Groups and Organizations

1
Chapter 6

• Groups and Organizations

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Chapter Outline

• Using the Sociological Imagination
• Concept of the Group
• Types of Groups
• Social Interaction in Groups
• Formal Organizations
• Dynamics of Formal Organizations
• Formal Organizations in Japan

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Groups

• Members of groups
• Interact
• Share culture
• Consider one anothers behavior
• Have some common interests and goals

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Characteristics of Primary and Secondary Groups
Primary Secondary
Nature of Relationship Close social interaction Impersonal
Function Emotional support, socialization Help achieve group goals
Examples Family, soldiers, street gang Class, team, law firm
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Conditions Favoring Primary Groups

• Small group size.
• Face to face contact.
• Continuous contact.
• Proper social environment.

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Size of State Bureaucracies
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Social Network

• Links a person with a wide variety of individuals
  and groups.
• Provide a sense of belonging and social support
  and help in the job market.

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Types of Social Interaction
Theoretical Perspective Type of Social Interaction
Functionalism Conformity
Conflict theory Coercion
Symbolic Interactionism Social exchange
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Social Interaction and Group Life

1. Cooperation
2. Conflict
3. Social exchange
4. Coercion
5. Conformity

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Cards for Aschs Experiments
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Major Characteristics of Bureaucracy

• A division of labor based on the principle of
  specialization.
• A hierarchy of authority.
• Organizational affairs are based on a system of
  rules and procedures.

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Major Characteristics of Bureaucracy

• Members of the organization maintain written
  records of their organizational activities.
• Statuses in the organization, especially
  managerial ones, are considered full-time jobs.

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Major Characteristics of Bureaucracy

• Relationships within the organization are
  impersonal, devoid of favoritism.
• Employees of bureaucratic organizations do not
  own their positions.

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University Organization Chart
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Problems with Bureaucracy

• Dehumanizing social environment
• Wastefulness.
• Peter principle - Once reaching a level of
  incompetence members shift their concern to
  sustaining organization values.
• Goal displacement
• Trained incapacity

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Military Bureaucracy
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Inter-organizational Relationships Involving the
Police
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Organization and Oligarchy

• How organizational factors encourage oligarchy
• Organizations need a hierarchy of authority to
  delegate decision making.
• Advantages held by leaders at the top allow them
  to consolidate their power.
• Membership tends to defer to the skills possessed
  by their leaders.