In 1981, to solve the problem of dualism in corporate culture, E. Schein proposed considering it at three main levels. This model, improved by him in 1983, is still very popular, widely cited and deserves more detailed coverage.
According to Schein, knowledge of organizational culture begins at the first, “superficial” or “symbolic” level, including such visible external factors as the technology and architecture used, the use of space and time, observable patterns of behavior, methods of verbal and non-verbal communication , slogans, etc., or everything that can be felt and perceived through the known five human senses. At this level, things and phenomena are easy to detect, but they are quite difficult to interpret in terms of organizational culture without knowledge of its other levels.
Those who try to understand organizational culture more deeply touch on its second, “subsurface” level. At this level, the values, beliefs and convictions shared by members of the organization are studied, in accordance with the extent to which these values are reflected in symbols and language, and how they carry a semantic explanation of the first level. The perception of values and beliefs is conscious and depends on the desires of people. Schein called the second level of corporate culture “organizational ideology.” He especially emphasizes here the role of the life credo of the company's leader - the creator or transformer of its culture. Researchers often limit themselves to this level, since almost insurmountable difficulties arise at the next level.
The third, “deep” level includes new (“fundamental”) assumptions that are difficult for even the members of the organization to understand without special focus on this issue. Among these taken-for-granted hidden assumptions that guide the behavior of people in an organization, Schein identified the attitude towards existence as a whole, the perception of time and space, and the general attitude towards people and work. According to which of these levels are studied, there is a division of organizational culture into objective and subjective. Subjective organizational culture includes values, beliefs, expectations, ethical standards, and perceptions of the organizational environment shared by all employees. This includes a number of elements of the spiritual part of the “symbolism” of culture: heroes of the organization, myths, stories about the organization and its leaders, organizational rites, rituals and taboos, perception of the language of communication and slogans.
Subjective organizational culture serves as the basis for the formation of managerial culture, that is, leadership styles and problem solving by managers, and their behavior in general. This creates differences between seemingly similar organizational cultures.
Objective organizational culture is usually associated with the physical environment: the company building and its design, location, equipment and furniture, technology used, colors and volume of space, amenities, cafeteria, parking lots and cars themselves, uniforms, information stands, brochures, etc. All this, to one degree or another, reflects the values that the organization adheres to.
Although both aspects of organizational culture are important, the subjective aspect creates more opportunities for finding both commonality and differences between people and between organizations.
It is important to be able to distinguish between the concepts of declared and real culture. The first exists only on paper (in the form of annual reports, the official mission of the company, slogans put forward by it, etc.) and represents the desired state of things. Real culture can be either close in spirit to the declared one or sharply contrasting with it. In the latter case, this may result in an acute conflict and ultimately in the complete collapse of the company.
Some researchers propose a more detailed structure of organizational culture, highlighting its following components:
- 1. Worldview - ideas about the surrounding world, the nature of man and society, guiding the behavior of members of the organization and determining the nature of their relationships with other employees, clients, competitors, etc. Worldview is closely related to the characteristics of an individual’s socialization, his ethnic culture and religious beliefs. Significant differences in the worldviews of workers seriously complicate their cooperation. In this case, there is scope for significant intra-organizational contradictions and conflicts. At the same time, it is very important to understand that it is very difficult to radically change people’s worldviews, and significant efforts are required to achieve some mutual understanding and acceptance of the positions of people with different worldviews. An individual's worldview is difficult to express in clear verbal formulations, and not everyone is able to explain the basic principles underlying his behavior. And to understand someone’s worldview, it sometimes takes a lot of effort and time to help a person explicate the basic coordinates of his vision of the world.
- 2. Organizational values, i.e. objects and phenomena of organizational life that are essential and significant for the spiritual life of workers. Values act as a link between the culture of the organization and the spiritual world of the individual, between organizational and individual existence. Personal values are reflected in consciousness in the form of value orientations, which also include a wide range of social values recognized by the individual, but not always accepted by him as his own goals and principles. Therefore, it is possible both an incomplete, inadequate reflection of personal values in consciousness, and an orientation in terms of consciousness towards values that are not the real motives of behavior. Values can be preserved even if significant personnel changes have occurred in the organization. At the same time, a certain change in values can be carried out, which will affect the behavior of members of the organization. Organizational values are closely related to organizational mythology, expressed in a system of stories, myths and even anecdotes that contain some respectable characteristic of any member of the organization that distinguishes him from many others.
- 3. Behavioral styles that characterize employees of a particular organization. This also includes specific rituals and ceremonies, the language used
when communicating, as well as symbols that have a special meaning specifically for members of a given organization. An important element can be any character with characteristics in highest degree valuable to the culture and serving as a role model of behavior for employees. Employee behavior is successfully corrected by various trainings and control measures, but only if new patterns of behavior do not conflict with the above-described components of organizational culture.
- 4. Norms - a set of formal and informal requirements imposed by the organization in relation to its employees. They can be universal and specific, imperative and indicative and are aimed at maintaining and developing the structure and functions of the organization. Norms include the so-called rules of the game, which a newcomer must master in the process of becoming a member of the organization.
- 5. The psychological climate in the organization that a person encounters when interacting with its employees. Psychological climate is the prevailing and relatively stable spiritual atmosphere that determines the relationships of team members to each other and to work.
None of these components individually can be identified with the culture of an organization. However, taken together they can provide a fairly comprehensive picture of organizational culture. Many components of culture are difficult for an outsider to detect. You can spend several weeks in an organization and still not understand the fundamental principles of culture that govern people's actions. Each employee, coming to the organization, goes through a certain procedure of organizational socialization, during which month after month he comprehends all the smallest nuances that together form the organizational culture.
The culture of organizations cannot be understood as some kind of monolithic block. In reality, in every organization there are separate groups (formal and informal) that are carriers of their “local” subcultures. A subculture is a set of symbols, beliefs, values, norms, and patterns of behavior that distinguish a particular community or any social group.
This refers to one culture that prevails throughout the entire organization and the culture of its parts. Often (though not always) the structure of a subculture replicates the culture of the organization itself. Thus, administration, departments, services, as a rule, have their own subcultures, which can coexist both peacefully and hostilely “under the roof” of the general culture of the company.
The carriers of subcultures are individuals expressing similar interests. At the same time, subcultures repeat the structure of the enterprise itself: departments, departments, and administration of the enterprise will have different subcultures. If there is appropriate learning potential, new norms and patterns of behavior develop that have not previously been introduced into the organization by anyone, and a new, strong culture emerges.
Organizational culture represents important component and the condition for the existence of the organization. Cultural patterns accepted and internalized in a given organization have a significant impact on various aspects of the activities of members of the organization and, in particular, on power relations and control relations; attitudes towards work; interpersonal relationships within groups; intergroup relations; relationships with the external environment, as well as on technology, motivation, etc. In addition, culture determines integration processes and the specificity of role requirements. Highlight three levels of organizational culture: superficial, internal and deep. A) Understanding organizational culture begins at the surface level, including such external organizational characteristics as products or services provided by the organization, technology used, architecture of production facilities and offices, observed behavior of employees, slogans, etc. B) internal level. At this level, the values and beliefs shared by members of the organization are examined in accordance with the extent to which these values are reflected in symbols and language. The perception of values and beliefs is conscious and depends on the desires of people. C) the deep level includes basic assumptions that are difficult for even members of the organization to understand without special focus on this issue. These are hidden and taken for granted assumptions (for example, attitude towards nature, attitude towards people, attitude towards work) that guide people's behavior, helping them to perceive the attributes that characterize organizational culture. Thus, organizational culture covers a large area of phenomena of the spiritual and material life of the team , namely: the moral norms and values that dominate it, the accepted code of conduct and ingrained rituals, established standards for the quality of products, even the manner of dressing and behaving, etc. cultural components: 1. Identification and purpose: the meaning of the Self (sense of self), place, mission. Awareness of yourself and your place in the organization.2. Communication system and language of communication: transmission of information, interaction, exchange.3. Clothing, appearance and self-presentation at work: appearance, style, image, reputation. Culture manifests itself through clothing, decoration, jewelry, etc.4. Food and the way it is served: preparation, service, food preferences. The way food is produced, prepared, presented and eaten is culturally distinct, as every visitor to a Chinese or French restaurant knows 5. Awareness, attitude and use of time: the meaning of the length of intervals. Cultural factors influence some people to use a more precise sense of time and others to use a relative sense of time. Some cultures associate time with sunrise or sunset, with rainfall, with drought, or with other seasonal changes. When carrying out special project work, only deadlines are usually specified. 6. Relationships between people: kinship, gender, rank, status, awards and recognition. Cultures establish human and organizational relationships to age, gender, status and degrees of kinship, wealth, power and wisdom7. Values and norms: system of needs/priorities, standards of behavior. Culture influences how people perceive their needs and how they prioritize them 8. Beliefs and Attitudes. Worldview: myths, philosophy, perspective, religion, rites, rituals. Every cultural group has beliefs that shape the aspirations and attitudes of its members, regardless of the rationality of these beliefs or objective truth. 9. Development and self-realization of the employee:: thought processes, education. The way people think, learn, organize and process information is unique and often different. Some cultures use whole-brain thinking, others prefer right-brain (INTUITION) - or left-brain (LOGIC) development.10. Features and methods of work: focus, work direction, work patterns and procedures, management and leadership.
60 question Social. Project. Federal and regional aspects A social project is a program of real action, which is based on a current social problem that requires resolution. Its implementation will help improve the social situation in a particular region and society. This is one of the ways to participate in public life through practical solutions to pressing social problems. Subjects of social design: individuals, organizations, labor collectives, social institutions specially created project teams. An integral feature of the subject of design is the social activity of the subject. Objects of social design: 1) a person as an individual of society with his own needs, interests, value orientations, attitudes, social status, roles in the system of relations; 2) various elements and subsystems of the social structure of society (social groups, work collectives); 3) various social relations (managerial, moral, political, ideological, family and everyday life, interpersonal, aesthetic). Modern social design is one of the most effective ways development of civil society. The participation of the population in the development and decision-making on projects, their adjustment, and in preventing arbitrary social decisions by government officials or private individuals is one of the fundamental foundations of the practice of social design in many countries. The inclusion of society in various forms in the processes of development and implementation of social projects significantly increases the civic activity of the population. Types of projects: By the nature of the changes being designed: 1) Innovative (characterized by properties). The task is to introduce new developments. 2) Restoration or maintenance projects solve environmental problems and can be aimed at preserving and using cultural heritage. By area of activity: 1) Educational. 2) Scientific and technical. 3) Cultural. By financing features: 1) Investment. 2) Sponsorship. 3) Credit. 4) Budget. 5) Charitable. By scale: 1) Microprojects. 2) Small projects. 3) Megaprojects. By implementation period: 1) Short-term (1-2 years). 2) Medium-term (3-5 years). 3) Long-term (10-15 years). (!) “Pseudo-projects” are a form that covers up some other content that is not presented in the pseudo-project. (Fictions. The initiators are aimed at obtaining funding for a project, which in reality is planned to be used for other purposes or to be used only partially for the project; Quasi-projects. They have all the features of a real project, but the planned innovations are not such in reality.) Implementation social project takes place in several stages: 1. Studying public opinion and identifying a current social problem.2. Involving participants and the public to solve this social project.3. Determining the goals and objectives of the social project.4. Determining the content of a social project. Drawing up a work plan. Distribution of responsibilities.5. Determining the required resources and drawing up a budget.6. Development of a project evaluation system.7. Formation of public opinion.8. Search for business partners. Preparation of project proposals.9. Conducting official negotiations. Obtaining the necessary resources.10. Carrying out planned activities.11. Analysis of work results.
61 Sociology of the family in modern Russia. Main theoretical directions and concepts. Sociology of the family- branch of sociology that studies the family. The scope of research in this field includes: the study of the functioning of the family as a social institution and a small group, the structure and functions of the family, marital relations, patterns of family behavior characteristic of a particular type of culture, a particular social group. The sociology of the family in Russia occupies a special place in the development of family science. As a private sociological discipline, it has its own history, certain stages of development: I – from mid-19th V. until 1917 (in the pre-revolutionary period it was considered as one of common problems sociology); II – from the beginning of the 20s to the mid-50s of the twentieth century; III – from the mid-50s of the twentieth century. up to now. In the 20-30s V. K. N. Kovalev, L. S. Sosnovsky, E. A. Preobrazhensky, A. M. Kollontai and others dealt with issues of family sociology. The period from the second half of the 30s. until the early 60s. XX century left virtually no traces in the history of Soviet sociology of the family: there were few publications, most of them were based on the work of F. Engels “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.” The sociology of family and marriage as an independent branch of science originated in the 60s. XX century, when theoretical development of issues of family and marriage relations and empirical research appeared. The program thesis was the recognition of the family as the primary unit of society, that is, the most important element of the social structure. In those years, only the collective could compare in importance to the family. Sociologist S. Golod asserts in his works that the family in its development has gone through three ideal historical types: a) patriarchal (or traditional); b) child-centric (or modern); c) conjugal (or post-modern). In his opinion, the monogamous family has not entered a period of crisis, but is evolving from the patriarchal to the marital type. He does not consider the married family to be the ultimate type, but without a doubt recognizes the pinnacle of monogamy. In the 70s sociologist A. Kharchev The first sociological concept of the dual status of the family was formulated. The family appears in two aspects: a social institution and a small social group. Since the early 70s. gradually forming and by the end of the 80s two orientations of researchers of sociological problems of the family become obvious. Some authors sought to preserve and strengthen as much as possible the socio-functional understanding of the family (A.I. Antonov; O.N. Dudchenko, A.V. Mytil and their co-authors; N.D. Shimin); others, focusing on family stability and the characteristics of intrafamily interaction, tended to understand the independent value of studying the problems of family community (M.Yu. Harutyunyan; S.I. Golod; T.A. Gurko; G.A. Zaikina; N.V. Malyarov). In the early 80s. The attention of specialists to the way of life of the family, the emotional relationships of spouses, conflicts, role relationships, etc. has increased. In other words, there has been a shift in emphasis from a social institution to the study of the family as a small group. In the 80-90s. XX century A number of monographs and collections of articles were published in which family issues are widely presented. In the early 90s the most popular topics were prostitution, deviant behavior, orphans, purchased marriage, suicide, drug addiction, homosexual behavior, moral preparation for family life, urban large family, pre- and post-divorce situation, women entrepreneurs. A new phenomenon in the institutionalization of family sociology in Russia was the creation of the Family Research Institute (in the first years of work from 1991 to 1993 - the Research Center for Social Protection of Children, Family and Demographic Policy). The largest contribution to the study of marriage and family relations was made by Russian sociologists: A. G. Kharchev (theory), M. S. Matskovsky (methodology and methodology), A. I. Antonov (fertility), V. A. Sysenko (marriage stability ), I. S. Golod (family stability), V. A. Borisov (need for children), D. Ya. Kutsar (quality of marriage), L. A. Gordon, N. M. Rimashevskaya (family life cycle), N. G. Yurkevich, M. Ya. Solovyov (divorce), I. A. Gerasimova (family typology), T. A. Gurko (young family), E. K. Vasilyeva (stages, types of family life), V. B. Golofast (family functions), Z. A. Yankova (urban family, man and woman in the family).
62. Family policy of the Russian Federation. Federal and regional programs. State family policy is an integral part of the social policy of the Russian Federation and represents an integral system of principles, assessments and measures of an organizational, economic, legal, scientific, informational, propaganda and personnel nature, aimed at improving conditions and improving the quality of life of the family. The object of state family policy is the family. The subjects of state family policy are the legislative and executive branch all levels, employers, public associations, political parties, trade unions, religious denominations, charitable foundations, foreign organizations, legal entities and individuals. The goal of state family policy is to provide the state with the necessary conditions for the family to realize its functions and improve the family’s quality of life. Main directions of state family policy Providing conditions for overcoming negative trends and stabilizing the financial situation of families, reducing poverty and increasing assistance to low-income families, including: a) measures to stabilize the situation in the labor market, reduce unemployment, including hidden unemployment, strengthen social protection of workers released as a result of bankruptcy and structural restructuring of organizations, taking into account marital status employees, number of dependents, including children; b) strengthening employment guarantees in the labor market for workers from families in need of increased social protection(families of single and large parents, disabled people, pensioners), by stimulating the creation of special jobs for such workers, providing them with professional training and retraining, providing tax or other benefits to organizations using their labor; c) support for the development of individual labor activity, family entrepreneurship and farming, etc. Support for family, motherhood and childhood is carried out both at the federal and regional levels. In accordance with the provisions of the federal law “On state benefits for citizens with children” (dated May 19, 1995 No. 81-FZ), there is a system of benefits that includes maternity benefits; one-time benefit for women registered in medical institutions in early dates pregnancy; lump sum benefit for the birth of a child; monthly child care allowance until the child reaches the age of 1.5 years; a one-time benefit when placing a child in a family; a one-time allowance to the pregnant wife of a conscript serving; monthly allowance for the child of a military serviceman undergoing military service. To support families with two or more children, one of whom was born no earlier than January 1, 2007, maternity capital is provided. At the regional level, support is also provided to families with children in the form of payment of benefits and provision of social support measures. The procedure and conditions for these payments are established by the regions independently. The state system of support for families with children includes not only benefits and compensation payments, but also the creation of social conditions (clinics, kindergartens, schools, cultural institutions and sports facilities). In 2011, many different family assistance programs were adopted in Russia at the federal and regional levels.
63. Applied sociological research of the family. Applied sociological research is aimed at solving specific practical problems (a specific social problem), making assumptions about the possible development of the process, and developing specific programs for improving the object. The sociological research program must clearly answer the question of what problem and what result this research is aimed at solving, i.e. what is the purpose of the study . S.N.Varlamova, A.V. Noskova, N.N. Sedova Marriage agreement in Russia: from past to future. IN last decade XX century There has been a new transformational shift in the marital behavior of Russians. Against the background of the dynamic spread of unregistered cohabitation and civil marriages in the late 80s - mid-90s, there was a rapid decline in absolute and relative indicators characterizing the registration of marriages, as well as an intensive increase in divorce rates. In 1992, the number of divorces per 1,000 marriages exceeded 500 for the first time. In the mid-1990s, when divorce rates reached their first peak, the marriage contract system was introduced. “a marriage contract is recognized as an agreement between the persons entering into marriage, or an agreement between the spouses, defining the property rights and obligations of the spouses in marriage and (or) in the event of its dissolution.” its place.. The system of a marriage contract latently implants in a person’s consciousness an attitude towards the temporary nature of marital relations, their fragility and washes away the idea that “only death can separate spouses.” L.P. Bogdanova, A.S. Shchukina Civil marriage in the modern demographic situation. The results of the study allow us to conclude that society’s attitude towards civil marriage is becoming more and more loyal. A significant part of the population, of all age groups, considers civil marriage as trial version marriage union. L.V. Kartseva Family model in the conditions of transformation of Russian society The study made it possible to identify the features of the changed “face” Russian family. Thus, there is a category of cohabiting individuals raising joint children or illegitimate children of one of the partners. Both first and subsequent marriages are dissolved. Celibacy is deliberately maintained by a certain part of people (usually divorced people). Reproductive intentions are sharply limited. Thus, the subject-centric approach both in the theory of sociology and in social practice allows us to pay attention not so much to the individual himself, but to the family group and to think through a system of measures that could create the necessary and sufficient conditions for its sustainable functioning, increasing the role and authority in both the individual and public consciousness. The situation in the marriage and family sphere is such that the return of the family to successful and economically stable functioning will become possible only after overcoming the economic crisis and creating favorable conditions for a socially desirable option its structures E.R. Yarskaya – Smirnova Problematization of the family in sociology. Today, the Russian sociological community is just beginning to enter the zone of action of the anthropological revolution, but its influence on our culture is already quite noticeable, at least in the way it increases close attention not only to other cultures, but also to our own. It is possible to go beyond the limits of contextual limitations only by reflecting on the localization and temporalization of the text, including the theoretical field of the family and family policy. The claim to the universal truth of scientific representation only masks the total will to power, the desire to shape and subjugate the subject to the tyranny of the dominant discourse. I. F. Dementieva. Social well-being of the family Russia's transition to quality new way socio-economic development significantly affected the life of the family. The deterioration of the family's financial situation, associated, among other things, with the decline in the prestige of a number of professions, has weakened the educational authority of parents. State employment policy does not form a social order for families and schools to provide vocational training for young people. The insufficient attention of government agencies to “at-risk” families does not allow establishing a barrier on the path to the criminalization of Russian society. And lastly: the national interests of Russia require taking urgent measures to socially support the family - a fundamental institution of Russian society and a priority subject of the socialization of children.
64. The essence and types of pedagogical technologies in teaching sociology. Special direction pedagogical learning technologies-appeared in the sixties of the last century. It originated in the USA and England, and over time it became widespread in other countries. Today the concept "pedagogical learning technologies" includes cumulative knowledge about the means and methods of organizing and conducting the educational process. Types of educational technologies. Traditional pedagogical technology. Presented in the form of a class-lesson system, the obligatory element of which is a lesson. Classes are held simultaneously with the whole class. The role of the teacher in this case is to explain the content of the educational material, transfer knowledge, develop skills, and evaluate the results of reproducing what has been learned. Modular-rating pedagogical technology. The bottom line: all the material being studied is divided into modules. The educational process is organized as a sequential progression through modules, and the significance - the complexity and importance of a particular topic - is determined by the number of points. The student rating as a comprehensive measure of the quality of specialist training is the sum of points received by the student during the learning process. The formation of a student’s rating takes into account all aspects of educational activity: attendance and activity in classes; rhythm and quality of execution course work, volume and quality of acquired knowledge. Pedagogical technology of problem-based learning. Based on the theoretical principles of the American philosopher, psychologist and teacher D. Dewey. Today, problem-based learning is understood as such an organization of educational activities that involves the creation, under the guidance of a teacher, of problem situations and the active independent activity of students to resolve them, as a result of which the creative mastery of professional knowledge, skills, abilities and the development of thinking abilities occurs. The goal of problem technology is the assimilation of methods of independent activity, the development of cognitive and creative abilities. Pedagogical technology of programmed learning. Programmed learning arose in the early 50s of the 20th century, when the American psychologist B. Skinner proposed increasing the efficiency of learning material by constructing it as a sequential program for supplying portions of information and their control. Subsequently, N. Crowder developed branched programs that, depending on the control results, offered the student various material for independent work. Pedagogical technology of distance learning. Distance learning is a complex of educational services provided to the general population in the country and abroad with the help of a specialized information and educational environment, based on means of exchange educational information at a distance (computer communications, satellite television, etc.). A feature of distance learning is, firstly, the isolation (remoteness) of the student from the teacher; secondly, independence is an option distance learning; and thirdly, active integration of information tools and resources into the learning process.
65. Characteristics of the main forms of teaching sociology (lecture, seminar). Forms of teaching sociology: 1.Lectures. Throughout the history of higher education, the lecture has been and remains the leading form of teaching (from the Latin lexio - reading). It begins the student’s first acquaintance with the academic discipline; it introduces students to science, introduces them to the basic categorical apparatus, and lays the foundations of scientific knowledge on the subject being studied. Its main goal is to provide a systematic presentation of the fundamentals of the science being studied and thereby prepare students for independent work with sources and scientific publications. The peculiarity of university education is determined by the fact that here lectures are given special role. This feature is manifested in the fact that the lecturer (who is also a researcher) introduces students not just to educational material, but tries to give the latest information from the field of his science, summarizing the data that appears in the scientific literature, strives not only to provide information , but also to explain them, to convey their meaning to every listener. 2. Seminars and practical classes. The seminar, along with the lecture, has become one of the main forms of practical knowledge acquisition. It is intended for in-depth study of the subject with the active use of the student’s creative abilities. The goals and objectives of seminar classes are very diverse. They stimulate: the development of professional speech skills; the development of independent thinking; the ability to argue and substantiate one’s point of view; study and analysis of primary sources; study of additional literature on the topic being studied; a critical attitude towards one’s own speech and the speech of one’s fellow students; the ability to compare data from different sources and summarize them; the ability to connect theoretical principles with practical situations; the development of firm professional convictions. A seminar only fulfills its cognitive and educational functions when there is a lively, interested discussion, sometimes reaching sharp, heated debates on issues , formulated in the seminar plan. And this is only possible on the condition that all students, or at least most of them, have seriously studied the recommended literature, that they clearly see the theoretical and practical significance of the issues discussed at the seminar 3.INDEPENDENT WORK OF STUDENTS Independent work of students is one of the most important forms of the educational process in higher school, while its value has a steady tendency to increase. This is explained by the fact that in the complex of requirements for a specialist with higher education, the ability to independently navigate the flow of information, the ability to self-educate and accumulate knowledge takes an increasing share. In the process of independent work, a person’s abilities are revealed, his qualities are formed as creative personality Therefore, the ability to independently obtain and use information is one of the most valuable qualities of a modern specialist. The peculiarity of university education is to develop the student’s creative potential. The entire teaching methodology at the university is aimed at activating this potential, revealing creative possibilities every student. That is why independent work of students at a university becomes an important component of the learning process and university didactics.
66. Features and types of control of students’ knowledge in teaching sociology. Control is the relationship between the achieved results and the planned learning objectives. The effectiveness of managing the educational process and the quality of specialist training largely depend on its proper organization. Testing students' knowledge should provide information not only about the correctness or incorrectness of the final result of the activity performed, but also about the activity itself: whether the form of action corresponds to this stage of learning. Well-established control allows the teacher not only to correctly assess the level of students’ assimilation of the material being studied, but also to see their own successes and failures. The following types of control are distinguished: Preliminary. It allows you to determine the initial level of knowledge and skills of students. Based on the data from the preliminary control carried out at the beginning of the year, the teacher makes adjustments to the calendar and thematic plan, determines which sections of the curriculum should be given more attention. Current control is one of the main types of testing the knowledge, skills and abilities of students. The main task of current control is regular management educational activities students and its adjustment. It allows you to obtain continuous information about the progress and quality of assimilation of educational material and, on the basis of this, promptly make changes to the educational process; it stimulates regular, intense activity; determining the level of students’ mastery of independent work skills, creating conditions for their formation. Periodic (milestone) - allows you to determine the quality of students’ study of educational material by sections and topics of the subject. Such control is usually carried out several times a semester. An example of midterm control can be tests, tests on laboratory work. Periodic monitoring allows you to check the strength of assimilation of acquired knowledge and acquired skills, since it is carried out over a long period of time and not in separate doses of educational material. The midterm control covers students of the entire group and is carried out in the form of an oral survey and small written practical works. Final - aimed at checking specific learning outcomes, identifying the degree to which students have mastered the system of knowledge, skills and abilities acquired in the process of studying the subject. In preparation for it, a more in-depth generalization and systematization of the learned material occurs. When systematizing and generalizing the knowledge and skills of students, the developmental effect of training is manifested to a greater extent, since at this stage intellectual abilities and skills are especially intensively formed. Final control is carried out at transfer and semester exams, state exams, and the defense of a diploma project.
67. Methodological support for lectures on sociology. Methodological support for the lecture - highlighting the main thoughts, provisions and definitions, formulating conclusions and recommendations, selecting illustrative material, using technical teaching aids; Its main goal is to give a systematic presentation of the fundamentals of the science being studied and thereby prepare students for independent work with sources and scientific publications. types of lectures.-introductory; -lecture of a systematic course; -lecture of a special course; -review; -introductory. According to the form of presentation of lecture material, there are t: - informational and explanatory lecture; - problem lecture; - reflection lecture; - conversation lecture. Literature, used in preparing lectures on sociology can be divided into the following types: scientific (book products or periodicals); educational (textbooks, teaching aids, lecture courses); methodological (general and specific methods, corresponding plans and programs); reference (dictionaries, reference books, encyclopedias); artistic; general periodicals (newspapers and magazines). The main part of the lecture, from a methodological point of view, is divided into theoretical and empirical material. Theoretical material is a generally valid part of knowledge. What is accepted in the scientific community in the form of certain theoretical provisions, principles, laws and categories, which does not allow subjective interpretation, is the information core of the topic. The peculiarity of preparing lectures on sociology is that the teacher, on the one hand, needs to skillfully navigate in the multifaceted theoretical material that is available on almost every topic of the course, and on the other hand, show skill in its organization and systematization. The material in sociology lectures should be as closely related to local conditions as possible. For example, if you are reading a topic about family and marital relations or about deviant behavior, then, of course, it is necessary to support theoretical provisions with local data, and not with those given in textbooks and publications in the near and far abroad. Only in this case will the sociology course be perceived not as a purely theoretical, abstract construction, but as having great practical meaning, directly affecting the interests of students. The plan and program of the general sociology course is designed to familiarize students of non-sociological specialties with the fundamentals of modern sociological knowledge with the corresponding methodological instructions and explanations. The standard program is designed for 34 academic hours, i.e. to study sociology for one semester with credit in the form of knowledge control. It is assumed that 18 hours will be allocated for lectures, 12 hours for seminars and supervised independent work students - 4 hours. Of course, in each individual case this combination can vary up to such extreme cases when the entire amount of class time is allocated only to lectures. Then the topics of lectures should be expanded due to the topics of seminar classes. Taking into account the fact that in the cycle of humanities subjects such as political science, religious studies, ethics, cultural studies, etc. are studied, a number of related topics could be excluded from the general course of sociology with given subjects, for example, sociology of politics or sociology of religion, etc. Focus on general course sociology is devoted to the study of social structure, analysis of the main social institutions and problems of socialization and institutionalization. The number of lecture topics offered below (assuming that 2 hours are allocated for each topic) is slightly larger than the eighteen-hour program suggests, which allows the teacher to either enlarge the indicated topics, or shorten some of them. In addition, each topic is complex in nature and can be divided into a number of individual questions, which can become either topics for independent study or topics for seminar classes. That is why the proposed program as a whole is approximate and allows for variation depending on the profile of the specialty and the number of teaching hours allocated to the study of sociology at each university and at each faculty. In the lecture notes after each topic, a list of references is not indicated, because a general list of this literature with corresponding methodological instructions is given at the end of the complex.
68. Methodology for preparing and conducting seminars and practical classes in sociology.
Modern management considers organizational culture as a powerful strategic tool that allows you to orient all departments and employees towards common goals. There are several definitions of organizational (corporate) culture.
- the values and norms learned and applied by members of the organization that determine its behavior;
- atmosphere or social climate in the organization;
- the dominant system of values and behavioral styles in the organization.
Based on these definitions, organizational culture refers mainly to the values and norms shared by the majority of members of the organization, as well as their external manifestations (organizational behavior). Most often, organizational (or corporate) culture is defined as a set of values, customs, traditions, norms, beliefs and assumptions embodied in various aspects of an organization's activities, and which make this or that organization unique.
Organizational culture has two main functions:
internal integration: carries out internal integration of members of the organization in such a way that they know how they should interact with each other;
external adaptation: Helps the organization adapt to the external environment.
Basic elements of organizational culture:
Behavioral stereotypes
Group norms;
Proclaimed values;
Philosophy of the organization;.
Rules of the game;
Organizational climate;
Existing practical experience.
Formation of organizational culture- this is an attempt to constructively influence the socio-psychological atmosphere and behavior of employees. By forming certain attitudes, a value system or a “model of the world” among the organization’s personnel within the organizational culture, it is possible to predict, plan and stimulate the desired behavior. However, it is always necessary to take into account the spontaneously formed corporate culture in a given organization. Often in the business environment, managers try to formulate the philosophy of their enterprise, where they declare progressive values and norms, and receive results that do not correspond to their desires and investments. This happens partly because artificially introduced organizational norms and values come into conflict with really existing ones and are therefore actively rejected by the majority of organization members.
The formation of organizational culture is usually carried out in the process of professional adaptation of personnel.
In foreign and Russian literature Several structural models of organizational culture are considered.
The most famous is the three-level model of the American psychologist Edgar Schein, built on the basis of the concept of cultural scientists F.R. Kluckhohn and F.L. Strotbeck. The study of organizational culture begins at the first, “superficial” or “symbolic” level, which includes such external manifestations as the technology and architecture used, the use of space and time, language, slogans, observable patterns of behavior, methods of verbal and non-verbal communication, layout and design. premises. It is the “visible” part of organizational culture. However, the meaning of these external manifestations remains unclear if the basic ideas that stand behind these external manifestations are unknown. At this level, things and phenomena are easy to detect, but they are quite difficult to interpret in terms of organizational culture without knowledge of its other levels.
The second level represents the values and beliefs shared by members of the organization, according to the extent to which these values are reflected in symbols and language. As a rule, they are formed by the company's management and brought to the attention of all employees. The perception of values and beliefs is conscious and depends on the desires of people. Schein called this “organizational ideology,” which in many companies is directly formulated in the organization’s policy documents, being the main guideline for its activities. Given values, which may be explicit or hidden, in turn determine social norms regulating the behavior of members of the organization. Declared values do not always correspond true values organizations.
The basis of organizational culture, according to E. Schein, are some basic ideas about the nature of the surrounding world, reality, time, space, human nature, human activity, human relationships. These implicit and taken-for-granted assumptions guide people's behavior by helping them perceive the attributes that characterize the organizational culture. They are in the sphere of the subconscious and, accordingly, are not sufficiently realized even by their carriers - members of the organization. They are revealed only in the process of special analysis and, basically, are only hypothetical in nature.
Levels of organizational culture
The study of organizational culture begins from the surface
External facts - visible, but often not interpreted.
· Technologies
· Architecture
Observable patterns of behavior
Value orientations and beliefs - require deeper knowledge and familiarity, and affect deeper values.
· Verifiable in the physical environment;
· Verifiable only through social consensus.
Basic and hidden assumptions - accepted subconsciously and without evidence
· Relationships with nature;
· Attitude towards a person;
· Attitude to work;
· Understanding of reality, time and space.
The model is quite universal, since it is invariant with respect to the industry of the organization, the stage life cycle its development, form of ownership, etc. However, it seems to us that, for all its merits, this model is theoretical in nature, the categories of elements used gravitate towards the field of study of anthropologists, therefore its use in management practice is not always convenient.
We can also propose a simpler model of corporate culture, which represents two organizational levels.
There is a “multi-layered onion” model of organizational culture.
Topic 11. Levels of organizational culture.
The content of organizational culture includes the following components:
1.
Awareness of yourself and your place in the organization. Some cultures value employee concealment of his inner feelings, others encourage their outward manifestation, some organizations encourage cooperation, while others encourage individualism.
2.
Communication system and language of communication (the nature of the use of oral, written, non-verbal communications, including the use of jargon, abbreviations, gestures).
3.
Appearance employees and their presentation of themselves at work (availability of uniforms, workwear, requirements for neatness, cosmetics, hairstyles of employees).
4.
Organization of catering, including the presence or absence of food premises, frequency and duration of meals, the presence of one canteen for all personnel or separate canteens for management and ordinary personnel.
5.
Awareness of time, attitude towards it and its use (observance of a time schedule and encouragement for this).
6.
Relationships between people (including those different in age, gender, status, experience, knowledge, religion, degree of formalization of relationships, ways of resolving conflicts).
7.
Values and norms.
Values
is a set of standards and criteria that are declared by the founders and management of the organization, form the core of corporate culture and are designed to unite employees of various departments and levels of management, as well as the personal values of each individual (that is, what people value in their organizational life: position, titles, the work itself).
Norms
– these are guidelines that determine the admissibility of this or that behavior.
8.
Belief in something or disposition towards something (for example, faith in leadership, success, in one’s own strength, in mutual assistance, in justice, as well as attitude towards colleagues, clients, competitors, evil, violence).
9.
The process of employee development (mindless or conscious performance of work, reliance on intelligence or strength).
10.
Work ethics and motivation (attitude to work and responsibility for work, division and substitution of work, cleanliness of the work place, quality of work, work habits, work evaluation and reward, work promotion).
There are corporate subcultures of various divisions and groups:
1.
The values of which coincide with the values of the dominant culture.
2.
Including the values of the dominant culture and a set of values that do not conflict with them.
3.
The values of which contradict the values of the dominant culture (counterculture).
Three levels of the organization's organizational culture are distinguished in E. Schein's model because they clearly differ in the degree of observability and the ability to manage them. When discussing the deepest and most difficult level to change, they usually talk about the worldview of employees, which has a national component and is therefore difficult to correct.
The middle level is called the level of values and symbols, which can be measured through interviews. This level of organizational culture can be adjusted if significant management efforts are made over a long period of time. Thus, often the development and acceptance by ordinary employees of the new mission of the company, proclaimed by management, cannot be guaranteed without a number of additional measures, general meaning which consists in removing various kinds of protective and cognitive blocks inherent in the current state of development of organizational culture. The behavioral level of organizational culture is much easier to assess, since it is entirely observed in the actions of employees, in the nature of their communication, in interaction procedures, which are not always formalized, but work without unnecessary reminders from the manager. The behavioral level of culture is a set of unwritten norms and rules. Historically, many manifestations of organizational culture can have a source in the form of written regulations, rules, and orders. If they turned out to be effective and consistent with the usual order of business at the enterprise, the norms and rules recorded in the documents begin to live their own life, performing the function of regulating organizational behavior. For example, the desire of management to live once and for all according to a routine can be expressed in the rules for submitting rationalization proposals, which are surrounded by so many bureaucratic slingshots that the most energetic rationalizer will think a hundred times before submitting his proposal to management.
As a result, employees begin to develop the opinion that at their enterprise, “it’s more expensive to stick your head out.” This opinion is transmitted from the old-timers of the enterprise to the newly hired employees, who have never even seen any Rules for submitting rationalization proposals, but are already aware that it is better not to offer anything. The organizational norm has become operational and has become one of the regulators of employee behavior. Similar processes are typical for almost all areas of employee behavior: for reasons for promotion, for waiting in line to receive bonuses, for expectations to receive verbal feedback from the immediate supervisor (weekly, once a year or upon dismissal), for recognizing the manager’s right to travel on a business trip abroad once a quarter, but don’t expect anything like that for yourself, for expecting at least some information from your immediate superior, for the right to learn about upcoming changes from newspapers, and not from management, etc. Thus, the behavioral level of organizational culture is in direct connection with the formal aspects of the functioning of the organization. Therefore, when talking about regulations and procedures, we are simultaneously talking about organizational culture. The indicators of organizational culture on which G. Hofstede’s well-known concept is based (are rather integral and, in a certain sense, deeply psychological character. They largely reflect the ideological and national levels of organizational culture. Social change, which the company’s management would like to implement and which can be defined as “integral social innovations” will be very “energy-intensive” if they are not supported by a base of corresponding “instrumental production innovations” produced at the most plastic behavioral level of organizational culture.
E. Schein proposed to consider organizational culture in three ways
basic levels. This model, which he improved in 1983, is still
is very popular, widely cited and worth exploring in more detail.
lighting.
According to Schein, understanding organizational culture begins with the first,
“superficial” or “symbolic” level, including such visible
external factors, such as the technology and architecture used, use
space and time, observed patterns of behavior, methods of verbal and
non-verbal communication, slogans, etc., or everything that can be felt and
perceive through the known five human senses. At this level things and
phenomena are easy to detect, but quite difficult to interpret in
in terms of organizational culture without knowledge of its other levels.
Those who try to understand organizational culture more deeply touch upon
its second, “subsurface” level. At this level of study
values, beliefs and convictions shared by members are exposed
organization, in accordance with the extent to which these values are reflected in
symbols and language, how they carry meaning
first level. The perception of values and beliefs is conscious
character and depends on the desires of people. Second level of corporate culture
Schein called it “organizational ideology.” He especially emphasizes
here is the role of the life credo of the company leader - the creator or transformer
her culture. Researchers are often limited to this level, since
Next, almost insurmountable difficulties arise.
The third, “deep” level includes new (“fundamental”)
assumptions that are difficult for even the members of the organization to understand without
special focus on this issue. Among these taken on faith
hidden assumptions that guide people's behavior in an organization, Schein
highlighted the attitude to existence as a whole, the perception of time and space, the general
attitude towards people and work.
Scheme 1 Levels of organizational culture
|Visible, but often|I External facts |Study |
| |Technologies |organization thereof|
| not | Architecture | culture |
|interpreted|Observable patterns of behavior |begins with |
| | |surfaces |
|Require more |II Value orientations and beliefs |Main layer |
| deep | Verifiable in the physical environment | |
| knowledge | Verifiable only through social consensus | |
|and dating | | |
|Accepted |III Value orientations and beliefs |The most hidden |
|subconsciously |Relationships with nature |level |
| and | Attitude towards a person | |
| unsubstantiated | Attitude to work | |
| |Understanding reality, time and space | |
According to which of these levels are studied, there is
division of organizational culture into objective and subjective.
Subjective organizational culture includes those shared by all
employees' values, beliefs, expectations, ethical standards, perceptions
organizational environment. This includes a number of elements of the spiritual part
“symbols” of culture: heroes of the organization, myths, stories about the organization and its
leaders, organizational ceremonies, rituals and taboos, perception of the language of communication and
slogans.
Subjective organizational culture serves as the basis for the formation
managerial culture, that is, leadership and decision styles
leaders of problems, their behavior in general. This creates differences between
seemingly similar organizational cultures.
Objective organizational culture is usually associated with physical
environment: company building and its design, location, equipment
and furniture, technologies used, colors and volume of space, amenities,
cafeteria, parking lots and the cars themselves, uniforms,
information stands, brochures, etc. All this to one degree or another
reflects the values held by the organization.
Although both aspects of organizational culture are important, the subjective
aspect creates more opportunities for finding both common and
differences between people and between organizations.
It is important to be able to distinguish between the concepts of declared and real culture. First
exists only on paper in the form of annual reports, official mission
company, its slogans and represents the desired state
things. Real culture can be either close in spirit to the declared one or
and sharply contrasting with it. In the latter case it may end
an acute conflict and ultimately the complete collapse of the company.
The culture of organizations cannot be understood as some kind of monolithic block. IN
reality in every organization there are separate groups as formal
and informal ones, who are carriers of their “local”
subcultures.
Subculture is a set of symbols, beliefs, values, norms, patterns
behavior that distinguishes a particular community or any social
group. This means one that prevails throughout the organization
culture and the culture of its parts. Often (though not always) the structure
subcultures replicate the culture of the organization itself. Yes, the administration
departments and services, as a rule, have their own subcultures that can
coexist both peacefully and hostilely “under the roof” of a common culture
companies.
The carriers of subcultures are individuals who express similar
interests. At the same time, subcultures repeat the structure of the enterprise itself:
departments, administration of the enterprise will have different
subcultures. Given the appropriate learning potential, they develop
new norms and patterns of behavior that had not previously been introduced into
organization, a new, strong culture emerges.
One or more subcultures in an organization may, by their nature,
be in the same dimension as the dominant one in the organization
culture, or create, as it were, a second dimension in it. In the first case it is
there will be a certain enclave in which adherence to key values
dominant culture is more pronounced than in other parts
organizations. This usually occurs with a subculture of the central apparatus
any organization or system of governing bodies. In the second case
the core values of the dominant culture in the organization are accepted by members
any of its groups simultaneously with a separate set of others, often
non-conflicting values for oneself. This can be seen on the periphery
organizations or territorial authorities. In this way it can
adapt to the specifics of the activity (functional services) or
local conditions (territorial offices).
There may be a third type of subculture in organizations that
quite persistently reject what the organization as a whole wants to achieve.
Among these organizational countercultures, the following types can be distinguished:
V · direct opposition to the values of the dominant organizational culture;
V · opposition to the power structure within the dominant culture of the organization;
V · opposition to the patterns of relationships and interactions maintained
organizational culture.
Countercultures in an organization usually emerge when individuals or
groups are in conditions that they feel they cannot
provide them with the usual or desired satisfaction. In a certain
sense, organizational countercultures are a call for help during
stress or crisis, i.e. when the existing support system has collapsed
and people try to regain control of their lives in the organization.
Some “countercultural” groups can become quite influential in
during large-scale transformations associated with significant changes
in the nature, design and character of the organization.
These cultures can vary greatly from one company to another, which,
however, this is not at all surprising, given the existence in our world
a great variety of different organizations
9. Approaches to the typology of cultures (analysis of one of the typologies).
Based on historical material N.Ya. Danilevsky analyzed well-known cultural and historical types and identified four main directions, so to speak fields of activity, in the development of civilization: religion, culture, politics and economics. (see Appendix 2)
Next, Danilevsky applies the advanced categories to the study of cultural-historical types: the most ancient cultures (Egyptian, Chinese, Babylonian, Iranian and Indian) include all of the above categories. “...They built themselves, concentrating weak heaps of primitive pre-state activity of mankind on different points of the globe” 5. They became a preparatory stage for the development of subsequent cultures. Indeed, in these cultural-historical types it is impossible to determine the dominant field of activity: religion influences social life, culture and politics, but at the same time subordinated to power.
Only later do the so-called single-digit cultural-historical types appear. First of all, we will include among them the Jewish civilization, which added a special view of God and man - religion - to the world treasury of humanity. Secondly, the Hellenic type, limited to cultural activity, to a greater extent to its aesthetic and artistic direction. And thirdly, the Roman Empire developed the foundations of state law.
The natural path of development would be the emergence of a single-component cultural-historical type, developing along the path of socio-economic progress. However, the German-Roman civilization, being a two-part element, began to develop in a political and cultural direction of a predominantly scientific and industrial nature.
A special place in this classification is occupied by the emerging Slavic cultural and historical type. Like primary (autochthonous) cultures, it includes all four categories of human activity. However, they should not be mixed. Ancient civilizations are mixed, that is, each category of activity is invisibly dissolved in the other. The Slavic type has a complete four-basic basis. (see Appendix 3)
O. Spengler pointed out the inextricable connection between a specific type of scientific knowledge and the characteristics of the culture to which this knowledge belongs. O. Spengler largely anticipated the approaches of modern sociology of science. At the same time, a very important place in the philosophy of O. Spengler was occupied by the desire to demonstrate the historical and cultural conditionality of scientific concepts, to highlight the historical, moving element of pictures of the world. The formation of such views on science was largely facilitated by the scientific revolution of the early twentieth century.
Spengler identifies eight “great cultures”: 1) Egyptian; 2) Indian; 3) Babylonian; 4) Chinese; 5) Greco-Roman (Apollonian); 6) Byzantine-Islamic; 7) Western European; (Faustian) 8) Mayan culture. According to Spengler, Russian-Siberian culture is coming as a new culture. Each cultural “organism” has a lifespan of approximately a thousand years (1200-1500 years). Similar to separate human personality, culture goes through the phases of birth, youth, maturity, old age and, finally, death.
For Spengler, the crisis of culture is nothing more than the entry into a stage of civilization, during which material elements begin to prevail over spiritual ones and gradually displace the latter. Spengler defines the totality of historical types of culture as “the morphology of world history.” Culture is born at the moment when a “great soul” emerges from the “ancestral state” and awakens to life. Culture flourishes on the soil of a certain landscape and seeks its self-realization in space. Culture dies when its soul has realized the full sum of its possibilities in the form of peoples, languages, creeds, arts, states, sciences.
The basis of culture, according to Spengler, is the primordial symbol, from which one can derive the entire language of its forms, all its manifestations. Thus, the ancestral symbol of Egyptian culture is the road. The Egyptian soul sees itself walking along the life path destined for it. Powerful walls of temples, solemn rows of statues, long ribbons of reliefs and drawings, avenues of sphinxes - all this emphasizes the idea of a road. The pyramid is a giant triangle of arrows indicating the end of the path, “the expression of a brave soul.” The road is a symbol of movement not only in space, but also in time. Egyptian culture is imbued with the idea of durability: the strength of the pyramids, the mummification procedure, the choice of granite and marble as architectural materials, etc. - all this indicates that the Egyptian soul is predisposed to history and feels the past and future as integral parts of its world.
Pre-symbol ancient culture– limited material body. The Greeks did not strive to build giant structures; their buildings were small, visible and comparable in scale to the human body. The Greek (Apollonian) soul is not attracted to long journeys. They do not build roads, they are afraid of the prospects of running away alleys, their states - policies are tiny compared to the possessions of the Egyptian pharaohs. The distance of time attracts the Greeks just as little as the distance of space. The Greeks have no interest in the past and do not show concern for the future: they simply burn the bodies of the dead. The anti-historicity of the Greek soul found symbolic expression in the Dionysian cult of the phallus - a sign of the momentary present. The Greeks did not keep an accurate count of time, were poorly oriented in historical chronology, did not care about preserving documents, and did not write chronicles and memoirs. The Greeks wanted myth, not history. They admired Homer's Iliad, but did not even dream of finding Troy, as Schliemann did two millennia later.
Pre-symbol Arabic culture– the world is a cave. If the ancient temple was built with external observers in mind, then the basilica with a domed vault was conceived as an internal space. The closed inner world of the cave seems full of secrets and mysteries; it excites fantasy and mystical moods. Arabic time, in accordance with the ancestral symbol of the “cave,” is also closed. History flows in it cyclically, as if revolving within a given circle. Hence the belief in the fatality of what is happening in history, in the existence of mystical connections between the present and the past and future, in the possibility of a magical revelation of the past and prophecy of the future using numbers. Spengler believes that the soul of Arab culture is a magical soul.
The ancestral symbol of Western European culture is infinity, “pure” boundless space. The European soul is directed into the distance. She needs will, freedom, going beyond the visible horizon; all sorts of boundaries constrain her. Hence the thirst that overwhelms Europeans for travel, for searching for new lands, new impressions, and new application of strength.
The desire for the infinite also manifests itself in religion and science. The Christian God is infinite and eternal. European science is also built on the idea of infinity. In the consciousness of Western man, the problem of the infinity of space is connected with the infinity of time - the Faustian soul.
The unchangeable features of the generic nature of man constitute, according to A. Toynbee, the basis of the unity of history, visible in the diversity of local civilizations. Among them he includes inherent in man consciousness, will, ability to distinguish between good and evil, religiosity. It is religion that sets the possibility for the unity of people in history, their unity in the search for the final meaning of existence.
Civilization, chosen by Toynbee as a unit of division of the historical process, is identified with the state of society in which a creative elite appears, free from involvement in the reproduction of material life. Its administrators, professional soldiers and priests are endowed with the gift of a mystical impulse leading to the universalization of the world-historical process. It is they who create the unique spiritual image of each civilization, which is embodied in its symbols. Toynbee speaks of the existence in history of 36 civilizations, among which he, first of all, distinguishes those that have fully developed and those that have failed (Nestorian Christian, Monophysite Christian, Far Western Christian, etc.). He divides fully developed civilizations into independent and satellite ones. The first, in turn, are divided into civilizations that are not related to others (Middle American, Andean), civilizations that are not derived from others (Sumero-Akkadian, Egyptian, Aegean, etc.); civilizations generated by others (Syrian, African, Orthodox Christian, Western, etc.).
Initially, Toynbee believed that ancient history provides the only unique example that reveals all facets of the process undergone by a local civilization. Later, under the fire of criticism, he put forward two more classical models of civilizational development - Chinese and Diasporic. Although these civilizational models are considered as a complement to the ancient one, it has always remained the basis for schematizing the evolution of a local civilization, passing through the stages of genesis, growth, “breakdown” and fall.
IN late period In his activities, Toynbee emphasized that the tendency of unity of different civilizations prevails over the isolationist one. It manifests itself not only in their coexistence, cultural exchange and the creation of related civilizations, but also in the phenomenon of renaissances, the resurrection of traditions and forgotten values in a new historical context. The unifying trend in the history of mankind is largely associated with religions called “higher”. Referring to them as Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, he especially highly appreciates the role of the last three world religions.