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Chapter 6
Groups and Organizations
Quick Start Question
CHAPTER 6 Groups and Organizations
Quick-start question: Think of a club, organization, or other group you belong to: On a scale of
1 (very little) to 5 (a lot), how much do the other members know about you?
Additional quick-start questions:


What is your favorite method of communicating with other people?
What would cause you to start using a different method of communication?
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE
Social Groups
Groups, Aggregates, and Categories
Types of Groups
The Purpose of Groups: Multiple Perspectives
Group Characteristics and Dynamics
Group Size
Group Leadership
Group Conformity
Groupthink
Formal Organizations in Global Perspective
Types of Formal Organizations
Bureaucracies
Problems of Bureaucracies
Bureaucracy and Oligarchy
Alternative Forms of Organization
Humanizing Bureaucracy
Organizational Structure in Japan, Russia and India
Organizations in the Future
Socially Sustainable Organizations
Globalization, Technology and “Smart Working”
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
LO1: Explain what constitutes a social group as opposed to an aggregate or a category.
LO2: Distinguish among ingroups, outgroups, and reference groups, and give an example of
each.
LO3: Discuss how group size shapes their members’ communication, leadership styles, and
pressures to conform.
Chapter 6
LO4: Applying the concept of groupthink, describe how people often respond differently in a
group context than they might if they were alone.
LO5: Identify the three categories of formal organizations and state how they differ in
membership.
LO6: Debate the strengths and weaknesses of bureaucracies in contemporary nations such as the
United States.
LO7: Define the iron law of oligarchy and apply the concept to a brief analysis of the U.S.
government.
LO8: Identify alternative forms of organization that exist today in nations such as Japan.
KEY TERMS: Defined at page number shown and in glossary
aggregate, 156
expressive leadership, 166
iron law of oligarchy, 176
authoritarian leaders, 166
goal displacement, 175
laissez-faire leaders, 166
bureaucracy, 171
groupthink, 168
network, 162
bureaucratic personality, 175
ideal type, 171
outgroup, 161
category, 159
informal side of bureaucracy,
rationality, 171
conformity, 166
173
reference group, 162
democratic leaders, 166
ingroup, 161
small group, 164
dyad, 164
instrumental leadership, 166
triad, 164
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1.
SOCIAL GROUPS day three with chapter 5
A) Groups, aggregates, and categories
i) A social group is a collection of two or more people who interact
frequently with one another, share a sense of belonging, and have
a feeling of interdependence.
ii) An aggregate is a collection of people who happen to be in the
same place at the same time but share little else.
iii) A category is a number of people who may never have met one
another but share a similar characteristic.
iv) Framing "community" in the media: "Virtual communities" on the
Internet
(1) Many people believe they can make new friends and
establish community online.
(2) Chat rooms and forums allow Internet interaction.
(3) The sociological definition of social group involves
frequent interaction, a sense of belonging, and
feelings of interdependence, which suggests a sense of
place.
(4) This definition predates the Internet, and may be
insufficient in light of recent technological advances.
(5) Some sociologists suggest that online communities are
true communities, while others suggest that spending too
much time at a computer or on a hand-held device
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Explain what
constitutes a
social group as
opposed to an
aggregate or a
category.
Chapter 6
reduces sense of community.
v) Types of groups
a) Cooley's primary and secondary groups
(1) According to Cooley, a primary group is a small group
whose members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based
interactions over an extended period.
(2) A secondary group is a larger, more specialized group in
which the members engage in more impersonal, goaloriented relationships for a limited period.
b) Sumner's ingroups and outgroups
(1) According to William Graham Sumner, an ingroup is a
group to which a person belongs and with which the
person feels a sense of identity.
(2) An outgroup is a group to which a person does not
belong and toward which the person may feel a sense of
competitiveness or hostility.
(3) Ingroup and outgroup distinctions may create cohesion
among members, but they may also encourage classism,
racism, sexism, and ageism.
c) Reference groups
(1) A reference group is a group that strongly influences a
person's behavior and social attitudes, regardless of
whether that individual is an actual member.
(2) Reference groups help explain why our behaviors and
attitudes sometimes differ between membership groups.
Individuals may accept the values and norms of a group
with which they identify rather than one to which they
belong.
(3) Reference groups may be negative or positive.
d) Networks
(1) A network is a web of social relationships that links one
person with other people and, through them, with other
people they know.
(2) Networks may connect people who share common
interests but who otherwise might not identify and
interact with one another.
(3) Networks consist of all the people linked to you by
primary ties, including your relatives and close friends.
(4) Networks also include your secondary ties, such as
acquaintances, classmates, professors, supervisors, and
co-workers.
(5) Networks also extend to include those you know of, and
could include a pool of between 500 to 2,500
acquaintances.
vi) The Purpose of Groups: Multiple Perspectives
a) Functionalists suggest that groups serve instrumental and
expressive needs.
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LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Distinguish
among ingroups,
outgroups, and
reference groups,
and give an
example of each.
Groups and Organizations
b) Conflict theorists suggest that groups involve a series of
power relationships.
c) Symbolic interactionists focus on group size.
d) Postmodernists think groups are characterized by
superficiality.
vii) Sociology works! Ingroups, outgroups, and "members only" clubs
(1) People who are invited to join exclusive clubs feel special
because they know that membership is not available to
everyone.
(2) Members of these groups often develop what is termed
consciousness of kind, or the belief that they and others
in these groups share important traits or commonalities.
(3) Ingroups and outgroups help us have a unique sense of
identity, and allow us to exclude those we don't wish to
have in our circles.
(4) The closed relationship is a setting where inclusion is
contingent or limited and outsiders are not welcome.
Question: with 90% plus of your age students on social
networking sites, do you think that these types of
groups (not f-to-f) can still function as a group in
society (as we understand it sociologically)
2. GROUP CHARACTERISTICS AND DYNAMICS
A) Group size
i) A small group is a collective small enough for all members to be
acquainted with one another and to interact simultaneously.
ii) According to Simmel, small groups have distinctive interaction
patterns that do not exist in larger groups.
iii) Dyads are groups composed of two members.
a) The active participation of both members is crucial for the
group's survival, and members have an intense bond and
sense of unity not found in larger groups.
b) Withdrawal by one leads to the end of the group.
iv) Triads are groups composed of three members.
a) The addition of a third person changes the relationship and
interaction patterns.
b) Even if one member declines to participate, the group can still
function.
c) Triads make coalitions possible.
v) As group size increases, specialization occurs and communication
patterns change.
vi) Increases in group size also increase the number of possible
relationships.
vii) While large groups typically have less social solidarity than do
small groups, they may have more power. Power is dependent
upon both absolute and relative size of the group.
B) Group leadership
i) Leadership functions
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Discuss how
group size
shapes their
members’
communication,
leadership
styles, and
pressures to
conform.
Chapter 6
a) Instrumental leadership is goal or task oriented. If the
underlying purpose of a group is to complete a task or reach a
particular goal, this type of leadership is most appropriate.
b) Expressive leadership provides emotional support for
members; this type of leadership is most appropriate when
harmony, solidarity, and high morale are needed.
ii) Leadership styles
a) Authoritarian leaders make all major group decisions and
assign tasks to members.
(1) These leaders can be effective in times of crisis or war.
(2) In other situations, they may be criticized for being
dictatorial.
b) Democratic leaders encourage group discussion and decision
making through consensus building.
(1) These leaders may be praised for being expressive and
supportive.
(2) They may also be criticized for being indecisive in times
of crisis.
c) Laissez-faire leaders are only minimally involved in
decision making and encourage group members to make their
own decisions.
(1) These leaders may be viewed positively because they do
not flaunt their power.
(2) They may also be viewed negatively by groups that need
active leadership because they do not work to promote
group goals.
C) Group conformity
i) Conformity is the process of maintaining or changing behavior to
comply with the norms established by a society, subculture, or
other group.
ii) Asch's research
a) In a series of experiments, Asch found that the pressure
toward group conformity was so great that participants were
willing to contradict their own best judgment if the rest of the
group disagreed with them.
(1) This research involved an alleged perceptual task in
which subjects were asked to match a test line on one
card to one of three lines on another card.
(2) Asch's confederates initially gave correct answers, but
began to give obviously incorrect answers to create an
apparent consensus.
(3) About one-third of the subjects conformed to this
consensus; about 40 percent gave incorrect responses
half the time; 25 percent always gave correct responses.
b) Asch found that the size of the group and the degree of social
cohesion felt by participants were important influences on
group pressure.
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Groups and Organizations
iii) Milgram's research
a) Milgram (a former student of Asch's) conducted a series of
controversial experiments and concluded that obedience to
authority may be more common than most of us would like to
believe.
(1) This research involved an alleged memory test that
ostensibly used electric shock to aid memorization.
(2) Subjects found themselves following the orders of a man
in a white lab coat to administer increasingly higher
levels of electric "shock" to a "learner."
b) None of the subjects disobeyed before 225 volts.
c) The "learners' were instructed in advance to feign intense
pain, and to stop responding to questions at 300 volts, but the
majority of subjects still administered shocks to the
maximum level.
D) Groupthink
i) Janis coined the term groupthink to describe the process by which
members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many
individual members privately believe is unwise.
ii) Group members usually want to be "team players," and so do not
speak up at the time.
iii) The 2003 space shuttle Columbia disaster is an example of this
process.
3. FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
A) Types of formal organizations
i) Etzioni classified formal organizations into three categories based
on the nature of membership:
a) Normative organizations – voluntarily joined when we want to
pursue a common interest, or gain personal satisfaction or
prestige.
b) Coercive organizations – associations that people are forced to
join, such as prisons, boot camps, and some mental hospitals.
c) Utilitarian organizations – voluntarily joined because we
believe that they can provide us with material reward.
B) Bureaucracies
i) Bureaucracy is an organizational model characterized by a
hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and
procedures, and impersonality in personnel matters.
ii) According to Weber, bureaucracy is the most "rational" and
efficient means of attaining organizational goals because it
contributes to coordination and control.
iii) Rationality is the process by which traditional methods of social
organization, characterized by informality and spontaneity, are
gradually replaced by efficiently administered formal rules and
procedures.
iv) In studying bureaucracies, Weber relied upon the use of ideal
types, or abstract models that describe recurring characteristics of
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Applying the
concept of
groupthink,
describe how
people often
respond
differently in a
group context
than they might
if they were
alone.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Identify the
three categories
of formal
organizations
and state how
they differ in
membership.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Debate the
strengths and
weaknesses of
bureaucracies
in contemporary
nations such as
the United
States.
Chapter 6
the phenomenon of interest.
v) Ideal characteristics of bureaucracy
a) Division of labor characterized by specialization and
separation of tasks.
b) Hierarchy of authority, with each lower office being under the
control and supervision of a higher one.
c) Rules and regulations, which establish authority within the
organization.
d) Qualification-based employment, with hiring practices based
on specific qualifications and competence.
e) Impersonality, which requires that everyone play by the same
rules and be treated the same.
vi) Contemporary applications of Weber's theory
a) Ritzer used Weber's theories to explore fast food restaurants
such as McDonaldization, and developed a theory of the
process of "McDonaldization" to describe the process of
rationalization.
b) McDonaldization has four main dimensions: efficiency,
predictability, calculability, and control.
vii) The informal side of bureaucracy
a) Bureaucracy's other face consists of those patterns of
activities and interactions that can't be accounted for by its
organizational chart.
b) The informal side of a bureaucracy is composed of
participants' day-to-day activities and interactions that ignore,
bypass, or do not correspond with the official rules and
procedures of the bureaucracy.
c) The informal structure is also sometimes referred to as work
culture, because it includes the ideology and practices of
workers on the job.
C) Sociology and social policy: Computer privacy in the workplace
i) Generally speaking, employers can monitory everything employees
do on company-owned computers
ii) Employers assert this is necessary for their own protection.
iii) There are some valid arguments against surveillance, however,
including worker privacy.
D) Problems of bureaucracies
i) Inefficiency and rigidity occurs at both upper- and lower-levels of
organizations.
a) Self-protective behavior, such as monopolizing information to
maintain control, is often inefficient.
b) Goal displacement occurs when rules become an end in
themselves instead of a means to an end.
c) Workers may engage in ritualism, or going through the motions.
d) The bureaucratic personality describes workers who are more
concerned with following procedures than with getting the job
done correctly.
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Groups and Organizations
ii) Resistance to change also occurs, making bureaucracies almost
impossible to eliminate and encouraging bureaucratic
entanglement.
iii) Perpetuation of race, class, and gender inequalities can occur
because the organizational structure can create a specific type of
learning or work environment.
E) Bureaucracy and oligarchy
i) Bureaucracy perpetuates an enormous degree of unregulated and
often unperceived social power in the hands of a very few leaders.
ii) According to Michels, this results in the iron law of oligarchy,
the tendency to become a bureaucracy ruled by the few.
iii) Those who control bureaucracies not only wield power but have an
interest in retaining this power.
iv) Leaders tend to use their power to ensure that they remain in
power and to protect their own interests and privileges.
4. ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF ORGANIZATION
A) "Humanizing" bureaucracy includes:
i) Less rigid, hierarchical structures and greater sharing of power and
responsibility
ii) Encouragement of participants to share their ideas and try new
approaches
iii) Efforts to reduce the number of people in dead-end jobs and help
people meet outside family responsibilities while still receiving
equal treatment inside the organization.
B) Organizational structure in Japan, Russia and India
i) The Japanese model of organization has been widely praised for
its innovative structure, which (until recently) has included:
a) Lifetime employment―Workers were guaranteed permanent
employment after an initial probationary period. More
recently, lifetime employment has been replaced with the
concept of long-term employment.
b) Managers move through various parts of the organization and
learn about the workings of many aspects of the corporation.
c) Many Japanese managers give themselves pay cuts, rather
than bonuses, when their companies are having difficulties –
unlike their counterparts in the United States.
d) Quality circles―small workgroups that meet regularly with
managers to discuss the group's performance and working
conditions.
ii) Unlike in Japan, Russia and India feature a more hierarchical form
of organizing.
a) Russian and Indian organizations are more centrally
controlled
b) They feature a top-down approach more often
c) Modernizing, “Western” influences are changing
organizational styles.
5.
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE FUTURE
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Define the iron
law of oligarchy
and apply the
concept to a
brief analysis of
the U.S.
government.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
Identify
alternative
forms of
organization
that exist today
in nations such
as Japan.
Chapter 6
A) The question of what is the "best" organizational structure is difficult
to answer because it requires the ability to predict economic, political
and social conditions. There are a few observations that can be made.
i) Socially sustainable organizations are becoming increasingly
important, because media is making people more aware of the
widening gulf between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'
ii) Globalization is tied into the changes many organizations are
experiencing, and the use of technology to perform flexible,
mobile work is becoming more important.
iii) Smart working, and the ability to work "anytime, anywhere" is
becoming prevalent, and is providing greater flexibility and
autonomy in where, when, and how people work.
B) You can make a difference: Social networking, volunteering, and
becoming part of something larger than ourselves!
i) Many college students are actively involved in community service.
ii) Christine French, a student at George Washington University,
believes that the secret to successful volunteering is listening to
others.
iii) There are online social networks that can be used to find volunteer
opportunities that fit with an individual's temperament and
interests.
LECTURE IDEAS
Social Geometry Present the ideas of Georg Simmel as they relate to social groups. Simmel's
social geometry addressed the significance of numbers for social life. A
complimentary Web site with a summary of Simmel's essay, "Quantitative
Aspects of the Group" can be found at:
www.cf.ac.uk/socsi/undergraduate/introsoc/simmelw5.html
Engage your class in a discussion about the social networking phenomenon
Facebook
that is Facebook. It now has the largest number of registered users among
college student networks.
 In what ways is this method of group interaction an improvement?
 What are the drawbacks and unanticipated consequences of virtual
interacting?
 Why is Facebook so popular?
Ask someone from your community who is responsible for a volunteer
Keeping an
organization (charity, religious, or community service) to address some of
Organization
the challenges of keeping an organization up and running. Your students can
Running
learn about groups and organizations from someone who puts this
information into practice.
Contact someone in the career-counseling center at your school. Seek help
Organizational
in locating examples of employee manuals. Check these for their
Charts
organizational charts. Use these to help students understand how important
bureaucracies will be to them in the future. Use an organizational chart for
your college/university to help students see that they cannot escape
organizations. Point out the organizational structure of groups such as
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Groups and Organizations
families, churches, and teams.
McDonaldization George Ritzer has coined a term now popular in sociology,
McDonaldization. What he has done is apply Weber's ideas on rationality to
the fast food industry. He explains how some of the core organizational
principles of the fast food industry are coming to dominate all of social life.
This idea really works well to get students interested in how sociology can
help us explain what's going on in their lives.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What constitutes sexual harassment? Do you think an organization should be responsible for
the actions of its members or employees?
2. Think of a group that you are a part of. How does that group set and maintain boundaries?
How does one get into the group? What would get one kicked out of the group either
informally or formally?
3. How might ingroup and outgroup distinctions promote members' class, race/ethnicity, gender,
or age biases?
4. What do you consider to be your most important reference group? Why?
5. How does leadership differ in primary and secondary groups? Explain why.
6. What kind of leadership is exhibited in your family? How well does it work?
7. To what extent do you consider yourself to be a conformist? How do groups go about
requiring a degree of conformity from their members?
8. What are the most important lessons that can be learned from the research of Asch and
Milgram? Why do you think these studies are still being taught in college today?
9. What, if any, relationship do you think exists between group conformity and sexual
harassment? Can groups be part of the solution to this individual and organizational
problem?
10. How does groupthink occur in organizations to which you belong? How do group members
challenge the decisions of leaders?
11. Why do you think groupthink does and does not work for organizations?
12. Why can class, gender, and race/ethnicity be important determinants of people's participation
in normative organizations?
13. Do you agree with some conflict theorists that unpaid, volunteer work is devalued because
women primarily have done it?
14. How does Weber define rationality? Why is understanding rationality important in relation to
understanding groups?
15. What is one part of your life that does NOT conform to Weber’s understanding of rationality?
16. What kinds of utilitarian choices have you made this past week? In what ways were these
kinds of choices modeled for you by others in your various groups?
Chapter 6
17. What is a hierarchy? Why does it inevitably have an effect on our interactions with others?
Give specific examples.
18. What kinds of problems can be resolved more easily through informal networks than through
the official structure? When is it most necessary to go through official networks?
19. How can the findings of the Hawthorne studies be applied to college and university students?
Specifically, are there situations where student productivity levels are clearly related to
pressure (or lack thereof) received from other members of informal networks?
20. Why do bureaucracies work so well? Why have they become the dominant organizational
model in Western culture?
21. What is the bureaucratic personality and why does it contribute to organizational inefficiency
and rigidity?
22. Why are bureaucratic organizations resistant to change?
23. What are some ways to bring about change in a bureaucratic organization?
24. In what ways do students experience bureaucracy at this college/university?
25. Would it be desirable to implement the Japanese organizational model in U.S. corporations?
Would it be possible to do so?
26. Why is the horizontal model of organizational structure a good idea for the future? How
would you change the organizational structure of your university using this model?
STUDENT ACTIVITY IDEAS
Your students need to change gears and do something different every 20-30 minutes.
1. Workplace Regulations: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is tasked
with regulating workplaces. Direct students to the website (www.eeoc.gov/laws/index.cfm)
to get a better sense of what kinds of regulations employers and employees face. Specifically
have them look at the laws NOT enforced by the EEOC. What do they think? Is this too
much or too little regulation?
2.
Sexual Harassment: Have someone from your school come and address your class with
information about sexual harassment. Show your students sexual harassment training
programs from your own college/university and from area businesses. The trick here is to get
students into smaller groups and ask them to relate this information to text content
(leadership, conformity, authority, and the bureaucratic personality). You might ask smaller
groups in your class to write potential short answer or essay questions that relate the in-class
presentation to this chapter.
3. Reference Groups: Students may be confused by the sociological definition of a reference
group―"a group that strongly influences a person's behavior and social attitudes, regardless
of whether that individual is an actual member." Since sociological use of the word "group"
implies membership, students sometimes ask if a reference group is actually a group. To help
clarify this issue, you may wish to share this explanation from John Scott and Gordon
Marshall's A Dictionary of Sociology, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009: The term
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Groups and Organizations
reference group was coined by Herbert Hyman in Archives of Psychology (1942) to apply to
the group against which an individual evaluates his or her own situation or conduct. Hyman
distinguished between a membership group to which people actually belong, and a reference
group, which is used as a basis for comparison. [Thus] a reference group may or may not be
a membership group. Functionalists typically highlight functions of reference groups as a
source of normative standards or a comparative reference-point for individuals (e.g., Robert
Merton). Interactionists have suggested that reference groups are similar to George Herbert
Mead's generalized other—in other words, people come to see the world from the perspective
of those who share their world in the wider community.
4. Organizational Charts: Contact someone in the career-counseling center at your school.
Seek help in locating examples of employee manuals. Check these for their organizational
charts. Use these to help students understand how important bureaucracies will be to them in
the future. Use an organizational chart for your college/university to help students see that
they cannot escape organizations. Point out the organizational structure of groups such as
families, churches, and teams. Go online and find samples of organizational charts to use for
this activity as well.
5. Resisting McDonaldization: Drawing on the basics of McDonaldization theory (and the
resources in the Internet Activities below) instruct students to identify an object of
McDonaldization in their own lives and indicate how it might be resisted effectively.
6. By-Passing the Organization: After they have discussed formal statuses and their
interconnections, ask students to describe how the informal structure can help students "get
around" the college's formal structure. (If your class is primarily first-semester college
students, invite an upper-division sociology major or campus leader for this discussion.)
7. The Iron Law of Oligarchy: Tell your class that you will give them one minute to
collectively decide on the date of the next exam. Step to the side and start timing them. What
invariably happens is: (1) the class becomes chaotic and cannot reach a conclusion in the
allotted time, or (2) a "big-mouth" or two in the class will step forward and organize a vote.
After the time is up, launch your presentation of the iron law of oligarchy. This illustrates
why oligarchies emerge and the power that we implicitly give to leaders who may or may not
have noble qualities.
8. Primary/Secondary Groups: Ask students to make a list of the groups of which they are
members. Then ask students to work in groups of 3-4 and analyze their group lists. Students
should divide their groups into two columns, those that are primary and those that are
secondary. Getting input from other class members can help students become clearer in their
thinking about these concepts.
9. Critical Thinking: Have students work in small groups and assign them one of the critical
thinking questions at the end of the chapter. After sharing answers with the class, ask another
group to tackle the same question and provide a divergent answer.
10.
Small Groups: Ask students to observe group size in their interactions for a week. How
often do they find themselves in dyads? In triads? In larger groups? Do communication
Chapter 6
patterns change as more people join the group? Is there truth to the adage that "two's
company, three's a crowd?" If so, give examples.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
1. Go to Verstehen, the Max Weber Web site, and read about bureaucracy, rationality,
oligarchy and ideal types.
http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Weber/Whome.htm
2.
3. Take a look at bureaucracy from a business and political perspective. What new
information can your students add to their learning using these ideas? Ask students to surf
these sites and bring a list to class of new ideas about the actual practice of formal
organization in the business world. Have students meet in smaller groups and compare their
lists.
 The CEO Refresher
www.refresher.com/
 The Wall Street Journal
www.opinionjournal.com/cc/?id=110007224
3. Explore some of the complicated bureaucracies in our world today:
 The World Trade Organization:
www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org3_e.htm
 The Department of Homeland Security:
http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0644.shtm
 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:
www.cms.hhs.gov/CMSLeadership/50_OrganizationalChartASP.asp#TopOfPage
4. Here are a number of McDonaldization sites. There are even more "out there" on the World
Wide Web. As you begin to study this theory, take a look at the WWW and ask for more
information. Hold a "show and tell" with other class members and relate ideas from these
sites to what you have learned about groups and organizations and Weber's theories.
McDonaldization Web Sites/Articles:
www.mcdonaldization.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/or/sociologyshop/RITZER.html#mcd
http://gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/Illumina%20Folder/kell30.htm
www.umsl.edu/~rkeel/010/mcdonsoc.html
5. Have students explore the concept of groupthink. Start by reading this article in the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-newgroupthink.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. Next, divide some students into small groups and
assign them write a paper about whether they agree or disagree with the article while some
other students are assigned to work alone with the same task. Have them compare answers to
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Groups and Organizations
see which ones exhibit more uniformity.
6. Instruct your students to visit the USAJobs Web site, the portal for federal government job
applications. Students can search through jobs and see what the requirements are of
ostensibly merit-based hiring:
http://www.usajobs.gov/
Next, have them visit "Federal Soup," a forum for those who work in the government or
those who are trying to find federal employment, to see just how difficult it is to navigate the
bureaucracy of federal hiring practices:
http://federalsoup.federaldaily.com/
7. To learn more about leadership and styles of leading, access the Leadership Booklist for a
thorough listing and description of important works on leadership. Print and save for future
use in other classes and your own professional development.
 Leadership Booklist
http://www.sandyblahaperformanceconsulting.com/resources/pdf/LeadershipBookL
ist.pdf
VIDEO SUGGESTIONS
1. Experimental Studies in the Social Climates of Groups Insight Media
This classic study on group behavior uses hidden camera footage to explore unrehearsed
activities in a series of experimentally organized boys' clubs with democratic, autocratic, or
laissez-faire atmospheres. It features narration that explains each situation and discusses the
results of the study. (1953, 31 minutes)
2. Game Theory: Lost in New York Films for the Humanities and Sciences
What if twelve strangers were deposited in separate locations all over New York City and
ordered to find each other—without being told where to look? This ABC News program
presents an intriguing psychological puzzle involving participants who must join up—
somehow, somewhere—in a city of eight million people. Incorporating principles from the
mathematical discipline known as game theory, the program shows how envisioning the
plans and intentions of others, even when utilizing the scantiest of evidence and the most
basic of inferences, can produce a viable strategy. (2006, 41 minutes)
3. Balance of Power: Political Participation Insight Media
This program looks at social stratification and considers its impact on politics. Explaining
that some individuals in democracies do not have an equal voice because of their lack of
money or level of education, the DVD highlights the resulting inequalities in housing, jobs,
education, and health care. (2005, 30 minutes)
4. All Together: Organization Behavior Insight Media
Explaining that each organization has its own culture, this program examines organizational
behavior. It discusses the ideas of Frederick Taylor and covers scientific management,
corporate culture, and the pitfalls of bureaucracy (2005, 30 minutes)
Chapter 6
5. The Corporation
A documentary on the creation and rise of multinational corporations. A close look at the
inside story and workings of these giant organizations. The pervasive nature of global
conglomerates touching so many aspects of our lives is shocking. (2004, 145 minutes)
6. ABC News Primetime Basic Instincts 5: The Milgram Experiment Re-Visited
This limited series looks at everyday problems from weight loss to examining how small the
world is, how closely connected we all are, what people are willing to do simply because
someone in authority tells them to. This five-part series features reports from John Quinones,
Jay Schadler, and Chris Cuomo, and finds that what people say they would do in a given
situation is quite different than what they actually do. From the events at Abu Ghraib to Nazi
Germany, people have always struggled to understand why seemingly ordinary people can
sometimes do bad, or even terrible, things. Primetime, working with a major university,
conducts the experiment again to see whether people's responses have changed since the
original Milgram experiment in 1961. (2007, 40 minutes)
7. What Would You Do? Standing Up as a Citizen Insight Media
This ABC News program addresses civic responsibility through a variety of scenarios,
including flagrant littering, displays of hypocrisy when the chance to be a Good Samaritan
arises, illegal use of a disabled-only spot, and a parking-space dispute. The scenarios elicit a
range of reactions from onlookers who are unaware that they are observing actors in staged
situations. (2008, 50 minutes)
8. Obedience: A Reenactment Insight Media
This video presents segments from a reenactment of Stanley Milgram's classic experiment on
obedience to authority. It shows the experimenter encouraging subjects to administer
increasingly strong electric shocks to the learner―an accomplice of Milgram's. The program
raises questions about the ethics of psychological experimentation with human subjects.
(1996, 11 minutes)
9. Group Influence Insight Media
This program examines the ways in which groups influence individual behavior. Examining
the Asch studies and the Milgram experiment, it discusses such issues as individuality, group
think, deindividualization, the bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility, altruism, prosocial
behavior, and reciprocity. (2001, 30 minutes)
10. Groupthink
This short (1 minute) video clip takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the virtues of teamwork.
11. Susan Cain: The Power of Introverts
In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even
shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring
extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.
(TED Talks, 20 minutes)
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Groups and Organizations
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Arbinger Institute (eds.). (2002). Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Cain, Susan. (2012). Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. New
York: Random House.
Cherniss, Cary, Daniel Goleman, and Warren Bennis (eds.). (2001). The Emotionally Intelligent
Workplace: How to Select For, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals,
Groups, and Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Coser, Lewis A. (2003). Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context
(2nd ed). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Forsyth, Donelson R. (2009). Group Dynamics. Florence: Wadsworth Publishing.
Friere, Paulo. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Kernberg, Otto F. (1998). Ideology, Conflict, and Leadership in Groups and Organizations. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Leavitt, Harold J. (2004). Top Down: Why Hierarchies are Here to Stay and How to Manage
Them More Effectively. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
LeFort, Claude. (2007). Complications: Communism and the Dilemmas of Democracy. New
York: Columbia University Press.
Miller, Arthur G. (1986). The Obedience Experiments: A Case Study of Controversy in Social
Science. New York: Praeger.
Rhode, Deborah (ed.). (2003). The Difference "Difference" Makes: Women and Leadership.
Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Ritzer, George. (2012). The McDonaldization of Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Turner, Stephen. (2008). The Cambridge Companion to Weber. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Wilson, Marie. (2006). Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the
World. East Rutherford: Penguin Press.