Chapter 5: Interaction,
Groups, and
Organizations:
Connections that Work
Soc 100
Dr. Santos
Networks and Connections in
Our Social World
Social networks -- micro-level contacts
and exchanges between individuals and
other individuals, small groups, and large
(even global) organizations
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Networking -- using our social networks to
get information, favors, or resources
Family and Friends:
Micro-Level Networks
Network links
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casual and personal , or
based on official positions and channels
Close Networks
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Personal ties are tight
Shared personal interest held very high
Meso- and Macro-Level
Networks
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How are we linked:
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The internet
Local civic, sports, and religious organizations
Community or national institutions
Our nation(s)
Global entities
Networks can open opportunities
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But obligations can limit freedom
Meso- and macro-level interactions are more
formal than micro-level ones
The Elements of Social Interaction
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Social interaction is two or more individuals
purposefully relating to each other
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All interaction has three important
components:
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An action
A common goal
A social context
The action, goal, and context helps us
interpret the social meaning of our interaction
The Elements of Social Interaction
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People assume that others will share their
interpretation of a situation
Shared assumptions create cues for behavior
Shared assumptions dictate what is appropriate in a
situation
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Dress
Manner
Speech
Actions
Socialization helps us determine the
expectations of social interaction & vice-versa
The Elements of Social Interaction
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People interact using verbal and non-verbal
communication
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Non-verbal communication are interactions using
facial expressions, the head, eye contact, body
posture, gestures, touch, walk, status symbols and
personal space
Non-verbal communication are:
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Culturally specific
Learned through socialization
Used in all cultures
The Elements of Social Interaction
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Personal space is non-verbal language
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The amount of personal space needed varies by:
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Cultural setting
Gender
Status
Social context
Personal space communicates social positions
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Higher positions and status have greater control of physical
space
Gender differences are customary in most societies
Four categories of social distance
in U.S. culture (Hall):
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Intimate distance
Private and affectionate relationships
0 – 18 inches
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Personal distance
Friends and acquaintances
18 inches – 4 feet
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Social distance
Impersonal business relations
4 – 12 feet
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Public distance
Used in formal settings
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Especially with high-status speakers
12 feet and beyond
Theoretical Perspectives on the
Interaction Process
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Exchange/Rational Choice Theory
Assumes that relationships are formed (and persist) based on
the rewards and costs of the interaction to the individual
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When benefits of the interaction are high and costs are low,
interaction will be valued and sustained
If the benefits of interaction are low and if the costs are high, the
interaction will not be valued nor sustained
For exchange theorists, every interaction involves:
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Calculations of self-interest
Expectation of reciprocity
Actions that have current or eventual pay-off for actors
Theoretical Perspectives on the
Interaction Process
Symbolic interaction theory
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Ethnomethodology – the use of empirical
methods to study how people develop
shared meanings and consider how
common rules originate by
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Breaking norms to discover rules of interaction
Being interested in people’s responses to norm
violations
Not taking interaction norms for granted
Theoretical Perspectives on the
Interaction Process
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Symbolic interaction theory (continued)
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Dramaturgy – the study of social life from the
framework that life is similar to a play or drama on
stage, with scripts, props, and scenes to be played
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs
on two stages
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Front stage behavior
Backstage behavior
Working to create a definition of self through social interaction
Theoretical Perspectives on the
Interaction Process
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Assumptions of Dramaturgical analysts:
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We create an impression for our audience as in acting in a play
Individuals learn new lines to add to their scripts through
socialization
Individuals perform scripts for social audiences in order to
maintain certain images, much like the actors in a play
Individuals use props as visible symbols to create or reinforce our
roles
Individuals perform according to society’s script for the situation
Individuals work to create a positive, advantageous impression
through impression management
Individuals use tact, humor, and other strategies to try to create
positive impressions
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs on two stages:
front stage & backstage
Social Status: The Link to Groups
Social Statuses are positions that individuals hold in the social
world
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Define interaction with others
A status set is the combination of statuses held by an individual
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Ascribed statuses are statuses that are assigned at birth and do
not change during an individual’s lifetime
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Achieved statuses are statuses that are chosen or earned by
decisions one makes or by personal ability
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Master statuses are statuses that are most important and take
precedence over others
Social Status: The Link to Groups
The Relationship between
Status and Roles
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Roles are the expected behaviors, rights and
obligations associated with a status
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Statuses (positions)
Roles (behavioral obligations of the status)
Individuals hold formal and informal
statuses
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Role strain is tension between roles within one status
Role conflict is conflict between the roles of two or more
statuses
Groups in Our Social World:
The Micro-Meso Connection
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Groups are two or more people who interact with each
other because of shared common interests, goals,
experiences, and needs
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Create a sense of belonging among members
Share a common goal
Members are in contact with one another
Defined membership norms
Rules for members’ behaviors
Groups form through a series of steps:
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Initial interaction between potential members
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A collective goal emerges
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Attempt to expand collective goals by building
membership and pursuing new goals
The Importance of Groups
for the Individual
Groups establish our place in the social
world and deeply influence of state of
mind:
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Anomie or a state of normlessness
Suicide (Durkheim)
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Egoistic suicide
Anomic suicide
Altruistic suicide
Types of Groups
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Primary groups are
groups with close contacts
between members with
whom members have
lasting personal
relationships
Characteristics of
primary groups:
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Strong sense of
belonging
Strong group loyalty
Strong influence on
behavior
Main purpose is
belonging
Primary groups have
intrinsic value
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Secondary groups are
groups with formal,
impersonal, businesslike
relationships between
members
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Characteristics of
secondary groups:
• Large membership base
• Task-oriented
• Relationships based on
accomplishing
• A clear division of labor
• Specialized
communication
• Membership can be shortterm or long lasting
Types of Groups
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Reference groups are groups composed of members
who act as role models to one another and establish
standards against which members measure their
conduct
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Peer groups are people who share similar age or
social status; they can also serve as reference groups
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Ingroups are groups to which individuals feel a sense
of loyalty and belonging
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Outgroups are groups to which individuals do not
belong, but that exists in competition or opposition to
an ingroup
Organizations and Bureaucracies:The
Meso-Macro Connection
The Evolution of Modern Organizations
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Organizational structure depends on the type of society
Modern organizations and bureaucracies began with
industrialization
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Rationality or the attempt to reach maximum efficiency, is the
governing principle of most modern organizations
Formal organizations are complex secondary groups
formed to pursue and achieve certain goals
Organizational societies are societies where a majority
of the members work in organizations
Bureaucracies are specific types of very large formal
organizations with the primary goal of maximizing
efficiency
Characteristics of Modern Organizations
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Organizations are categorized by their ability to get
members to comply with the rules:
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Utilitarian organizations gain compliance by providing
income that individuals need to live in exchange for their labor
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Coercive organizations are involuntary organizations
where compliance is achieved by force
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Normative organizations are groups where compliance is
based on moral or political beliefs; individuals tend to join
normative organizations for personal satisfaction
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Voluntary organizations are groups individuals join on their
own accord, typically because they believe in a cause, or
because they enjoy the social contact or activity
Characteristics of Bureaucracies
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Max Weber was the pioneer thinker on them
Weber found 6 characteristics of ideal type
bureaucracies
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Division of labor based on technical competence
Administrative hierarchy
Formal rules and regulations
Impersonal relationships
Emphasis on rationality and efficiency
Provision of life-long careers
Bureaucracies also have an informal structure
(fiefdoms, informal networks, gossip, etc.)
Characteristics of McDonaldization
McDonaldization – George Ritzer’s term for the
process through which the principles of the
McDonald’s corporation have been integrated into the
operation of all organizations
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The principles of McDonaldization:
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Efficiency
Predictability
Calculability
Increased control
The dysfunctions of McDonaldization
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Dehumanization
Irrationality
The desire for efficiency taking over creativity and human
interaction
Loss of uniqueness and local flavor
Individuals in Bureaucracies
Professionals
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Alienation
Autonomy
Minority-status groups
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Glass ceilings -- to barriers which keep
females and other minority group members
from reaching high levels of management in
organizations
Disproportional representation in middle or
low occupational levels
Problems in Bureaucracies
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Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
Alienation
Worker dissatisfaction
Oligarchy
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Goal Displacement
Parkinson’s Law
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The iron law of oligarchy
Alternatives to Bureaucracy
Alternative organization structure
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Democratic-collective organization
National and Global Networks: The
Macro-Level
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Multinational corporations
National systems and international
organizations
The Internet
Policy Issues: Women and
Globalization
Around the world, women are the most
economically, politically, and socially
marginalized group of people
The United Nations has created may
policies to help raise the status of
women worldwide
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Education initiatives
Micro-lending agencies