There are three major sociological theoretic paradigms: structural-functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction.
The structural-functional approach "is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability"(Macionis, p.12). The core questions are "how is society held together, what are the major parts of society, how are these parts linked, and what does each part do to help society work" (Macionis, 2009, p.17).
Social-conflict draws the relation between certain factors, and imbalance in terms of finances, power, etc. It is "framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change" (Macionis, p.14). Core questions are: "how does society divide a population, how do advantaged people protect their privileges, and how do disadvantaged people challenge the system seeking change" (Macionis, 2009, p.17).
Finally, the core questions for symbolic-interaction are: "how do people experience society, how do people shape the reality they experience, how do behavior and meaning change from person to person and from one situation to another" (Macionis, 2009, p.17). Symbolic-interaction is "a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals" (Macionis, 2009, p.15). It studies how and why people communicate and interact differently to different people and in different situations. .
The paradigm that my life more closely relates to is social-conflict. I work for a very large and reputable company. On this small island, Oahu Transit Services (OTS) is a company many individuals wish to be employed by. It's no secret that historically, OTS' staff has hired many of their personal friends, and family members. In time, the company became one where "it's not what you know, it's who you know.