1. Groups and Organizations
Lecture 5
Groups and Organizations

2. Social Group
Social groups form the building blocks for society and for most social interaction.
Two or more people who identify and interact with one another
Not every collection of individuals forms a group
Women, homeowners, soldiers, college graduates, millionaires, etc.
Not groups, but categories

3. Not Quite a Social Group
Crowd
Temporary cluster of people
A group can have temporal status
Can become a group, then a crowd again
A large gathering of people at a football game
A crowd that begins to riot might be considered a group

4. Primary Groups Traits Primary relationships Assistance of all kinds
Small
Personal orientation
Enduring
Primary relationships
First group experienced in life
Irreplaceable
Assistance of all kinds
Emotional to financial

5. Secondary Groups Traits Secondary relationships Examples
Large membership
Goal or activity orientation
Formal and polite
Secondary relationships
Weak emotional ties
Short term
Examples
Co-workers and political organizations

6. Group Leadership Three leadership styles Two roles
Authoritarian: Leader makes decisions; Compliance from members
Democratic: Member involvement
Laissez-faire: Let group function on its own
Two roles
Instrumental: Task-oriented
Expressive: People-oriented

7. Reference Group Stouffer’s research In-groups and out-groups
We compare ourselves in relation to specific reference groups
In-groups and out-groups
Loyalty to in-group
Opposition to out-groups

8. Group Size
The dyad
Dyad is the most intimate form of social life because the two members are mutually dependent on each other – if one member leaves the group, the group ceases to exist.
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 are possible

9. Group Size and Relationships
As the number of people in a group increases, the number of relationships that link them increases much faster. By the time six or seven people share a conversation,
the group usually divides into two. Why are relationships in smaller groups typically more intense?
Source: Created by the author.
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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

11. Social Diversity: Race, Class, and Gender
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

12. Internet Users in Global Perspective
Source: International Telecommunications Union (2011).
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13. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Formal Organizations
Utilitarian
Material rewards for members
Normative
Voluntary organizations
Ties to personal morality
Coercive
Punishment or treatment; total institutions

14. Max Weber’s Six Elements to Promote Organizational Efficiency
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Max Weber’s Six Elements to Promote Organizational Efficiency
Specialization of duties
Hierarchy of offices
Rules and regulations
Technical competence
Impersonality
Formal, written communications

15. Organizational Environment
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Organizational Environment
Factors outside an organization that affect its operation:
Economic and political trends
Current events
Populations patterns
Other organizations
Informal side of bureaucracy
In part, informality comes from the personalities of organizational leaders

16. 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

17. Evolution of Formal Organizations Scientific Management
Application of scientific principles to the operation of a business/large organization
Identify tasks and time needed for tasks
Analyze to perform tasks more efficiently
Provide incentives for worker efficiency

18. 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 (compliment) organization, and greater flexibility

19. U.S. Managers in Private Industry by Race,
Sex, and Ethnicity, 2010
White men are more likely than their population size suggests to be managers
in private industry. The opposite is true for white women and other minorities.
What factors do you think may account for this pattern?
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2011) and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012).
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20. Two Organizational Models
Source: Created by the author.
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21. McDonaldization of Society
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McDonaldization of Society
Efficiency: Do it quickly
Predictability: Use set formulas
Uniformity: Leave nothing to chance
Control: Humans are most unreliable factor
Each principle limits human creativity, choice, and freedom
Weber: Rational systems are efficient but dehumanizing

22. Future of Organizations: Opposing Trends
Movement toward more creative freedom for highly skilled information workers
Movement toward increased supervision & discipline for less skilled service workers

23. Sources
Conley, Dalton May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist (Second Edition). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Macionis, John J Society: The Basics (Twelfth Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson