Groups #5 Networks, and Organizations PDF

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GROUPS, NETWORKS, AND ORGANIZATIONS PROFESSOR FERSTER Social Group—a collection of people who regularly interact with one another on the basis of shared expectations concerning behavior and who share a sense of common identity. Social Aggregate—a simple collection of people (bus stop). Social Category—a group of people who share characteristics but don’t interact (gender, occupation, ie. participants at a job fair). Discussion: Would you consider a sociology class which meets regularly and in person to be a social group? Explain. In Groups—groups towards which one feels loyalty and respect. Out Groups—groups towards which one feels antagonism and contempt. Discussion: Have you observed in groups and out groups, perhaps in high school. Were there groups who formed because of shared identity in sports or cheer leading squads, so called “popular” groups, groups who focused on study sessions, etc. Is it possible that “your” in group might be considered another person’s out group? Explain. Primary Groups—family—intense emotional ties, smaller face-to-face interactions, intimacy, commitment. Secondary Groups—large size, impersonal, fleeting relationships Dyad—group of two (intense and unstable), full cooperation is necessary Triad—group of three, more stable, even if one withdraws the group endures! However, two members may “band” together and form a coalition which destabilizes the group. Discussion: Two nations sign an alliance to work with each other in shared economic, scientific, and military ventures. If other neighboring nations are allowed into this alliance, does the group become more stable or less stable? Explain. Leader—person who influences behavior.

Transformational Leader—instills a sense of mission or higher purpose, thereby changing the nature of the group. Transactional Leader—accomplishes groups task, gets the group members to do their jobs. Discussion: Many politicians have been described as being transactional, they are content with getting elected, spending money on projects, then asking the voters to reelect them, even while the funding for their projects are paid for by ever increasing debt as they “kick the can down the road.” President Obama said that if he became president, he would “fundamentally transform” America. President Trump said that if he became president he would “make America great again.” Is any one of these presidents a transformational leader? Are both transformational leaders or is neither one a transformational leader? Explain. Conformity—being in agreement to rules and customs Obedience—is a form of conformity. Stanley Milgram (1963) conducted the famous “Milgram Experiment” which required participants to apply electrical shocks to a “learner” when the learner gave incorrect answers to questions. Though the learner, in reality, received no physical harm, over half of the participants surprisingly applied electric shocks to the point of possibly killing the learner. The results of the experiment helped to explain how ordinary German citizens could have participated in the mass torture and murder of six million Jewish men, women, and children during the Holocaust. Discussion: The Milgram Experiment could not be permitted today because of the deception of subjects and its potential for doing psychological harm. However, the experiment is easily accessible on “you tube.” www.youtube.com The Milgram Experiment 1962 Full Documentary. Groupthink—a process by which the members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go against the group consensus. “As sources of social power, organizations can subject people to dictates they may be powerless to resist.” Discussion: Bari Weiss recently quit her job as an editor at the “The New York Times.” The issue was her experiencing at the workplace of the New York Times, a “culture” which entrapped the employees into a predetermined narrative of world events, all leaning towards the progressive orthodoxy of the paper. Anti-Semitism and political bullying from the employees of this politically left organization also contributed to Ms. Weiss’ decision to leave.

You can google Bari Weiss’ “Resignation Letter” to get a closer look at the media’s war on freedom of speech. www.bariweiss.com resignation letter. If Bari Weiss’ complaints are true, explain how groupthink can enable newspapers to produce the “fake news” that President Trump mentioned on a regular basis. How can the existence of groupthink amongst journalists affect our elections and our democracy? Networks—sets of informal and formal ties that link people to each other. Weak ties—are informal acquaintances and recent introductions. New jobs are achieved through connections of distant relatives or remote acquaintances. These connections are different from one’s close friends and family members. Higher socioeconomic groups include many weak ties in their networks of career building. (good resume plus good grades plus good connections through weak ties contribute to your career growth) “To do something, you need to know somebody who knows somebody” Discussion: Explain how this quotation explains the concept of weak ties. Internet—can enable users to forge impersonal relationships. The internet can connect you to people who are of like mind. The virtual world is also fertile ground for the spreading of hate speech, sexual abuse, terrorism, etc. Organization—a large group of individuals with an identifiable goal towards which group members strive to achieve. Formal Relations—norms or rules of official systems of authority. Formal rules “justify” the ways tasks are carried out. Many times groupthink comes into play. For example, board members might be too intimidated by other board members or presidents of the board to disagree over policy issues. Also, many times members of committees don’t have the time to fully investigate the issues on the table. Informal Relations—personal connections and ways of doing things that depart from formally recognized modes of procedure. For example, colleagues might be hesitant to ask for help from higher up (they might be afraid of looking bad) so they help one another “informally”. The text gives the example of overworked nurses who sometimes save time by asking the patient for their weight instead of weighing them, or by asking a patient how they feel, instead of taking their temperature, and if they say they feel good, then writing down 98.6 degrees. Discussion: Have you ever participated in or observed informal relations in the workplace whereby shortcuts are taken as a matter of actual common practice?

Bureaucratic Ritualism—Robert Merton of Columbia University defined this concept. Merton is a functionalist. He describes the dysfunction of bureaucracy when rules are upheld at any cost, when bureaucrats are inflexible and cannot use their own judgement in making decisions or in seeking creative alternative courses of action.

The text gives an example of an insurance claim which was refused because an incorrect form was submitted. Discussion: Have you ever experienced a situation in which someone refuse to bend the rules or to cut you a little slack because they explained that rules are rules? Vertical (mechanistic) Organization—top-down hierarchy of power. (bureaucracy) Horizontal Organization—power is evenly distributed along a level structure of authority. Discussion: Have you ever experienced a situation where a person with authority listened to and incorporated the feedback of employees into official policy? Surveillance—supervising to insure compliance. Surveillance could be visual or through record keeping. Discussion: “Surveillance kills motivation” Do you agree or disagree with this quotation? Think about your own personal history of workplaces. Which jobs represent your own personal favorites and which did you dislike the most? Did surveillance influence your decision? Iron Law Of Oligarchy—large organizations tend toward centralization of power, making democracy difficult. Oligarchy means “rule of the few.” The theory posits that the flow of power towards the top is an inevitable part of an increasingly bureaucratized world. Discussion: How does the Iron Law of Oligarchy connect to the “fake news” media and to Washington D.C. politics which has been likened to a “swamp”? McDonaldization of Society—(George Ritzer coined the phrase in his book by the same name). The term refers to the efficiency, calculability, uniformity and control through automation which shapes an increasingly rationalized society. McDonaldization posits that everything we do

increasingly follows the McDonald’s fast food model of uniformity and technology. Examples of the McDonaldization of the world would be bank machines, muni meters, self checkouts, E-commerce, auto pilot airplanes and Tessler automobiles, scientific break throughs in medicine and treatment, common core curriculum in schools, etc. Discussion: How has “McDonaldization” affected Hollywood? (Think in terms of sequels and formula plots) IGO—International Government Organizations established between governments for purposes of conducting business between nations (UN, NATO, EU) INGO—International Nongovernmental Organizations established by agreements between the individuals or private organizations making up its membership. (International Campaign to Ban Landmines)....