The sociological perspective consists of studying and interpreting society as an objective of analysis.
Symbolic Interactionism represents a potential for understanding different aspects of organizational life, complementing other theoretical perspectives normally used in this field of study. In an effort to exemplify such potentiality, it seeks to elucidate some themes in organizational studies that have been benefited by the symbolic interactionist approach, whose possibilities of contribution continue providing opportunities for the development of new research, among them: studies of language, culture, socialization and status in organizations. They are woven, still, some considerations about the methodological aspects related to the operationalization of the basic assumptions of symbolic interactionism, which although it is known and discussed as a theoretical perspective suitable for conducting investigations qualitative, its assumptions are also compatible with quantitative methods. It is understood that, by enabling the adoption of qualitative and quantitative approaches, facilitating including the combination of multiple research methods, symbolic interactionism offers the possibility of a richer and more complete understanding of organizational issues. Finally, it should be noted that the adoption of symbolic interactionism as a theoretical perspective solves all problems related to the choice and use of methods in research.
Functionalism is a theory adapted to different fields of knowledge, such as philosophy, psychology and anthropology. Its main objective is to explain society, collective and individual actions, based on causalities, that is, functions. In this way, society, or what is observed from this theory, is understood as an organism, composed of related organs and with specific functions.
The founder of this theory was Émile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology. His interest was to understand what are the factors that define a society, that is, what makes a society not just a collection of individuals. That is why he studied the structures that make up a society, especially at the macro level. Other authors who contributed to the functionalist theory were Hebert Spencer, Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton.
Sociological studies on conflict are, in general, considered to form a “tradition of conflict”, although apparently there is little theoretical basis in common besides a general focus on interest clashes between large social groups. Most studies have adopted the Marxist or Weberian conflict approach, and the vast majority analyze the internal conflicts of society, such as those centered on great inequalities, including social class, gender and ethnicity. The sociologies of conflict became popular in the 1960s, partly as a reaction to the dominant structural functionalist paradigm and partly in response to the increase in the number of conflicts within and between societies at the time. Functionalism seemed to be more suited to explaining consensus and conformity than conflict, and many sociologists distanced themselves from Parsons and Durkheim and turned to Marx and Weber for inspiration. Today, theories of conflict are well established and Sociology is better equipped to understand and explain phenomena such as war, terrorism and social movements.
