Sociology Quiz #6 - Chapter 6

Social networks are typically ________

"fuzzy" groups made up of people we "know of" rather than those we know well.

What is the term for group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks?

Instrumental leadership

Which type of leaders downplay their own power, letting group members function more or less on their own?

Laissez-faire leaders

The concept "McDonaldization" of society refers to ________

McDonald's organizational principles moving to dominate all of society.

Which concept refers to all factors outside an organization that affect the organization's operation?

Organizational environment

Max Weber argued that formal organizations were efficient, but he cautioned that they can have harmful effects on people. As he saw it, what is the danger?

Organizations create alienation.

Why did Cooley refer to certain groups as "primary groups"?

They are among the first groups we experience in life.

Which of the following sociological concepts refers to all people with a common status, such as "college student"?

a category

An example of a primary group is ________

a family that has gathered to celebrate a religious holiday.

The process called "groupthink" refers to ________

a group that gets different ideas from everyone and is unable to come up with any decision at all.

Charles Cooley referred to a small social group whose members share personal and enduring relationships as ________

a primary group.

What do sociologists call two or more people who identify and interact with one another?

a social group

A "triad" is ________

a social group with three members

Robert Michels referred to the rule of the many by the few as ________

an oligarchy.

The concept "bureaucracy" refers to ________

an organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently.

Evidence of the process called the "McDonaldization" of society includes ________

bank tellers being replaced with automatic teller machines (ATMs).

A social group with only two members is called a ________

dyad

During the process of groupthink ________

group members quickly settle on a position and then they treat other possibilities as oppositional.

Solomon Asch's research, in which subjects were asked to match lines, showed that ________

group membership has the power to generate conformity.

Formal organizations are ________

large secondary groups with a goal orientation.

The text speaks of "opposing trends" in today's world of formal organizations because ________

some organizations have evolved toward flatter, more flexible forms, but others remain rigid organizations patterned by McDonald's.

Which of the following is every society's most important primary group?

the family

In principle, bureaucratic organizations pay little attention to ________

tradition

One characteristic of secondary groups is ________

weak emotional ties between members.

You are part of a task force with a group leader who has a distant relationship with the group members and who is concerned with getting the job done. Which type of leader does your task force have?

An instrumental leader

Which type of leadership style takes charge of making decisions and makes sure people do what they are told?

Authoritarian leadership

What is Robert Merton's term for a preoccupation with rules and regulations to the point of keeping an organization from accomplishing its goals?

Bureaucratic ritualism

Which type of leader encourages everyone in a group to have a say in what happens?

Democratic leader

One of the traits linked to the process of McDonaldization is ________

Efficiency

________ refers to group leadership that emphasizes collective well-being.

Expressive leadership

According to the findings of Solomon Asch, ________

many people are willing to compromise their own judgment to avoid being seen as different by others.

Which sociological concept refers to a number of weak social ties among people who have little common identity and little interaction?

network

Stanley Milgram's research, in which subjects used a "shock generator," showed ________

people are surprisingly likely to follow the orders of not only real authority figures but also groups of ordinary individuals.

One of the traits Max Weber noted about bureaucracy was that it ________

provides workers with highly specialized jobs.

In general, we see a(n) ________ as a means to an end; we see a(n) ________ as an end in itself.

secondary group; primary group