Relations in Business

Relations in Business

Dave Blume and Bob Chase both earned undergraduate degree in business. In addition, Dave and Bob also earned second degree in sociology. According to Dave, “The competition in the business world is sure to happen. Your duty is to provide the potential employers a reason to select you over other candidates who have the same business degree that you do. Sociology, with its focus on group, organization, and human interaction is a natural compliment to business. And, it is a kind of a degree which is in increasing manner, well received in the business world.” Bob adds, “There is so many that have changed in the way business is conducted that companies are looking for people who can be very flexible. People who are supposed to be socialized in some of the other primitive business manners, as well as the patterns, are just so inflexible that they cannot adjust. Sociology is helpful in preparing us for understanding change and also learning something from the change. The degree is a real asset.”

The important point is, conducting business is in requirement of properly-managed human relationships.The two types of relationships are especially significant:

The first relationship is within the business organization.In an organization and inside any organization there are complex arrays of roles. Let us imagine the adaptation in the relational form which is required in managing the interactions among engineers, accountants, professionals, managers, doctors, nurses, workers, blue collar workers, CEO’s etc seems to be adding for changing the face of the current organization itself. Here, two of the major airlines have been financially salvaged by employee buy-outs recently. These employees are now considered to be the owners. How is the traditional management-labor relations influenced? Complicating this is the manner where we are actually conducting the relations. According to Bob, “Much of the time we treat business relations as interpersonal relations, in other words, we can say the relations is among the friends. The problem arises when a person’s behavior is being determined by their official role and that role turns into conflict with the interpersonal roles to which we have become accustomed. The sociological perspective allows we people to see behind the actions of a person and not to take everything personally.”

The second type of the relationship important to business is those conducted with clients or customers of the organization. According to Dave, “A lot of new people have culture shock when they began working their first job. The problem, at least in sales, is that people in the new sale do not seem to realize that there is very important difference between what they see as their product and what the other customers want. While I sell sports equipment my customers are mostly interested in the service. If you can’t imagine yourself being in the shoes of the customers and see everything from the customer's 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 sales is both straightforward and important.” The thing which should be highly understood by the modern customers today, according to Bob, is that “Customer preferences frequently change. In banking what people seem to want is convenience. While some in banking understand this, many cling to old ideas which tend to put the bank first and the customer second. People want the bank ‘ to come to them ‘ in the shape of longer hours, more locations, and fewer hassles in the bank itself. If you are not constantly researching customer preferences and perspectives then you will find yourself falling behind your competitors and losing your customers.”

For the business to excel, a solid grasp of math and economics is highly needed.The major requirement in a business is to understand the people, understanding large group of the population in a particular.The relations of sociology in the business has much more importances. Some of them are:

Process Analytical

The study of sociology helps to develop your analytical capabilities and thinking. Sociologists analyze qualitative and quantitative data to determine the effects of phenomena on a population. Let's take an example, a sociologist may discover that a country has an age gap due to an uncontrollable epidemic that has a diverse effect on the country's ability to compete in global world. This method of analytical thinking helps those in the field of business with the ability to research and analyze the market data and eventually draw conclusions from that data.

Handling Employees and understanding them

Studying sociology gives people the exact background of business leaders and human resource managers an advantage when dealing with employees in the workplace or in a business field. Sociologists study ( are often aware of) the cultural aspects and social aspects both that shape an individual in the working field. With the given background, those in business can also avoid alienating employees or hurting company loyalty.

Market Opportunities

Sociologists understand that conditions create certain phenomena that influence groups of people in the market. For example, if the birth rate drops within a country, that country's population will eventually "age" and require increased services for the elderly. Those people who are involved in business with sociology backgrounds can easily identify that kind of factors and also the opportunities created within a particular population. For instance, a business leader can look over to a country which was previously never free from war or disease and know that its people require basic infrastructure offerings and access to education and medical facilities. If your company specializes in medical supplies, this is an opportunity; or either your company sells any type of luxury vehicles, you would try your best to identify a population that requires your services.

Public Relations

Sociology plays a vital role in the public relations department of any large company. A PR person's background in sociology tells the particular person that certain actions by the company will affect the customers based on their backgrounds. For example, if your company conducts business in another part of the world, your PR person must know the history of that area to tailor the message and image of the company. The PR person, for instance, would not create a press release that stresses the independent nature of the company in a culture that places a large focus on family.

Examples of Careers in Sociology

1. Administration: A professional with a degree in sociology is well prepared for administrative positions, particularly in government and public agencies that administer human services. Sociologists in leadership roles help define policies toward group of people in need of public assistance. By leading teams of researchers and social work professionals, sociologists can reshape their communities.
2. Business: A degree in sociology prepares a student for a career in business. Sociologists research consumer trends and work with market researchers to discover new opportunities to meet the public’s needs. Some corporations employ sociologists to impact the social effects of major project like plant relocations or store openings. Sociologists also help product designer understand the overall trends shaping consumer culture in order to inspire tomorrow’s hot new product.
3. Corrections: As the prison population in any country continues ti expand, many local governments hire sociologist to understand the impact of tougher laws on neighborhoods. Sociologist also help correction officials determine the effects of new programs and regulations on the prison population.
4. Counseling: Some counselors and therapists study sociology in order to better understand some of the larger treads they see among patients. By using the kinds of pattern analysis techniques that sociologists are known for, counselors can focus their practices on critical needs in their communities.
5. Education: A person with a sociology degree may choose to pursue a career in education. A bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate are adequate for teaching classes such as business class or law in business class, political science class, history and many more at the high school level.

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