Sociology Chapter Six NotesWhat is a social group?- Do you belong to a group?- How did you get into that group?- A collection of people who regularly interact with one another on the basis of shared expectations about behavior and who share a sense of common identity- Not a social aggregate- they’re all at the same place at the same time and don’t interact- Not a social category- something in common, but they don’t interactVariety and Characteristics of Social Groups- In-group: “us”- Out-group: “them”- Reference groups- Other athletes, other mothers- Primary groups: friendships, families- Secondary groups: sports teams, workplace, college classroomThe Effects of Group Size- Dyads: two individuals- Triads: three individuals- Larger groups: more than three individuals- As groups increase in size, the intensity declines and the stability increasesLarge Groups- Larger number of relationships- Can survive withdrawal of members- Tend to be more exclusive- After about 10 people the group will develop more formal structure like leadership roles- Transformational leaders- try to transform the group- Transactional leaders- just try to get the job doneWeber- Power- the ability to achieve desired ends despite resistance from others- Authority- power that people perceive as legitimate rather than coercive- Traditional authority- power legitimized by respect for long-established cultural patterns, “god like”, erodes with industrialization- Rational-legal authority- power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations, many modern societies, bureaucracy- Charismatic authority- power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotionand obedience, wholly dependent on the leader- Routinization of charisma- transformation of charismatic authority into some combination of traditional and bureaucratic authorityConformity- Janis’s research on groupthink- Process by which members of a group ignore ways of thinking and plans of action that go againstgroup consensus- Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs- Asch’s research on going along with the group- Matching lines experiment- Milgram’s research on obedience to authority- “teachers and learners”Networks- Sets of informal and formal ties that link people to each other- Networks may be connected to social groups, but not all members of the network are in the social group- Professional- Social- PersonalOrganizations- An identifiable membership that engages in concerted collective actions to achieve a common purposeFormal organization- Rationally designed to achieve its objectives, often by means of explicit rules, regulations, and procedures- Dominant form of organization around the world; bureaucracyIdeal type of bureaucracy- A “pure type” constructed by emphasizing certain traits of a social item that do not necessarily exist in reality- Rationalization- Process by which modes of precise calculations, abstract rules, and formal procedures overtake societyWeber’s Ideal Type of Bureaucracy- Hierarchy of authority- Written rules- Paid positions based on skills and/or seniority- Work in the organization is impersonal and physically separated from home life- Workers do not own the work they do or the resources used to perform itRelations in Bureaucracies- Formal relations- behavior guided by formal rules and subject to formal authority- Informal relations- ways of doing things that depart from formally recognized modes of procedureRobert Merton- The dysfunctions of bureaucracy- Bureaucratic ritualism- Rules upheld at any cost, even if other solutions are better- Following rules becomes more important than achieving goalsWeber- Alienation- “iron cage”- The process of rationalization traps individuals into rational and technical rules of bureaucracyOrganic Systems of Organization- Suited for organizations in highly volatile and uncertain industriesMechanistic systems of organization- Suited for organizations that are less susceptible to marketplace fluctuationsMichel Foucault- Architecture- The control of space and time (timetables) in organizations- Surveillance in organizations- Supervising activities of individuals or groups to ensure compliant behaviorGender and Organizations- Women in managementThe Japanese Model- Bottom-up decision making- Less specialization- Job security- Group orientation- Merging of work and private livesGeorge Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society- Efficient methods for accomplishing tasks- Fastest way from point A to point B- Calculability- Uniformity- Predictability and standardization- Control through automation- Workers replaced by machinesPeople join organizations to acquire social capital- The social knowledge and connections that enable people to accomplish their goals and extend their influence- “bridging social capital”- the kind that brings people together from different backgrounds- “bonding social capital”- members of the same group EX country