Social Organization

In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics can include sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, structure, division of labor, communication systems, etc. Because of these characteristics, people can monitor their everyday work and involvement in other activities that are controlled forms of human interaction, such as affiliation, collective resources, substitutability of individuals and recorded control. These interactions come together to constitute common features in basic social units such as family, enterprises, clubs, states, etc. 

Social organizations happen in everyday life. Many people belong to various social structures—institutional and informal. These include clubs, professional organizations and religious institutions. To have a sense of identity with the social organization, being closer to one another helps build a sense of community. While organizations link many like-minded people, it can also cause a separation with others not who have differences in thought. Social organizations are structured to where there is a hierarchical system.

Other interactions can also determine if the group stays together. A group must have a strong affiliation within itself. To be affiliated with an organization means having a connection and acceptance in that group, and it must know and recognize that you are a member. The organization gains power through the collective resources of these affiliations. Often affiliates have something invested in these resources that motivate them to continue to make the organization better. On the other hand, the organization must keep in mind the substitutability of these individuals. While the organization needs the affiliates and the resources to survive, it also must be able to replace leaving individuals to keep the organization going. Because of all these characteristics, it can often be difficult to be organized within the organization. This is where recorded control comes in, as writing things down makes them clearer and more organized.  [Photo: AdobeStock, 6834428]

Legacy Stories from the Americans All Heritage Honor Roll

We are pleased to host and share these legacy stories created by honorees’ family, friends and associates. They, like us, appreciate that heritage and culture are an integral part of our nation's social fabric and want to help students participate effectively in our nation's economy, workforce and democracy.

Language
State
Last Name of Individual
First Name of Individual
Group name

Tournament of Noses (c.1962 - c.1995) Annual Four-Day Golf Party

In 1962, three foursomes put up $25 per man and drew two-man teams to play golf for the $300 pot. The event was so successful that the players decided to do it again the following year, setting up a committee to plan and lead it.

Susan B. Anthony Massachusetts (c.1820 - March 13, 1906) Anti-Slavery, Author, Editor, ICW, Lobbyist, NAWSA, Nineteenth Amendment, Organizer, Property Rights, Quaker, Revolution-Newspaper, Rochester, Seneca Falls, Speaker, Suffragist, Teacher, Temperance, Women’s Suffrage, Voting, Voting Rights

Susan B. Anthony is perhaps the most widely known suffragist of her generation and has become an icon of the woman’s suffrage movement. She traveled the country to give speeches, circulate petitions, and organize local women’s rights organizations. Her experience with the teacher’s union, temperance, and antislavery reforms, and her Quaker upbringing, laid fertile ground for a career in women’s rights reform to grow. The career would begin with an introduction to Elizabeth Cady Stanton.