SOCIAL INTERACTION & GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, BEAURACRACIES

 Characterized by intimate face-to-face association and cooperation  Charles Horton Cooley

 “They are primary in several senses, but chiefly in that they are fundamental in forming the social nature and ideals of the individual”

 the result of intimate association is a certain fusion- of individualities in a common whole, so that one’s very self is the common life and purpose of the group  >WE

 family, playgroup of children, neighborhood or community group of elders  >the “nursery of human nature”

 As humans, we have an intense need for face-to-face interaction that generates feelings of self- esteem. By offering a sense of belonging and a feeling of being appreciated-and even loved- primary groups are uniquely equipped to meet this basic need.

 Larger, more anonymous, more formal and more impersonal than PRIMARY GROUPS

 Secondary groups are based on some interest or activity, and their members are likely to interact on the basis of specific statuses, such as president, manager, worker or student  >examples: college class, factory, political party, a professional association (ASA)

 Contemporary society could not function without secondary groups as they are part of how we get our education, make a living and spend our money/leisure time

 Often secondary groups fail to satisfy our needs for intimate association, as a result, secondary groups tend to break down into primary groups

 group made up of volunteers who organize on the basis of some mutual interest

 an aspect of voluntary associations is that the leaders often grow distant from members and become convinced that only the inner circle can be trusted to make the groups important decisions.

 Robert Michels coined the term “the iron law of oligarchy” in 1911 to refer to how organizations come to be dominated by a self- perpetuating elite

 the majority of members of an institution are passive……an inner circle keeps itself in power by passing the leadership positions from one member of this inner group to another  >people can be excluded from leadership because they don’t represent the inner circle’s values-or background

 Elements of bureaucratic authority:  1. Fixed and official jurisdictional areas ordered by rules  2. Hierarchical Authority derived from legitimacy or force  3. Labor is organized and regulated

 -Bureaucracy is a modern phenomenon  -Bureaucracy is a product of capitalism

 McDonaldization  >simple tasks performed efficiently  >time performing tasks in calculated predictable work  >non-human technologies employed to control and reduce workers  >dehumanization leading to high turnover

 McDonalds jobs prepare workers for workplace  How are customers taught to behave through McDonaldization?  >bringing the customer into the labor process  >internalization of norms and values  >normalization