Chapter Five
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Achieved Status- A social position that a person attains largely through his or her
own efforts. Go to school, learn a skill, establish a friendship, or invent new
product.
Agrarian Society- The most technologically advanced form of pre-industrial
society. Members are engaged primarily in the production of food, but increase
their crop yields through technological innovations such as the plow.
Alienation- A condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding
society.
Ascribed Status- A social position assigned to a person by society without regard
for the person’s unique talents or characteristics. Generally, takes place at birth;
thus, a person’s racial background, gender, and age are all considered ascribed
statuses. Conflict theorists often confer priveldges or reflect a person’s
membership in a subordinate group.
Avatar- A 3-D, 2-D icon, or constructed personality that is assumned by the user
of an internet site.
Bureaucracy- A component of formal organization that uses rules and heirarchial
ranking to achieve efficiency. “Weber” classified five characterisitics of
bureaucracy.
 Division of Labor- By working at a specific task, people are more likely
to become highly skilled and carry out a job with maximum efficiency.
The downsize of labor is that the fragmentation of work into smaller and
smaller tasks can divide workers and remove any connection they might
feel towards the overall objective of the bureaucracy. In the “communist
manifesto” charged that the capitalist system reduces workers to mere
appendages of the machine and puts them at risk for replacement. Creates
Alienation-a condition of estrangement or dissociation from the
surrounding society. In some cases Trained Incapacity- they develop
blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems, or they don’t care about
whats happening in the next department leading to less productivity.
 Hierarchy- Each position is under the supervision of a higher authority
 Written Rules and Regulations- Bureaucracies generally offer
employees clear standards for an adequate performance. Individual
workers come and go but the structure and records of the organization give
it a life of its own that outlives the services of any one bureaucrat. Rules
can over shadow goals and become dysfunctional. “Merton” called this
Goal Displacement- to refer to overzealous conformity to official
regulations
 Impersonality-Weber said Work is carried out without hatred or passion.
Although this norm is intended to guarantee equal treatment for each
person, it also contributes to the often cold and uncaring feeling associated
with a bureaucracy can have tragic results.
 Employment based on technical qualifications. Within in the ideal
bureaucracy, hiring is based on technical qualifications rather than on
favoritism, and performance is measured against specific standards.
Personnel decisions do not always follow that ideal pattern. Dysfuunctions
within bureaucracy have become well publicized like the Peter PrincipleA principle of organizational life according to which every employee
within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.
Bureacracy pervades modern life through McDonaldization- The process
by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate
more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the
world.
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Bureaucratization- The process by which a group, organization, or social
movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic. We often think of
bureaucratization in terms of large organizations, but it also takes place within
smallgroup settings.
Classical Theory- or Scientific management approach. An approach to the study
of formal organizations that view workers as being motivated almost entirely by
economic rewards. Workers may be treated as a resource, much like machines
that began to replace them in the 20th century. Management attempts to achieve
maximum efficiency through scientific planning, established performance
standards, and careful supervision of workers and production.
Coalition- As groups grow larger a coalition is formed. A temporary or
permanent alliance geared toward a common goal. Different groups band together
to form a coalition with a common purpose. Some coalitions are short lived like in
the TV show survivor.
Conflict View-Do not agree with functionalist view. Although proponents of both
perspectives agree that social institutions are organized to meet basic social needs,
conflict theorists object to the idea that the outcome is necessarily efficient and
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desirable. The present organization of social institutions are organized to meet
basic social institutions is no accident. Schools are paid with taxes, richer
neighborhoods have better schools then. Everything is unfair sex, gender, race
everyone is viewed differently
Formal organization- A group designed for a special purpose and structured for
maximum efficiency. The post office, McDonalds, and Boston pops orchestra are
examples. Formal organizations are such a dominate force we need to create
organizations to watch them. Ascribed statuses such as gender, race, and ethnicity
can influence how we see ourselves within formal organizations.
Functionalist View- “David F. Aberle, Raymond Mack and Calvin Bradford”
Have identified five major tasks, or functional prerequisites , that a society or
relatively permanent group must accomplish if it is to survive.
 Replacing personnel- Any group or society must replace personnel when
they die, leave, or become incapacitated. This task iscompleted by
immigration, annexation of neighboring groups, acquisition of slaves, or
sexual reproduction
 Teaching new recruits- The group or society must encourage new
recruits to learn the values and customs.
 Producing and Distributing goods and services- Need to distribute
goods and services to members. Each society establishes a set of rules for
the allocation of financial and other resources.
 Preserving Order- Failure to preserve order and defend against conquest
leads to the death not only of the people, but of a culture.
 Providing and Maintaining a sense of purpose-People must feel
motivated to continue as members of a group or society in order to fulfill
the first four requirements. Patriotism can assist people in developing a
sense of purpose.
Gemeinschaft- A close-knit community, often found in rural aresas, in which
strong personal bonds unite members.
Gesellschaft- A community, often urban, that is large and impersonal, with little
commitment to the group or consensus on values.
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Goal Displacement- Overzealous conformity to official regulations of a
bureaucracy.
Group- Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who
interact with one another on a regular basis.
Horticultural Society- A preindustrial society in which people plant seeds and
crops rather than merely subsist on available foods, emerged about 10,000 to
12,000 years ago. Members of horticultural societies are much less nomadic than
hunters and gatherers.
Human Relations approach- An approach to the study of formal organizations
that emphasizes the role of people, communication, and participation in a
bureaucracy and tends to focus on the informal structure of the organization. This
type of analysis reflects the interest of interactionist theorists in small-group
behavior. Unlike planning under the scientific management approach, planning
based on human relations perspective focuses on workers feelings, frustrations,
and emotional need for job satisfaction.
Hunting and Gathering Society- A preindustrial society in which people rely on
whatever foods and fibers are readily available in order to survive.
Ideal Type- A construct or model for evaluating specific cases.
Industrial Society- A society that depends on mechanization to produce its goods
and services.
In-group- “William Graham Sumner” Any group or category to which people
feel they belong. We or us, can be narrow or broad.
Interactionist View- Social institutions affect our everyday behavior, whether we
are driving or waiting in a line. Our social behavior is conditioned by the roles
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and statuses we accept, the groups to which we belong, and the institutions within
which we function.
Iron law of oligarchy- A principle of organizational life under which even a
democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few
individuals. Members of an oligarchy are strongly motivated to maintain their
leadership roles, privileges, and power.
Master Status- A status that dominates others and thereby determines a person’s
general position in society. Your overall social position, taking into account the
good and bad social standings you have.
McDonaldization- The process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant
are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the
rest of the world.
Mechanical Solidarity- A collective consciousness that emphasizes group
solidarity, characteristic of societies with minimal division of labor.
Net Neutrality- The principal that the government should remain nonselective or
neutral toward online content.
Organic Solidarity- A collective Consciousness that emphasizes group
solidarity, characteristic of societies with a complex division of labor.
Out-Group- “William Graham Sumner” A group or category to which people
feel they do not belong. They or them.
Peter Principle- A principle of organizational life according to which every
employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.
Postindustrial Society- A society whose economic system is engaged primarily
in the processing and control of information.
Postmodern Society- A technologically sophisticated society that is preoccupied
with consumer goods and media images.
Primary group- “Charles Horton Cooley” A small group characterized by
intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation. Members of a gang or
members of a family are primary groups. Instrumental in people’s day to day life.
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Reference Group- Any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluateing
themselves and their own behavior. Have two purposes, first they serve a
normative function by setting and enforcing standards of conduct and belief.
Second they perform a comparison function by serving as a standard against
people can measure themselves and others. Often, two or more reference groups
influence us at the same time. Reference group attachments change over the life
cycle.
Role Conflict- The situation that occurs when incompatible expectations arise
from two or more social positions held by the same person. Being a male
preschool teacher or a female cop are examples because they are not the typical
person in that ascribed status. Role conflict describes the situation of a person
dealing with the challenge of occupying two social positions simultaneously.
Role Exit- The process of disengagement from a role that is central to one’s selfidentity. Ex nuns, former doctors, recovering alcoholics, and divorced men and
women. Ebaugh has a four-stage model of role exit. First stage begins with doubt
(frustration, burnout, unhappy about your social position). Second stage involves
a search for alternatives (leave of absence or separation). Third stage is the action
stage or departure. Identifying a clear turning point. Fourth stage involves the
creation of a new identity (going from high school to college).
Role Strain- The difficulty that arises when the same social position imposes
conflicting demands and expectations. Minorities may experience role strain
while working in the mainstream culture. Navajo police was softer on criminals
so they worried about how other police departments viewed them.
Scientific Management Approach- Another name for the classical theory of
Formal organizations.
Secondary Group- “Charles Horton Cooley” A formal, impersonal group in
which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding. People in same class
or people working together are examples.
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Social Institution- The mass media, the government, the economy, the family,
and the health care system are all examples. An organized pattern of beliefs and
behavior centered on basic social needs, such as replacing personnel (the family)
and preserving order (the government).
Social Interaction- The ways in which people respond to one another.
Social Network- A series of Social Relationships that links a person directly to
others, and through them indirectly to still more people. Involvment in social
networks is known as networking. Networking is very important in the work
place.
Social Role- A set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position
or status. We assume cab drivers know how to get around the city.
Social Structure- The way in which a society is organized into predictable
relationships.
Sociocultural Evolution- Long-term trends in societies resulting from the
interplay of continuity, innovation, and selection.
Status- Person can hold more than one.
Technology- Cultural information about the ways in which the material resources
of the environment may be used to satisfy human needs and desires.
Trained Incapacity- The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so
specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.