Understanding Industrial Sociology and the Sociology of the Enterprise: Concepts, Objects, and Methods
1. Sociology: Concept and Origins
Sociology, a social science, delves into the scientific study of relationships and interactions within human societies. Despite humans living in societies for millennia, sociology emerged only in the early 19th century. This late arrival can be attributed to the profound social and cultural shifts that swept through European society in the preceding centuries.
The medieval foundations of European society began to crumble due to significant changes in collective mentality, social beliefs, attitudes, and values:
- The Reformation (16th Century): Questioned the Church’s authority, inadvertently fostering individualism and rationality.
- The Enlightenment (18th Century): Subjected previously unquestioned institutions like religion, monarchy, kinship, and property to critical analysis.
- The Industrial Revolution (late 18th Century): Along with the American and French Revolutions, further challenged existing social structures, ushering in a new era.
From the late 18th century onwards, Western countries experienced large-scale transformations such as urbanization, industrialization, secularization, bureaucratization, division of labor, and democratization, leading to novel ways of organizing human society.
Traditional vs. Industrial Society
Traditional or pre-industrial society was characterized by:
- Extended families, communities, and kinship ties
- Rural life in small towns
- Agricultural work or small workshops
- Land as the primary source of wealth
- Monarchy
- Tradition and religion
Modern or industrial society, born from the Reformation, Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, and political revolutions, exhibits these features:
- Nuclear families (parents and children)
- Urban life in large towns or cities
- Work in factories and offices with increasing bureaucratization
- Industry and enterprise as primary sources of wealth
- Democracy
- Reason and science
2. Industrial Society as the Subject of Sociology
Sociology emerged to understand the impact of these changes on people’s lives, explain them, and comprehend the newly emerging “industrial society” that has become prevalent worldwide, while traditional societies remain in isolated pockets.
3. Special Sociologies
The vast scope of sociology – social relationships and institutions – has led to the development of specialized areas known as “Special Sociologies,” each focusing on a specific aspect of social reality. These include:
- Industrial Sociology: Studies industrial relations, encompassing interactions between employers and employees, their organizations, negotiation methods, and disputes. Key issues include trade unions, employers’ organizations, collective bargaining, industrial disputes, worker participation, and industrial democracy.
- Sociology of the Enterprise: Examines the enterprise as a small-scale social system, analyzing formal organizational patterns, power hierarchies, authority relationships, occupational careers, and social/occupational groups.
- Sociology of Work: Focuses on work as a human activity and the social institutions arising from it, including economic activity/inactivity, working conditions, occupational structure, gender and age roles in work, casual work, and non-remunerated work.
Over time, these disciplines have converged, with only Sociology of Work maintaining its independence due to its focus on areas outside the formal economy and enterprise, such as homework, farm work, and casual work. This convergence has led to the increasing use of the term “Industrial Sociology and Sociology of the Enterprise.”
4. Research Methods in Industrial Sociology and the Sociology of Enterprise
Industrial Sociology and the Sociology of Enterprise employ the same methodology as General Sociology to understand and explain the social aspects of work and enterprise organization. Researchers begin with general formulations (theories, hypotheses) and subject them to empirical testing for confirmation or refutation.
Several techniques and methods are available for empirical testing, with the researcher’s choice depending on theoretical assumptions and available resources. Common methods include:
- Personal experience
- Participant observation
- Records and documents
- Statistics
- Surveys (questionnaires, samples, interviews)
- Experimentation