The Structural Functionalist orientation, this approach seeks to define the functional structure of a society, meaning that society must function in a structural manner. Social problems disrupt the proper functioning of a society and inhibit the ability to have structures that work for the society.  The rises in social problems that are today found in the country weaken the stability of our societies, but they do not show the fundamentals faults in how the society is put together. That is why it is important that for the alleviation of social problems proper strategies need to be put in place to do so, it cannot be an abrupt thing. Although social problems do carry many negative impacts on society, they, however, do serve some significant functions as well.

The conflict orientation approach:

Due to the pre-existing inequalities within societies, ie: inequalities on race, gender, and social class many societies find themselves in conflict over these inequalities. There needs to be a definite change in the societies in order to address the conflicts that arise from these inequalities. These inequalities do lead to many of the social problems that we find in the country.  

The contrast between the two listed approaches is found in that the functionalist approach seeks to have function and structure in the society; it seeks to have a fair distribution of resources so that the society can function in an orderly manner. Whereas the conflict orientation approach is focused on redressing the conflicts that arise within societies due to inequalities and the scarcity of resources If the correct measures are put in place to ensure that social issues are addressed then this will lead to the structure and function which the functionalist approach seeks to achieve.