GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

• Groups are essence of life in society.

• They stand between the individual and the larger society.

• Society is the largest and most complex group that sociologists study.

Aggregates and Categories

• not groups

• Aggregate - individuals who temporarily share the same physical space but do not have a sense of belonging together.

• category –temporary collection of people who may or may not interact.

Primary groups

• Are characterized by cooperative, intimate, long-term, face to face relationships.

Secondary groups

• are larger, relatively temporary, more anonymous, formal, and impersonal, and are based on some interest or activity.

In-groups -- individuals feel loyalty to.

out-groups – individuals feel antagonistic to.

Reference groups -- use as standards to evaluate ourselves, whether or not we actually belong to those groups.

Group leadership

• Authoritarian leaders – make decisions on their own and demand compliance

• Democratic leaders – include everyone in decision-making process

• Laissez-faire – allows group to function more or less on its own.

Group Decision making

• Groupthink –tendency of group members to conform by adopting a narrow view of some issue.

Groupthink occurs when…

a) there is a crisis

b) group is tight knit

c) members are insulated from outside criticism

d) powerful leader promotes favored solution

GROUP SIZE

• Dyad

• Triad

• Network

ORGANIZATIONS

• Is a consciously coordinated social entity, with a relatively identifiable boundary, that functions on a relatively continuos basis to achieve a common goal or a set of goals.

Organizations and the Individual• Provide work • Place individuals within the social stratification system

Organizations as Systems

• Closed system – views system as self contained. Does not derive anything from the environment.

• Open system – recognizes the dynamic interaction with the environment.

Bureaucracy

• Organizational model rationally designed to perform complex tasks efficiently.

Characteristics

• Division of labor

• Hierarchy of authority

• Rules and regulations

• Employment based on merit

• Separation of members organizational and personal lives

• Career tracts

Horizontal organization

Characterized by:

• Work flows rather than department functions

• Vertical hierarchies are flattened

• Self directed teams

• Customer driven

McDonalization of Society

• Four Principles

a) Efficiency

b) Calculability

c) Uniformity and predictability

d) Control through automation

While watching the video…

Take note of the following and write them down in your books.a) how is the organization in the video different from a bureaucratic one?b) How are decisions made in this organization?c) what are the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of organizational structure?d) in which type of organization would you like to work; a bureaucratic or horizontal one? Why?