SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Mcdonaldization, Scientific Management, Oligarchy
31 May 2018
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GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Social Groups
Two or more people who identify with or interact with one another
• non-groups
o category
▪ those with a status in common such as ethnicity or occupation
• ie women, soldiers, homeowners
o crowd
▪ non-interacting group such as an audience
• ie students sitting in a large stadium
o but a common experience could turn a non-group into a group
▪ ie power failure, terrorist attack
Primary Groups
• a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships
o ie family
• cooley called this type of group primary because they
o are the first groups we experience
o shape attitudes, behaviour and identity
o provide economic and other assistance
o are bound by emotion and loyalty
Secondary Groups
• large and impersonal groups whose members pursue a specific goal or activity
o ie students in the same college course
• characteristics
o weak emotional ties
o little personal knowledge of each other
o people look to one another strategically (for what they can do for one another)
o part of a secondary group could turn itself into a primary group
Group Leadership
• important element of group dynamics
• small circle of friends may have no leader at all
• large secondary groups place leaders in a formal chain of command
o two leadership roles
▪ instrumental
• focusses on the completion of tasks
o leaders make plans, give orders and get things done
o secondary ties of respect
• receive more respect from members
▪ expressive
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• fousses o the group’s elleig
o leaders raise group morale and minimize tension and
conflict among members
o primary ties of affection
• receive more personal affection from members
o three leadership styles
▪ authoritarian
• makes decisions and demands that group members obey
o appreciated in a crisis
▪ democratic
• member involvement in decision making
o develop creative solutions to problems
▪ laissez faire
• leader mainly lets group function on its own
o least effective in promoting group goals
Group Conformity
Groups influence the behaviour of their members by promoting conformity
• ash’s researh
o line experiment to supposedly study linear perception
o accomplices matched lines incorrectly
o shows willingness to compromise our own judgements to avoid being different
• ilgra’s researh
o opared people’s opulsio to oe authorit figures s oforit to group
lead
o groups are ore likel to ifluee people’s ehaiour
• jais’ researh
o group think
▪ tendency of group members to conform resulting in a narrow view of
some issue
▪ eg. failure to foresee japa’s attak o pearl harour
Reference Groups
Social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions
• stouffer’s research
o soldiers misperceived their own chances of being promoted
o we do not make judgements about ourselves in isolation, nor do we compare
ourselves with just anyone
In-groups and Out-groups
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Group size: dyad, a two member group ie couple, very intimate but unstable given its size triad, a three member group ie couple and counsellor, more stable than a dyad and more types of interaction given its size. Social diversity: race, class, and gender: large groups turn inward. Ie ethnic minorities: heterogeneous groups turn outward. Ie campus groups with students of various social backgrounds: physical boundaries create social boundaries. Involves people we know of or who know of us but with whom we rarely interact with if at all. Impersonality: clients and workers are treated in the same way, formal, written communications, heart is paperwork not people. Organizational environment: factors outside an organization that affect its operation, technology, access to more info and more people, political and economic trends, periodic growth or recession, competition, changes in laws, current events. Ie terrorist attacks: population patterns, consider size and composition, other organizations.
