GROUPS ORGANIZATIONS AND NETWORKS SOCIAL GROUPS Two or

GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS AND NETWORKS

SOCIAL GROUPS Two or more people who identify with one another Groups contain people with shared experiences, loyalties, and interests Not every collection of individuals forms a group

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY GROUPS Two types of social groups Primary group A small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships Secondary group A large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity What groups in your life do you think of as “we. ” Is each a primary or secondary group? What are the characteristics of each?

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY GROUPS Primary group are groups in which people spend a great deal of time together Personal and tightly integrated Members think of their group as an end in itself rather than as a means to other ends Members view each other as unique and irreplaceable

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY GROUPS Secondary relationships involve weak emotional ties and little personal knowledge of one another Include many more people than primary groups Passage of time can transform a group from secondary to primary Members do not think of themselves as “we”

GROUP LEADERSHIP Important element of group dynamics is leadership Two leadership roles Instrumental leadership Expressive leadership

GROUP LEADERSHIP Instrumental Leadership Group leadership that focuses on the completion of tasks Expressive Leadership Group leadership that focuses on the group’s well-being

GROUP LEADERSHIP Three leadership styles Authoritarian Leadership Focuses on instrumental concerns Takes personal charge of decision-making Demands that group members obey orders Wins little affection from the group Is appreciated in a crisis

GROUP LEADERSHIP Three leadership styles Democratic Leadership More expressive Includes everyone in the decision-making process Less successful in a crisis situation Draw on the ideas of all members to develop creative solutions to problems

GROUP LEADERSHIP Three leadership styles Laissez-faire Leadership Allows group to function on its own “Laissez-faire” – French, meaning “leave it alone” Least effective in promoting group goals

REFERENCE GROUPS A social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions Used to assess our own attitudes and behavior How, and why, do you use groups that you do not belong to for reference? Give an example.

REFERENCE GROUPS Samuel Stouffer’s Research We do not make judgments about ourselves in isolation We do not compare ourselves with just anyone In absolute terms, we form a subjective sense of our well-being by looking at ourselves relative to specific reference groups

IN-GROUPS AND OUTGROUPS In-group A social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty Out-group A social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition Based on the idea that we have valued traits that they lack

IN-GROUPS AND OUTGROUPS Tensions between groups sharpen the group’s boundaries and give people a clearer social identity Members of in-groups hold overly positive views of themselves and unfairly negative views of various out-groups Powerful in-group can define others as a lower-status outgroup

IN-GROUPS AND OUTGROUPS Many white people view people of color as an out-group In terms of in-groups and out-groups, what happens when people who don’t like each other discover they have a common enemy?

GROUP CONFORMITY How can dictators transform rational individuals into blind obedient masses? Groups influence the behavior of their members Promoting conformity Solomon Asch and Stanley Milgram Even strangers can encourage group conformity

GROUP CONFORMITY How far will ordinary people go in obeying orders? For example: would you kill a complete stranger if you were told to do so? If your boss tells you to con a customer in order to make a sale, would you obey?

GROUP CONFORMITY Asch’s Research Found that many of us are willing to compromise our own judgment to avoid the discomfort of being different, even from people we don’t know Milgram’s Research People are likely to follow the directions not only of legitimate authority figures but also of groups of ordinary individuals, even when it means harming another person

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GROUP CONFORMITY Irving Janis’s “Groupthink” Groupthink The tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue Can you think of any examples of how group- think has lead to devastating outcomes?

GROUP SIZE What role does group size play in how group members interact? Example: have you ever been one of the first ones at a party? How many other people had to arrive before you noticed that the small group divided into various clusters?

GROUP SIZE The dyad A social group with two members Social interaction is more intense than in larger groups Unstable. If either member withdraws, the group collapses

GROUP SIZE The triad A social group with three members More stable than a dyad As groups grow beyond three people, they become more stable and capable of withstanding the loss of one or more members Reduces intense interaction Based less on personal attachments and more on formal rules and regulations

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NETWORKS A web of weak social ties A “social web” expanding outward Reaching great distances and including large numbers of people Some close to being groups More commonly includes people we know of or who know of us but with whom we interact rarely

NETWORKS Network ties might be weak, but can be a powerful resource Based on people’s colleges, clubs, neighborhoods, political parties, and personal interests “Privileged” networks are a valuable source of “social capital”

NETWORKS Gender shapes networks Do men or women include more relatives? Do men or women include more co-workers? Are women’s ties as powerful as typical “old boy” networks? It should be pointed out that as gender equality increases, male and female networks are becoming more alike

FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Large secondary groups are organized to achieve their goals efficiently Differ in their impersonality and formally planned atmosphere What functions do formal organizations serve for U. S. society?

TYPES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Three types of formal organizations Distinguished by the reasons people participate in them Utilitarian organizations Normative organizations Coercive organizations

TYPES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Utilitarian organizations Just about everyone who works for income belongs to this type of organization Pays people for their efforts Joining is usually a matter of individual choice Most people must join to make a living Can you think of an example of an utilitarian organization?

TYPES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Normative organizations Sometimes called voluntary organizations People join to pursue some goal they think is morally worthwhile People in the U. S. and other high-income countries are most likely to join Can you give an example of a normative organization?

TYPES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Coercive organizations Involuntary memberships People are forced to join as a form of punishment or treatment Have special physical features Isolates people for a period of time to change their attitudes and behaviors What is an example of a coercive organization?

TYPES OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Is it possible for a single formal organization to fall into all three categories from the point of view of different individuals?

ORIGINS OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Date back thousands of years Early organizations had two limitations Lacked technology Pre-industrial societies they were trying to rule had traditional cultures Tradition Values and beliefs passed from generation to generation

ORIGINS OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Tradition makes a society conservative It limits an organization’s efficiency and ability to change Rationality A way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate, matter-of-fact calculation as the most efficient way to accomplish a particular task

ORIGINS OF FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS Rationalization of society The historical change from tradition to rationality as the main mode of human thought