Functionalism
This group of sociologists sees society as being like a living person. Just as all the different organs in a human body (heart, brain, lungs, etc.) work together in harmony, so all the different parts of society (work, government, education, religion etc.) are seen to work together in harmony.
As in a human body, each part of society depends on the other parts of society, on the basis of:
Social needs and
Social purposes that fulfill those needs.
For example, work needs people who are socialised into the values and norms of society and the family exists for the purpose of fulfilling that need. Just like in a human body, if one part of society stops working in the way that it should, problems are created in that society.
From this perspective, everything in society has a purpose or function (which is where the term Functionalism comes from). The basic values of this perspective emphasise the idea of harmony and social consensus based around shared values.