The Shaping of Social Organization: Social Rule System Theory with Applications / Edition 1

by Tom R Burns, Helena Flam

Overview

The Shaping of Social Organization introduces a new social theory - social rule system theory - and shows how it can provide fresh insights into the major institutions of modern social life.

The book advances a distinctive approach to the study of actor-structure dynamics, placing itself in a rich scholarly tradition developed by major thinkers such as Weber, Lindblom, Giddens and Goffman. It presents social rule system theory as a framework with which to investigate social institutions, and clarifies the principles behind their formation, maintenance and transformation. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, the authors also demonstrate the relevance of the theory for research programs. As a result, they are ab

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803980273
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	07/01/1987
Series:	Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Actors, Social Action, and Systems - PART ONE: SOCIAL RULE SYSTEM THEORY
Social Rule System Theory
The Organization of Social Action and Social Forms
Actors, Rule Systems, and Social Structure
Rule Systems, Organization of Society, and Social Power
Consensus and Conflict in Social Life
Grammers of Social Institutions and the Structuring of Spheres of Social Action
The Structuration of Markets and Other Distributional Regimes - PART TWO: MARKETS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING SYSTEMS
Market Organization and Performance Properties
Collective Bargaining Regimes and Their Transformation
Multiple Rule Systems; Formal and Informal Social Organization - PART THREE: BUREAUCRACY AND FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS
Local Public Administration as an Arena of Conflicting Rule Systems
Hydro-Power Administration in a Changing World
Industrialism, Environmentalism, and Center-Periphery Struggle in Norway
Technology and Technique, Social Action, and Rule Systems - PART FOUR: EXPERTISE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
A Modern Oracle and Politics
Studies in Energy Forecasting
Science and Practical Action
The Study of Competing Logics
Conclusion
Principles of Social Organization in the Structuration of Modern Western Societies

Editorial Reviews

"A book of extraordinary scope" - Amitai Etzioni

"Every topic...in this book turns into sociological gold." - Hans Zetterberg

From the Publisher