Ch 7 Social Groups and Organizations

7/26/2019 Ch 7 Social Groups and Organizations

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roups and Organizations

Socio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John MacionisCopyr ight 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All r igh ts reserved.


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Social Group

Two or more people who identify and interact with oneanother.

Not every collection of individuals forms a

group. Many people with a status in common

women, homeowners, soldiers,

millionaires, college graduates, and

Roman Catholicsare not groups, but

categories.



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Not Quite a Social Group

Crowd

Temporary cluster of people

A group can have temporal status

A crowd can become a group, then a

crowd again.

A large gathering of people at a football game

A crowd that begins to riot might be

considered a group.



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Primary Groups

Traits

Small

Personal orientation

Enduring

Primary relationships

First group experienced in life

Irreplaceable

Assistance of all kinds

Emotional to financial

Small social groups whose members share personal,

lasting relationships.



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Secondary Groups

Traits

Large membership

Goal or activity orientation

Formal and polite

Secondary relationships

Weak emotional ties

Short term

Examples

Co-workers and political

organizations

A large, impersonal social group whose

members pursue a specific goal or activity.



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Summing UpPrimary Groups and Secondary Groups



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Group Leadership

Two roles Instrumental: Task-oriented

Expressive: People-oriented

Three leadership styles Authoritarian: Leader makes decisions;

Compliance from members

Democratic: Member involvement Laissez-faire: Mainly let group function on its

own



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Group Conformity Studies

Aschs research Willingness to compromise our own

judgments

Line experiment Milgrams research

Role authority plays

Following orders

Janiss research Negative side of groupthink



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Figure 7.1Cards Used in Aschs Experiment in Group ConformityIn Aschs experiment, subjects were asked to match the line on Card 1 to one of the lines on Card 2. Many subjects agreed with the wrong answers given by

others in their group.

Source: Asch (1952).



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Reference Group

Stouffers research

We compare ourselves in relation tospecific reference groups.

In-groups and out-groups

Loyalty to in-groupOpposition to out-groups

A social group that serves as a point of reference in

making evaluations and decisions



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Group Size

The dyad

A two-member group

Very intimate, but unstable given its size The triad

A three-member group

More stable than a dyad and more typesof interaction are possible



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Figure 7.2Group Size and RelationshipsAs the number of people in a group increases, the number of relationships that link them increases much faster. By the time six or seven people

share a conversation, the group usually divides into two. Why are relationships in smaller groups typically more intense?

Source: Created by the author.



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Social Diversity:

Race, Class, and Gender Large groups turn inward.

Members have relationships between themselves.

Heterogeneous groups turn outward.

Diverse membership promotes interaction with

outsiders.

Physical boundaries create social boundaries.

If segregation of groups takes place, the chances

for contact are limited.

Networks

Web of weak social ties, people we know of or who

know of usSocio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John Macionis

Copyr ight 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All r igh ts reserved.


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Global Map 7.1Internet Users in Global Perspective Socio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John Macionis



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Formal Organizations

Utilitarian

Material rewards formembers

Normative

Voluntary organizations

Ties to personal morality

Coercive

Punishment or treatment

Total institutions

Large secondary groups organized to achieve goals

efficiently; date back thousands of years.



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Summing UpSmall Groups and Formal Organizations



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Bureaucracy

Max Webers six elements to promote

organizational efficiency:

Specialization of duties

Hierarchy of offices

Rules and regulations

Technical competence

Impersonality

Formal, written communications

An organizational model rationally designed toperform tasks efficiently



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Organizational Environment

Factors outside an organization thataffect its operation:

Economic and political trends

Current events

Populations patterns

Other organizations

Informal side of bureaucracy

In part, informality comes from thepersonalities of organizational leaders.



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Problems of Bureaucracies

Bureaucratic alienation Potential to dehumanize individuals

Bureaucratic inefficiency and ritualism

Preoccupation with rules, interferes with meeting

goals

Bureaucratic inertia

Perpetuation of the organization

Oligarchy: The rule of the many by the few Helps distance officials from the public.

Michels: Concentrates power and threatens

democracySocio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John Macionis



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The Evolution of Formal Organizations

Scientific ManagementApplication of scientific principles to the

operation of a business or large

organization

1. Identify tasks and time needed for tasks

2. Analyze to perform tasks more efficiently

3. Provide incentives for worker efficiency



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New Challenges

to Formal Organizations

Race and gender

Pattern of exclusion

Female advantage

Japanese organizations

Value cooperation

Organizational loyalty

Changing nature of work Information-based organizations

Creative autonomy, competitive work teams,

flatter organization, and greater flexibilitySocio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John Macionis



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Figure 7.3U.S. Managers in PrivateIndustry by Race, Sex, and

Ethnicity, 2005



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Figure 7.4Two Organizational ModelsThe conventional model of bureaucratic organizations has a pyramid shape, with a clear chain of command. Orders flow from the top down, and reports of

performance flow from the bottom up. Such organizations have extensive rules and regulations, and their workers have highly specialized jobs. More open

and flexible organizations have a flatter shape, more like a football. With fewer levels in the hierarchy, responsibility for generating ideas and making

decisions is shared throughout the organization. Many workers do their jobs in teams and have a broad knowledge of the entire organizations operation.

Source: Created by the author.



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McDonaldization of Society

Efficiency: Do it quickly

Predictability: Use set formulas

Uniformity: Leave nothing to chance

Control: Humans are most unreliable

factor

Each principle limits human creativity,choice, and freedom.

Weber: Rational systems are efficient but

dehumanizing.Socio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John Macionis



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Future of Organizations:

Opposing Trends Movement toward more creative

freedom for highly skilled information

workers

Movement toward increased

supervision and discipline for lessskilled service workers

Socio logy, 13hEdi t ionby John MacionisCopyr ight 2010 Pearson Education Inc All r igh ts reserved

Ch 7 Social Groups and Organizations

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