CH 5 MIDTERM

Macionis notes on page 140 that "there is no doubt about the popularity or efficiency of McDonald's." Why did Max Weber fear the increasing rationalization of society?

Max Weber was alarmed at the increasing rationalization of the world, fearing that formal organizations would cage our imaginations and crush the human spirit. As Weber saw it, rational systems were efficient but dehumanizing. McDonaldization bears him out. Each of the four principles just discussed limits human creativity, choice, and freedom.

Understand the main differences between primary groups and secondary groups. Read the information about this on pages 125-126 and the Summing Up box on page 126.

Social group two or more people who identify with and interact with one another. Primary group a small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships. Secondary group a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity.

What is a group (also called a social group)? Understand how it is different from a category or a crowd. Please note that, as Macionis points out on page 124, "the right circumstances can quickly turn a crowd into a group."

Social group-- is two or more people who identify with and interact with one another. Crowd--loosely formed collection of people in one place. Crowd can turn into a group when unexpected events, from power failures to terrorist attacks, can make people bond quickly with strangers.

Know that the more members of a group interact, the more they are influenced by its norms and values and the more similar they are likely to become.

TRUE

Weber's analysis of bureaucracy has stood the test of time very well; however, he did not focus much on the informal practices that often develop within bureaucracies. According to research, people in bureaucracies sometimes bend (and even break) rules, develop "grapevines" to help spread information quickly through the ranks, take shortcuts through the hierarchy to more quickly accomplish their goals, develop very informal procedures for handling problems, and develop their own norms about how to do their work.

TRUE

What are triads? How stable are they? What problems can develop with triads?

Triad, a social group with three members, which contains three relationships, each uniting two of the three people. A triad is more stable than a dyad because one member can act as a mediator should the relationship between the other two become strained. Such group dynamics help explain why members of a dyad (say, a married couple) often seek out a third person (such as a counselor) to discuss tensions between them. On the other hand, two of the three can pair up at times to press their views on the third, or two may intensify their relationship, leaving the other feeling left out. For example, when two of the three develop a romantic interest in each other, they will come to understand the meaning of the old saying, "Two's company, three's a crowd."

Macionis notes that "sociologists also describe leadership in terms of decision-making style." Understand the three styles of leadership (authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire) in terms of their decision-making styles

Three Leadership Styles Sociologists also describe leadership in terms of decision-making style. Authoritarian leadership focuses on instrumental concerns, takes personal charge of decision making, and demands that group members obey orders. Although this leadership style may win little affection from the group, a fast-acting authoritarian leader is appreciated in a crisis. Democratic leadership is more expressive and makes a point of including everyone in the decision-making process. Although less successful in a crisis situation, democratic leaders generally draw on the ideas of all members to develop creative solutions to problems. Laissez-faire leadership allows the group to function more or less on its own (laissez-faire in French means "leave it alone"). This style is typically the least effective in promoting group goals

According to Max Weber, what is tradition? What is rationality? What is the rationalization of society?

Tradition behavior, values, and beliefs passed from generation to generation. Rationality a way of thinking that emphasizes deliberate, matter-of-fact calculation of the most efficient way to accomplish a particular task. Rationalization of society the historical change from tradition to rationality as the main type of human thought.

Macionis notes that there are "several ways in which today's organizations differ from those of a century ago." Understand the four differences he describes on page 138.

1. Creative freedom----Executives can set production goals but cannot dictate how a worker is to accomplish tasks that require imagination and discovery. 2. Competitive work teams. Organizations typically give several groups of employees the freedom to work on a problem, offering the greatest rewards to those who come up with the best solution. 3. A flatter organization. By spreading responsibility for creative problem solving throughout the workforce, organizations take on a flatter shape. That is, the pyramid shape of conventional bureaucracy is replaced by an organizational form with fewer levels in the chain of command. 4. Greater flexibility. The typical industrial age organization was a rigid structure guided from the top. Such organizations may accomplish a large amount of work, but they are not especially creative or able to respond quickly to changes in the larger environment. The ideal model in the information age is a more open, flexible organization that both generates new ideas and adapts quickly to the rapidly changing global marketplace.

Macionis notes on page 139 that "the organizational principles that underlie McDonald's are coming to dominate our entire society." Understand the four organizational principles involved in the McDonaldization of society.

1. Efficiency---as in breakfast all one one sandwich, trash taken with you in drive thru or food served on trays so customer can despot trash on way out. 2. Predictability---- An efficient organization wants to make everything it does as predictable as possible. McDonald's prepares all food using set formulas. Company policies guide the performance of every job. 3. Uniformity. The first McDonald's operating manual set the weight of a regular raw hamburger at 1.6 ounces, its size at 3.875 inches across, and its fat content at 19 percent. A slice of cheese weighs exactly half an ounce. Fries are cut precisely 9/32 of an inch thick. 4. Control. The most unreliable element in the McDonald's system is the human beings who work there. After all, people have good and bad days, sometimes let their minds wander, or simply decide to try something a different way. To minimize the unpredictable human element, McDonald's has automated its equipment to cook food at a fixed temperature for a set length of time.

Understand the six key characteristics of bureaucracy, as identified by Max Weber.

1. Specialization. Our ancestors spent most of their time performing the general task of looking for food and shelter. Bureaucracy, by contrast, assigns people highly specialized jobs. 2. Hierarchy of positions. Bureaucracies arrange workers in a vertical ranking. Each person is supervised by someone "higher up" in the organization while in turn supervising others in lower positions. Usually, with few people at the top and many at the bottom, bureaucratic organizations take the form of a pyramid. 3. Rules and regulations. Cultural tradition counts for little in a bureaucracy. Instead, rationally enacted rules and regulations guide a bureaucracy's operation. Ideally, a bureaucracy operates in a completely predictable way. 4. Technical competence. Bureaucratic officials have the technical competence to carry out their duties. Bureaucracies typically hire new members according to set standards and then monitor their performance. Such impersonal evaluation contrasts with the ancient custom of favoring relatives, whatever their talents, over strangers. 5. Impersonality. Bureaucracy puts rules ahead of personal whim so that both clients and workers are treated in the same way. From this impersonal approach comes the image of the "faceless bureaucrat." 6. Formal, written communications. It is said that the heart of bureaucracy is not people but paperwork. Instead of the casual, face-to-face talk that characterizes interaction within small groups, bureaucracy relies on formal, written memos and reports, which accumulate in vast files.

What are the results with regard to stability and intensity of personal interaction when groups get larger than 3 people?

As groups grow beyond three people, they become more stable and capable of withstanding the loss of one or more members. At the same time, increases in group size reduce the intense personal interaction possible only in the smallest groups. This is why larger groups are based less on personal attachment and more on formal rules and regulations.

What is bureaucracy? Know that maximum efficiency is achieved in formal organizations through bureaucracy (despite the problems associated with bureaucracies), which is why almost all large organizations (colleges, hospitals, corporations, government agencies, etc.) are organized in a bureaucratic way.

Bureaucracy is an organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently.

What are dyads? How intense is the interaction in comparison to other types of groups? How stable are dyads?

Dyad (Greek for "pair") ---to designate a social group with two members. Simmel explained that social interaction in a dyad is usually more intense than in larger groups because neither member shares the other's attention with anyone else. In the United States, love affairs, marriages, and the closest friendships are typically dyadic. But like a stool with only two legs, dyads are unstable. Both members of a dyad must work to keep the relationship going; if either withdraws, the group collapses. Because the stability of marriages is important to society, the marital dyad is supported by legal, economic, and often religious ties.

What are formal organizations? Understand the three types of formal organizations identified by Amitai Etzioni. Macionis notes on page 132 that "it is possible for a single formal organization to fall into all three categories [identified by Etzioni] from the point of view of different individuals." Understand the example he gives

Formal organizations, large secondary groups organized to achieve their goals efficiently. Formal organizations, such as business corporations and government agencies, differ from families and neighborhoods in their impersonality and their formally planned atmosphere. Utilitarian Organizations--- Just about everyone who works for income belongs to a utilitarian organization, one that pays people for their efforts. Normative Organizations--People join normative organizations not for income but to pursue some goal they think is morally worthwhile. Sometimes called voluntary associations, these include community service groups (such as the PTA, the Lions Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Red Cross), as well as political parties and religious organizations. Coercive Organizations Membership in coercive organizations is involuntary. People are forced to join these organizations as a form of punishment (prisons) or treatment (some psychiatric hospitals). Coercive organizations have special physical features, such as locked doors and barred windows, and are supervised by security personnel. They isolate people, whom they label "inmates" or "patients," for a period of time in order to radically change their attitudes and behavior. It is possible for a single organization to fall into all three categories from the point of view of different individuals. For example, a mental hospital serves as a coercive organization for a patient, a utilitarian organization for a psychiatrist, and a normative organization for a hospital volunteer.

What did Janis's research suggest about experts and group pressure? Understand groupthink

Groupthink, the tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue. Experts also cave in to group pressure, says Irving L. Janis (1972, 1989). Janis argues that a number of U.S. foreign policy errors, including the failure to foresee Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II and our ill-fated involvement in the Vietnam War, resulted from group conformity among our highestranking political leaders.

Macionis notes on page 138 that ""the postindustrial economy has created two very different types of work." What are these two types and what are their characteristics?

High-skill creative work Low-skill service work---such as fast food-keen to old style factory work

Why have networks become far larger in recent decades?

In recent decades, networks have become far larger along with the development of social media based on computer technology.

Carefully read through the description of Stanley Milgram's conformity experiments on pages 126-127. Overall, what did Milgram's different research studies show? (I won't be asking for specific percentages.)

In this way, Milgram showed that people are likely to follow the lead of not only legitimate authority figures but also groups of ordinary individuals, even when it means harming another person.

What are networks? What's the "largest network of all"?

Network is a web of weak social ties. More commonly, however, a network includes people we know of or who know of us but with whom we interact only rarely, if at all. The largest network of all is the World Wide Web of the Internet.

Why are networks important? (How are they a "powerful resource"?) What are networks based on?

Network ties may be weak, but they can be a powerful resource. For immigrants who are trying to become established in a new community, businesspeople seeking to expand their operations, or new college graduates looking for a job, who you know is often as important as what you know. Networks are based on people's colleges, clubs, neighborhoods, political parties, and personal interests. Obviously, some networks contain people with considerably more wealth, power, and prestige than others; that explains the importance of being "well connected." The networks of more privileged categories of people—such as the members of an expensive country club—are a valuable form of "social capital," which can lead to benefits such as higher-paying jobs.

As Macionis points out on page 126, "groups influence the behavior of their members by promoting conformity." Know that pressure to conform to a group is especially strong in small groups. With regard to Asch's conformity experiment, what percentage of Asch's subjects conformed to a group that was giving obviously incorrect answers, and why did they do so?

One-third of all subjects chose to conform by answering incorrectly. Apparently, many of us are willing to compromise our own judgment to avoid the discomfort of being seen as different, even by people we do not know.

What are reference groups? What is the point of Stouffer's research on reference groups?

Reference group, a social group that serves as a point of reference in making evaluations and decisions. The point is that we do not make judgments about ourselves in isolation, nor do we compare ourselves with just anyone. Regardless of our situation in absolute terms, we form a subjective sense of our well-being by looking at ourselves relative to specific reference groups.

Macionis notes on page 136 that "a century ago in the United States, Weber's ideas [about bureauterm-22cracy] took hold in an organizational model called scientific management." Understand what scientific management involves.

Scientific management is thus the application of scientific principles to the operation of a business or other large organization. First, managers carefully observe the task performed by each worker, identifying all the operations involved and measuring the time needed for each. Second, managers analyze their data, trying to discover ways for workers to perform each job more efficiently. Third, management provides guidance and incentives for workers to do their jobs more quickly.

Macionis notes on page 126 that "groups typically benefit from two kinds of leadership." Know the differences between instrumental leadership and expressive leadership

Two Leadership Roles Groups typically benefit from two kinds of leadership. Instrumental leadership refers to group leadership that focuses on the completion of tasks. Members look to instrumental leaders to make plans, give orders, and get things done. Expressive leadership, by contrast, is group leadership that focuses on the group's wellbeing. Expressive leaders take less interest in achieving goals than in raising group morale and minimizing tension and conflict among members. Because they concentrate on performance, instrumental leaders usually have formal secondary relationships with other members. These leaders give orders and reward or punish members according to how much the members contribute to the group's efforts. Expressive leaders build more personal primary ties. They offer sympathy to a member going through tough times, keep the group united, and lighten serious moments with humor. Typically, successful instrumental leaders enjoy more respect from members, and expressive leaders generally receive more personal affection.

What does the expression "well connected" have to do with networks? What kinds of people generally have the largest social networks? How does gender influence networks?

Typically, the largest social networks include people who are affluent, young, well educated, and living in large cities. Gender shapes networks. Although the networks of men and women are typically the same size, women include more relatives (and more women) in their networks, and men include more co-workers (and more men). Networks have long operated as webs of weak social ties involving dozens, hundreds, and for the very "well connected," even thousands of people.

Understand these problems associated with bureaucracy:

bureaucratic alienation: bureaucracy's ability to dehumanize the people it is supposed to serve. The same impersonality that fosters efficiency also keeps officials and clients from responding to one another's unique personal needs. bureaucratic inefficiency / bureaucratic ritualism-----a focus on rules and regulations to the point of undermining an organization's goals. In short, rules and regulations should be a means to an end, not an end in themselves that takes the focus away from the organization's stated goals. bureaucratic inertia-----refers to the tendency of bureaucratic organizations to perpetuate themselves. oligarchy---the rule of the many by the few.

Understand the differences between ingroups and outgroups. What are these kinds of groups based on? Macionis notes on page 128 that "power also plays a part in intergroup relations." How so?

in-group a social group toward which a member feels respect and loyalty. out-group a social group toward which a person feels a sense of competition or opposition. In-groups and outgroups are based on the idea that "we" have valued traits that "they" lack. A powerful in-group can define others as a lower-status out-group.