M.sc Pakistan study unit 2

Prepared by H-M-ZAKRIA

Lecturer GDC Parova, D.I.KHAN

PAKISTANI SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Unit # 2.  Social Organization:

Defining a Group

The term group is an amorphous one and can refer to a wide variety of gatherings, from just two people (think about a “group project” in school when you partner with another student), a club, a regular gathering of friends, or people who work together or share a hobby. In short, the term refers to any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and who share a sense that their identity is somehow aligned with the group. 

Types of Groups

Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929) suggested that groups can broadly be divided into two categories: primary groups and secondary groups (Cooley 1909). According to Cooley, primary groups play the most critical role in our lives. The primary group is usually fairly small and is made up of individuals who generally engage face-to-face in long-term emotional ways. This group serves emotional needs: expressive functions rather than pragmatic ones. The primary group is usually made up of significant others, those individuals who have the most impact on our socialization. The best example of a primary group is the family.Secondary groups are often larger and impersonal. They may also be task-focused and time-limited. These groups serve an instrumental function rather than an expressive one, meaning that their role is more goal- or task-oriented than emotional. A classroom or office can be an example of a secondary group. Neither primary nor secondary groups are bound by strict definitions or set limits. In fact, people can move from one group to another. A graduate seminar, for example, can start as a secondary group focused on the class at hand, but as the students work together throughout their program, they may find common interests and strong ties that transform them into a primary group.

In-Groups and Out-Groups

One of the ways that groups can be powerful is through inclusion, and its inverse, exclusion. The feeling that we belong in an elite or select group is a heady one, while the feeling of not being allowed in, or of being in competition with a group, can be motivating in a different way. Sociologist William Sumner (1840–1910) developed the concepts of in-group and out-group to explain this phenomenon (Sumner 1906). In short, an in-group is the group that an individual feels she belongs to, and she believes it to be an integral part of who she is. An out-group, conversely, is a group someone doesn’t belong to; often we may feel disdain or competition in relationship to an out-group. Sports teams, unions, and sororities are examples of in-groups and out-groups; people may belong to, or be an outsider to, any of these. Primary groups consist of both in-groups and out-groups, as do secondary groups.

While group affiliations can be neutral or even positive, such as the case of a team sport competition, the concept of in-groups and out-groups can also explain some negative human behavior, such as white supremacist movements like the Ku Klux Klan, or the bullying of gay or lesbian students. By defining others as “not like us” and inferior, in-groups can end up practicing ethnocentrism, racism, sexism, ageism, and heterosexism—manners of judging others negatively based on their culture, race, sex, age, or sexuality. Often, in-groups can form within a secondary group. For instance, a workplace can have cliques of people, from senior executives who play golf together, to engineers who write code together, to young singles who socialize after hours. While these in-groups might show favoritism and affinity for other in-group members, the overall organization may be unable or unwilling to acknowledge it. Therefore, it pays to be wary of the politics of in-groups, since members may exclude others as a form of gaining status within the group.

Reference groups

A reference group is a group that people compare themselves to—it provides a standard of measurement. In U.S. society, peer groups are common reference groups. Kids and adults pay attention to what their peers wear, what music they like, what they do with their free time—and they compare themselves to what they see. Most people have more than one reference group, so a middle school boy might look not just at his classmates but also at his older brother’s friends and see a different set of norms. And he might observe the antics of his favorite athletes for yet another set of behaviors.

# Modern trends of Group Culture in Pakistan Society

Fashion Design:

The fashion and apparel industry in Pakistan is experiencing accelerated growth and youth appear to be the guiding force behind it. Talented designers with innovative ideas and internationally competitive designs are projecting the cultural heritage of Pakistan. They are targeting the youth and catering to their demands. Fashion products and apparel industry is showing dynamism and diversity.
In a relatively short span of ten years, a large number of international and local brands have sprung up all over Lahore. In an extremely competitive market, these brands endeavor to come up with the most creative designs that are edgy yet wearable.
Among the most thriving segments of the apparel industry is the lawn business. Lawn campaign advertisements have swept over the city. Pret wear brands for women have gained immense popularity. While western-wear, pret- wear and branded lawn are popular among the elite and upper-middle class youth, there is a matching demand for similar items among the middle and lower middle class.
Electronic Media and Changing Advertisement Styles
Electronic media as a whole but specifically television plays, morning and cooking shows, fashion channels and the dynamic styles of advertisements have impacted youth life styles. The glamour that television plays and advertisements produce in some ways is also contributed by the youth and cuts across class lines.
Television has played an important role in changing the mindsets of the youth. Television viewership has gone up as have the number of television channels. The top ten channels of Pakistan have a total/cumulative viewership of 127 million, and PTV Elome is the most viewed channel with 53 million viewers7. Morning shows and cooking shows have gained wide viewership among young women belonging to the middle and lower middle class. These shows are live and interactive as viewers make calls and can have direct telephonic interaction with TV anchors and hosts. Most are hosted by women dressed in branded clothes who also share on TV, which label or designer’s clothes they are wearing. The shows also have quiz questions which viewers can answer to win prizes and often the prize involves branded clothes by elite Pakistani designers. Very often elite designers are called as guests in morning shows where they discuss and showcase their work. Television advertisements are now evermore innovative, modern with catchy taglines and more appealing to the youth.

Changing Styles of Restaurants and Eateries

Observational evidence and interviews with the youth reveal a growing trend in café culture and its popularity particularly among the youth. Selected visits to diverse socioeconomic areas in the city indicate that the eating out culture is popular in the high, middle as well as low income areas and classes. A large number of cafes, restaurants, fast-food outlets, dhabas and informal eateries have mushroomed all over the city targeting customers from various socioeconomic backgrounds. These are largely frequented by the youth and it is becoming more common for young men and women to spend time in cafes and restaurants with groups of friends. This trend has impacted the youth’s eating habits and preferences, social interactions, gender relations, public exposure, and lifestyle.

Conclusion

The evolving face of fashion, advertising and restaurant/ cafe industry, and youth’s rising inclination and interest towards them has led to emergence of new lifestyle trends and patterns among Pakistani youth. Their consumerist tendencies are being brought out through effective advertising, and spending priorities are tilted towards dining out and on consuming fashion savvy products. There is a huge demand for entertainment by youth belonging to varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The restaurant industry and fashion industry are responding to this demand by providing wide range of products and services to select from. Thus youth values, habits and ways of living are being metamorphosed into a more liberal and at the same time consumerist outlook. Is it a small minority’s life style

Cooperation is an integrating activity and is believed to be the opposite of competition. The word “cooperation” is derived from the two Latin words “co” meaning together and “operari” meaning to work. It is thus a joint activity in pursuit of common goals or shared rewards. It is goal oriented and conscious form of social interaction. Actually it involves two elements – (i) common end and (ii) organised effort. It is the process by which individuals or groups combine their effort, in a more or less organised way for the attainment of common objective. Generally co-operation means working together for a common objective. In many festivals, volunteers work together to collect money from different parts and want to organise the program successfully and everybody want to stretch forward their hands to celebrate the occasion successfully. Among the members of the group, there seems to be indication of good interaction process. All of them behave in co-operative manner. Co-operation is brought about by several factors which includes the following:
Desire for individual benefits
Desire to give and share
Total decision on common purposes
Situational necessity and l desire to achieve larger goals

COOPERATION

Types of Cooperation 

We can classify cooperation into five categories, viz. i) Direct cooperation ii) Indirect cooperation iii) Primary cooperation iv) Secondary cooperation and v) Tertiary cooperation 

Direct cooperation: The essential characteristics of this kind of cooperation are that people do in company the thing which can also do separately. In this category cooperating individuals do things of common interest together and perform identical functions. Playing together, worshiping together are the examples of direct co-operation. 

Indirect cooperation: In this type of cooperation individual work towards a common end each has his own specialised functions. Thus, we can say that indirect cooperation is obtained when people perform dissimilar tasks towards a common end, i.e., each has its specialised role to play. In the modern society it is the indirect cooperation which is more in play than the direct cooperation because technological changes require specialisation of skills and functions. 

 Primary cooperation: There is an identity of interest between the individual and the group. It is the cooperation which is found in primary groups such as family. Not only family but also peer groups is also called primary cooperation where people have to choose face-to-face relations. We can also say that interest of the individual merge with the interest of the primary group.

Secondary cooperation: This type of cooperation is generally found in the secondary group, viz., government, industry, church and trade union etc.

Tertiary cooperation: This is the interaction between various big and small group to meet a particular situation. Here the individual or group who wants to compete with one another, come together and cooperate with each other for a specific purpose. In such type of cooperation the attitudes of the cooperating parties are purely opportunistic.

COMPETITION:

Competition is the most important form of social struggle. According to Anderson and Parker, “Competition is that form of social action in which we strive against each other for the possession of or use of some limited material and non-material goods.” According to Sutherland, Woodward and Maxwell, “Competition is an impersonal, unconscious continuous struggle which, because of their limited supply, all may not have.” Competition is a form of interaction. It is the struggle for position to gain economic status. It occurs whenever there is an insufficient supply of anything that human being desire - insufficient in the sense that all cannot have as much of it as they wish. Sometimes competition happens because of limited supply and also difficult for equal distribution.

The characteristics of competition are: 

Competition is impersonal struggle. Park and Burgess defined competition as “interaction without social contact.” We can say it is inter-individual struggle that is impersonal. It is usually not directed against any individual or group in particular. 

Competition is universal. There is no society which is devoid of competition. Not only this, degree of competition may vary from society to society. It is very common for society as well as culture. 

Competition is considered as conducive to progress. Competition provides the individuals better opportunities to satisfy their desires for new experiences and recognitions. 

Both associative and non-associative dimensions of social processes indicate competition.  Competition is mainly an unconscious activity but personal competition or rivalry is a conscious activity. 

Competition may create emotional disturbances. 

Competition is an innate tendency. 

Competition is a social phenomenon. 

Degree of competition is determined by social values and social structure.

CONFLICT:

Conflict is a conscious action. It is a deliberate intent to oppose. We can say that conflict is universal. Not only this, conflict lacks continuity. Besides this, it is a personal activity. According to Gillin and Gillin, “Conflict is the social process in which individuals or groups seek their ends up directly challenging the antagonist by violence or threat of violence.” Green defined, “Conflict is the deliberate attempt to oppose, resist and coerce the will of another or others.” Conflict is a competition in its more occasional, personal and hostile forms. It is a process of seeking to obtain rewards by eliminating or weakening the competitors. It is inherent in every society or social system. Conflict is apparently noted when an individual or a group seeks to attain its own end. Conflict is the opposite of cooperation. Conflict may lead to antagonism, violence or threat to peace. Conflict is also regarded as non-associative social process.

Causes of Conflict

According to Freud and some other psychologists, the innate instinct for aggression in man is the main cause of conflicts. Generally it arises from a clash of interest within groups and societies and between groups and societies. The significant causes are: 

Individual difference – It is true that, we, the human being, are not alike by nature, attributes, interests, personalities etc. These differences may lead to conflict among the human being. 

Cultural differences – The culture of a group differs from the culture of the other group. The cultural differences among the groups sometimes cause tension and lead to conflict. 

Differences of opinion regarding interest – In fact, the interests of different people or groups occasionally clash. For example we can say that interests of the employers and employees vary in many respect which may ultimately leads to conflict among them. 

Social change – Social changes occur off and on in each and every society. Conflict is an expression of social disequilibrium. Social change is the cultural log which leads to conflict.

Characteristics of ConflictThe characteristics of conflicts are: 

Although conflict is universal but it’s nature vary from society to society. No society is characterised exclusively by conflict. 

Conflict is a conscious action. To achieve the respective goals the members oppose one another. 

Conflict leads to social change. It is mainly an expression of disequilibrium.

It primarily remains personal activity. Sometimes it acquires greater intensity and involves many people. At first, it is manifested at the level of a particular group but ultimately it involves the entire society.  Asymmetrical social, political and economic relations coupled with the sense of relative deprivation as the root cause of social conflict.

Sometimes conflict is the life of society and progress emerges from a struggle in which each individual, class or institution seeks to realise its own idea of good.

We the people are organised into groups to seek a common goal, the probability of conflict increases.  All conflicts are not the same.

We face conflicts on all levels as we have disagreements with family, friends and co-workers. 

Conflict is an ever-present process in human relations. 

Unmanaged conflict is a threat to the survival of the group and ultimately tends to make the group less effective. 

Conflict can occur within groups (intra-group conflict) and among groups (inter-group conflict).

Assimilation

What happens when different racial and ethnic groups encounter one another? Or when immigrants come to a new society and encounter different cultures? In this lesson, we'll talk about how different groups come together in a society. This process is referred to as assimilation, or when a new group is incorporated into an existing society. More specifically, when we're talking about assimilation were usually looking at the way that racial or ethnic minorities become part of the dominant group in a society.

There are a couple of different ways that assimilation can happen.

For example, cultural assimilation occurs when a group is introduced to a new culture and adopts things like language or style of dress. For example, if you move to a new country with many different religious traditions, you may start to practice these as this new culture begins to influence you.

Another kind of assimilation is biological assimilation, which refers to the intermixing of racial groups that occur through interracial marriage or procreation. For example, if an immigrant from Nigeria moves to the United States, marries someone of a different ethnicity and has a child, this is an example of biological assimilation. It's important to point out that most contemporary social scientists do not believe that race is a biological fact. In other words, it has very real consequences for people but it is a social construct and a product of our social world. But race has been used to justify inequality in our society as some races have been defined as inferior.

Amalgamation

Another way to talk about biological assimilation is the term amalgamation, which is used to explain how different racial groups combine (the word amalgamation means combining). You've probably heard the term melting pot to refer to the United States. This refers to the way that the U.S. has always been a home to different racial and ethnic groups. The idea here is that different racial and ethnic groups basically melt together and form new races.

In this perspective, genes, or our DNA, is important. Gene transfer is the flow of genes between different people. The idea here is that as groups come into contact with one another and produce offspring there will be a transfer of genetics. The gene transfer between different ethnic groups in the U.S. certainly changed the ethnic landscape of the U.S. For example, waves of Eastern European immigration changed the ethnic composition of places like the northeastern United States. Immigrants moved to the U.S. and interracial marriages made racial and ethnic boundaries less distinct. More recently, immigrants from Asia and countries in Central and South America are impacting racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. But let's talk a little bit more about the history of interracial marriage in the U.S.

# Social Institutions: 

The family:  Man lives in social groupings. The most basic institution in any society is the family and it is the social context into which members of a society derive their primary identity. 

Mair (1972 cf. Okodudu 2010) defines the family as a domestic  group  in  which  parents  and  children  live  together,  and  in  its  elementary  form  consists of  a couple and  their children. 

The family is the basic social institution in the society.  It functions as the basic unit which produces  future  generations  and  provides  love  and  affection  to  the  children.  It is the responsibility  of  the  family  to  provide  economically  for  its  members  and  facilitate  the  socialisation  process.  Children learn to adhere to certain social values in the society mainly through the family unit. The life long process of learning begins shortly after birth. The various definitions emphasized different ideas about what the family  is, however what is striking and cross-cutting in all is that: 

The family is a group of people related or connected by bloodline, marriage rite or  adoption 

ii. They share common residency. They live together. 

iii. They share sentiments of oneness. They view themselves as a unit. 

iv. They  share  values  and  responsibilities.  Perform  caretaking  services  for  others  especially the very young.

What is a "Religious Institution"?

Religion: definition of religion is given by Galloway “Man‟s faith in a power beyond himself whereby he seeks to satisfy emotional needs and gains stability of life, and which he expresses in acts of worship and service.”

In explaining the meaning of religion Taylor says that religion is the belief in spiritual beings.

According to Herber Spencer, religion is a type of hypothesis by which people attempt to comprehend the universe.

The above mentioned definition and analysis of religion is not sufficient. There are so many definitions of religion given by different thinkers at different period of history but none can give us a complete picture of it. “Religion is hard to define, not because there is so little of it, but because there is so much.”3 It is fact that God is the central element of religion and men have implicit confidence on Him and they exercise all their attempts to make commune with Him. Thus without mentioning this aspect of religion no definition of it can give us a complete picture of religion.

Role of religious institutions in society: 

As religion so its institutions also play an important role in social life. None can deny the fact that the different kinds of social institutions such as, domestic, economic and political influence on religious institutions. But it is also true that these institutions are sometimes influenced by religious institutions. An important aspect of religion is prayer and different classes of people belonging to different castes of society assemble I religious institutions for performing prayer and worship. By these activities there forms common feelings which thereby further generate a common sentiments and fellowship amongst the worshipers of a particular religion. Sometimes it is found that the members of a particular religion unite together, and for the greater interest of the society they perform different humanitarian activities. It is evident from the above that religious institutions perform not only their religious activities , they also discharge different types of activities related to social welfare such as, charitable hospitals, schools, homes for the homeless. These institutions also run orphanages and collect money for the poor people. It cannot be denied that religion has an external form of social control. The different activities of the people and their different spheres of social life are still influenced by religious rites and ceremonies. People generally express their religious feelings through rituals and ceremonies. It is also true that almost all the aspects of lives of primitive people were covered by religious practices, although these were crude in nature and did not have any precise organization. We find that there are different important occasions in our social life such as, birth, marriage, harvesting, hunting, death etc. and in all these activities religious rites were performed in primitive societies. By doing these activities there developed a common feeling s and actions which are very much other than religious functions. Not only in primitive societies but also in modern societies religious activities occupy an important place. The different occasions of social life, such as birth, death, marriage etc. religious rites are performed. Similar activities are found in the events related with economic life also. Moreover, it is found that, in almost all communities religious rites are common practices during various occasions in social life such as, inauguration of a new building, oath taking etc. From the above description of the role of religion in social life, it is evident that a regular order of procedure is developed by religion in society and thus it helps to control the society. Religion helps to shape the character of an individual and thereby it moulds social life. It brings forth the sense of social value in the mind of people. In obeying the social laws or to respect the elders and to show sympathy towards the feelings of others, or to discharge the social obligations faithfully, the role of religion is immense. In those cases it acts as a teacher. Not only this, a sense of fellow feeling amongst the people belonging to different communities is also taught by religion. Moreover, religion teaches that the man‟s love and services to God will be real only if he loves and serves humanity. In developing moral consciousness amongst people, religion acts as an inspiring factor. Religion enforces uniformity of behaviour and it strengthens social solidarity and thereby acts as an instrument in stabilizing social order.

Education as a social institution:

Social awareness and  consciousness serve  as a precursor  to  social  movement.  There are  a lot  of social  problems like  female  infanticide,  domestic  violence,  rape,  corruption,  maltreatment, alcoholism, drug abuse, and superstitious beliefs  etc.  which  are  still  a  huge  problem  in  India.  The  most  significant  challenges  facing  the  society  are  intolerance,  discrimination  and  racism,  economic  and  technological backwardness  and  the  absence  of  comprehensive  and  fair  peace.  It is vital that more and more people be made aware of  these  issues so  that  we can  fight  them as  a  united country. 

Social  awareness gives  the  ability  (i) to  understand  and  respond  to  the  needs  of  others,  ((ii) to  understand  the other person’s emotion (iii) to understand the understand the politics within an organization and how these affect the people working  in  them. (iv)  to  understand  and  meet  the  needs  of  clients  and  customers  etc.  Awareness  is  knowledge  and  knowledge is power. This  means when we create awareness  among people. We are also empowering them to face certain  difficult situations and at the same time we are helping them to  overcome these difficulties.  Educational  institutions build  moral essence  and  ethical  values to produce socially desirable behaviour, personality and  character  which  promote  innovation,  peace,  equal  opportunities and justification among individuals, society and  nation. There  is necessity  to reconsider  the roles  of colleges,  curriculum  and  methods  of  teaching  and  evaluation  in  promoting the social awareness by preparing programs which  promote the social awareness and to design courses that enrich their social status.  Items of curricula and method of teaching  and  evaluation plays  important role  in  promoting the  social  awareness. Innovative method  of teaching involves  dialogue, ability  of  analysing  and  criticizing  issues  of  the  society. The updating curricula should suit the  student’s  cultural,  social  and  behavioural  activities  compatible with  the requirement of present and  future. The  institution  program  should  aim  to  deal  directly  with  the  student  so as  to strengthen  their loyalty  towards the  society  and  activate  the  youth  forums  and  utilize  their  free  times  through cultural, educational and cultural programs in order to  meet the youth needs.  Many traditional college students lack the social  awareness  that  leads  to  social  change.  The  institution  should encourage  number of  social activities  and  provides  enough  time  to  practice  them  and  supports  the activities  that  assured  the  freedom  of  speech,  thinking  and  constructive  critism. Institution  should aware  its  students of  social problems in the society, and prepare them to face these  problems. 

 Prepared by H-M-ZAKRIA 

Lecturer GDC Parova, D.I.KHAN

   hmzakriakhan@gmail.com

  Information point

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Evaluation tools should be used to diagnose the student’s p discussion and  problem  solving  so as to develop the student’s  the student’s humanistic knowledge in different fields that suit wellng is  very much a part of family’s responsibility in  the society