chapter six: social groups and formal organizations

Chapter six: Social Groups and Formal

Organizations

Social Groups and Formal Organizations2

Chapter Chapter OverviewOverview

Social Groups

Bureaucracies

Social Groups

Bureaucracies

Group Dynamics Group Dynamics

Social Groups and Formal Organizations

Aggregate – People who temporarily share a space but don’t see themselves as belonging together

Category - People who share common characteristics

3

Aggregates and Aggregates and CategoriesCategories

(What is not a group) (What is not a group)


Social GroupsSocial Groups

Social Groups1.Two or more people

2.Interact in patterned ways

3.Feeling of unity

4.Shared interests


P

rimary Groups – Charles Cooley referred to primary groups as “the springs of life”

E

ssential to our emotional well being

T

end to be smaller than other groups

V

ery impersonal

W

e can be our true self

E

nduring

R

elationship focus: “END-IN-ITSELF”5



S

econdary Groups

People come together on the basis of a mutual interest M

ore formal than primary groupsO

ften largeM

embers interact on the basis of statusesF

ail to meet the need for intimacyW

eak tiesT

emporary

Relationship focus: “MEANS-TO-END”6



M

any different voluntary associations today in the United States

O

rganized on Basis of Mutual Interest

T

he Inner Circle and Iron Law of Oligarchy

How organizations come to be dominated by a self-perpetuating elite.

7

Social Groups Social Groups (Voluntary Associations)(Voluntary Associations)


I

n-Groups – People feel a loyalty towards their in-groupsO

ut-Groups – People of the in-group dislike out-groupsP

ositive consequence of in-groups: People feel a sense of

belonging•L

oyaltyN

egative consequence of in-groups and out-groups: Intense

rivalries can develop “

We vs. Them” mentalityE

thnocentrism8



R

eference Groups – Groups that we use to evaluate ourselves

R

eference Groups will change as we go through the life course

S

ocialization

C

omparison

“RELATIVE DEPRIVATION”

•"RELATIVE GRATIFICATION"

9

Social Groups Social Groups


P

eople Connect Online

O

nline Chat Rooms

C

an be impersonal and fail to meet the needs of intimacy

10

Social Groups Social Groups (Electronic Communities)(Electronic Communities)


Social NetworksP

eople who are linked to one another through friends, family, acquaintances, etc.

A bank of social relationships

It is like a snowball effect

Milgram Study 1967 “Small World Phenomenon”

Criticisms

J. Kleinfeld replicated the research (2002)

Socially Diverse Society


F

ive Characteristics of BureaucraciesC

lear Cut Levels (Hierarchy)D

ivision of LaborW

ritten RulesW

ritten Communication and RecordsI

mpersonality 12

Bureaucracies Bureaucracies (Weber)(Weber)


T

ake on a Life of their OwnS

uffers from Goal Displacement –When the old goal is reached in a bureaucracy

and a new goal is created to keep the bureaucracy running R

ationalization of Society Bureaucracies with so many rules, regulations, and emphasis on results, would

increasingly take over our lives.

R

ed TapeB

ureaucratic Alienation Marx—Worker’s Alienation Weber—Iron Cage 13

Perpetuation of Perpetuation of BureaucraciesBureaucracies


How groups influence us and how we affect groups

Dyads – Two people

Most intense or intimate of all groups Most unstable

Triads – Three People

Interaction becomes less intense and intimate Stronger and more stable

As a group increases in size it becomes more formal and more stable

Coalitions may begin to form

Greater Diffusion of Responsibility may occur in larger groups – “Someone else will take care of it”

As a group gets larger, smaller groups may form

Groupthink may occur- collective tunnelvision

Darley & Latane (Diffusion of Responsibility) 14

Group DynamicsGroup Dynamics


L

eaders are People Who Influence Others’ Behaviors, Opinions,

and Attitudes

1.I

nstrumental Leader – a leader who keeps the group on track

towards meeting its goals

2.E

xpressive Leader – tries to life the groups morale through

motivation (can also be an instrumental leader) 16

Leadership –Leadership –Two Types of LeadersTwo Types of Leaders


1)A

uthoritarian – One who gives orders and instructions

with little to no information

2)D

emocractic – Tried to gain a group consensus

3)L

assiez-Faire – Totally hands off leader, lets the group

leadT

he leadership style will change as the situation changes

17

Leadership – Leadership – Three Leadership StylesThree Leadership Styles


Asch study

Studied the effects of peer pressure

Used a set of cards

6 stooges and a non-stooge

Milgram study

Studied the affects of authority figures

Teacher and a learner

Controversial experiment

18


Conformity and Group Decision Making

Groupthink• Decision making that ignores alternate

solutions in order to maintain group harmony

chapter six: social groups and formal organizations

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