are collections of individuals characterized by a similar position in the economic sphere, that is, they are located within the structural divisions of the social economy. They seem to bear its features in accordance with the famous aphorism of K. Marx about the essence of social man as a set of social relations. This “imprinting” of economic relations on the groups functioning within them reveals the direct impact of the economic on the social.

At the same time, the social area is a powerful factor of “reverse influence” on the functioning and development of the economy, which is realized through the activity of socio-economic groups, which are the driving force of socio-economic processes. Social processes are understood as changes in social objects over time, patterns that arise when their states change.

So, the relationship between the economic and social areas is the influence of economic relations on the social structure of society and on the activity of social groups, as well as the influence of the system of social inequalities on socio-economic processes.

The close connection between the social and economic spheres can be observed in the example of a small system that makes up the totality of these spheres - an enterprise. Any enterprise can be considered as a socio-economic system that has an internal structure, functioning in constant interaction with the external environment.

An enterprise is a social system because it is created by people to meet the specific needs of society and is managed by people who have certain personal characteristics. An enterprise is an economic system because, as a result of its use economic resources and sales of products ensures the continuity of reproduction of the social product.

Considering an enterprise as a system, it is necessary to identify the object and subject of influence in it. The object of influence in the enterprise system is a set of material conditions, production, organizational processes, relations between employees when the enterprise performs its functions.

The subject is the control apparatus, which, through various forms and methods of influence, carries out the purposeful functioning of the object.

In all economic systems, the main productive force is people, the personnel of organizations. With his labor he creates material and spiritual values. The higher the human capital and the potential for its development, the better it works for the benefit of its enterprise. Employees of the enterprise, closely connected with each other in the process of work, not only create a new product, perform work and provide services, but also form new social and labor relations. In business market relations, the social and labor sphere becomes the basis of life activity of both individual workers and individual professional groups, and entire production teams.

Thus, we can highlight management tasks in the social subsystem of the enterprise:

· improving the social conditions of the company's employees by creating better working conditions and setting higher wages;

· improving the skills of employees by providing them with appropriate courses and motivation for this process.

· preventing the emergence of controversial situations and conflicts within the work team.

Let us also consider management tasks in the economic subsystem of the enterprise:

· constant monitoring of the efficiency of the company, coordination of the work of all its divisions;

· ensuring production automation

· constant search and development of new markets.

· determination of specific development goals of the company;

· identifying the priority of goals, their order and sequence of achievement;

· development of a system of measures to achieve the intended goals;

· identification of necessary resources and sources of their provision;

· establishing control over the implementation of assigned tasks.

The tasks of one area perfectly complement the tasks of another area, overall leading to an increase in the efficiency of the enterprise.

However, it is not so easy to solve both problems at once. The problem is that solving problems in the economic sphere can aggravate solving problems in the social sphere and vice versa.

Features of social sector management at the regional level.

When developing directions for any, including social, transformations within a certain territory, the specifics of a particular region are certainly taken into account.

1. The economic independence of the region cannot be absolute, since the regional economy, being a subsystem of the national economy, cannot be considered as an isolated part of it. This is evidenced by the fact that state budget financing still remains the main source of financial resources in the economy of any region.

2. The level of development of the region is significantly influenced by natural and climatic factors (presence of minerals and other natural resources, favorable conditions of the geographical environment, etc.) and environmental conditions.

3. Most regions are “highly specialized”, i.e.

focused on certain spheres of the national economy (in this regard, industrial regions, agricultural, recreational, etc. are traditionally distinguished).

Regions, as a lower sphere of life, directly implement the socio-economic policy of the state: the entire country is governed through the regions and the state strategy is embodied in them. Taking into account certain specifics, regional governance acts as a conductor of all-Russian interests. This does not exclude special management aspects. On the contrary, taking into account specific features allows one to avoid strict centralization and bureaucratization of economic life. The more freely a business entity can manage its resources within the framework of a single economic mechanism, the higher the management efficiency.

A rigid control system is less effective because limits the freedom of grassroots government, violates the law of feedback and, ultimately, leads to a breakdown in self-regulation. And regional management is designed to eliminate the shortcomings of strict centralization.

At the present stage, management of the social sphere (both according to current legislation and emerging practice) is increasingly becoming the subject of attention and responsibility of authorities and management at the regional level. In this regard, the volume of work increases and the complexity of the tasks of managing the social sphere of the region increases, which gives rise to a number of problems associated with the need to further improve the system of territorial management at the regional level. The essence of the crisis of the existing management mechanism in the social sphere lies in the inconsistency of the main groups of interests of the subjects of such activities, i.e. the interests of the subjects of the Federation conflict with the goals and objectives of the relevant federal government bodies. This is especially acute when determining the long-term prospects for the development of the region.

At the regional level, the social sphere is an object of management for everyone government agencies authorities that function and have a social orientation (ministries and state committees in charge of issues of social protection, education, culture and interethnic relations, healthcare, physical culture and sports, labor, etc.), at the local level - departments and departments of local governments. At each level of social sector management, their functions are performed in accordance with the powers granted.

Managing the social sphere of a region involves performing many functions, solving specific analytical and organizational problems, and processing large-volume and complex-structured information flows. Since the social sphere is a specific area of ​​connections and relationships that develop between subjects of social life, its management should be carried out taking into account the conditions and factors that ensure the reproduction, development, and improvement of interacting social groups and individuals.

The social sphere of the region is a complex, branched, multidimensional system with various connections, relationships, and infrastructure, which together ensure the life and development of the regional community.

Regional social policy is understood as a set of measures by federal bodies aimed at the social development of regions. Regional social policy is formed by the Center. However, at the concept development stage, it should represent a two-way process of interaction between federal and regional structures. Social policy in the region is developed by regional authorities with the participation of local governments, taking into account the concept of state social policy formed by the Federal Center.

In the practice of regional management, there is no consistent development and systematic implementation of a social development strategy, and social policy, on the one hand, comes down to individual measures to ensure a guaranteed social minimum, and on the other, to “patching holes” when problems arise. emergency situations in the social sphere. Regional social policy turned out to be more aimed at developing a strategy for social development at the macro level, forming a single social unity, and social policy in the region - at the practical implementation of a set of measures for the development of the social sphere in the region. However, regional authorities and even local governments are called upon not only to implement social policy within their territorial divisions, but also to formulate a strategy and tactics for carrying out social reforms on their territory within the limits of established powers and the ability to use their own funds. This is typical for regions in which active social policy is being formed and implemented. Regional authorities and local governments also participate in the process of forming the social policy of the federal Center (albeit still very limited).

Thus, regional social policy can be formed and developed in the regions of Russia only on the basis of the agreed socio-economic policy of the Russian state and the subject of the Federation. Specific areas of social policy in the region (priorities, mechanisms, measures) largely depend on the socio-economic state and specifics of the territory.

In addition to extra-regional and intra-regional factors, the regional social sphere is also formed by the totality of organizations (as carriers of social policy) of a given territory. The final product of the organization’s activities in the form of social benefits and services is aimed at active use in all elements external environment. Therefore, the social sphere of the region is considered, on the one hand, as a set of organizations, and on the other, as an open, socially oriented system.

The peculiarities of the social sphere of the region as an object of social policy are caused by the specific diversity of cultural development, natural-climatic, geographical and environmental conditions, as well as the transformation of social and everyday needs in obtaining education, mastering cultural values, organizing work and leisure, maintaining health in the process of socialization of the individual in characteristic operating conditions of a particular region. Achieving balance in the social sphere, eliminating emerging social deformations and, ultimately, achieving social stability is the essence of social policy in the region.

Each region is inherently unique, however, there are differences in natural and climatic conditions, the degree of development of territories, key indicators of socio-economic development, etc. In other words, the economic space of Russia is very heterogeneous both in natural-climatic and socio-economic aspects. With the increasing differentiation of Russian space, it is becoming increasingly difficult to divide regions by type. In fairness, it must be said that this task was not easy before under the conditions of a planned economy.

Two main types of social indicators can be distinguished. The first type includes indicators quantitative characteristic which allows us to unambiguously justify the mandatory directions of social policy. At the same time, the socio-economic characteristics of individual regions are not factors in the differentiation of these areas. Social indicators of the second type are characterized by the fact that the conclusion about a positive or negative value for the region, their actual significance cannot be made without a comprehensive assessment of the situation in the region. In contrast to the situation with indicators of the first type, goal setting in terms of choosing directions for social policy takes on an active character in this case.

The indicators of the second type include, first of all, demographic indicators. Without knowing real state economy of the region, it is impossible to say whether, for example, the existing natural population growth or the balance of migration has a positive or negative impact on the region. Thus, in labor surplus regions with a tense situation in labor markets, high natural labor growth and a positive migration balance will lead to an increase in the load on their labor markets and a decrease in household incomes, etc.

A specific type of social policy can be determined if we take into account the characteristics of the socio-economic situation that has developed in the country and its regions by a certain period of time. The features of this situation, in turn, determine the fundamental requirements for national social policy and the directions of its interregional differentiation.

The sphere of social life of society.

Society is made up of many people. But it is not a simple sum of individuals. In this multitude, certain groups and communities arise that differ from one another and are in various relationships between themselves and society as a whole.

Questions naturally arise: for what reasons do certain communities arise in society at one stage or another, what they are, what connections are established between them, how and why they develop, how they function, what their historical fate how things are going in society complete picture connections and dependencies of these communities and does it develop at all, etc.? Social philosophy studies the laws according to which stable, large groups of people develop in society, the relationships between these groups, their connections and their role in society. These laws constitute the content of a special area of ​​public life - its social sphere.

In philosophical and sociological science, a whole range of social structures of society is distinguished: social-class, socio-territorial (settlement), which is based on the differences between city and countryside, socio-demographic, reflecting the position of gender and age groups, professional structure, by economic sectors . Significantly enriched and scientific ideas about ethnic communities and their differentiation, the microsocial structure of society - primary groups, family, etc.

At the same time, a tradition of excessive division and specialization in the study of various elements of social life has developed, not particularly sanctioned by anyone, but nevertheless quite strong. Within the framework of this tradition, classes and class relations, ethnic communities, groups, families, etc. were studied separately.

But the development of society with increasing insistence requires overcoming the separate study of individual communities and requires an integral analysis of social life.

Social structure refers to stratification and hierarchical organization various layers of society, as well as the totality of institutions and the relationship between them The term “stratification” - stratum - layers, layer. Strata are large groups of people who differ in their position in the social structure of society.

The basis of the stratification structure of society is the natural and social inequality of people. However, on the question of what exactly is the criterion for this inequality, their opinions differ. Studying the process of stratification in society, K. Marx called such a criterion the fact of a person’s possession of property and the level of his income. M. Weber added to them social prestige and the subject’s affiliation with political parties and power. Pitirim Sorokin considered the cause of stratification to be the uneven distribution of rights and privileges, responsibilities and duties in society. He also argued that social space has many other criteria for differentiation: it can be carried out by citizenship, occupation, nationality, religious affiliation, etc.

Historically, stratification, i.e., inequality in income, power, prestige, etc., arises from the beginning of human society. With the advent of the first states, it becomes tougher, and then, in the process of development of society (primarily European), it gradually softens.

In sociology, there are four main types of social stratification - slavery, castes, estates and classes. The first three characterize closed societies, and the last type - open ones.

The first system of social stratification is slavery, which arose in ancient times and still persists in some backward regions. There are two forms of slavery: patriarchal, in which the slave has all the rights of the youngest member of the family, and classical, in which the slave has no rights and is considered the property of the owner (a talking tool). Slavery was based on direct violence, and social groups during the era of slavery were distinguished by the presence or absence of civil rights.

The second system of social stratification should be recognized as the caste system. A caste is a social group (stratum) in which membership is transferred to a person only by birth. A person's transition from one caste to another during his lifetime is impossible - for this he needs to be born again. A classic example of a caste society is India.

The next form of stratification consists of estates. An estate is a group of people that has rights and responsibilities enshrined in law or custom that are inherited. Usually in society there are privileged and unprivileged classes. For example, in Western Europe The first group included the nobility and clergy. to the second - artisans, merchants and peasants.

Finally, another stratification system is class. V.I. Lenin: “Classes are large groups of people that differ in their place in a historically defined system of social production, in their relationship (mostly enshrined and formalized in laws) to the means of production, in their role in the social organization of labor, and therefore , according to the methods of obtaining and the size of the share of social wealth that they have.”

Depending on the historical period in society, the following are identified as the main ones: classes:

a) slaves and slave owners;

b) feudal lords and feudal-dependent peasants;

c) the bourgeoisie and the proletariat;

d) the so-called middle class.

Since any social structure is a collection of all functioning social communities taken in their interaction, the following elements can be distinguished in it:

a) ethnic structure (clan, tribe, nationality, nation);

b) demographic structure (groups are distinguished by age and gender);

c) settlement structure (urban residents, rural residents, etc.)

d) class structure (bourgeoisie, proletariat, peasants, etc.);

e) vocational and educational structure.

A person occupying a certain place in the structure has the opportunity to move from one level to another, increasing or decreasing his social status, or from one group located at some level to another, located at the same level (movement from Orthodox to Catholic religious group, from one citizenship to another) Such a transition is called social mobility. (Vertical mobility is the advancement of a person up or down the career ladder.)

Social mobility sometimes leads to the fact that some people find themselves at the junction of certain social groups, while experiencing serious psychological difficulties. Their intermediate position is largely determined by their inability or unwillingness, for whatever reason, to adapt to one of the interacting social groups. This phenomenon of a person being, as it were, between two cultures, associated with his movement in social space, is called marginality. A marginal is an individual who has lost his former social status, is deprived of the opportunity to engage in his usual activities and, moreover, has found himself unable to adapt to the new sociocultural environment of the stratum within which he formally exists. The individual value system of such people is so stable that it cannot be replaced by new norms, principles, and rules. Their behavior is characterized by extremes: they are either overly passive or very aggressive, easily transgress moral standards and are capable of unpredictable actions. Among the marginalized there may be ethnomarginals - people who found themselves in a foreign environment as a result of migration; religious marginals - people who are outside the confession or who do not dare to make a choice between them, etc.

Qualitative changes taking place in the economic basis of modern Russian society have entailed serious changes in its social structure. The currently emerging social hierarchy is characterized by inconsistency, instability and a tendency to significant changes. The highest stratum (elite) today can include representatives of the state apparatus, as well as owners of large capital, including their top - financial oligarchs. Towards the middle class modern Russia include representatives of the entrepreneurial class, as well as knowledge workers, highly qualified managers (managers). Finally, the lower stratum consists of workers of various professions, engaged in medium- and low-skilled labor, as well as clerical workers and public sector workers (teachers and doctors in state and municipal institutions). It should be noted that the process social mobility between these levels in Russia is limited, which may become one of the prerequisites for future conflicts in society.

In the process of changing the social structure of modern Russian society, the following trends can be identified:

1) social polarization, i.e. stratification into rich and poor, deepening social and property differentiation;

2) massive downward social mobility;

3) massive change of place of residence by knowledge workers (the so-called “brain drain”).

In general, we can say that the main criteria that determine a person’s social position in modern Russia and his belonging to one or another stratification level are either the size of his wealth or his membership in power structures.

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Introduction 2

Approaches to defining the social sphere 3

Structure of the social sphere 6

Social sphere of society and social policy 9

Conclusion 12

References 13

Introduction.

The social sphere is a complex system, unified in its quality and purpose and multifunctional due to the complexity and ambiguity of the reproduction process, differentiated subjects of life with their needs, abilities, and diversity of interests. It is a self-organizing and organized system at the same time, a multi-subject and multi-level system. This makes it a very difficult object for theoretical and empirical analysis.

Despite the enormous role that the social sphere plays in the life of society, there is still no consensus among scientists on the definition of the social sphere.

In my work, I will present several points of view on this issue. I will also describe the main approaches to structuring the social sphere and the criteria on which they are based. The last part of my work presents the main features of social policy as a tool for managing the social sphere.

Approaches to defining the social sphere of society.

Traditionally, social scientists distinguish the following main spheres of society - economic, spiritual, political and social. The economic sphere is understood as a system of economic relations that arises and is reproduced in the process of material production. The system of relations between people, reflecting the spiritual and moral life of society, constitutes the spiritual sphere. The political sphere includes a system of political and legal relations that arise in society and reflect the attitude of the state to its citizens and their groups, citizens to the existing state power.

The social sphere covers the entire space of a person’s life - from the conditions of his work and life, health and leisure to social, class and national relations. The social sphere includes education, culture, healthcare, social security, physical education, public catering, and public services. It ensures the reproduction, development, and improvement of social groups and individuals. Despite this, there are still debates about the definition of the social sphere and its allocation as the main sphere of society.

The development of theoretical understanding of the social sphere began with the advent of philosophy and each generation of scientists, considering the problems of social life through the prism of the requirements of their time, built various concepts and models of social existence.

In the literature, several approaches to the essence of the concept of “social sphere” can be distinguished. The first defines it through the totality of large social groups of classes, nations, peoples, and so on. This approach consolidates the division of society into various social groups, but at the same time the social sphere loses its functional characteristics, the main one of which is ensuring the reproduction of society. For example: “the central link of the social sphere is social communities and relationships.” The concept of the social sphere in this interpretation coincides with the concept of the social structure of society. “Social structure means the objective division of society into separate layers, groups united on the basis of one or more characteristics. The main elements are social communities.”

The second point of view is represented mainly by economists. Actively using the category “social sphere” in scientific analysis, they reduce it to the non-productive sphere and service industries. For example, Raizberg B.A. gives the following definition: “the social sphere usually includes economic objects and processes, types of economic activity directly related to the way of life of people, the consumption of material and spiritual goods, services by the population, satisfying the final needs of an individual, family, groups, groups of society as a whole.” . L.G. Sudas and M.B. Yurasova understand the social sphere as “the sphere of life of society, which ensures a certain level of well-being and quality of life of the population outside the immediate sphere of material production.” In these definitions, the social sphere acts as a synonym for social infrastructure. The latter means “an interconnected complex of economic sectors that provide general conditions production and human activity. Social infrastructure includes: trade, healthcare, urban transport, housing and communal services, etc.” These definitions represent the social sphere only as a system of interconnected service structures, without taking into account the activities of any social actors in it, their connections and relationships.

Also, some scientists believe that the social sphere is located between the political and economic spheres, and is their connecting link, therefore its isolation as a separate sphere of society is unlawful. Again, its main function is lost - the activity of population reproduction and the relationships that develop in the process of this activity.

Another group of authors understands the social sphere as a specific area of ​​social relations, covering a system of social-class, national relations, connections between society and the individual, for example - “the social sphere of society, covering the interests of classes and social groups, nations and nationalities, relations between society and the individual, working and living conditions, health protection and leisure activities, focused on the requests and needs of each member of society.” But this definition does not provide a holistic approach to the analysis of the social sphere.

And finally, the last approach to defining the social sphere, which, in my opinion, most fully covers all its components and connects it with the social reproduction of the population. From the point of view of G.I. Osadchaya “the social sphere is an integral, constantly changing subsystem of society, generated by the objective need of society for the continuous reproduction of the subjects of the social process. This is a stable area of ​​human activity for the reproduction of their lives, a space for the implementation of the social function of society. It is in it that the state’s social policy takes on meaning and social and civil human rights are realized.”

The structure of the social sphere of society.

The social sphere does not exist in isolation, but in connection with other spheres of society. “The social sphere, expressing life activity in its entirety, resulting in a person and social groups, seems to permeate all the others, since in each of them people and social communities act.”

The social sphere can be structured according to various criteria. For example, S.A. Shavel presents the structure of the social sphere as the sum of four interconnected parts, which at the same time act as empirical indicators for its substantive identification:

1. The social structure of society, historically represented by certain classes and social groups (socio-demographic, ethnic, territorial, etc.) and the relations between them.

2. Social infrastructure as a set of sectors of the national economy and types of socially useful activities (cooperative and individual, public funds and social initiatives, etc.) aimed at providing services directly to people.

3. Social interests, needs, expectations and incentives, i.e. everything that ensures the connection of the individual (groups) with society, the inclusion of the individual in the social process.

4. Principles and requirements of social justice, conditions and guarantees for its implementation. [cited from 4, 28].

The effective functioning of the social sphere is ensured by a developed social infrastructure, a stable set of material elements that create conditions for satisfying the entire set of needs for the reproduction of man and society.

A more realistic idea of ​​the structure of the social sphere is given by the classification of industries:

    education – preschool, general education institutions, primary, secondary, higher vocational and additional education institutions;

    culture - libraries, club-type cultural institutions, museums, art galleries and exhibition halls, theaters, concert organizations, cultural and recreation parks, circuses, zoos, cinemas, historical and cultural monuments, production of book, magazine and newspaper products;

    human health protection – health statistics, statistics of population morbidity, disability, industrial injuries;

    healthcare – the essence and activities of healthcare institutions, their location, condition and equipment, staff of medical and junior medical personnel;

    social security – inpatient institutions (institutions intended for permanent and temporary residence of elderly and disabled people in need of constant social and medical services and care)

    housing and communal services - housing stock, its improvement, living conditions of the population, production activities of enterprises and services that provide the population with water, heat, gas, hotels and other types of improvement of settlements;

    physical education and sports - a network of sports facilities, their location, personnel, number of people involved physical culture and sports.

The structure of the social sphere can also be considered as the structure of the service sector: public services in its pure form, private services in its pure form, mixed services.

The production and consumption of pure public services implies the satisfaction of public needs - national, local and regional scale. These services cannot be made exclusively objects of individual use. The non-excludability of such services from consumption makes it possible for individuals to consume them without paying. The state guarantees the availability of such services and the minimum social standard for their provision. Financing of the production of pure public services is carried out at the expense of the regional budget, or the country's budget. The noted properties of pure public services make it impossible to include them in market relations.

In contrast, pure private services are fully included in market relations, and have the following properties: individual consumption, exclusivity, their production is entirely carried out on the basis of private property and competition.

Most social services are of a mixed nature, having the properties of both pure private and pure public services.

Based on the above classification of social services as economic goods, the book by L.G. Sudas and M.V. Yurasova identifies various sectors in the structure of the social sphere in which services of different types are produced:

    state, where pure public goods and socially significant goods are produced that provide the GMSS system;

    voluntary – public, where mixed public goods of limited access are produced (municipal level, sports clubs, federations, etc.);

    mixed, where mixed public goods are produced, including socially significant services. It is represented by organizations of mixed forms of ownership;

    private commercial, where private goods are produced on a commercial basis.

Social sphere of society and social policy

In the space of the social sphere, the state’s social policy, social and civil rights are implemented.

The most significant determinant of the self-movement of the social sphere, especially during the period of intensive structural restructuring, breaking down the old mechanisms of self-regulation of society, is social policy, since there is a need for targeted impacts on the social environment in order to avoid the huge social costs characteristic of economic and political reforms. It is social policy that is called upon to solve the problem of the relationship between economic development and the preservation of social guarantees, reducing contradictions in economic and social processes that occur more or less spontaneously.

Social policy is one of the most important areas, an integral part of the internal policy of the state. It is designed to ensure expanded reproduction of the population, harmonization of social relations, political stability, civil harmony and is implemented through government decisions, social events and programs. Over time, social policy expanded not only the objects of its influence but also its content. The scale of government intervention in social processes also grew. “A limited view of social policy as a system of measures to help socially weaker groups developed back in the Soviet Union. This approach dominates in modern Russia. However, a broader understanding of this issue is needed. » Now social policy is not limited to certain categories of the population; its object is the living conditions of almost all social and demographic groups.

Shkartan presents the following definition: “Social policy in any society is the activity of establishing and maintaining the unequal position of social groups. The quality of social policy is determined by the achievement of a relative balance of interests of groups, the degree of agreement of the main social forces with the nature of the distribution of society's resources, and, finally, extremely important - with the opportunities for the realization of human potential by promising social segments of society, including just emerging groups. Successful social policy is a policy that brings social and economic effects.”

Social policy is usually considered in a broad and narrow sense. In broad terms, social policy covers all decisions affecting certain aspects of the life of the country's population. Social policy in the narrow sense “is nothing more than the redistribution (based on current legislation) of financial resources between various social groups of the population and sectors of the national economy using the mechanisms of the state tax and budget system.”

Gulyaeva N.P. writes that “The goal of social policy is to improve the well-being of the population, ensure a high level and quality of life, characterized by the following indicators: income as a material source of livelihood, employment, health, housing, education, culture, ecology.”

Based on the above, the objectives of social policy are:

    distribution of income, goods, services, material and social conditions for population reproduction;

    limiting the scale of absolute poverty and inequality;

    providing material sources of livelihood to those who, for reasons beyond their control, do not have them;

    provision of medical, educational, transport services;

    improvement of the environment.

In society, social policy performs the following main functions. Firstly, the function of income redistribution. This function is especially important in a market economy, since the development of market relations leads to a distribution of income and resources in general, which contradicts not only generally accepted norms of justice, but also economic efficiency, since it limits consumer demand and destroys the investment sphere. Secondly, the stabilization function, which helps improve the social situation of the majority of citizens. Thirdly, the integration function, which ensures the unity of society on the principles of social partnership and social justice.

Conclusion.

The social sphere is a special area of ​​relations connecting subjects of social life. It has relative independence and has specific patterns of its development, functioning and structure. Includes the entire set of conditions and factors that ensure the reproduction, development, and improvement of individuals and groups. The social sphere, relying on its own infrastructure, functionally ensures the reproduction of the labor resource, regulates the consumer behavior of certain social subjects, promotes the realization of their creative potential, and personal self-affirmation.

The social sphere is ideally designed to ensure a sufficient level of well-being and accessibility of basic life goods for the majority of the population. It is designed to create opportunities for social mobility, transition to a higher income, professional group, guarantee the necessary level of social protection, development of social, labor and entrepreneurial activity, and provide the opportunity for human self-realization. The optimal model of the social sphere is associated with ensuring the protection of the economic interests of each citizen, guarantees of social stability and is based on the principles of social justice and state responsibility for human social reproduction. This is precisely what social policy is designed to implement.

List of used literature:

    Barulin V.S. “Social Philosophy”, M., Fair Press, 2002

    Gulyaeva N.P. “The social sphere as an object of management and social development”, http://zhurnal.lib.ru/n/natalxja_p_g/tema3-1.shtml

    Gulyaeva N.P. “Social Policy”, http://zhurnal.lib.ru/n/natalxja_p_g/tema9.shtml

    Osadchaya G.I. “Sociology of the social sphere”, M., Publishing house MGSU “Soyuz”, 1999

    “Workbook of a sociologist”, M., Editorial URSS, 2003

    Raizberg B.A. "Fundamentals of Economics and Entrepreneurship", M., MP " New school", 1993

    Sudas L.G., Yurasova M.V. “Marketing research in the social sphere”, M., Infa-M, 2004

    “Philosophy, political science, economics, dictionary”, Yaroslavl, Academy of Development, 1997

    Shkartan I.O. “Declared and real social policy”// World of Poccuu. 2001. No. 2

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  • Social sphere is the relationships that arise in the production of direct human life and man as a social being.

    The concept of “social sphere” has different meanings, although they are interconnected. In social philosophy and sociology, this is the sphere of social life, which includes various social communities and connections between them. In economics and political science, the social sphere is often understood as a set of industries, enterprises, and organizations whose task is to improve the standard of living of the population; at the same time, the social sphere includes healthcare, social security, public services, etc. The social sphere in the second meaning is not an independent sphere of social life, but an area at the intersection of the economic and political spheres, associated with the redistribution of state income in favor of those in need.

    The sphere of social life of society can be characterized as a systemically organized part of society, where historical and social groups of people interact regarding social status, place and role in the life of society. It covers: the interests of classes and social strata, groups, nations and nationalities, relations between society and the individual, working and living conditions, health and leisure. The core of social relations is the relationship of equality and inequality of people according to their position in society.

    It is known that any society consists of specific individuals (subjects). But this is not a simple collection of individuals. People in society interact, become isolated, forming stable social groups. The latter have varying degrees of generality, differ from each other in size, specific needs and interests, and are in connections and relationships of different nature, content and complexity. To a first approximation, we can say that the life activity of social communities, their functioning, development constitute the social sphere. But they simultaneously function in the material-productive, political, and spiritual spheres; they do not belong only to social life. What then allows us to single out the social sphere as one of the main subsystems of society? The statement of V.S. seems important from a methodological point of view. Barulin that in deciding the existence of a particular social sphere, it is necessary to proceed not from what the components of this sphere are, but from the extent to which certain social laws have developed, been established, and acquired their qualitative specificity. If laws have formed and separated from other laws, then we can assert the existence of a corresponding sphere.

    Consequently, one of the first and most important grounds and criterion for identifying the social sphere is the presence in it of its own specific laws, which, as life practice shows, are closely related to the laws of the material, production, political and spiritual spheres. At the same time, it should be remembered that they have their own specificity, their place in the system of social laws. The presence of such laws allows us to draw a conclusion about the existence of the social sphere of society. The second criterion for isolation and definition is the presence in it of special social relations inherent only to it. What is their specificity? The concept of “social” and “social relations” are polysemantic.

    Philosophers referred to the strictly social relations as those that arise during the interaction of social groups, collectives, individuals, etc., regarding their position in the system of social life and which must be limited from other social relations. Social relations are a type of social relations. They develop between people in connection with the need to reproduce their own immediate life. Their content includes the satisfaction of individual and collective needs for maintaining life, the reproduction of individuals, primarily as the main productive force of society, the transfer of production experience from generation to generation, etc. Thus, social relations are one of the leading foundations for the formation of the social sphere, the formation of its qualitative certainty, relatively independent functioning and development.

    The third reason for distinguishing the social sphere is that it is characterized by its own type of activity. In its essence, social activity is manifested in the actions of individuals or social groups as representatives of certain communities of people (nations, classes, etc.), aimed at satisfying their needs and interests. Satisfaction of needs in the process of social activity ultimately, in one way or another, contributes to the reproduction and development of man as a concrete historical subject, representative of a certain class, nation, group, collective. Specific laws of development, social relations and social activity form in their unity an integrity, a qualitatively defined social formation, which is usually called the sphere of social life of society.

    The identified essential characteristics of the sphere of social life of society make it possible to give a more complete definition of the social sphere of society. The sphere of social life of society is a relatively independent, integral subsystem of society, characterized by the activities of people as members of certain social communities, and the relationships that arise between them regarding the equality and inequality of their position in society.

    The important role of the sphere of social life among other spheres of society is determined by the fact that in social activities and relationships a measure of equality or inequality in the life status of various social communities is realized. This is directly reflected in the degree of implementation of the principle of social justice. That is why the further development of the sphere of social life is one of the main tasks of improving our society, which has embarked on the path of profound transformations.

    The social sphere includes various social communities and relationships between them. A person, occupying a certain position in society, is included in various communities: he can be a man, a worker, a father of a family, a city resident, etc. The position of an individual in society can be clearly shown in the form of a questionnaire (Fig. 2.1).

    Rice. 2.1.

    Using the example of this conditional questionnaire, we can briefly describe the social structure of society. Gender, age, marital status determine the demographic structure (with such groups as men, women, youth, pensioners, single, married, etc.). Nationality determines the ethnic structure. Place of residence determines the settlement structure (here there is a division into urban and rural residents, residents of Siberia or Italy, etc.). Profession and education constitute the actual professional and educational structures (doctors and economists, people with higher and secondary education, students and schoolchildren). Social origin (from workers, from employees, etc.) and social status (employee, peasant, nobleman, etc.) determine the class-class structure; This also includes castes, estates, classes, etc.

    The social sphere is closely connected with the economic sphere.