The purpose of this article is to highlight the strengths of conceptualisation of norms and power in figurational sociology and to identify some of its limitations. The founder of figurational sociology Norbert Elias, along with his theory of the civilizing process, created a number of middle-range concepts, which can be both theoretically interpreted and used in empirical research. His central concept was figuration, the bounded network of interdependent actors with the shifting power balance. Elias understood norms or rules as conventions, or prescriptions, which serve the purpose of coordination of interdependencies but at the same time closely tied to the distribution of power among the actors. Concepts such as formalisation and informalisation, duality of norms, established and outsiders make possible empirically grounded analysis of transformation of norms and their social functions. Research conducted in figurational perspective has contributed to the advance of sociological understanding of norms and power. At the same time in figurational sociology there is lack of recognition of autonomy and impact of ideological power, for instance, that religious or metaphysical doctrines can bring about changes in the norms of collectivities and habitus of the individuals.

Application of information and communication technologies in education has changed not only the forms of organization of educational process but also the way students learn. Studies over the last decade have shown that availability of the internet has changed the way students search, perceive, remember and assimilate new information and knowledge. This paper uses the works of cultural-historical psychology, media studies and cognitive psychology to ground the idea that the use of the media affects the development of cognitive styles. Computer technologies are conceptualized as cultural means, as psychological tools and new forms of intermediation between the consciousness and productive activity. As such, computer technologies and specifically the internet have the potential of influencing the development of higher psychic functions, the forms of cognitive self-control and self-government. The paper discusses the application of Sternberg’s conception of thinking styles to the problems of the influence of computer technologies on the development of styles of cognitive self-control. As empirical evidence the paper uses the materials of five focus group discussions with school and university teachers conducted within the project “The impact of internet usage patterns on the development of youth’s cognitive styles”.

The purpose of the paper is to assess the arguments of the critique of functionalism by Anthony Giddens and Norbert Elias. After being subject to severe criticism, terminology of functionalism is still a part of the lexicon of social scientists nowadays. Functionalist reasoning and concepts of functionalism are used in sociology, political science and economics, even though often without full awareness of its theoretical implications. Recent revival of interest in the works by Elias is connected with the search for a new theoretical and methodological foundation of sociology but his views on functionalism have remained largely unexplored. For the analysis presented in this paper, main theoretical works by Giddens and major works by Elias have been used. Positions of the authors have been analysed with respect to main concepts and principles of functionalism, such as function, needs, internalization of values, consensus, equilibrium, and the notions of power and individual. The study shows that while Giddens strived to reject functionalism and the concept of social function altogether, in the figurational approach developed by Elias it is possible to use some of the concepts of functionalism without necessarily accepting its controversial tenets.

Norbert Elias has used the concept of charisma to explain the phenomena of rule, leadership and group domination. In developing his interpretation of charisma, he critically analyzed Max Weber’s texts and applied it within his developmental, processual and figurational approach. He derived from the works of Weber the concept of group charisma and interpreted it as a universal social phenomenon. Elias considered charismatic leadership as a social situation, in which a leader’s individual charisma is fused with group charisma. Individual and group charisma are explained partly as social and psychological phenomena of individual and collective identities and partly by historically determined belief systems. Linking charisma to identity brings Elias close to Durkheim’s conception of religion. In Elias’s interpretation, the phenomenon of charisma is related to idealized individual and collective self-images. Manifestations of charismatic claims on the group level, on the one hand, are attributions to one’s group the qualities of special grace and self-praise, and on the other hand, the prejudiced attitudes to other, excluded groups. The phenomena of group charisma and group disgrace are observable in the established-outsiders power relationships. Elias’s interpretation of charisma complements the existing conceptualizations in social psychology and sociology.

Over the past two decades, there have been attempts to apply ideas from figurational sociology founded by Norbert Elias in research of different aspects of organizational life. The central contributions are derived from his theory of the civilizing process and the principles of process sociology. While this research mostly is relevant for contemporary organization theory, many contributions tend to emphasize Elias’s relational approach to the neglect of his functionalism, which underlies the whole corpus of Elias’s works. Rediscovery of Elias’s functionalism opens up the way for a fruitful reinterpretation of the central concept of his sociology, figuration, and enables to find new ways of combining figurational sociology with more familiar approaches to organization theory, in particular, with contingency theory. This helps to identify the factor of technology in the theory of the civilizing process and place it in the context of the concepts of figurational sociology such as interdependence, power and subjectivity, which enhances the analytical strength of figurational approach to organizations. The paper discusses some applications of figurational sociology to date and points to new directions in the study of organizations with the use of the conceptual tools of figurational approach.