Essentials of Sociology, 6th Edition

1
Chapter Five Social Groups and Formal
Organizations
2
Chapter Overview

• Social Groups
• Bureaucracies

• Working for the Corporation
• Group Dynamics

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3
Social Groups

• Aggregate - People Who Share a Space But Dont
  See Selves as Belonging
• A Category - People Who Share Characteristics
• A Group - People Who Think of Themselves as
  Belonging Together

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Social Groups

• Primary Groups
• Face-to-Face
• The Family
• Friends
• Producing a Mirror Within

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5
Social Groups

• Secondary Groups
• Larger, More Anonymous
• Members Interact Based on Roles
• Fail to Satisfy Need for Intimate Association

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6
Voluntary Associations

• Organized on Basis of Mutual Interest
• The Inner Circle and Iron Law of Oligarchy

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7
In-Groups and Out-Groups

• In-Groups and Out-Groups Produce
• Loyalty
• Sense of Superiority
• Rivalries
• Implications for Socially Diverse Society

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Reference Groups

• Groups Used as Standards to Evaluate Selves
• Provide a Yardstick
• Exposes Us to Contradictory Standards

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Social Networks

• Ties that Extend Outward from Self
• The Small World Phenomenon
• Is the Small World Phenomenon a Myth?

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10
Social Networks

• Implications for Socially Diverse Society
• Implications for Science

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Electronic Communities

• People Connect Online
• Newsgroups
• Online Chat Rooms

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12
Bureaucracies

• Five Characteristics of Bureaucracies
• Clear Cut Levels
• Division of Labor
• Written Rules
• Written Communication and Records
• Impersonality

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Perpetuation of Bureaucracies

• Take on a Life of Own
• Suffers from Goal Displacement
• March of Dimes Example

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Coping with Bureaucracies

• Red Tape
• Bureaucratic Alienation
• Resisting Alienation

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Working for the Corporation

• Stereotypes
• The Hidden Corporate Culture
• Hidden Values
• Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
• Iron Law of Oligarchy

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Managing Diversity in the Workplace

• Half of Workers are Minorities, Immigrants, and
  Women
• Diversity Includes
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Age
• Religion
• Social Class
• Sexual Orientation

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17
U.S. and Japanese Corporations

• Hiring and Promoting Teams
• Lifetime Security
• Almost Total Involvement
• Broad Training
• Decision Making by Consensus

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U.S. and Japanese Corporations

• Myth vs. Reality
• Differences Less than in the Past
• Global Competition Causes Interdependencies
• Technology Affecting Worker Behavior

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Group Dynamics

• Group Size Affects Stability and Intimacy
• Dyad
• Triad
• Coalitions

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Group Dynamics

• Group Size Affects Stability and Intimacy
• Dyad
• Triad
• Coalitions
• As Size Increases, So Does Stability

• Group Size Affects Stability and Intimacy
• Dyad
• Triad
• Coalitions
• As Size Increases, So Does Stability
• As Size Increases, Intensity and Intimacy
  Decreases

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Group Dynamics

• Effects of Group Size on Attitudes and Behavior
• The Larger the Group
• Greater Diffusion of Responsibility
• Increase in Formality
• Division into Smaller Groups

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Leadership

• Leaders are People Who Influence Others
  Behaviors, Opinions, and Attitudes
• Who Becomes a Leader?
• Instrumental and Expressive Leaders

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Leadership

• Leadership Styles
• Authoritarian
• Democratic
• Laissez-Faire
• Leadership Styles in Changing Situations

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Power of Peer Pressure and Authority

• The Asch Experiment
• The Milgram Experiment

25
Groupthink

• Collective Tunnel Vision Groups Develop
• Global Consequences of Group Dynamics
• Preventing Groupthink

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