Groups and Organizations

Types of Groups n Primary n Secondary n Reference n Ingroup n Outgroup

Primary groups n Small, personal, intimate –The family –First groups in our lives –Primary importance in our lives n Socialization n Social identity n Provides comfort and security n An end in itself

Secondary groups n E.g. Microsoft n Large, impersonal, formal n Weak emotional ties n Short duration n Lawsuits increase with increasing secondary ties n A means to an end

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

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

General leadership styles n Instrumental –Completing tasks –Emotionally distant n Expressive –Collective well-being –Emotionally involved

Conformity in groups n Solomon Asch Experiment n Milgram’s experiment

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

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

Formal organizations n Normative organizations –Voluntary organizations »Red Cross »PTA (Parent Teacher Association) n Coercive organizations –Involuntary commitment –Maximum security prison or mental hospital n Utilitarian organization –Company - Material benefits (money)

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