Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / November 13, 2021
By Javier Navarro, in Jul. 2013
A regulation it's a ordered and coherent set of precepts or norms that will govern the work in a company, in an organization, the coexistence in an apartment building, in a community, a sport, among other alternatives.
A regulation implies a group of guidelines and norms that govern an activity. The main purpose of a regulation is to establish an adequate order so that the activity carried out takes place through reasonable channels.
Limitations and difficulties
Although the notion of regulation is considered necessary and useful, it is not without its difficulties. There are several circumstances that can negatively affect regulations: 1) They must be easily interpretable, in such a way that it is not possible to understand them differently, 2) they should be based on experience and not too theoretical, 3) any rule The rule must be evaluated by someone (for example, a referee) and it is common for the interpreter of the rules to make mistakes or be prejudiced.
Written and unwritten rules
All regulations are reflected in a written document detailing what is allowed and what is prohibited in an activity. In this way, if someone doubts about a specific standard, they can consult the document where it appears and know exactly what the standard in question says. Regulations usually incorporate changes and transformations to improve in some sense (it is what has happened with basketball, a sport that has incorporated new rules to make the game more spectacular).
However, in most regulated activities we find unwritten rules. As they are not reflected, they are not mandatory, but the tradition makes them "mandatory". If we take football as a reference, the unwritten rules are diverse (the exchange shirts, respect the opponent's national anthem or not try to play if the other team has an injured player on the ground).
Simplicity and complexity
There are very simple regulations and others that are really complex. The Benedictine order is based on the well-known Benedictine rule, which consists of a set of articles that are usually synthesized in one, ora et labora (pray and work). The complexitynormative We can find it in some legal texts (for example, official gazettes).
In children's games we can observe that children establish their own regulations in a natural way. And in this sense, it is difficult to imagine a social organization without rules, since even uncivilized humans were organized based on basic principles that served to order daily life. As a society advances, the complexity of the guidelines grows and the need inevitably arises to establish regulations for the set of activities.
Live without rules
If someone does not respect social rules, it is likely that he is a provocateur, a criminal or that he suffers from some type of disorder. Throughout history we find individuals who have questioned current social rules (the philosopher Diogenes de Sinope was opposed to any type of normative imposition since he understood that it is a limitation of individual freedom). Whoever does not respect the imposed legal norms becomes an offender, a criminal or a mobster. Some mental illnesses are detected when people live outside the conventional rules.
The absence of rules is associated with disorder and anarchy. However, excessive regulation is not always effective, since what is important is not the rule itself but its compliance.
The human being faces a dichotomy regarding the idea of rule: follow them or break them. In normal situations, it is reasonable to abide by them but on some occasions it may be justified non-compliance with it (for example, some cases of civil disobedience have been inspired by an ideal noble).
Photos: iStock - Steve Debenport / shaunl
Topics in Regulation