Chapter 6Groups And Organizations

Types of Groups Social Influence Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies Diversity: Race, Gender, and Class in

Organizations Functional, Conflict and Symbolic Interactions:

Theoretical Perspectives

 Types of Groups

Primary groups form the basic building blocks of social interaction in society.

Reference groups play a major role in forming our attitudes and life goals.

 Types of Groups

In-groups and out-groups - the “we”-ness of groups is complemented by a sense of other groups as “them.”

Social networks determine whom we know and the kinds of jobs we get.

Bystander Intervention Problem

Examines the dynamics of when and how people come to the aid of someone in trouble.

The more bystanders observe a person in danger, the less likely any of them will call for help.

Demonstrates the group size effect and pressure to conform.

Asch Conformity Experiment

Even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence.

1/3 to 1/2 of the subjects make a judgment contrary to objective fact, yet in conformity with the group.  

Milgram Obedience Studies

65% of the volunteer subjects administered what they thought was lethal voltage on the shock machine.

Milgram described the dilemma revealed by his experiments as a conflict between conscience and authority.

Groupthink

Four aspects of groupthink:

1. An illusion of invulnerability.

2. A falsely negative impression of those who are antagonists to the group’s plans.

3. Discouragement of dissenting opinion.

4. Illusion of unanimity.

Risky Shift

Groups weigh risk differently than individuals. Most but not all group discussion leads to

greater risk-taking. As groups get larger, trends in risk-taking are

amplified.

Formal Organizations

A secondary group organized to accomplish a task and achieve goals efficiently.

Develop cultures and routine practices. People conform to expected patterns of

behavior. Can be tools for innovation, depending on the

organization’s values and purpose.

Types of Organizations.

Normative (service, charitable organizations) Coercive (prisons) Utilitarian (corporations)

Weber's Characteristics of Bureaucracy

Division of labor and specialization Hierarchy of authority Rules and regulations Impersonal relationships Career ladders Efficiency 

Bureaucracy’s Other Face

Informal structures ignore, change, or bypass the formal structure and rules.

Subcultures develop when people attempt to humanize an impersonal organization.

The informal culture can become exclusionary, increasing the isolation some feel at work.

Problems of Bureaucracies

Risky shift Groupthink Ritualism - rules become ends in themselves

rather than a means to an end. Alienation - individuals become psychologically

separated from the organization.

The McDonaldization of Society

Four Dimensions:

1. Efficiency - things move from start to finish in a streamlined path.

2. Calculability - emphasis on quantitative aspects of products sold.

The McDonaldization of Society

Four Dimensions:

3. Predictability - products will be the same no matter when or where they are purchased.

4. Control - behavior is reduced to a series of machinelike actions.

Diversity: Race, Gender, and Class in Organizations

Organizations perpetuate inequality of race-ethnicity, gender and social class.

Minorities are less likely to get promoted and more likely to get fired.

Women experience negative effects of tokenism such as stress and lowered self-esteem.

Theoretical Perspectives on Organizations

Functionalist - specifies organizational functions and dysfunctions.

Conflict Theory - analyzes the consequences of hierarchical, gender, race, and social class conflicts.

Symbolic Interaction - focuses on how the self develops as a product of social interaction.