Chapter 5 Groups and Organizations Types of Groups Social Influence Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies Diversity: Race, Gender, and Class in Organizations

Types of Groups dyad triad primary group secondary group reference group in-group out-group

The Small World Problem Experiment: Can a document be routed to a complete stranger 1,000 miles away using only a chain of acquaintances. 300 “senders” were tasked with getting a document to a complete stranger. 1/3 of the documents arrived with an average number of 6.2 intermediate contacts.

Bystander Intervention Problem Examines the dynamics of when and how people come to the aid of someone in trouble. The more bystanders observe a person in danger, the less likely any of them will call for help. Demonstrates the group size effect and pressure to conform.

Asch Conformity Experiment Even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence. 1/3 to 1/2 of the subjects make a judgment contrary to objective fact, yet in conformity with the group.  

Milgram Obedience Studies 65% of the volunteer subjects administered what they thought was lethal voltage on the shock machine. Milgram described the dilemma revealed by his experiments as a conflict between conscience and authority.

Groupthink Four aspects of groupthink: An illusion of invulnerability. A falsely negative impression of those who are antagonists to the group’s plans. Discouragement of dissenting opinion. Illusion of unanimity.

Risky Shift Groups weigh risk differently than individuals. Most but not all group discussion leads to greater risk-taking. As groups get larger, trends in risk-taking are amplified.

Formal Organizations A secondary group organized to accomplish a task and achieve goals efficiently. Develop cultures and routine practices. People conform to expected patterns of behavior. Can be tools for innovation, depending on the organization’s values and purpose.

Types of Organizations. Normative (service, charitable organizations) Coercive (prisons) Utilitarian (corporations)

Weber's Characteristics of Bureaucracy Division of labor and specialization Hierarchy of authority Rules and regulations Impersonal relationships Career ladders Efficiency 

Bureaucracy’s Other Face Informal structures ignore, change, or bypass the formal structure and rules. Subcultures develop when people attempt to humanize an impersonal organization. The informal culture can become exclusionary, increasing the isolation some feel at work.

Problems of Bureaucracies Risky shift Groupthink Ritualism - rules become ends in themselves rather than a means to an end. Alienation - individuals become psychologically separated from the organization.

The McDonaldization of Society Four Dimensions: Efficiency - things move from start to finish in a streamlined path. Calculability - emphasis on quantitative aspects of products sold.

The McDonaldization of Society Four Dimensions: Predictability - products will be the same no matter when or where they are purchased. Control - behavior is reduced to a series of machinelike actions.

Diversity: Race, Gender, and Class in Organizations Organizations perpetuate inequality of race-ethnicity, gender and social class. Minorities are less likely to get promoted and more likely to get fired. Women experience negative effects of tokenism such as stress and lowered self-esteem.

Theoretical Perspectives on Organizations Functionalist - specifies organizational functions and dysfunctions. Conflict Theory - analyzes the consequences of hierarchical, gender, race, and social class conflicts. Symbolic Interaction - focuses on how the self develops as a product of social interaction.