ba116iu introduction to social sciences semester autumn/1, 2008-2009

1

BA116IU

Introduction to Social Sciences Semester Autumn/1, 2008-2009

School of Business Administration IU – VNU HCMC

Instructor:Dr. Truong Thi Kim Chuyen

USSH – VNU HCMC

2

•Understanding Groups•Understanding Organizations•The Changing Workplace•Social Policy and Organizations: The State of the Unions

Chapter 6

GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Chapter Outline

3

Understanding Groups

– Group:Any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations who interact with one another on a regular basis

Types of Groups

4

Understanding Groups

• Primary Group: small group characterized by intimate, face-to-face association and cooperation

• Secondary Group: formal, impersonal groups in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding

Types of Groups– Primary and Secondary Groups

5

Understanding Groups

6

Understanding Groups

• In-groups: any groups or categories to which people feel they belong

• Out-groups: any groups or categories to which people feel they do not belong

Types of Groups– In-Groups and Out-Groups

Conflict between in-groups and out-groups can turn violent on a personal as well as political level.

7

Understanding Groups

• 10–15 people assembled by a researcher to discuss a predetermined topic, such as a new product or a need in the community.

• Developed by Robert Merton and colleagues at Columbia University

Types of Groups– Focus Groups

8

Understanding Groups

• Any group that individuals use as standard for evaluating their own behavior

Types of Groups– Reference Groups

• Set and enforce standards of conduct and belief

9

Understanding Groups

– Dyad: a two-member group– Triad: a three-member group

Coalitions: temporary or permanent alliances geared toward common goal

Studying Small Groups– Small Group: group small enough for

all members to interact simultaneously– Size of a Group

• Smaller groups havegreater interaction opportunities

10

Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies

Understanding Organizations

– Formal Organization: special-purpose group designed and structured for maximum efficiency

– Bureaucracy: component of formal organization that uses rules and hierarchical ranking to achieve efficiency

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy

11

Understanding Organizations

• Hierarchy of authority

Alienation:condition of estrangement or dissociation from the surrounding society

Trained Incapacity:workers become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy– Ideal Type Bureaucracy

• Division of labor

12

Understanding Organizations

• Employment basedon technicalqualifications

Goal Displacement: overzealous conformity to official regulations

Peter Principle:every employee within a hierarchy tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence (Peter and Jull 1969)

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy– Ideal Type Bureaucracy

• Written Rulesand Regulations

– Impersonality

13

Understanding Organizations

14

Understanding Organizations

• Bureaucratization:Process by which group, organization,or social movementbecomes increasingly bureaucratic

• Oligarchy: Rule bya Few

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy– Bureaucratization as Process

Iron Law of Oligarchy: describes how even a democratic organization will eventually develop into a bureaucracy ruled by a few (called an oligarchy)

15

Understanding Organizations

– Classical Theory: also known as Scientific Management Approach); workers motivated almost entirely by economic rewards

– Human Relations Approach: role of people, communication and participation within a bureaucracy emphasized

Bureaucracy and Organizational Culture

16

Understanding Organizations

– Organizations established on basis of common interest

• Members volunteer or even pay to participate• “Formal organizations” and “voluntary

organizations” not mutually exclusive

Voluntary Associations

17

Understanding Organizations Figure 6.1: Membership in Voluntary Associations in the United States

18

The Changing Workplace

– Formal organizations experimenting with new ways of getting the job done since late 20th century

• Collective decisionmaking

• Minimal hierarchy• Work teams

Organizational Restructuring

19

The Changing Workplace

– Employees who work full- or part-time at home rather than in an outside office

– Number of telecommuters increased from 8.5 million in 1995 to 28 million in 2001 (Donald B. Davis and Polonko 2001)

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

Telecommuting

20

The Changing Workplace

– E-mail efficient, rapidly communicated, and democratic

• Gives an organization the benefit of experiences and views of more of its workforce

• Does not convey body language• Leaves permanent record• Can be monitored

Electronic Communication

21

Social Policy and Organizations

• What diminished 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 Issue

22

Social Policy and Organizations

• Labor Unions: organized workers sharing either the same skill or the same employer

– The experience of unions varies widely in different countries

The State of the Unions– The Setting

23

Social Policy and Organizations

1. Changes in type of industry

2. Growth in part-time jobs

3. The legal system

4. Globalization

5. Employer offensive

6. Union rigidity and bureaucratization

The State of the Unions–The Setting

•Reasons given for decline of labor unions:

24

Social Policy and Organizations

• Marxists and functionalists view unions as logical response to emergence of impersonal, large-scale, formal, and often alienating organizations

• Conflict theorists 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

• Many union employees encounter role conflict

The State of the Unions– Sociological Insights

25

Social Policy and Organizations

• Major barrier to union growth exists in 21 states with so-called right to work laws

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

The State of the Unions– Policy Initiatives

26

SUMMARY

Social interaction among human beings is necessary to the transmission of culture and the survival of every society. This chapter examines the social behavior of groups, formal organizations, and voluntary associations.

27

1. When we find ourselves identifying closely with a group, it is probably a primary group. A secondary group is more formal and impersonal.

2. People tend to see the world in terms of in-groups and out-groups, a perception often fostered by the very groups to which they belong.

3. Reference groups set and enforce standards of conduct and serve as a source of comparison for people’s evaluations of themselves and others.

4. Interactionist researcher have noted distinct and predictable processes in the functioning of small groups. The simplest group is a dyad, composed of two members. Triads and larger groups increase the ways of interacting and allow for coalitions to form.

28

5. As societies have become more complex, large formal organizations have become more powerful and pervasive.

6. Max Weber argued that in its ideal form, every bureaucracy have five basic characteristics: division of labor, hierarchical authority, written rules and regulations, impersonality, and employment based on technical qualifications.

7. Bureaucracy can be understood both as a process and as a matter of degree. Thus, an organization may be more or less bureaucratic than other organizations.

8. When, leaders of an organization build up their power, the result can be oligarchy (rule by a few).

29

9. The informal structure of an organization can undermine and redefine official bureaucratic policies.

10. People join voluntary associations for a variety of purposes – for example, to share in joint activities or to get help with personal problems.

11. Organizational restructuring and new technologies have transformed the workplace through innovations such as collective decision making and telecommuting.

12. Labor unions are on the decline because of major shifts in the economy.

30

• http://www.couchsurfing.org/login.html

31

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 1. Opinion

32

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 2. Way of Life

33

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 3. Punctuality

34

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 4. Contacts

35

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 5. Anger

36

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 5. Anger

37

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 6. Queue when Waiting

38

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 7. Me

39

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 8. Sundays on the Road

40

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 9. Party

41

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 10. In the Restaurant

42

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 11. Stomach Ache

43

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 12. Traveling

44

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 13. Definition of Beauty

45

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 14. Handling of Problems

46

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 15. Three Meals a Day

47

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 16. Transportation

48

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 18. Shower Timing

49

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 19. Moods and Weather

50

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 20. The Boss

51

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 21. What’s Trends

52

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 22. The Child

53

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 23. Things that are New

54

Eastern/Western Cultural Differences 24. Perception of Each Other