Linkage of sociology with business administration

Relationship of sociology with economics, psychology, and anthropology

Relationship with Economics

Economics studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Wealth constitutes the central problem of economics.It studies man as a wealth-getter and wealth -disposer.Economics is in many ways the most advanced of all the social sciences.Its subject matter is often more easily measured than that of the other disciplines.But the economy is also a part of society and goods and services do not produce, distribute and consume themselves.The economic processes depend on the society.The social aspects of the economic life are the subject matter of the 'sociology of economics', one of the major branches of the sociology.

Relationship with psychology

Psychology is the science of human behavior.This science, more than any other social science focuses on the individual.Psychology shares one of the major fields of interest with sociology, namely social psychology.Social psychology is the science of the behavior of the individual in society.It studies the way in which personality and behavior are influenced by the social context.

Relationship with anthropology

Anthropology is a science of man and his works.Sociology and anthropology are "twin sisters". Both are mutually helpful and supportive.Anthropology has two main branches. 1) physical anthropology and 2) cultural anthropology. Physical anthropology deals with the physical characteristics of human beings whereas cultural anthropology deals with the cultural evolution.It studies the ways of life of different communities, particularly the primitive ones. Anthropology differs from the sociology in that it usually focuses on the simple, small-scale, primitive societies.Anthropology studies the society as ''whole''. Sociology concentrates more on group processes within larger modern complex societies.

Relevance of sociology in management and business administration

Dave Blume and Bob Chase both earned undergraduate degrees in business. Dave and Bob also earned the second degrees in sociology. According to Dave, “ The competition in the business world can be very intense. You have to give a potential employees a reason to select you over other candidates who have the same business degree that you do. Sociology, with its focus on groups, organizations, and the human interaction is a natural compliment to the business. And it is a degree which has been increasingly well received in the business world. Bob adds, “ There is so much that has changed in the way business is conducted that companies are looking for people who can be very flexible. People socialized in some of the older business patterns are just so inflexible and they cannot adjust. Sociology prepares you for understanding change and also anticipating it. The degree is a real asset.

The important point is that conducting the business requires a well-managed human relationship. Two types of the relationships are especially significant.

The first is the relations with the business organization itself. Inside any organization, there are complex arrays of the roles. Imagine the relational adaptations required to manage interactions among the engineers, secretaries, accountants, professionals, managers, blue collar workers, CEO’s etc add to this the changing face of the organization itself. With hostile takeovers, mergers, downsizing, reconstructing and other changes in the business world, how easy is it to keep on the top of the essential business relations? Recently, two major airlines have been financially salvaged by the employee buy- outs. The employee is now the owners. How might this influence employees are now the owners. Much of the time we treat business relations are interpersonal relations, that is relations among the friends. The problem arises when a person’s behavior is being determined by their official role and that role conflicts with the interpersonal role to which we have become accustomed. The sociological perspective allows us to see behind a person’s actions and not to take everything personally.

The second type of the relationship important to the business is those conducted with the clients or the customers of the organization. According to Dave, “ A lot of new people have a cultural shock when they begin working their first job. The problem is at least in the sales, is that the new sales people don’t properly realize that there is an important difference between what they see as a product and what customers want. While we sell sports equipment to the customers then they are mostly interested in service. If you can't put yourself in the shoes of your customers and see things from their perspective then you are going nowhere. In sociology, you learn to dig behind surface appearances so you can see what is really motivating a person’s behavior. The connection of this to sales is both straightforward and important.

Relevance in Management

Management can be defined as the organization and coordination of the activities of the business in order to achieve the defined objectives.Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials, and money. Sociology investigates human engagement with their social production and the impact of society dealing with management of the various subordinates of an organization. Not only sociology is important in an organization but it is useful in the management of the home, school, colleges, and universities. We have been studying the subject matter of sociology in various management institutions.

Relevance in Business administration

The first importance of sociology in business administration is within the business organization itself. Inside any organization, there are complex arrays of roles. Imagine the rational adaptations required to manage interactions among the engineers, secretaries, accountants, professionals, managers, CEO's etc add to the changing face of the organization itself. The second type of relationship is those conducted with clients or customers of the organization.According to Dave, "A lot of new people have culture shock when they begin working their first job. The problem, at least in sales is the new sales people don't realize that there is an important difference between what they see as their product and what customers want. The important lesson so far is that without a good understanding of others, co-workers, superiors, and subordinates, customers, and competitors and how to relate to them is nearly impossible for the success in business.

References

Regmi, Rishikeshab Raj, Udbodh Bhandari and Santosh K Gurung.Sociology for Management.Kathmandu: Buddha, 2013

Henslin, James M. Adie Nelson (1995). Sociology:A Down-to-Earth Approach. Canadian Edition. Scarborough, Ontario: Allyn and Bacon

Weber, Max (1962)Basic Concept in Sociology, London: Peter Owen

Macionis, John J. (2006), Sociology. Pearson Education