Sociology Chap 5 notes - groups, organizations, and bureaucracies PDF

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groups, organizations, and bureaucracies ...

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Chapter 5 Groups Learning Objectives  

Describe primary and secondary groups and their effects Discuss the power of groups in terms of their composition

The Nature of Groups 

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Types of groups differ in many important ways, particularly in the degree of intimacy and social support their members experience in them. Social groups are collections of people who share a sense of common identity and regular interact with one another based on shared expectations Primary groups: characterized by intense emotional ties, intimacy, and identification with membership in the group Secondary Group: large, impersonal groups with minimal emotional and intimate ties

The Power of Groups  

Groups provide standards by which we make self-evaluations Reference group provides a standard for judging our own attitudes or behaviors o Family had greatest impact on how we shape our view of ourselves o Peer groups replace and compete o Social media creates a virtual reference group

The Effect of Size   

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Simmel (1858-1918): group size affects both the quality of interaction inn the group and the group’s effectiveness in accomplishing certain tasks Dyad: simplest group; consists of two persons. Simultaneously intense and unstable Triad: group of three people. More stable than dyads. One person can serve as mediator between other two o Going from dyad to triad illustrates as important sociological principle first identified by Simmel: As group size increases, the intensity of relationships within the group decreases, while overall group stability increases Alliances or coalitions: smaller subgroups that form between group members, enabling them to dominate the group in their own interest, thereby destabilizing the group o Social closure: the ability of groups to strategically and consciously exclude outsiders or those deemed “undesirable” from participating in the group or enjoying the group’s resources

Types of Group Leadership  

Transformational leaders: go beyond the merely routine, instilling in group members a sense of mission or higher purpose and thereby changing (transforming) the nature of the group itself Transactional leaders: concerned with accomplishing the group’s tasks, getting group members to do their jobs, and making certain the group achieves its goals

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Effectiveness of leaders depends on ability to coerce people into compliance and subordination or ability to move people to willingly comply and subordinate themselves. Effectiveness depends upon:  Power  Legitimate authority  Positional power  Personal power

Conformity to Groups 

Sociologists and social psychologists have long sought to understand why or why not people tend to go along with others. Studies and examples of conformity include: o Solomon Asch experiment o Link in power point

Obedience to Authority 

Another classical study of conformity was Stanley Milgram’s (1963) research: o Link in power point o Ordinary people will conform to orders given by someone in a position of power or authority, even if those orders have consequences o Groupthink: process by which members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go against the group consensus...