Download Principles of Sociology SOC-201

Introduction to Sociology
SOC-101
Unit 6 – Social Groups and Formal Organizations
Social Groups
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Most people seek a sense of belonging, which is the
experience of group membership
Aggregate
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Individuals who temporarily share the same physical space but
who do not see themselves belonging together
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For example, people in an elevator, a commuter train, or standing in a
line at the store
Category
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Individuals who share the same characteristics
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For example, students, homeowners, millionaires, blondes, etc.
Social Groups
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Social Group
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Two or more people who identify and interact with one
another
They contain people with shared experiences, loyalties, and
interests
Charles Cooley (1909) came up with two types of social
groups based on their members’ degree of genuine
personal concern and loyalty for each other
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Primary Groups
Secondary Groups
Primary Groups
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Primary Group
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A group characterized by intimate, long-term, face-to-face
association and cooperation among its members
People share personal and enduring relationships and show
real concern towards each other
The family is a primary group
Primary Groups
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Members of primary groups tend to influence our
socialization process by shaping our behavior, attitudes,
and values
Sense of Belonging
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With primary groups, we feel a sense of attachment, belonging
The group is seen as an end in itself rather than a means to
other ends
Each member is considered unique and irreplaceable
Secondary Groups
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Secondary Group
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A larger, relatively temporary, more anonymous, formal, and
impersonal group based on some interest or activity
Involve weak personal ties and little personal knowledge of one
another
Many of these groups are short term, a “means to an end”
Unlike primary groups which have a personal orientation,
secondary groups have a goal orientation
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“What can they do for us?” type of attitude
We also tend to “keep score” in secondary groups of what we
give others and what we receive in return
In-Groups and Out-Groups
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We all favor certain groups over others depending on our
interests, values, and attitudes
In-Group
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A social group that commands a member’s esteem and loyalty
Members generally hold overly positive views of themselves
and unfairly negative views of various out-groups
Out-Group
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A social group which one feels competition, opposition or
antagonism towards
In-Groups and Out-Groups
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Being a member of a group can generate not only a sense
of belonging, but loyalty and a sense of superiority
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This can lead to rivalries with other groups
Identification with groups can lead to ethnic, racial, and
gender divisions
We develop a biased perception that leads to a “double
standard”
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We see the traits of our in-group as virtues while we see those
same traits in out-groups as vices
A sex crazed man is seen as a “stud” while a sex crazed
woman is seen as a “slut”
In-Groups and Out-Groups
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Such divisions can lead to violence
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For example, members of the Ku Klux Klan beating a black
man to death for looking at a white woman the wrong way
Economic and political changes can strengthen these
divisions
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In times of economic recession or depression, we tend to find
a “scapegoat” to blame for our troubles
Reference Groups
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Reference Group
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This is a social group that serves as a point of reference in
making evaluations and decisions, especially about ourselves
Can be either primary or secondary groups
Our psychological need to conform means that these
reference groups can affect our behaviors, attitudes, and
values
Reference Groups
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They provide a yardstick to measure ourselves up to
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If we want to achieve a certain status held by a group, we
change our looks, attitudes, and behaviors to help us get that
status
If we feel that we measure up to the standards of the
reference group we feel no conflict
If we feel that we do not measure up to these standards
this can lead to inner turmoil
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Social Networks
Social Network
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Social Network
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A web of social ties
Includes family, friends, friends of friends, etc.
They tend to be weak ties, most of them include people we
“know of” or people who “know of us”
Networks are based on interests, status, wealth, prestige,
and even gender
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For example, women include more relatives and women in
their networks, while men include more co-workers and men
“Six Degrees of Separation”
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In 1967, Stanley Milgram did a study called the “small
world phenomenon”
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He suggested any two people in the U.S. were connected on
average by a chain of six acquaintances
He sent 60 letters to various people in Nebraska who were
asked to forward the letter to a certain stockbroker living in
Massachusetts
The participants were required to pass the letters only by hand
to personal acquaintances who they thought might be able to
reach the target
“Six Degrees of Separation”
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Milgram claimed success since some of the letters actually
were received by the intended recipient
However, when the study was looked at more closely,
only 5% of the letters actually reached its destination
When the experiment was reproduced, only a very small
percentage reached the destination
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It was not actually a “small world” as Milgram implied
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Formal Organizations
Formal Organizations
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Formal Organizations
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These are large secondary groups that are organized to
achieve their goals efficiently
They do so by being impersonal and have a planned
atmosphere
We rely on formal organizations everyday from schools to mail
delivery
They develop their own cultures that perpetuate even as
workers come and go
Formal Organizations
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There are three types of formal organizations based on
the reasons why people participate in them
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Normative Organizations
Coercive Organizations
Utilitarian Organizations
Formal Organizations
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Normative Organization
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This is an organization that is not monetarily rewarding but is
personally satisfying, morally worthwhile and/or socially
prestigious
Examples
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Volunteer Organizations – PTA, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders
Political Parties
Religious Organizations
Formal Organizations
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Coercive Organization
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This type of organization forces members to join as a form of
punishment or treatment
Includes mental hospitals and prisons
The members are separated as “inmates” or “patients” for a
period of time and designed to radically alter their attitudes
and behaviors
Formal Organizations
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Utilitarian Organization
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This type of organization offers people a source of income
It grants more individual freedom than coercive organization
but less than normative ones
Most people are required to spend most of their days working
for this type of organization
Formal Organizations
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An organization can fit into one, two, or all three types at
once
For example a mental hospital fits into all three types:
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It is a normative organization to the people who volunteer
there
It is a coercive organization to the patients
It is a utilitarian organization to the people who work there
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Bureaucracies
Bureaucracy
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Bureaucracy
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Max Weber was the one who noted that during the
Industrial Revolution there was a shift to achieve more
efficient results
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A bureaucracy is a formal organizational model rationally
designed to perform tasks efficiently
There was a shift from personal loyalties to the “bottom line.”
With this shift there was the development of the bureaucracy
Formal organizations have been around since the dawn of
civilization
Development of Bureaucracy
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The efficiency of early formal organizations was limited by
the traditional character of pre-industrial society
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The pre-industrial societies were more traditional, while the
industrial societies were more rational
Traditional Character
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This is a society (pre-industrial) where sentiments and beliefs
about the world passed from generation to generation
Mechanisms of organization are based on tradition
This fuels conservatism, preventing of an organization from
being highly efficient
Development of Bureaucracy
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Rational Character
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This is when a society (industrial) has the deliberate, matter-offact calculation of the most efficient means to accomplish a
particular task
Rationality pays little attention to the past and is open up to
change in whatever way seems likely to get the job done better
or more quickly
Development of Bureaucracy
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Rationalization
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This is the change from tradition to rationality as the dominant
mode of human character
Modern society becomes “disenchanted” as sentimental and
traditional ties give way to a rational focus on science
This is when we see the rise of a bureaucracy as the most
efficient form of organization
Characteristics of Bureaucracy
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According to Weber, there are certain characteristics to a
bureaucracy
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Clear levels, with assignments flowing downward and
accountability flowing upward
A division of labor
Written rules
Written communication and records
Impersonality and replaceability
Problems With Bureaucracies
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While bureaucracies are highly efficient, they can also be
dysfunctional
Bureaucratic Ritualism
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This is the preoccupation of the workers with rules and
regulations to the point of that they become inefficient
“Red Tape”
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This concept comes from the red tape used in 18th century English
administration practice of wrapping official packages and records in
red tape
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Bureaucratic Alienation
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Bureaucracy has the potential to dehumanize the people who
work in it and the people its suppose to serve
Workers are alienated in that they feel more like objects
rather than workers
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Due to all the rules, regulations, and assigned functions
Weber said that in a bureaucracy a human being is reduced to
a “small cog in a ceaselessly moving mechanism.”
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Workers usually fight this alienation
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Clients feel alienated
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Do so by informally gathering during work or after and by
adding personal touches to their work space
Due to the impersonality the bureaucracies encourage which
keeps officials and clients from responding to each other’s
unique, personal needs
Bureaucratic Inertia
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This refers to the tendency of bureaucratic organizations to
perpetuate themselves
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Bureaucracies are a powerful motivation tool because
they harness people’s energies to reach a specific goal but
what happens when that goal is reached?
Usually what the officials do is change their focus to
achieve a new goal
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Why waste a perfectly good bureaucracy?
Examples of bureaucracies that changed:
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March of Dimes – Originally designed to find a cure for polio and now
it works on preventing birth defects
NATO – Originally designed to help the west protect itself against the
Soviet Union and now Russia is a member
U.S. Department of Agriculture – Originally designed to help farmers
but now works on environmental and nutritional research
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Oligarchy
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“Iron Law of Oligarchy”
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This is the rule of the many by the few
The pyramid shape of the bureaucracy places a few leaders in
charge of vast resources
Weber connected a strict hierarchy of responsibility with
increasing organizational efficiency which is why this is
seen in a bureaucracy
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Unfortunately, hierarchy also undermines democracy
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To promote their own personal interests, officials can and do
use their access to resources, information, and the media
This it undermines people’s control over their leaders
especially since oligarchy thrives in the hierarchical structure of
bureaucracy
In the U.S. we have term limits, a system of checks and
balances, and competition which prevents our
government from becoming an out-and-out oligarchy
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However, incumbents do enjoy a significant advantage in U.S.
politics
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Parkinson’s Law - C. Northcote Parkinson (1957)
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This states that “work expands to fill the time available for its
completion”
This means that if a full day is available to complete the work, a
full day is how long it will take
Rather than look for extra work, bureaucrats are going to try
look busy
This makes the organization to think its busy and thus takes on
more employees
Problems With Bureaucracies
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Peter Principle – Laurence J. Peter (1969)
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States that “bureaucrats are promoted to their level of
incompetence”
Employees who are competent at one level of the hierarchy
will be promoted to higher positions
Eventually, they reach a position where they are no longer
competent and they perform poorly and become ineligible for
further advancement
By reaching their “level of incompetence,” they will have a
future of inefficiency
On top of this, by being in the organization for so long, they
have learned how to hide their incompetency and take credit
from those underneath them
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Corporations
Working for the Corporation
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Every formal organization develops their own culture
Corporate Culture
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The orientations that characterize corporate work settings
It contains hidden values which create a self-fulfilling prophecy
that affects corporate careers
Working for the Corporation
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Bosses tend to have a stereotype of what good workers
are like and promote people based on this
“The Good Workers”
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The bosses feel that they are one of the good workers and will
look for people who are like them
They are given more opportunities, networking, and put into
“fast-track” positions
In turn, they perform better and are more committed, thus
fulfilling the prophecy
Working for the Corporation
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The “Bad Workers”
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These are the workers whose initial expectations are held low
They are not given full access to information or opportunities
Thus, they tend to work at a level below their capacity and see
themselves in poor light, leading to poor job performance
This confirms the original stereotypes placed on them
Women and minorities are usually put in this negative
stereotype
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Thus, they are not put in positions of power
Instead they are put in “showcase” positions which are highly
visible but do not have any power
Even though corporations are becoming more diversified, it
will take a long time for this corporate culture to give way
U.S. and Japanese Corporations
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Japanese society contain a culture of strong collective
identity and solidarity, and this can be found in their
corporations
While the U.S. prizes individualism, the Japanese value
cooperation
U.S. and Japanese Corporations
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William Ouchi (1981) noted five distinct ways in which
U.S. and Japanese corporations differ from each other
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Teams are hired right out of college, all with the same starting
salaries and responsibilities
They are rotated through the company as a team to learn the
various roles
They receive raises and accolades as a team
The workers are loyal to their teams and it becomes like a
primary group
It is only until much later that single individuals are marked for
advancement
Hiring and Promotions
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U.S. – They value individualism
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Individuals are hired based on what they could do for the
corporation
Promotions and raises are based on individual competition and
is seen as a sign of personal success
Individual’s loyalty is to himself and not to the corporation
Lifetime Security
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Japan – Lifetime job security is guaranteed
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Employees expect to work for one corporation for their entire
lives
They are expected to stick with the company through good
times and bad
Workers do not go “job shopping”
When positions become obsolete, the corporation will retrain
the workers for new positions within it
Lifetime Security
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U.S. – There is very little lifetime security
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The only positions that have tenure are some teaching and
judicial positions
Corporations will lay off people in hard economic times,
including laying off entire divisions
Workers tend to “job shop” and will move to another
company for a better position
Holistic Involvement
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Japan – Corporate life is tied into personal life
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Both the corporation and the employee are committed for life
and do things to help each other
The employee works long hours and is loyal to the
corporation while the latter provides lifetime security, health
services, social events, and home mortgages
Employee involvement continues outside the office where coworkers socialize
Holistic Involvement
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U.S. – Work stays at work
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Work is considered a temporary contract: when the work is
done, the employee leaves
After-work hours are the private time of the employee
The workplace and the home are very distinct and there is no
mingling
Broad Training
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Japan – Workers are trained in all aspects of the
corporation
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Employees move from one job to another within the
corporation to get a better idea of how it works
They are trained in all aspects of it, keeping in mind that the
employee will remain with the company for life
Broad Training
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U.S. – We focus on one job
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Workers are highly specialized and tend to spend their entire
lives doing one job
When a worker does well at a job, they are promoted to
another with more responsibilities
Their view of the corporation is limited to their little niche in
it
Collective Decision Making
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Japan
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Lengthy decision process involving all those who are affected
There is much discussion and a consensus is reached regarding
what is best
U.S.
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The decisions are made by key executives
The only people consulted may be a small group around the
executives and possibly in the department being affected
Myth or Reality?
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Since the report was done by Ouchi, the myth has been
challenged
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Only 1/3 of Japanese workers get lifetime security
Collective decision making is not used by the big companies
Japan has turned to the U.S. companies’ methods to make
them more efficient
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They now lay off workers, give merit pay and cut salaries
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McDonaldization of Society
McDonaldization of Society
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McDonald’s is considered to be one of the most
successful corporations in the 20th century
Sociologist George Ritzer (1993) stated that even our
everyday lives are becoming “McDonaldized”
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Many aspects of our life are modeled on this restaurant chain
We see the increasing rationalization of the basic routine tasks
of everyday life
McDonaldization of Society
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There are four basic organizational principles:
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Efficiency
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Ray Kroc, the company’s marketing expert, said that each customer
must be served within 50 seconds
Efficiency has become a standard in our lives
We think that if something is done quickly, it must be good
Calculability –
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McDonald’s has an emphasis placed on how much is sold (portion
size, cost) and how quickly service is offered
Quantity has become equated to quality
In our society we’ve come to believe in “bigger is better”
McDonaldization of Society
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Predictability –
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You can go to a McDonald’s practically anywhere in the world and a
Big Mac will still be a Big Mac
This requires a highly rational system that specifies every action and
leaves nothing to chance
In our society, many people actually prefer a world where there are
no surprises
Control Through Automation –
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The most unreliable part about McDonald’s are the workers so it has
automated most of its equipment to ensure efficiency and accuracy
Every day our lives are becoming more an more automated from laser
scanners at the supermarket to ATMs at the bank
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Groups
Group Dynamics
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Group Dynamics
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How groups influence us and how we affect groups
Group Size
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This plays an important role in how groups interact
Two people form a single relationship
Add a third person and it forms three relationships
Add a fourth, six relationships
Add a seventh, twenty-one relationship
Group Dynamics
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Small Group
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This is a group that is small enough where all its members can
interact directly with all the other members
Can be either a primary or secondary group
Example primary group – family
Example secondary group – sociology class
Effects of Group Size
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Georg Simmel – (1858-1918)
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He was a German sociologists who looked at the significance
of group size
Dyad
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A group of two members
It has the most intense or intimate relationships because
neither member shares the other’s attention with anybody else
They are very unstable; if one person leaves, the group
collapses
Effects of Group Size
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Triad
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Group of three people
It contains three relationships, each uniting two of the
members
It is more stable because one member can act as a mediator
between the other two
It is still unstable because if two members form a tighter
relationship, the third is left out
Effects of Group Size
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Four or more members
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When a group grows beyond three people, it becomes more
stable
It is able to survive the loss of even several members.
Also with an increase in group size, the personal interaction
possible in only the smallest groups is reduced
Simmel’s general principle that as a small group grows
larger, it becomes more stable, but its intensity, or
intimacy, decreases
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This is because the number of relationships between members
increases dramatically as the group numbers go up
Effects of Group Size
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As groups grow larger, they become more formal
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They develop a formal structure, sometimes with a hierarchy
This structure provides a framework that helps the group
survive over time
In 1968, John Darley and Bib Latané did an experiment to
see how group size affected attitudes and behavior
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They asked their students to discuss their college life with one
or more other “students” over an intercom
They were not able to see the other “student(s)” and the
professors left the experimentation area
After a short amount of time, the “student” would stage an
epileptic attack
Effects of Group Size
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Darley and Latané examined how quickly the students
reacted to this
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Those who thought they were in dyads rushed to help the
other person
Those who thought they were in triads, only 80% went to help
and did so more slowly
Those who thought they were in groups of six, only 60% went
to help and were even slower
Effects of Group Size
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This experiment shows how group size can affect our
behavior and attitudes towards other members
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Diffusion of Responsibility
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As the groups got bigger, the students felts that giving help was no
more their responsibility than anybody else’s
The smaller the groups, the less formal they are in their
conversations and mannerisms
Larger groups break down into smaller groups because we feel
more comfortable when we see and can interact with people
Leadership
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Leaders are people who influence the behaviors, opinions,
or attitudes of others in groups
All groups, even small circles of friends, have a leader
While sociologists will not say that there are “born
leaders,” most leaders do share certain traits
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They tend to be outgoing, talkative, and self-confident
They also strongly represent the values of the group or will be
able to lead the group out of a crisis
There are some common traits that have nothing to do with
the ability to lead, such as taller and “beautiful” people tend to
be leaders
Types of Leaders
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There are two types of leaders:
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Instrumental Leaders
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They are the task-oriented leaders who move the group towards the
accomplishment of a goal
They give orders, and reward or punish group members according to
their contribution to the group effort
They tend to have formal, secondary relationships with group
members
Expressive Leaders
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These are the socio-emotional leaders
They are more interested in raising group morale and minimizing
tension and conflict among its members
They cultivate primary relationships with the group’s members
They offer humor, sympathy, and keep the group united
Types of Leaders
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It is very difficult for one person to be both types of
leaders since the roles contradict one another
While instrumental leaders tend to gain the respect of the
group members, expressive leaders generally receive
more affection and tend to be more popular
Traditionally, instrumental leadership styles belonged to
men with expressive belonging to women, but this is
starting to change
Leadership Styles
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Sociologists categorize leadership in terms of its decision
making style
Authoritarian Leader
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This is an individual who leads by giving orders
Focus on instrumental concerns, takes personal charge of
decision making, and demands strict compliance from
subordinates
It is highly effective in crisis situations
Leadership Styles
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Democratic Leader
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This is an individual who leads by trying to reach a consensus
They are more expressive and make a point of including
everyone in the decision-making process
Draw on the ideas of all members to forge creative solutions
to problems
Less effective in a crisis but tends to be more successful overall
Leadership Styles
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Laissez-Faire Leader
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An individual who leads by being highly permissive
Comes from the French phrase “to leave alone”
They allow the group to function more or less on their own
Tends to be less effective in reaching group goals and
completely ineffective in a crisis
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The Asch Experiment
The Asch Experiment: Peer Pressure
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In 1952, psychologist Solomon Asch conducted an
experiment to see how much authority our peers have
over us
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As part of the experiment, all but one of the students were
accomplices of the professor
As the trials went on, they starting giving the wrong answer as
to which line matches the line on the first card
The other members were also complete strangers to the
participant
The Asch Experiment: Peer Pressure
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The results included:
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33% gave into the group half the time by giving the incorrect
answer
40% gave wrong answers but not as often
25% gave the correct answer
This experiment has been repeated numerous times and
had similar results
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Milgram Experiment
Milgram and the Power of Authority
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Stanley Milgram wanted to know why ordinary citizens in
Nazi Germany stood by and allowed millions of people to
be killed and did nothing about it
In 1963, he conducted an experiment to see how far
people were willing to go against their own conscience
when an authority figure gave them orders
Milgram and the Power of Authority
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The experiment consisted of a “teacher”—the
participant—and the “learner”—an accomplice of
Milgram
The learner was placed in an chair and was hooked up to
electrodes while the teacher was given a “shock
generator”
The learner was asked to repeat two words given by the
teacher
Milgram and the Power of Authority
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When the learner gave the wrong answer, the teacher
was supposed to shock the learner


It started with 15 volts but was to increase by another 15 volts
each time the learner was incorrect
The teachers complied and began the experiment





At 75 to 105 volts they heard moans from the learner
At 120 volts, shouts of pain
At 270 volts, screams
At 315 volts, pounding on the wall
At 450 volts, silence
Milgram and the Power of Authority

When some of the teachers protested and questioned
the experiment, the researcher said that the experiment
must go on



The teachers kept going on with this
None of the teachers in the original experiment even
questioned anything until they reached 300 volts
In the end, 26 of the 40 participants went all the way to
450 volts

Groupthink
Groupthink



Even high-ranking government officials are subject to
group pressure
In 1972, Irving Janis studied the effects of group pressure
on a number of U.S. foreign policy blunders, including
Pearl Harbor and Vietnam
Groupthink


A narrowing of thought by a group of people
Leads to the perception that there is only one correct answer,
in which to even suggest alternatives becomes a sign of
disloyalty
Groupthink

Pearl Harbor


President Roosevelt and his advisors knew the Japanese were
going to attack Pearl Harbor but continued with normal
operations
Vietnam

Military officials knew how strong the North Vietnamese
military was but did not believe that “little, uneducated,
barefoot people in pajamas” could defeat the U.S. military
Groupthink

Even today, groupthink affects our policies

Torture of “Enemy Combatants” – After 9/11, U.S. officials
believed that torture was the right thing to do as the “lesser of
two evils;” even the U.S. Department of Justice said that we
were not bound by the Geneva Convention’s restrictions
against torture