1. GROUPS & ORGANIZATIONS
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

2. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SOCIAL GROUP
A social group is defined as:
Two or more people who identify and interact with one another
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

3. NOT QUITE A SOCIAL GROUP
Category
People with common status
Crowd
Temporary cluster of people
A group can have temporal status
There are times when a crowd can become a group and then a crowd once more
A large gathering of people at a football game
A crowd that begins to riot may be considered a group
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

4. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
PRIMARY GROUPS
Traits
Small
Personal orientation
Enduring
Primary relationships
First group experienced in life
Irreplaceable
Security
Assistance of all kinds
Emotional to financial
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

5. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SECONDARY GROUPS
Traits
Large membership
Goal or activity orientation
Formal and polite
Secondary relationships
Weak emotional ties between persons
Short term
Examples
Co-workers
Political organizations
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

6. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
GROUP LEADERSHIP
Two roles:
Instrumental
Task oriented
Expressive
People oriented
Three decision making styles:
Authoritarian
Leader makes decisions; Compliance from members
Democratic
Member involvement
Laissez-faire
Mainly let group function on its own
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

7. GROUP CONFORMITY STUDIES
Asch’s research
Willingness to COMPROMISE our own judgments
Line experiment
Milgram’s research
Role authority plays
Following orders
Janis’ research
Negative side of groupthink
Lack of objectivity
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

8. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
REFERENCE GROUPS
Groups act as point of reference points in making evaluative and decisions
Stouffer’s research
We compare ourselves in relation to specific reference groups
INGROUPS and OUTGROUPS
Loyalty to INGROUP
Opposition to OUTGROUPS
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

9. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
GROUP SIZE
The dyad
A two member group
Very intimate, but unstable given its size
The triad
A three member group
More stable than a dyad and more types of interaction is possible
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

10. SOCIAL DIVERSITY: RACE, CLASS AND GENDER
Large groups turn inward
Members have relationships between themselves
Heterogeneous groups turn outward
Diverse membership promotes interaction with outsiders
Social equality promotes contact
If groups are equal in standing, then members of all backgrounds are more likely to associate with each other
Physical boundaries create social boundaries
If segregation of groups takes place, the chances for contact are limited
Networks
Web of weak social ties, people we know of or who know of us
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

11. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS
Large secondary groups, organized to achieve goals efficiently
Utilitarian
Material rewards for members
Normative
Voluntary organizations
Ties to personal morality
Coercive
Punishment or treatment
Total institutions
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

12. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
BUREAUCRACY
Rational model designed to perform complex tasks efficiently
Max Weber’s six elements to promote organizational efficiency
Specialization of duties
Hierarchy of offices
Rules and regulations
Technical competence
Impersonality
Formal, written communications
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

13. Organizational Environment
Factors outside an organization that affects its operation:
Economic and political trends
Current events
Populations patterns
Other organizations
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

14. PROBLEMS OF BUREAUCRACIES
Bureaucratic alienation
Potential to dehumanize individuals
Bureaucratic inefficiency and ritualism
Preoccupation with rules, interferes with meeting goals
Bureaucratic inertia
Perpetuation of the organization
Oligarchy
Rule of the many by the few
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

15. SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
Application of scientific principles to the operation of a business or large organization
Identify tasks and time needed for tasks
Analyze to perform tasks more efficiently
Provide incentives for workers efficiency
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

16. NEW CHALLENGES TO FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS
Race and gender
Pattern of exclusion
“Female advantage”
Japanese organizations
Value cooperation
Organizational loyalty
Changing nature of work
Information based organizations
Creative autonomy, competitive work teams, flatter organization, and greater flexibility
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

17. McDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY
Efficiency
-Do it quickly
Uniformity
-Leave nothing to chance
Control
-Humans are most unreliable factor
Sociology, Eleventh Edition

18. Future of Organizations: Opposing Trends
Movement toward more creative freedom for highly skilled information workers.
Movement toward increased supervision and discipline for less skilled service workers.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition