Social Organizations Definition: Social organization means, basically our patterns of interaction with other people in the society. • Researchers have identified several kinds of social organizations and patterns of group interaction that influence the individual consumer behavior. These include: • Socialization • Reference Groups, and • Social Change Socialization: • • Members of a society learn their culture through socialization, defined as “the process by which a person strives to acquire characteristic ways of behaving, the values, norms, and attitudes of the social unit of which he or she is a part”. Beginning practically at birth, socialization trains individuals to play their assigned social roles correctly. • A number of different institutions play part in this process including: • The Family • Educational Institutions, and • Religious Institutions • • The Family: This institution remains the most important to an individual’s acquisition of culture. Within the family, there are three major goals of socialization: – Instilling Self-control – Instilling Values, and – Instilling Role behavior a. Instilling Self-control: living in society demands a high degree of self-control. Demands for self-control comes when the child is asked to put off an immediate pleasure for the future one to change some behavior to make it more socially acceptable. • • • • b. Instilling Values: to help the child develop selfdiscipline, values are usually taught at the same time. Example of toy sharing. c. Instilling Role behavior: the third important aspect of socialization by the family is the learning of role behavior through family interaction. Shortly after the child begins to develop a self-image by comparison and contrast with others in the family, he or she also learns that certain behavior is appropriate to this image, while different behavior for other family members. Self Concept • In the course of interaction between child and parents, the child is learning to define himself or herself as a person. • A personality or sense of self; an awareness and feeling about personal and social identity is being developed in this early years; later, others’ attitudes and behaviors toward individual will contribute to this changing sense of self. Self Concept, contd.. • Through large number of encounters with others, the self is formed as a social product. • The need for social interaction to define the self continues throughout life. • We learn new roles and gradually alter our self-image by using the feedback we receive from others. Self-concept seen in consumption patterns • Individuals tend to express their selfconcept through their life styles, hence through the product and services they use. • A woman who views herself as attractive and desirable to man will exhibit different patters of behavior in buying clothing and cosmetics than a woman who sees herself as relatively frumpy (old fashioned) and uninteresting. 2. The Educational Institutions: • The first agency outside the family responsible for socializing individuals is educational institutions. • Here children learn the behavioral techniques and intellectual heritage of their culture. • Education and Values: the influence of educational institutions in changing people’s values. • A much wider difference between the attitudes of those with only a grade school education and those who completed high school than between high school and college graduates. 3. Religious Institutions: • The kind of religious training or lack of it, that a person receives during socialization will affect consumer behavior in three ways: • a. First, religious practice may dictate the use of some products and services while discourage others. • b. Second, some religions are more traditional than others in forming attitudes about what is good and what is immoral. • For example, a person with conservative religious background may view buying expensive clothing as symbol of materialistic approach to life inconsistent with strong spiritual upbringing. • c. Third, there is some evidence that religious affiliation is related to both family income and educational attainment. • For example, Jews are interested in higher education, while Baptists are less interested in it. Reference Groups: Primary and Secondary • Definition: Reference group may be defined as the group whose perspective an individual assumes in forming attitudes and overt behavior. • According to Bourne, reference groups influence consumer behavior in two ways: • They set the level of aspiration for the individual – offering cues as to what life-style (and related purchasing patterns) one should strive to achieve. • They define the actual items considered acceptable for displaying this level of aspiration, the kind of housing, clothing, automobile and so on that will be deemed appropriate for a person wishing to remain a member in good standing of the group. • Two kinds of Reference Groups exist: • Primary Reference Group, and • Secondary Reference Group • • The Primary Reference Group Definition: The term primary group denotes any group, even in adult life, that contains relationships somewhat like those within the family, such as peer groups and closely knit work groups. Characteristics of Primary Reference Groups • 1. It includes a variety of roles and interests for each individual in the relationship. • In primary relationship a man and woman may be husband and wife. They may also be coworkers and parents in the decision making process. • 2. It involves the whole personality. Within the work primary group, the members know each other as workers; but through meeting outside the office and conversation between office hours may get to know each other as fathers, husbands and wives. Characteristics of Primary Reference Groups, contd.. • • • 3. It involves free and extensive communication. 4. It is a personal and emotion laden relationship. Each member accepts the uniqueness of the other and is concerned for that person’s welfare. 5. It is not an easily transferable relationship because it demands special response to the unique attributes of another individual. Functions of Primary Groups • 1. It gives each individual a chance to develop a larger part of his or her total personality than other relationships do. • 2. Primary relationships serve as teachers and interpreters of societal values and norms. Secondary Groups In contrast to the personal, primary group, we interact with many • (a) less emotional secondary groups. • The secondary relationship is instrumental in determining behavior, by its very nature • (b) requires less personal involvement than the primary group. • Large organizations, religious organizations and trade unions qualifying as secondary groups since most often • © formal in structure and function. • (d) Unlike the fluid primary group, a secondary group expects its members to carry out specialized, standardized tasks. Reference Groups Norms and Conformity • A norm has been defined as a rule of behavior for meeting societal expectations; all members of a group must adhere to the normative system established for that group. • To enforce normative systems, groups tend to exert conformity pressure, direct or indirect on their members. • A serious minded church group may bring considerable pressure to bear on a member who is earning reputation as a heavy drinker. Degree of Conformity: • The extent to which individuals will conform to group norms depends largely on the nature and characteristics of the group situation: • 1. Cohesiveness (dependence) and attractiveness: the more stable and cohesive the group, the more tendency it will have to exert conformity pressure on its members. • 2. Group consensus: the extent of conformity by individuals increased according to the number of group members agreeing on the wrong answer. • 3. Stimulus ambiguity: individuals are more likely to conform as the stimuli become more ambiguous and called for greater interpretation. • 4. Profit of interaction: individuals relate to each other for certain rewards, but run the risks of incurring costs like associating with someone who will not maximize rewards. If his profit is higher he will conform more. Social Change • Technology is identified as the major force in socio-cultural change. • The effects of technological development on a society are summarized in the process known as MODERNIZATION. Ways in which modernization may affect social organization, all creating profound changes in life style and consumption • 1. Geographic and social mobility increase because of new occupational roles. • New jobs are opening in city requiring rural families to leave their traditional surroundings and relocate in new ones. • This move to cities and new occupations result in an increase in skill and rise in income, leading to upward mobility and higher social status. • 2. The existing system of stratification is changed. • Wealth and occupation become more important determinants of status, and birth and kinship relatively less important. • • • 3. The nuclear family, better adapted to the industrial society than the extended family becomes the normal mode of living. The very old and very young become unproductive because they are unsuitable for highly skilled jobs. Women are able to find employment outside home in larger numbers which alters the structure and experiences of family life. • 4. Religious beliefs give way to secular rationality and science, a process called secularization is seen in the society. • As religion becomes less important the religious institutions become increasingly separated as institutions from other aspects of life. • 5. Finally, mass education, mass communication, and ultimately mass culture grow prominent. • Urbanization: Its Life Styles • With modernization, society becomes increasingly urbanized in population and outlook. • The attitudes of the city tend to dominate those of small towns and rural areas in forming culture. • Suburbanization • Suburbs develop near central city. • The central city depends on suburbs for its workforce. • Both places thus become interdependent. • Central city jobs gradually move to suburbs. • Changing Social Roles • Due to modernization women enter into the work force in increased numbers. • It creates an emerging group of female consumers. • This produces many new businesses such as day care centers. How Social Trends Affect Consumption? • The social changes that accompany modernization are reflected in new demographic patterns. • And these patterns affect consumption of product and services. • Four areas of particular interest to marketers include: • 1. Change in the family structure • 2. Change in the distribution of age groups • 3. Change in the educational arena • 4. Geographic mobility • • 1. Change in the family structure: Families are growing smaller due to the (a) availability of effective birth control means; (b) escalating costs of raising children; (c) concern about over population; (d) deteriorating environment, and (e) trend of delaying marriage These families have larger income and greater options than before to spend on travel and other durable goods. 2. Change in the distribution of age groups: Average age of population is rising and as a result there are (a) more retirees and (b) fewer children. Baby products are now advertised for adults. 3. Change in the educational arena: Due to declining birth rate enrolment in elementary and secondary schools will drop meaning increasing over supply of teachers. At the college level greater number of people will be able to take advantage. 4. Geographic mobility: Geographic mobility increases and growth of suburbs and small cities will increase.
