Sociology SIXTEENTH EDITION Chapter 7 Groups and Organizations

Sociology SIXTEENTH EDITION Chapter 7 Groups and Organizations Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Learning Objectives 7. 1 Explain the importance of various types of groups to social life. 7. 2 Describe the operation of large, formal organizations. 7. 3 Summarize the changes to formal organizations over the course of the last century. 7. 4 Assess the consequences of modern social organization for social life. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Power of Society • Does your social class influence which groups and organizations you join? Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Groups (1 of 2) • Social groups – Clusters of people with whom we interact in everyday life – Two or more people who identify with and interact with one another – Made up of people with shared experiences, loyalties, and interests – A special “we” Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Groups (2 of 2) • As human beings, we live our lives as members of groups. • Such groups may be large or small, temporary or longlasting, and can be based on kinship, cultural heritage, or some shared interest. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Groups: Primary Groups • Traits (Cooley) – Small – Personal orientation – Enduring • Primary relationships – First group experienced in life – Irreplaceable • Assistance of all kinds – Emotional to financial Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Groups: Secondary Groups • Traits – Large membership – Goal or activity orientation – Formal and polite • Secondary relationships – Weak emotional ties – Short term • Examples – Co-workers and political organizations Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Group • Categories – Not every collection of individuals forms a group – Women, homeowners, soldiers, college graduates, millionaires Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Not Quite a Social Group: What Is…? • Crowd – Temporary cluster of people – A group can have temporal status • Crowd to group to crowd again – A large gathering of people at a football game – A crowd that begins to riot might be considered a group Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summing Up Primary Groups and Secondary Groups Primary Group Secondary Group Quality of relationships Personal orientation Goal orientation Duration of relationships Usually long-term Variable; often short-term Breadth of relationships Broad; usually involving many activities Narrow; usually involving few activities Perception of relationships Ends in themselves Means to an end Examples Families, circles of friends Co-workers, political organizations Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Group Leadership (1 of 2) • Three leadership styles – Authoritarian: Leader makes decisions; Compliance from members – Democratic: Member involvement – Laissez-faire: Let group function on its own Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Group Leadership (2 of 2) • Two roles – Instrumental: Task-oriented – Expressive: People-oriented Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Group Conformity Studies (1 of 3) • Asch's research – Line experiment – Conclusion § Willingness to compromise our own judgments to avoid the discomfort of being seen as different Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Group Conformity Studies (2 of 3) • Milgram's research – Punishment experiment – Authority figure and groups of ordinary individuals influenced willingness to harm another person. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Group Conformity Studies (3 of 3) • Janis's research – Groupthink: Tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue – Negative side of groupthink § Number of U. S. foreign policy errors Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reference Groups (1 of 2) • Reference group – Social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reference Groups (2 of 2) • Stouffer's research – We compare ourselves in relation to specific reference groups. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Groups: What Is…? • In-groups – Display loyalty and respect to group members – Exist in relation to out-group – Generally hold overly positive views of themselves • Out-groups – Opposition to out-groups – May be defined by in-group as lower status – May be socially, politically, and economically subordinated by in-group Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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 are possible In a triad, if the relationship between any two members becomes more intense in a positive sense, two are likely to exclude third. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Figure 7– 2 Group Size and Relationships Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Diversity: Race, Class, and Gender (1 of 3) • Social diversity influences intergroup contact (Blau and colleagues). – Large groups turn inward. § Members have relationships between themselves. – Heterogeneous groups turn outward. § Diverse membership promotes interaction with outsiders. – Physical boundaries create social boundaries. § If segregation of groups takes place, the chances for contact are limited. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Diversity: Race, Class, and Gender (2 of 3) • Networks – Networks are web of weak social ties, people we know of or who know of us. – Largest network of all is the World Wide Web of the Internet. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Social Diversity: Race, Class, and Gender (3 of 3) • Social media and networking – Social media refers to technology that links people in social activity. – By 2011, 600 million people were involved in Facebook networks and by the end of 2012, the number had passed 1 billion. – Today, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites connect people all over the world. • The 2010 film The Social Network depicts the birth of Facebook, now one of the largest social networking sites in the world. • In what ways have Internet-based social networks changed social life in the • United States? Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Global Map 7– 1 Internet Users in Global Perspective Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Formal Organizations • Types – Utilitarian § Material rewards for members – Normative § Voluntary organizations § Ties to personal morality – Coercive § Punishment or treatment; total institutions Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Origins of Formal Organizations • Early organizations had limitations. – First, they lacked technology to let people travel over large distances, to communicate quickly, and to gather and store information. – Second, the preindustrial societies they were trying to rule had traditional cultures. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Rationalization of Society: Weber • Rationalization – Tradition makes a society conservative by limiting productive efficiency and ability to change. – Modern society “disenchanted” as sentimental ties give way to a rational focus on science, complex technology, and the organizational structure called “bureaucracy” Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Summing Up Small Groups and Formal Organizations Small Groups Formal Organizations Activities Much the same for all members Distinct and highly specialized Hierarchy Often informal or nonexistent Clearly defined according to position Norms General norms, informally applied Clearly defined rules and regulations Membership criteria Variable; often based on personal affection or kinship Technical competence to carry out assigned tasks Relationships Variable and typically primary Typically secondary, with selective primary ties Communications Typically casual and face-to-face Typically formal and in writing Focus Person-oriented Task-oriented Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Max Weber's Six Elements to Promote Organizational Efficiency • Elements of ideal bureaucratic organizations • Specialization of duties • Hierarchy of offices • Rules and regulations • Technical competence Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Ideal Bureaucracy • Weber described the operation of the ideal bureaucracy as rational and highly efficient. In real life, however, organizations often operate very differently from Weber's model. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Organizational Environment • Factors outside an organization that affect its operation – – Economic and political trends Populations patterns Current events Other organizations Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Informal Side of Bureaucracy • Origins of informality – – Personalities of organizational leaders Leadership style Modes of communication New information technology Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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 Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Faceless Bureaucrat • George Tooker's painting Government Bureau is a powerful statement about the human costs of bureaucracy. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Oligarchy • Michels – Link between bureaucracy and political oligarchy – “Iron law of oligarchy” § Pyramid shape of bureaucracy places a few leaders in charge of the resources of the entire organization. § Democracy threatened because officials use power and resources for personal gain. § Distance created between officials and public. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Evolution of Formal Organizations Scientific Management (1 of 2) • Scientific management: Scientific principles applied to the operation of a business/large organization (Taylor) – Steps § Identify tasks and time needed for tasks. § Analyze to perform tasks more efficiently. § Provide incentives for worker efficiency. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Figure 7– 3 U. S. Managers in Private Industry, by Race, Gender, and Ethnicity, 2013 Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Evolution of Formal Organizations Scientific Management (2 of 2) • The principles of scientific management suggested that workplace power should reside with owners and executives, who have historically paid little attention to the ideas of their workers. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

New Challenges to Formal Organizations • Challenges – Race and gender – Japanese work organizations – Changing nature of work Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Differences in Today's Information Age Jobs • • • Creative freedom Competitive work teams Flatter organization Greater flexibility The best of today's information age jobs— including working at Google, the popular search engine website—allow people lots of personal freedom as long as they produce good ideas. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Figure 7– 4 Two Organizational Models Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Mc. Donaldization of Society • • Principles Efficiency: Do it quickly. Predictability: Use set formulas. Uniformity: Leave nothing to chance. • Control: Humans are most unreliable factor. Many other jobs, such as working the counter at Mc. Donald's, involve the same routines and strict supervision found in factories a century ago. Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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 Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved