Lecture Slides- Essentials of Sociology
Anthony Giddens
Mitchell Duneier
Richard Appelbaum
Slides created by
Dr. Huei-Hsia Wu
Boise State University
Chapter 5
Groups, Networks, and Organizations
SOCIAL GROUPS (pp. 120-122)
 Types of social groups:
 In-groups
 Out-groups
 Primary groups
 Secondary groups
 Reference groups
SOCIAL GROUPS
 Group size is an important factor in group
dynamics.
 Although their intensity may diminish, larger
groups tend to be more stable than smaller
groups of two (dyads) or three (triads).
 Groups of more than a dozen or so people
usually develop a formal structure.
Group Size (p. 122)
 Dyads: a group with two members
 Triads: a group with three members

Leaders (p. 124)
 Transactional leaders are concerned with
accomplishing the group’s tasks.
 Transformational leaders change the nature
of the group itself.
Conformity
 Research indicates that people are highly
conformist to group pressure. Many people
will do what others tell them to do, even
when the consequences involve injury to
others, as demonstrated by Stanley Milgram.
Conformity Research


Solomon Asch (1952)
In the Asch task (see next slide), participants were shown a standard line
(left) and then three comparison lines. Their task was simply to say which
of the three lines matched the standard. When confederates gave false
answers first, three-quarters of participants conformed by giving the
wrong answer. (pp. 124-125)


Stanley Milgram (1963)
Milgram’s research showed that ordinary people will conform to orders
given by someone in a position of power or authority, even if those
orders have horrible consequences. (p. 125)
NETWORKS
 Networks constitute a broad source of
relationships, direct and indirect, including
connections that may be extremely important
in business and politics. (p. 126)
 Women, people of color, and lower-income
people typically have less access to the most
influential economic and political networks
than do white males in American society.
ORGANIZATIONS
 An organization is a group with an
identifiable membership that engages in
concerted collective actions to achieve a
common purpose. (pp. 128-129)
 A formal organization is rationally designed
to achieve its objectives, often by means of
explicit rules, regulations, and procedures. (p.
129)
ORGANIZATIONS
 Organizations provide coordination of
activities and resources needed to sustain our
lives.
 Organizations also have the effect of taking
things out of our own hands and putting
them under the control of officials or experts
over whom we have little influence.
THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONS
 Bureaucracy (p. 130)
 Rule of officials
 The term first applied only to government officials,
but it gradually was extended to refer to large
organizations in general.
 Max Weber developed the first systematic
interpretation of the ruse of modern organizations,
and argued that the expansion of bureaucracy is
inevitable in modern societies.
THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONS
 The work of Weber and Michels identifies a tension
between bureaucracy and democracy.
 On the one hand, long-term processes of the
centralization of decision making are associated
with the development of modern societies.
 On the other hand, one of the main features of the
past two centuries has been expanding pressures
toward democracy.
 The trends conflict, with neither one in a position
of dominance.
Gender and Organizations
 Modern organizations have evolved as gendered
institutions.
 Women have traditionally been segregated into
certain occupational categories that support the
ability of men to advance their careers.
 In recent years, women have been entering
professional and managerial positions in greater
numbers, but some believe that women have to
adopt a traditionally male management style in order
to succeed at top levels.
BEYOND BUREAUCRACY?
 Some large organizations have restructured
themselves over recent years to become less
bureaucratic and more flexible.
 Many Western firms have adopted aspects of
Japanese management systems: more consultation
of lower-level workers by managerial executives; pay
and responsibility linked to seniority; and groups,
rather than individuals, evaluated for their
performance.
Alternatives to Bureaucracy
 New information technology is changing the way in
which organizations work.
 Many tasks can now be completed electronically,
which can allow organizations to transcend time and
space.
 The physical boundaries of organizations are being
eroded by the capabilities of new technology.
 Many organizations now work as loose networks,
rather than as self-contained independent units.
Social Capital
 Social capital refers to the knowledge and
connections that enable people to cooperate with
one another for mutual benefit and extend their
influence.
 Some social scientists have argued that social capital
has declined in the United States during the last
quarter century, a process they worry indicates a
decline in Americans’ commitment to civic
engagement.
Concept Quiz
1. According to Foucault, what is the significance of the
architecture of the building in which an organization is
housed?
a. It often shows who built the building and who owns the
company it houses.
b. It expresses the patterns of authority in an organization
that enable supervisors to monitor the work of.
c. The size of a building and the complexity of its layout
are indicative of the size of the company.
d. It expresses the patterns of equality in an organization.
Concept Quiz
2. The term for the social knowledge and connections that
enable people to accomplish their goals and extend their
influence is
a. cultural capital.
b. political capital.
c. social capital.
d. economic capital.
Concept Quiz
3. Which of the following best characterizes how human
history has unfolded with regard to primary and secondary
groups?
a. For most of human history, nearly all interactions took
place within primary groups, whereas today most of our
waking hours are spent within secondary groups.
b. Throughout history, the predominance of primary versus
secondary groups has shifted cyclically with economic
boom and bust.
c. Over time, primary groups have gained more power vis a
vis secondary groups, leaving secondary groups
struggling for the remainder of the scarce resources.
d. The initial mutual suspicion between primary and
secondary groups has given way, in the last two decades,
to a tentative cooperation in the political arena.
Concept Quiz
4. Which of the following did sociologist Mark Granovetter
demonstrate about the importance of weak ties?
a. that if weak ties are not eventually strengthened the
relationship atrophies and the bond can be lost forever
b. that weak ties are central to explaining how children from
single-parent households more easily fall prey to criminal
lifestyles than do other children
c. that weak ties can remain weak indefinitely without harm
and will always respond to strengthening efforts if a
bonding attempt is made
d. that weak ties are particularly key in helping people with
higher socioeconomic status gain a new job
This concludes the Norton Media Library
Slide Set for Chapter 5
Essentials of
SOCIOLOGY
by
Anthony Giddens
Mitchell Duneier
Richard Appelbaum
W. W. Norton & Company
Independent and Employee-Owned