The Sociological Perspective

John J. Macionis explains the sociological perspective as a special point of view that takes a look at how particular groups of people in society are influenced in making choices, feel and even the way they think. These are general patterns that occur in our daily lives and all around the world but differing from one social group to another. Macionis teaches us that our way of living is influenced by the particular group in society which we belong to. Unconsciously all our choices come from what society expects from us, either being our level of education, the partner we decide to marry, the amount of kids we decide to raise or even where we decide to live. The groups we belong in are based on economic status, gender, race, religion, age group etc. for example students attending college are fairly young because that is the specific age group that society expects to attend college. Moreover the level of education students achieve is determined by the economic status they hold because as education goes higher costs also goes higher, hence the institutions chosen by high income versus low income students differ. The amount of kids we decide to raise may be influenced by the education available on contraceptives which is very limited in poor countries. Whom we decide to marry and where we live is also influenced by economic status as we can see here in Belize that major political leaders live in the cities.

The sociological perspective allows us to asses the truth in common sense by analyzing exactly why some things are the way they are and not what society teaches us to believe. It also helps us to see the opportunities and constraints in our lives by giving us a better understanding of how the world works to better achieve our goals in life. The sociological perspective encourages us to be active participants in our society because whenever an entire society gets involve in an issue it gets stronger to actually achieve its purpose. It is also important to accept and be willing to live in a diverse world because all social groups come with strengths and weaknesses which can be combined and implemented to each others social groups, thereby enforcing members with new talents and skills.

Using the sociological perspective sociologists today believe that Labor Unions have had a positive impact in today’s society because creating a union in an organization gives all employees a right to be heard. Employees needs and concerns have a better chance of being addressed through unions because it empowers employees, thereby it is no longer an individual concern but a social concern. Labor Unions have had positive impacts in solving inequalities among women and men such as wage differences and safe work environments. Creating unions in industries is joining voices together to accomplish common goals and achieving a better standard of living. The main goal of unions is to protect its members from the actions of employers hence better management, good skills, improved morale and higher productivity are all correlated with unionism. In Belize early labor movements by Antonio Soberanis brought about changes in labor laws which enabled British Honduras Workers and Tradesmen’s Union to register legally as a trade union in 1934. Empowerment of union forces even attracted political parties to join forces towards the anti colonial movement at the time, giving rise to new formed unions. I believe that the formation of unions have much benefits for its members as in the case of the Belize teachers union who recently came to an agreement with the government to receive a salary increment. It is by joining voices that much progress has come about for employees concerns in the past and also the rising issues employees face today.