Hsbs 325 - Macro Systems Paper

Macro Systems Paper

Katie Haynes

February 10th, 2014

HSBS/325

Dr. Tanisha Laidler

        Ideally when people talk about a social system, they’re referring to a family. There are three parts of a family social system which include structure, subsystems, and boundaries. There are however several human service interactions in terms of macro systems- communities and organizations. According to (Dale, Smith, & Norlin, 2009), at the community level, the components are typically groupings of formal organizations and groups performing similar community functions. There are four different categories that make up a social system at the community level. The size and characteristics of the components compromising the system, the types of relationships existing among the components, the level of inclusiveness of the system and the forms of power or authority employed, (Dale, Smith, & Norlin, 2009).  

        The concepts of personal, interpersonal and political empowerment all have a goal to improve their situation, however they are uniquely different.  An example of personal empowerment could be a parent that acts as a role model to their child to influence positive behaviors. Both psychological and emotional behaviors can come from personal empowerment. Environments significantly influence personality and individual empowerment. Interpersonal empowerment is having the ability to communicate effectively with others.  An individual must be able to make observations, think things through, develop feelings, and discuss needs. By being able to understand something, that individual can evaluate what happened and give their opinion. They can make judgments on what needs to be done but its best that all parts of the group work together to follow through with a plan.  Political empowerment involves more elements of power such as more resources and positions. This type of empowerment includes democratic decision-making and involves more in depth power.  

        Individuals may experience involvement in multiple social systems- micro, mezzo, and macro- at work in the environment. The micro level is basically an individual or small group of people. An example in the workplace may include business partners or co-worker in the office. Mezzo deals with somewhat larger groups of people that are considered community level social systems. Other examples of mezzo social systems include school systems, neighborhoods, and community based programs; like churches. Macro systems are much larger systems such as corporations and institutions.  An example would be a human service professional working in a prison institution. They not only deal with the needs and challenges of the inmates but also deal with other employees of the prison system and understanding their concerns. No matter how you look at life, you must first understand ones purpose, (“Finding Happiness”, 2013).