Download GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS
• Groups are essence of life in society.
• They stand between the individual and the
larger society.
• Society is the largest and most complex
group that sociologists study.
Aggregates and Categories
• not groups
• Aggregate - individuals who temporarily
share the same physical space but do not
have a sense of belonging together.
• category –temporary collection of people
who may or may not interact.
Primary groups
• Are characterized by cooperative, intimate,
long-term, face to face relationships.
Secondary groups
• are larger, relatively temporary, more
anonymous, formal, and impersonal, and
are based on some interest or activity.
In-groups -- individuals feel loyalty to.
out-groups – individuals feel antagonistic to.
Reference groups -- use as standards to
evaluate ourselves, whether or not we
actually belong to those groups.
Group leadership
• Authoritarian leaders – make decisions on
their own and demand compliance
• Democratic leaders – include everyone in
decision-making process
• Laissez-faire – allows group to function
more or less on its own.
Group Decision making
• Groupthink –tendency of group members to
conform by adopting a narrow view of some
issue.
Groupthink occurs when…
a) there is a crisis
b) group is tight knit
c) members are insulated from outside criticism
d) powerful leader promotes favored solution
GROUP SIZE
• Dyad
• Triad
• Network
ORGANIZATIONS
• Is a consciously coordinated social entity, with a
relatively identifiable boundary, that functions on
a relatively continuos basis to achieve a common
goal or a set of goals.
Organizations and the Individual
• Provide work
• Place individuals within the social stratification
system
Organizations as Systems
• Closed system – views system as self
contained. Does not derive anything from
the environment.
• Open system – recognizes the dynamic
interaction with the environment.
Bureaucracy
• Organizational model rationally designed to
perform complex tasks efficiently.
Characteristics
• Division of labor
• Hierarchy of authority
• Rules and regulations
• Employment based on merit
• Separation of members organizational and
personal lives
• Career tracts
Horizontal organization
Characterized by:
• Work flows rather than department
functions
• Vertical hierarchies are flattened
• Self directed teams
• Customer driven
McDonalization of Society
• Four Principles
a) Efficiency
b) Calculability
c) Uniformity and predictability
d) Control through automation
While watching the video…
Take note of the following and write them down in
your books.
a) how is the organization in the video different
from a bureaucratic one?
b) How are decisions made in this organization?
c) what are the advantages and disadvantages of
this kind of organizational structure?
d) in which type of organization would you like to
work; a bureaucratic or horizontal one? Why?