Recognition (sociology)
Encyclopedia
Recognition in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 is public acknowledgement of person's status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....

 or merit
Merit
The term merit constitutes a desirable trait or ability belonging to a person or an object.It may refer to:* Merit * Merit * Meritocracymerit may also mean:...

s (achievements, virtue
Virtue
Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality subjectively deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being....

s, service, etc.).

When some person is recognized, he or she is accorded some special status, such as a name, title, or classification. Recognition can take many forms, such as mention in the mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

.

Historical examples

The Qianlong Emperor
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796...

 of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 used large circular logos the size of a dinner plate to distinguish members of his family from his Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

 subjects. Their symbol of privilege was a Mandarin square
Mandarin square
A Mandarin square , also known as a rank badge, was a large embroidered badge sewn onto the surcoat of an official in Imperial China...

 on their clothing.

Acculturation

It becomes easier for people to be accepted into some social
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

 process if they allow themselves to fit into a social identity
Social identity
A social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group. As originally formulated by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s and 80s, social identity theory introduced the concept of a social identity as a way in which to...

, as a signal that they implicitly accept some social norm
Norm (sociology)
Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...

. Thus the use of uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...

 dress is a signal for both group inclusion and acceptance
Acceptance
Acceptance is a person's agreement to experience a situation, to follow a process or condition without attempting to change it, protest, or exit....

. Gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

s use signals and dress for this purpose.

Dress codes and norms also occur for religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 groups.

In employment

As a means to increase productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...

, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

, and satisfaction
Contentment
"Contentment" seems realistically defined as "enjoyment of whatever may be desired". That definition is realistic because the more contented an individual or community becomes the less extreme so more acceptable their desires will be...

 in the workplace, recognition is a tool used by many successful organizations to address these challenges. Recognition can be used in multiple models, including manager-to-employee, employee-to-manager, and peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...

. In terms of employment, individuals within an organization can acknowledge each other for great attitudes, individual efforts and team contributions that help build a great culture and positive work environment.

Recognition in the workplace can be a monetising activity, a complementary activity, or both. In terms of monetised activities, organizations will recognize employees with additional compensation (bonuses) or items that have a monetary value (tickets, trips, etc.). In terms of complementary activity, organizations will recognize employees through avenues such as broadcasting (notice to fellow employees) or public recognition with a “thank you”, “kudos”, or “congratulations”.

Recognition Resources

A set of tools was developed in 2008 to help individuals better understand their Recognition Style. These tools can be found at RecognizeAnother.com and provide a visual representations of a teams overall Recognition Nature, an indicator useful for leaders in determining healthy recognition team dynamics.

See also

  • Respect
    Respect
    Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...

  • Posthumous recognition
  • Name recognition
    Name recognition
    Name recognition is a concept used in politics to describe the number of people who are aware of a politician. It is considered an important factor in elections, as candidates with low name recognition are unlikely to receive votes from people who only casually follow politics. Name recognition is...

  • Donor recognition wall
    Donor recognition wall
    With origins in the early 20th century, a donor recognition wall is typically a wall-mounted display found in a centralized location of a hospital, university, museum, library, worship facility, or other nonprofit institution...

  • Roll call
    Roll call
    Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a list to determine the presence or absence of the listed people . The term applies to the calling itself, to the time moment of this procedure, and to a military signal that announces it Roll call is the calling of the names of people from a...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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