Groups and Organizations

Types of Groups Primary Secondary Reference Ingroup Outgroup

Primary groups Small, personal, intimate Socialization Social identity The family Socialization Social identity Provides comfort and security

Secondary groups E.g. Microsoft Large, impersonal, formal Weak emotional ties Short duration Lawsuits increase with increasing secondary ties

Reference group Point of reference in making evaluations and decisions Family Friends Gang Professors

Ingroups and outgroups A social group toward which we feel competition or opposition Lead to unfairly negative views of outgroups

General leadership styles Instrumental Completing tasks Expressive Collective well-being

Leadership decision making styles Authoritarian Democratic Collective decisions on egalitarian basis Laissez-faire Downplays position of power

Solomon Asch Experiment Comparison of lines People will compromise their own judgment to avoid being seen as different

Milgram’s experiment of authority People follow both legitimate authority and ordinary individuals

“Groupthink” dynamic Groups seek consensus, not opinion differences As a result, make poor policy choices

Formal organizations Normative organizations Coercive organizations Voluntary organizations - Red Cross Coercive organizations Involuntary commitment Prison or mental hospital Utilitarian organization Company - Material benefits (money)

Changes in organizations Creative autonomy Competitive work teams Flatter organization