Groups and organizations chp6

Question 1

Sociologists study groups from both a

Answer 1

macro and a micro level of analysis and differentiate between groups based on:

• size
• closeness of members
• duration the group stays together
• purpose
• organizational structure

Question 2

Social categories

Answer 2

-are not groups when the people involved do not necessarily know each other.
-They engage in similar behavior rather than meeting or hanging out together.
Examples:
-Truck drivers
-Teenagers
-People over 75 years old

Question 3

dyad

Answer 3

A dyad is a group of two people.

Question 4

triad

Answer 4

A triad is a three-person group.

Question 5

George Simmel (1902)

Answer 5

discovered the group size effect; he observed how group size influences the behavior of the members.

-Tension often builds when a third person is introduced into a two-person group; the group may splinter into 2 + 1.

Question 6

diad, triad, four, five, six, seven

how many relationships

Answer 6

diad-1
triad-3
four-6
five-10
six-15
seven-21

Question 7

Primary groups consist of:

Answer 7

• intimate, face-to-face interaction
• relatively long-lasting relationships
• serve members’ emotional needs

Question 8

Primary groups have a_______ ________ on its members _______ _________

Answer 8

powerful influence on their members
and affect individuals’ personalities and identities.
-ex: family and peers

Question 9

Secondary groups are:

Answer 9

• larger in size than primary groups
• less intimate
• have a shorter duration
• less significant to members’ emotions and lives
• serve instrumental needs (getting something out of it)
  In specific circumstances, such as catastrophes, secondary groups often take on the characteristics of a primary group.

Question 10

Primary group characteristics

Answer 10

• total personality involvement
• emotional warmth
• spontaneity, informality
• direct (face-to-face) contact
• smaller size
• valued as end (intrinsic rewards-psychological reward)

Question 11

Secondary group characteristics

Answer 11

• segmented personality involvement
• emotional coolness
• patterning, formality
• indirect (non-face-to-face) contact
• larger size
• valued as means to end (extrinsic rewards-tangible reward)

Question 12

Reference groups

Answer 12

• provide standards for evaluating your values, attitudes, and behaviors
• You may or may not belong to this group.
• Strongly influence one’s aspirations, self-evaluation, and self-esteem
• Examples include: major league sports teams, popular bands and/or classical musicians and super models.

Question 13

In-Groups

Answer 13

are social groups which you belong to. It provides a sense of identity as “us.”

Question 14

Out-groups

Answer 14

are complementary and are referred to as “them”; you are not a member of that group.

Question 15

Social Networks

Answer 15

are links between individuals, groups, or other social units

• The strength of network links varies, yet ones that are weak still connect us to other networks.
• Networks help us achieve many of our objectives.

Question 16

Social groups

Answer 16

exert tremendous influence on our behavior/identity.

• Even when we overtly deny the connection, the influence still exists.
• The not-me syndrome: The gulf between what people think they will do and what they actually do.

Question 17

The Asch Conformity Experiment

Answer 17

• Solomon Asch showed that even simple objective facts cannot withstand the distorting pressure of group influence.
• Which line on the right is more nearly equal in length to the line on the left (line S)? Line B, obviously.
• Asch discovered that social pressure of a rather gentle sort was sufficient to cause an astonishing rise in the number of wrong answers.

Question 18

The Milgram Obedience Studies

Answer 18

Stanley Milgram discovered that people are disturbingly likely to obey when an authority figure demands compliance.
-70% of subjects were willing to obey completely and shock a stranger with dangerous shocks against his will.

Question 19

Groupthink:

Answer 19

group decision making, associated with unintended and disastrous consequences.
-People are unwilling to offer a differing view out of fear of being disloyal

Question 20

Risky shift:

Answer 20

when people in a group are more likely to make risky decisions than if they are alone

Question 21

Polarization shift

Answer 21

occurs when group discussion leads to a shift to more or less risk-taking.

Question 22

Deindividuation

Answer 22

is a willingness to do together what we would not do alone.

Question 23

A formal organization:

Answer 23

• is a large secondary group
• is highly organized to do a complex task(s)
• achieves goals efficiently
• has activities that are regulated/defined in advance
• Is a place where conformity is expected/formally enforced

Examples: schools, churches, political parties, and governments

Question 24

normative organizations:

Answer 24

• voluntary organizations
• participants share like values and moral standards
• group activities are worthwhile

Examples: PTA, choirs, bull-fighting clubs, monasteries

Question 25

Coercive organizations

Answer 25

are:
-total institutions
-membership is largely involuntary
Examples: prisons and detention centers

Question 26

Utilitarian groups are:

Answer 26

-large organizations
-either for-profit or nonprofit
-members join for specific purposes, such as monetary reward
Examples: Microsoft, General Motors

Question 27

Bureaucracies are

Answer 27

• large
• formal
• complex organizations
• based on rationality & efficiency

Question 28

Ideally, bureaucracies have six characteristics.

Answer 28

1. Division of labor and specialization
2. Hierarchy of authority
3. Rules and regulations
4. Impersonal relationships
5. Career ladder (technical expertise)
6. Efficiency

Question 29

Common problems found in bureaucracies:

Answer 29

• Ritualism
• Alienation
• Groupthink
• Risky shift

Question 30

The McDonaldization of Society

Answer 30

• McDonaldization of society - Modern society widely adopts McDonald’s prototype of the fast food restaurant business strategy.
• This is visible everywhere: leisure and entertainment, shopping, health care clinics, drive-up banks, pharmacies, politics, and even education.

Question 31

Ritzer defined four traits of the McDonald’s Model:

Answer 31

1. Efficiency
2. Calculability
3. Predictability
4. Control

This operating system allows faster distribution of goods and services to a large and ever-increasing demand for product.

Question 32

Diversity in Organizations

Answer 32

There are fewer females and minority members than white males in top executive positions.

• Rosabeth Moss Kanter (Men and Women of the Corporation)- not that diverse and tend to be powerless
• to ensure the corporate culture reproduces itself at the top levels leaders groom workers who are like them
• Minorities and women are showcased and find a glass ceiling-this is as far as you can go
• Minorities and women have fewer opportunities
• Advantaged- become popular versus Disadvantaged Employees- become authoritarian negative relationships with subordinates

Question 33

Functionalism perspective

Answer 33

Weber said eufunctions of bureaucracy help the overall stability of society.

Question 34

Conflict perspective

Answer 34

hierarchy in bureaucracy is stratified (layered):

• encourages conflict among the individuals within it
• lessens the smooth, efficient running of the organization

Question 35

Symbolic interaction perspective

Answer 35

• stresses the role of the self in any group

- Especially: how the self develops as a product of social interaction.

Question 36

groups

Answer 36

consists of two or more individuals who interact, share goals and norms and have a subjective awareness as “we”

Question 37

how are bureaucracies different from small business

Answer 37

Bureaucracies differ from small businesses in that they are large and impersonal.