McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

6GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONSGROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS


Chapter Outline

• Understanding Groups• Understanding Organizations• Organizational Change• Technology’s Impact on the Workplace• Social Policy and Organizations: The Sta

te of the Unions


Understanding Groups

•Group

--A number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis.

--Examples of groups are:

fraternities dance companies

clubs tenants’ associations

Types of Groups



•Primary Group

--This term refers to a small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation.

•Secondary Group

--This term refers to formal, impersonal groups in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding.

Types of Groups



•In-Groups

--In-groups are any groups or categories to which people feel they belong.

•Out-Group

--Out-groups are any groups or categories to which people feel they do not belong.

•Reference Groups

--Reference Groups are any groups that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior.

Types of Groups



•Small Groups

--Small groups are groups small enough for all members to interact simultaneously (to talk with one another or at least be well acquainted).

Studying Small Groups



•Size of Group

--Smaller groups have greater interaction opportunities.

Dyad: A two member group.

Triad: A three member group.

Coalition: A temporary or permanent alliance geared toward a common goal.

Studying Small Groups


UnderstandingOrganizations

•Formal Organization

--A formal organization is a special-purpose group designed and structured for maximum efficiency.

•Examples of formal organizations:

--the U.S. Post Office

--McDonald’s restaurants

--the Boston Pops

--this college

Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies


Understanding Organizations

•Bureaucracy

--A bureaucracy is a component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are used to achieve efficiency.

•Ideal Type Bureaucracy

--This term indicates a construct or model serving as a measuring rod against which specific cases can be evaluated.

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy



•Bureaucratization

--Bureaucratization is the process by which a group, organization, or social movement becomes increasingly bureaucratic.

•Oligarchy

--An oligarchy is a bureaucracy ruled by a few.

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy



•Scientific Management Approach--Workers are motivated by economic rewards.--Productivity is limited by physical restraints of the workers.

•Human Relations Approach--The roles of people, communication and participation within a bureaucracy are emphasized.--Workers’ feelings, frustrations and emotional needs are the focus of this approach.

Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture



•Voluntary Associations--Organizations established on the basis of common interest, whose members volunteer or even pay to participate.--“Formal organizations” and “voluntary organizations” are not mutually exclusive.

Voluntary Associations


Technology’s Impact on the Workplace

•Telecommuting

--Telecommuters are employees who work full-time or part-time at home rather than in an outside office.

--Telecommuters are linked to their supervisors and colleagues through computers, phones, and fax machines.

--Telecommuting may move society further along the continuum from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft.

Telecommuting



•E-mail Benefits

--E-mail is efficient, rapidly communicated, and democratic.

--E-mail gives an organization the benefit of experiences and views of more of its workforce.

Electronic Communication



•E-mail Disadvantages

--E-mail is so easy to do that it can inundate a worker with too many messages.

--E-mail doesn’t convey body language which in face-to-face communication can soften insensitive phrasing and make unpleasant messages (such as a reprimand) easier to take.

--E-mail leaves a permanent record which can be a problem when messages are written in a reckless and thoughtless manner.

Electronic Communication


Social Policy and Organizations

•The Issue

--What has happened to diminish the importance of organized labor unions?

--Have unions perhaps outlived their usefulness in a rapidly changing global economy dominated by the service industry?

The State of the Unions



•The Setting

--Labor unions consist of organized workers sharing either the same skill or the same employer.

--The experience of unions varies widely in different countries.

Continued...




•The Setting

--Reasons given for the decline of labor unions:

*Changes in the type of industry

*Growth in part-time jobs

*The legal system

*Globalization

*Employer offensive

*Union rigidity and bureaucratization




•Sociological Insights

--Both Marxists and functionalists would view unions as a logical response to the emergence of impersonal, large-scale, formal, and often alienating organizations.

--Conflict theorists would point out that the longer union leaders are in office the less responsive they are to the needs and demands of the rank and file and the more concerned they are with maintaining their own positions.

--Many union employees encounter role conflict.




•Policy Initiatives

--A major barrier to union growth exists in the 20 states that have so-called right to work laws.

--Debate over campaign finance reform in Congress in 2001 raised the question of whether labor unions should be able to use dues to support a particular candidate or promote a position.


McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

Documents

Transcript of McGraw-Hill © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS.