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Chapter 5 Networks, Groups, and Organizations. Melanie Hatfield Soc 100. Norms of Solidarity. When we form relationships we develop shared ideas or “norms of solidarity” about how we should behave toward them to sustain relationships.
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Chapter 5 Networks, Groups, and Organizations Melanie Hatfield Soc 100
Norms of Solidarity • When we form relationships we develop shared ideas or “norms of solidarity” about how we should behave toward them to sustain relationships. • Because these relationships are emotionally important to us, we sometimes pay more attention to norms of solidarity than to the morality of our actions.
Obedience to Structures of Authority • Structures of authority tend to render people obedient. • Most people find it difficult to disobey authorities because they fear ridicule, ostracism, and punishment. • Milgram’s obedience experiment
Bureaucratic Organization • Bureaucracies are highly effective structures of authority. • As Max Weber defined the term, a bureaucracy is a large, impersonal organization composed of many clearly define positions arranged in a hierarchy. • A bureaucracy has a permanent, salaried staff of qualified experts and written goals, rules, and procedures. • Staff member always try to find ways of running their organization more efficiently.
Social Networks: It’s a Small World • Our world is small because we are involved in overlapping sets of social relations, or “social networks.” • Social Network: a bounded set of individuals who are linked by the exchange of material or emotional resources.
The Value of Network Analysis • The study of social networks clarifies a wide range of social phenomena, including how people find jobs; how information, innovations, and communicable diseases spread; and how some people exert influence over others.
The Building Blocks of Social Networks • Dyad: a social relationship between two nodes or social units (people, firms, organizations, countries). • Triad: a social relationship among three nodes or social units (people, firms, organizations, countries).
Groups • Social groups: composed of one or more network of people who identify with one another routinely interact, and adhere to defined norms, roles, and statuses. • Social categories: people who share similar status but do not routinely interact or identify with one another.
Groups • Primary groups: norms, roles and statuses are agreed upon but are not put in writing. Social interaction created emotional ties. It extends over a long period of time and involves a wide range of activities. It results in group members knowing one another well. • Secondary groups: larger and more impersonal than primary groups. Compared with primary groups, social interactions in secondary groups create weaker emotional ties. It extends over a shorter period and involves a narrow range of activities. It results in most group members having at most a passing acquaintance with one another.
Group Conformity • Conformity is an integral part of group life. • Primary groups generate more pressure to conform than secondary groups. • Asch’s experiment on group conformity
Group Conformity • The likelihood of conformity increases as group size increases to three or four members. • As group cohesiveness increases, so does the likelihood of conformity. • Social status affects the likelihood of conformity. People with low status are less likely to dissent. • Culture matters. People in individualistic societies like the US tend to conform less. • The appearance of unanimity affects the likelihood of conformity. One dissenting voice increases the chance that others will dissent.
Groupthink • The power of groups to ensure conformity is often a valuable asset. • But being focused on the good of the group can have its downside because the consensus of a group can sometimes be misguided or dangerous. • Dissent might save the group from making mistakes, but the pressure to conform despite individual misgivings, or groupthink, can lead to disaster.
Group Boundaries • In groups there is a distinction between the in-group, those who belong, and the out-group, those who do not belong. • How and why do these boundaries get drawn? • Group boundaries emerge when people compete for scarce resources. • Group boundaries emerge when people are motivated to protect their self-esteem. • The Robber’s Cave Study.
Groups and Social Imagination • A reference group is composed of people against whom an individual evaluates his or her situation or conduct - they function as role models. • Reference groups may influence us even though they represent a largely imaginary ideal.
Four Criticisms Against Bureaucracies • Dehumanization - Rather than treating clients and personnel as individuals, bureaucracies tend to treat clients as standard cases and personnel as cogs in a giant machine. • Bureaucratic ritualism - Bureaucrats can get so concerned with rules and regulations that it’s difficult for the organization to fulfill its goals.
Four Criticisms Against Bureaucracies • Oligarchy - Power tends to become concentrated in the hands of a few people at the top of the organizational pyramid. • Bureaucratic inertia - Bureaucracies are sometimes so large and rigid they lose touch with reality and continue their policies even when their clients’ needs change.
Bureaucratic Inefficiency • Two main factors underlie bureaucratic inefficiency: • Size • Social Structure
Number of Possible Dyadic Relationships by Number of People in Group
Leadership Styles • In analyzing bureaucracies, sociologists observe that leadership style has a major bearing on bureaucratic performance. • Laissez-faire leadership • Authoritarian leadership • Democratic leadership
