groups and organizations

in this topic, we examine the nature, types, and models of

organization

social groups

a collection of people who share some characteristics, interact with one another, and have some feeling of unity; different from:

social aggregate: just a collection of people who happen to be in one place but no not interact with one another

social category: a number of people who have something in common but neither interact with one another nor gather in one place

ingroup vs outgroup

every social group defines a boundary between itself and everyone else to some extent but a cohesive ingroup has three characteristics:

1. members of the ingroup normally use symbols to identify themselves so that they will be distinguishable from the outgroup

2. its members view themselves in terms of positive stereotypes and the outgroup in negative stereotypes

3. it is inclined to compete with the outgroup, or even to get involved in conflict with it

other kinds of social groups

people use reference group as a frame of reference for evaluating their behavior or forming opinions

primary groups are those where individuals have strong emotional ties, i.e. family

secondary group are those where relationships among the members are less personal

small group

small group is one whose members are few enough to be able to interact with one another:

dyad: smallest group which contains two people; can easily become the most cohesive of all the groups because its members are inclined to be most personal and interact most intensely with each other;

triad: a three-person group

small group: leadership & conformity

in all small groups larger than triads, there are two kinds of leaders:

instrumental leaders who are concerned about achieving goals

expressive leaders who are more concerned with members’ feelings, making sure that everybody is happy so that harmony and cohesiveness can reign in the group

groupthink: the tendency for members of a cohesive group to maintain consensus to the extent of ignoring the truth

formal organizations

a secondary group whose activities are rationally designed to achieve specific goals – the raison d’etre of organizations

whatever the goals, organizations develop certain common means of achieving them and they engage in rational planning

in formal organizations, there is division of labor, whereby workers with different skills are assigned different tasks and is managed by a hierarchy of control

formal organizations: power and involvement

in virtually every organization, there are “higher participants” and “lower participants”

the function of the higher participants is to exercise power over the lower participants so that the latter will help the organization to achieve its goals

formal organizations: power and involvement

three kinds of power (higher participants)

coercive power or the use of physical force

remunerative power or the use of material rewards

normative power or the use of moral persuasion, the prestige of a leader or the promise of social acceptance

formal organizations: power and involvement

three kinds of involvement (lower participants)

alienative in which case they do not support the organization’s goals

calculative which means they are moderately supportive

moral involvement which means they strongly support the organization

formal organizations: most common types

coercive organizations, i.e. prisons, concentration camps, and custodial mental hospitals

coercion is the main form of power used and the involvement by lower participants is alienative

formal organizations: most common types

utilitarian organizations, i.e. banks, factories, and other businesses

the higher participants use incentives such as money to ensure that lower participants work to achieve the organization’s goals

the power used is remunerative and typical form of involvement by lower-level participants is calculative

formal organizations: most common types

normative organizations, i.e. churches and political parties; sometimes called voluntary organizations

primary form of power is normative and involvement by the rank and file is moral

organizational models

scientific management: proposed by an American engineer Frederick Taylor, he assumed that the primary goal of an organization is to maximize efficiency

Taylor argued that the success of an organization depends on three elements: maximum division of labor, close supervision of workers and an incentive system of piecework wages

organizational models

human relations model, proposed by industrial psychologist Elton Mayo, he argued the following:

workers’ productivity is not determined by their physical capacity but their social capacity, their sensitivity to the work environment;

noneconomic rewards, such as friendship with co-workers and respect from management, play a central role in determining the motivation and happiness of workers

the greatest specialization is not the most efficient division of labor

workers do not react to management and its incentives as isolated individuals but as members of a group

organizational models

bureaucratic model, proposed by Max Weber, he tried to construct what he called an ideal type, its essential characteristics are:

there is a clearcut division of labor among those in the bureaucracy, assigning to each position certain limited duties and responsibilities;

there is a well defined hierarchy; employees are hired and hold authority on the basis of

technical qualifications which are often determined by examinations

the activities of the bureaucrats and their relationships are governed by an elaborate system of explicit, formal, written rules and regulations

organizational models

collectivist model, proposed by Karl Marx, he claimed that bureaucracies will be replaced by collectivist organization, in which mangers and workers work together as equals and for equal pay

realities of bureaucracy

deficiencies: rules and regulations are of little help when

something unexpected happens blind adherence to rules may prevent necessary

action its tendency to produce a seemingly endless

number of rules and regulations Parkinson’s Law: work expands to fill the time

available for its completion; Peter principle: in every hierarchy every employee

tends to rise to his level of incompetence