Types of Social Interaction

Exchange Exchange: individuals, groups or societies interact in an effort to receive a reward or a return for their actions Dating, friendship, family life, politics all involve exchanges Reciprocity Exchange theory: Theorists believe that people are motivated by self- interests in their interactions with other people

Competition Two or more persons or groups oppose each other to achieve a goal that only one can attain Feature of western socieities Capitalist economic system Democratic forms of government Viewed by sociologists as a positive means of motivating people to perform society's needed roles Negative side: can lead to psychological stress, lack of cooperation in social relationships, inequality, and even conflict

Conflict Deliberate attempt to control by force, oppose, harm or resist the will of another person or persons Few rules of conduct and these are often ignored Range from deliberate snubbing to the killing of an enemy Positive: serves useful purposes to reinforce group boundaries and strengthen loyalty by focusing attention on an outside threat; draws attention away from internal problems; can lead to social change by bringing problems to the forefront Sociologist Georg Simmel identified four sources of conflict: Wars Conflicts within groups Legal disputes Clashes over ideology: religion or politics

Cooperation Two or more persons or groups work together to achieve a goal that will benefit many people Social progress that gets things done No group can complete its tasks or achieve its goals without cooperation from its members May motivate members to work harder for the group

Accommodation State of balance between cooperation and conflict Different forms of accommodation: Compromise: two or more parties both give up something to come to a mutual agreement Truce: brings a halt to the conflict until a compromise can be reached Mediation: third party who acts as an adviser and/or counselor in helping the two parties reach an agreement Arbitration: third party decision maker that is binding on both parties

Formal Organization Structure Formal Organization: a large, complex secondary group that has been established to achieve specific goals Bureaucracy: ranked authority structure that operates according to specific rules and procedures Rationalization: process by which every feature of human behavior becomes subject to calculations, measurement and control

Weber’s Model of Bureaucracies Division of Labor Ranking of Authority Employment based on formal qualifications Rules and Regulation Specific Lines of Promotion and advancement

Criticisms of Bureaucracies Purpose of bureaucracies becomes self-continuation Goals of individual may be lost Continue to exist with very little change, regardless of particular problems Individuals develop bureaucratic personalities ‘Red Tape’ Tendency to result in OLIGARCHIES Iron Law of Oligarchy by Robert Michels tendency to become increasingly dominated

Relationships in Formal Organizations Effective? Ineffective? Offer reasonable prices for production volumes Clearly define job tasks and rewards Provide stability, individuals come and go but organization continues Way to large to coordinate people to achieve large-scale goals Purpose: Self-continuation and goals of individuals may be lost