Chapter 6: Groups and Organizations

Table of Contents

1. Social Groups
2. Group Characteristics And Dynamics
3. Formal Organizations
4. An Alternative Form Of Organization
5. New Organizations For The Future?

I. Social Groups

1. Groups, Aggregates, and Categories
   1. A social group is a collection of two or more people who interact frequently with one another, share a sense of belonging, and have a feeling of interdependence.
      
      
   2. An aggregate is a collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but share little else in common (e.g., department store shoppers; airplane passengers).
      
      
   3. A category is a number of people who may never have met one another but share a similar characteristic (such as education level, age, race, and gender).

4. Occasionally, categories become aggregates or social groups, and people in aggregates and categories may form social groups.
   
   
2. Types of Groups
   1. Primary and Secondary Group
      1. According to Charles H. Cooley, a primary group is a small group whose members engage in face-to-face, emotion-based interactions over an extended period of time.

2. A secondary group is a larger, more specialized group in which the members engage in more impersonal, goal-oriented relationships for a limited period of time.
   
   
2. Ingroups and Outgroups
   1. According to William Graham Sumner, an ingroup is a group to which a person belongs and with which the person feels a sense of identity.
      
      
   2. An outgroup is a group to which a person does not belong and toward which the person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility.
      
      
   3. Group boundaries may be formal, with clearly defined criteria for membership, or they may be informal and vaguely defined.
      
      
3. Reference Groups
   1. A reference group is a group that strongly influences a person's behaviour and social attitudes, regardless of whether that individual is an actual member.
      
      
   2. Reference groups help us explain why our behaviour and attitudes sometimes differ from those of our membership groups; we may accept the values and norms of a group with which we identify rather than one to which we belong.

II. Group Characteristics And Dynamics

1. Purpose of Groups
   1. According to functionalists, people form groups to meet their instrumental (or task-oriented) and expressive (or emotional) needs. Groups help members do jobs that are impossible or very difficult to do alone.
      
      
   2. Conflict theorists believe that groups involve a series of power relationships that may not meet the needs of all members.
      
      
   3. Symbolic interactionists focus on how group size influences interactions among members.
      
      
2. Group Size
   1. A small group is a collectivity small enough for all members to be acquainted with one another and to interact simultaneously.
      
      
   2. According to Georg Simmel, small groups have distinctive interaction patterns that do not exist in larger groups.
      1. In a dyad-a group composed of two members-the active participation of both members is crucial for the group's survival and members have a more intense bond and a sense of unity not found in most larger groups.
         
         
      2. When a third person is added to a dyad, a triad-a group composed of three members-is formed, and the nature of the relationship and interaction patterns change.
         
         
   3. As group size increases, members tend to specialize in different tasks, and communication patterns change.
      1. In groups of more than six or seven people, it becomes increasingly difficult for everyone to take part in the same conversation and people also are likely to take sides on issues and form a number of coalitions.
         
         
      2. In groups of more than ten or twelve people, it becomes virtually impossible for all members to participate in a single conversation unless one person serves as moderator and facilitates the discussion.

3. Larger groups typically have more formalized leadership structures, and their leaders are expected to perform a variety of roles
   
   
3. Group Leadership
   1. Leaders are responsible for directing plans and activities so that the group completes its task or fulfils its goals.
      
      
   2. Leadership functions:
      1. Instrumental leadership is goal- or task-oriented; if the underlying purpose of a group is to complete a task or reach a particular goal, this type of leadership is most appropriate.
         
         
      2. Expressive leadership provides emotional support for members; this type of leadership is most appropriate when harmony, solidarity, and high morale are needed.

3. Leadership styles:
   1. Authoritarian leaders make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members.
      
      
   2. Democratic leaders encourage group discussion and decision-making through consensus building.
      
      
   3. Laissez-faire leaders are only minimally involved in decision-making and encourage group members to make their own decisions.
      
      
4. Group Conformity
   1. Conformity is the process of maintaining or changing behaviour to comply with the norms established by a society, subculture, or other group. We often experience powerful pressure from other group members to conform.
      
      
   2. Asch's Research
      1. In a series of experiments, Solomon Asch found that the pressure toward group conformity was so great that participants were willing to contradict their own best judgment if the rest of the group disagreed with them.
         
         
      2. Based on his study of visual perception, Asch concluded that the size of the group and the degree of social cohesion felt by participants were important influences on the extent to which individuals respond to group pressure.

3. Milgram's Research
   1. Stanley Milgram (a former student of Asch's) conducted a series of controversial experiments and concluded that people's obedience to authority may be more common than most of us would like to believe.
      
      
   2. None of the "teachers" in his experiment challenged the process of giving electric "shocks" to "students" to determine whether punishment improves a person's memory until the "teachers" had applied 300 volts. Almost two-thirds went all the way to what could have been a deadly jolt of electricity if the shock generator had been real.
      
      
   3. This research raises important questions concerning research ethics; it would be virtually impossible today to obtain permission to replicate this experiment in a university setting.
      
      
4. Groupthink
   1. Irving Janis examined group decision-making among political experts and found that major blunders in U.S. history may be attributed to pressure toward group conformity.
      
      
   2. He coined the term groupthink-the process by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members privately believe is unwise.
      
      
   3. Groupthink frequently occurs in situations where leaders are powerful and the decision-making group is relatively small and highly cohesive.

III. Formal Organizations

1. A formal organization is a highly structured secondary group formed for the purpose of achieving specific goals in the most efficient manner (e.g., corporations, schools, and government agencies).
   
   
2. Types of Formal Organizations
   1. Amitai Etzioni classified formal organizations into three categories based on the nature of membership.
      
      
   2. We voluntarily join normative organizations when we want to pursue some common interest or to gain personal satisfaction or prestige from being a member (e.g., political parties, religious organizations, and college social clubs).
      1. Class, gender, and race are important determinants of a person's participation in a normative association.
         
         
      2. Throughout history, people of all races and ethnic groups have participated in voluntary organizations. However, the involvement of women in these groups largely has gone unrecognized.
         
         
      3. People tend to change groups when personal objectives have been fulfilled or when it appears that other groups may best meet their individual needs.
         
         
   3. People do not voluntarily become members of coercive organizations-associations people are forced to join (e.g., total institutions, such as boot camps and prisons).

4. We voluntarily join utilitarian organizations when they can provide us with a material reward we seek (e.g., colleges and universities, and the workplace).
   
   
3. Bureaucracies
   1. Bureaucracy is an organizational model characterized by a hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labour, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonality in personnel matters.
      
      
   2. According to Max Weber, bureaucracy is the most "rational" and efficient means of attaining organizational goals because it contributes to coordination and control. Rationality is the process by which traditional methods of social organization, characterized by informality and spontaneity, gradually are replaced by efficiently administered formal rules and procedures.
      
      
   3. Bureaucracies exist because organizations grew too large to be managed in any other way.
      
      
   4. Weber developed an ideal-type-an abstract model that describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon-analysis of organization to identify these ideal characteristics of bureaucracy:
      1. Division of labour-each member has a specific status with certain assigned tasks to fulfil-requires the employment of specialized experts who are responsible for the effective performance of their duties.
         
         
      2. Hierarchy of authority-a chain of command that is based on each lower office being under the control and supervision of a higher one.
         
         
      3. Rules and regulations-standardized rules and regulations establish authority within an organization and usually are provided to members in a written format.
         
         
      4. Employment based on technical qualifications-hiring of staff members and professional employees is based on specific qualifications; individual performance is evaluated against specific standards; and promotions are based on merit as spelled out in personnel policies.

5. Impersonality-interaction is based on status and standardized criteria rather than personal feelings or subjective factors.
   
   
5. Informal Structure in Bureaucracy
   1. An organization's informal structure is composed of those aspects of participants' day-to-day activities and interactions that ignore, bypass, or do not correspond with the official rules and procedures of the bureaucracy.
      
      
   2. The informal structure also has been referred to as work culture and includes the ideology and practices of workers on the job. Workers create this work culture in order to confront, resist, or adapt to the constraints and possibilities of their jobs.
      
      
   3. The Hawthorne studies made social scientists aware of the presence of informal networks and their effect on workers' productivity; they concluded that the level of productivity was determined by the workers' informal networks, not by the levels set by management.
      
      
   4. There are two schools of thought about informal structure in organizations: one emphasizes control (or eradication) of informal groups; the other suggests that they should be nurtured.
      
      
   5. While some scholars have argued that women and ethnic minorities receive fairer treatment in larger bureaucracies than they do in smaller organizations, others have stressed that they may be categorically excluded from networks that are important for survival and advancement in the organization.
      
      
4. Shortcomings of Bureaucracy
   1. Inefficiency and Rigidity
      1. The self-protective behaviour of officials at the top may render the organization inefficient (e.g., monopolization of information as a means to maintain power and control).
         
         
      2. This information blockage is intensified by the hierarchical arrangement of officials and workers: those at the top fail to communicate with workers and are unaware of potential problems facing the organization, and those at the bottom hide their mistakes from supervisors.
         
         
      3. Policies and procedures also contribute to inefficiency and rigidity.
         1. Goal displacement occurs when the rules become an end in themselves (rather than a means to an end), and organizational survival becomes more important than achievement of goals.
         2. The term bureaucratic personality is used to describe those workers who are more concerned with following correct procedures than they are with getting the job done correctly.
            
            
   2. Resistance to Change
      1. Once bureaucratic organizations are created, they tend to resist change.
         
         
      2. Resistance to change makes bureaucracies virtually impossible to eliminate and also contributes to bureaucratic enlargement.
         
         
      3. Resistance to change also may lead to incompetence.
         
         
   3. Perpetuation of Race, Class, and Gender Inequalities
      1. Bureaucratic structures typically were created for middle- and upper-middle-class white men, who for many years were the predominant organizational participants.
         
         
      2. Race and ethnic inequalities in bureaucracies have been documented by many sociological studies.
         
         
      3. Social class divisions may be perpetuated in bureaucracies through a "dual labour market" and organizational conditions that reinforce social stratification.
         
         
      4. Gender inequalities-and problems such as sexual harassment-are perpetuated in bureaucracies.
         
         
5. Bureaucracy and Oligarchy
   1. Max Weber believed that bureaucracy was a necessary evil because it achieved coordination and control and thus efficiency in administration; however, he believed such organizations stifled human initiative and creativity.
      
      
   2. Bureaucracy generates an enormous degree of unregulated and often unperceived social power in the hands of a very few leaders.
      
      
   3. According Robert Michels, this results in the iron law of oligarchy-a bureaucracy ruled by a few people.
      1. Those who control bureaucracies not only have power but also have an interest in retaining their power.
         
         
      2. The hierarchical structure of bureaucracies and oligarchies go hand in hand.
         
         
      3. Many scholars believe Michels overstated his case; leaders usually do not have unlimited power, divergent groups within a large-scale organization often compete for power, and informal networks can be used to "go behind the backs" of leaders.

IV. An Alternative Form Of Organization

1. "Humanizing" bureaucracy includes: (1) less rigid, hierarchical structures and greater sharing of power and responsibility; (2) encouragement of participants to share their ideas and try new approaches; and (3) efforts to reduce the number of people in dead-end jobs and to help people meet outside family responsibilities while still receiving equal treatment inside the organization.
   
   
2. The Japanese model of organization has been widely praised for its innovative structure and productivity.
   1. Limitations
      1. Lifetime employment has become problematic as an economic recession forced some Japanese factories to close and other companies ran out of subsidiaries willing to take workers for "reassignment."
         
         
      2. The Japanese model may give workers more control over their own work but it does not give them more control over the corporation; production goals set by managers still must be met.

V. New Organizations For The Future?

1. There is a lack of consensus among organizational theorists about the "best" model of organization; however, some have suggested a horizontal model in which both hierarchy and functional or departmental boundaries largely would be eliminated:
   1. Work would be organized around "core" processes, not tasks.
   2. The hierarchy would be flattened.
   3. Teams would manage and be held accountable for performance goals.
   4. Performance would be measured by customer satisfaction, not profitability.
   5. Team performance would be rewarded.
   6. Employees would have regular contact with suppliers and customers.
   7. All employees would be trained in how to use available information effectively to make their own decisions.
      
      
2. In the horizontal structure, a limited number of senior executives would still exist in support roles (such as finance and human resources); everyone else would work in multidisciplinary teams that would perform core processes (e.g., product development or sales).
   
   
3. It is difficult to determine what the best organizational structure for the future might be; however, everyone can benefit from humane organizational environments that provide opportunities for all people regardless of race, gender, or class.

Back to Chapter Resources