Chapter 6 Groups and Organizations

1. Chapter 6Groups and Organizations Key Terms

2. aggregateA collection of people who happen to be in the same place at the same time but share little else in common. • categoryA number of people who may never have met one another but share a similar characteristic.

3. ingroupA group to which a person belongs and with which the person feels a sense of identity. • outgroupA group to which a person does not belong and toward which the person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility.

4. reference groupA group that strongly influences a person’s behavior and social attitudes, regardless of whether that individual is an actual member. • networkA web of social relationships that links one person with other people and through them, with other people they know.

5. small group A collectivity small enough for all members to be acquainted with one another and to interact simultaneously. • dyadA group composed of two members.

6. triad A group composed of three members. • instrumental leadershipType of leadership that is goal or task oriented.

7. expressive leadership Type of leadership that provides emotional support for members. • authoritarian leaders Make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members.

8. democratic leadersEncourage group discussion and decision‑making through consensus building. • laissez‑faire leadersMinimally involved in decision‑making and encourage group members to make their own decisions.

9. conformityThe process of maintaining or changing behavior to comply with the norms established by a society, subculture, or other group. • groupthinkProcess by which members of a cohesive group arrive at a decision that many individual members believe is unwise.

10. bureaucracyOrganizational model characterized by hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules and procedures, and impersonality. • rationalityProcess by which traditional methods of social organization, characterized by informality, are gradually replaced by efficiently administered formal rules and procedures.

11. idealtypeAbstract model which describes the recurring characteristics of some phenomenon. • informal structureComposed of 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.

12. goal displacementOccurs 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. • bureaucratic personalityDescribes workers who are more concerned with following correct procedures than with getting the job done correctly.

13. iron law of oligarchyThe tendency to become a bureaucracy ruled by the few.