Essay
Unit 10- Health and social care Sociological perspecives Task 1
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
This is my distinction level assignment for Unit 10 Sociological Perspectives for task 1.
[Show more]
9 reviews
By: skyegreatwood • 1 year ago
By: stellaokoro05 • 1 year ago
By: harisshota • 2 year ago
By: markhawkes0251 • 2 year ago
By: raheemahp • 2 year ago
By: sineadpreece08 • 2 year ago
By: TalithaM123 • 2 year ago
are you okay
By: nconvery16 • 2 year ago
Content preview
Talitha KinslowThis assignment will be discussing the sociological perspectives and how they can be applied to the
health and social care sector.
Functionalism
Functionalism is the belief that consensus is the basis of society. The consensus is that when
everyone in society generally agrees on certain things, most people around the world know not to
rob someone. Sociology theorist that believes in the functionalist perspective includes Emile
Durkheim and Talcott Parsons.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) developed Functionalism's theory in the 19th century by studying
individuals in society. He suggested that individuals need norms and values to feel like they are a
part of society ('social norms" or "social constructions" is when "we build ideas of how the world
works which seem 'common sense' to those who share them'), (Wyatt et al. 363, 2016). If we do not
follow norms, society would devolve and descend into anomie (anarchy).
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) expanded on Functionalism and began to study institutions' role in
society. Institutions are the primary building block of society; these include educational systems,
the government, family, and more. Parsons stated that institutions are the organs of the body as
they have particular functions. Parsons stated that everything has a reason behind something. For
instance, in today's society, individuals' health may be declining due to the long waiting lists for
healthcare. The long waiting lists for healthcare may be down to the lack of funding.
Functionalism is used every day in health and social care; the approach emphasises that good
health and effective healthcare are essential for society to function correctly. The functionalist
approach in health and social care also states that medical professionals should effectively
communicate with service users.
An example of this is shown in a local small pre-school. From attending work placement at the pre-
school, I could see that the pre-school staff involve parents in every decision they make and create
tasks for the children. This encourages the children to interact with their parents and ask for help
when needed. It also encourages communication skills and teamwork, which are essential skills that
the children will need when they progress onto a different learning level. The most recent Ofsted
report shows this, one of the keynotes reads "Children thrive in this warm and welcoming pre-
school. Staff are kind and nurturing. Children develop good social skills, gain confidence and form
close bonds with staff." (Hudson, 2017)
Without the pre-school, many children would develop without a lack of structure; pre-school
provides children with the social skills they need to develop onto the next school stage. This pre-
school helps children learn necessary skills such as, colours, numbers, what the weather means, and
how to play appropriately.
Another example of Functionalism being used in health and social care is the use of a
multidisciplinary team. A multidisciplinary team "is a group of professionals from one or more
clinical disciplines who together make decisions regarding recommended treatment of individual
,patients." (NHS Multidisciplinary Team, 2021). Multidisciplinary teams are incredibly beneficial for
service users with intense care needs; this could be people living with cancer, multiple mental
health needs, or multiple health issues, this is due to the diverse medical knowledge included in the
team. A multidisciplinary team could include a GP, psychiatrist, nurse and possibly more, and the
person-centred care that comes from this team. Multidisciplinary teams are an example of
Functionalism as it shows the communication that medical professionals must have in order to
provide the best possible care for a service user. (Hunter, 2015).
Without multidisciplinary teams, many intensive needs service users may have an additional risk of
poor health. If professionals do not work together, it can result in a service user being traumatised
due to the chaotic care they are being given, overlap in job titles, and a waste of resources. (Social
Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), 2018).
The NHS is practically the definition of Functionalism because their function is to ensure that
everyone in the nation is healthy and promote healthy living. The NHS was founded in 1948 by the
Labour Minister of Health, Aneurin Bevan, after the second world war to provide everyone in the
UK with healthcare based on their needs, and not on their ability to pay (Stepintothenhs, 2020). For
the nation to keep healthy NHS staff and other medical professionals must work together to achieve
this. The NHS is not just about delivering health care; it also oversees the budget, planning and day
to day operation of commissioning. This is all to ensure that everyone receives the healthcare that
they need, without discrimination or inequalities. (Department of Health and Social Care, 2012).
If the NHS did not exist, everyone would have to pay for their healthcare, resulting in thousands of
money lost for everyone. Along with this, people may not receive adequate healthcare due to
discrimination and inequalities, such as a minority group, or if someone is homeless and cannot
afford healthcare, as well as low-income families or individuals not being able to pay for healthcare
at all.
The NHS helps us to understand society as it promotes care for everyone and anti-discrimination.
The NHS aims to achieve this by working with the 6c's, Care Compassion, Commitment, Courage,
Competence and Communication. (Holden, 2014).
Criticisms
Although Functionalism can be applied to some circumstances within society, there are many flaws
within the perspective. In particular, it ignores the fact that not everyone agrees with social norms,
this is shown by society evolving and changing every single day, for instance, it used to be that 'girls
wear skirts' 'boys wear trousers' and so on, however, in today's society gender norms are very much
devolving and expanding, so that gender norms are now mixed throughout each gender. In addition
to this, Functionalism ignores the deep issues as to why people behave in deviant ways deviant
meaning "behaviours that violate social norms" (Lumenlearning.com, 2021)
Marxism
, Karl Marx developed self-titled Marxism in the 19th century; it focuses on economics and power.
Karl Marx based Marxism on the fact that a capitalist society (where there is private ownership,
(Lumenlearning.com, 2012) ) is made up of the proletariat (workers, employed by the capitalists)
and the bourgeoise (employs the proletariat and owns private land). Marxism is considered a
conflict theory, as it acknowledges the differences and inequalities, particularly in social class.
(Wyatt et al. 157, 2016)
Marxism is based on the idea that capitalists maintain their power by influencing social institutions.
The low wages can show this; the bourgeoise would pay the workers; however, the workers had no
choice but to work to feed themselves and their families; this is called a 'false consciousness',
meaning members of the proletariat accept their position in society and do not recognise the
inequality taking place, (False Consciousness, Britannica, 20201).
An institution is believed to be revolved around family, the role of the family in Marxism is to
ensure the workers are fed, healthy and kept strong. Marx called this a 'false consciousness' as he
believed the institutions and workers did not even know they were being controlled and
manipulated. (ReviseSociology, 2015)
During the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote the communist manifesto, in which
Marx urged all of the proletariats to rebel against the capitalists and regain their power. (Wyatt et
al. 157, 2016)
Criticism
Marxism was created a long time ago; it is quite outdated and not nearly as relevant today.
Criticism of Marixm includes the changes the society faces every day over the years. For example,
capitalists are getting far less exploitive of workers; this is shown by self-employment, a popular job
that is classed under self-employment is photographers and graphic designers. In addition to this,
Henry Ford, a famous car manufacturer, realised that paying workers fair wages leads to more cars
and fewer workers being exploited, this is an example of the capitalist system devolving.
Moreover, employees hold much more power today; if an employee is treated poorly or is seeing
malpractice in a workplace, they have many actions they can take such as striking, reporting the
employer, whistleblowing, and more. A very well known example of this is the whistleblowing
(which protects the reporter) and reports regarding the abuse taking place at Winterbourne View
Hospital in 2011; this is an example of employees taking action against their employers (BBC News,
2012).
Marxism does not typically explain our society in today's day and age. Another example of this is
presented by the employees of the NHS taking control during the nursing protest last year (2020), a
protest is "the act of objecting or a gesture of disapproval" (Merriam Webster, 2021). The strike
commenced due to increasing demand for health care workers, especially nurses, because of the
COVID-19 outbreak, nurses were asked and expected to work longer and more intense work hours.
However, this did not lead to an increase in pay. This led to nurses and fellow health care workers
striking across Whitehall and the country. The movement was demanding a 15% pay rise. The
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller TalithaM123. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.09. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
75632 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now