1. Chapter 5: Interaction, Groups, and Organizations: Connections that Work
Dr. Santos
Soc 100

2. Networks and Connections in Our Social World
Social networks -- micro-level contacts and exchanges between individuals and other individuals, small groups, and large (even global) organizations
Networking -- using our social networks to get information, favors, or resources

3. Family and Friends: Micro-Level Networks
Network links
casual and personal , or
based on official positions and channels
Close Networks
Personal ties are tight
Shared personal interest held very high

5. Meso- and Macro-Level Networks
How are we linked:
The internet
Local civic, sports, and religious organizations
Community or national institutions
Our nation(s)
Global entities
Networks can open opportunities
But obligations can limit freedom
Meso- and macro-level interactions are more formal than micro-level ones

6. The Elements of Social Interaction
Social interaction is two or more individuals purposefully relating to each other
All interaction has three important components:
An action
A common goal
A social context
The action, goal, and context helps us interpret the social meaning of our interaction

7. The Elements of Social Interaction
People assume that others will share their interpretation of a situation
Shared assumptions create cues for behavior
Shared assumptions dictate what is appropriate in a situation
Dress
Manner
Speech
Actions
Socialization helps us determine the expectations of social interaction & vice-versa

8. The Elements of Social Interaction
People interact using verbal and non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication are interactions using facial expressions, the head, eye contact, body posture, gestures, touch, walk, status symbols and personal space
Non-verbal communication are:
Culturally specific
Learned through socialization
Used in all cultures

9. The Elements of Social Interaction
Personal space is non-verbal language
The amount of personal space needed varies by:
Cultural setting
Gender
Status
Social context
Personal space communicates social positions
Higher positions and status have greater control of physical space
Gender differences are customary in most societies

10. Four categories of social distance in U.S. culture (Hall):
Intimate distance
Private and affectionate relationships
0 – 18 inches
Personal distance
Friends and acquaintances
18 inches – 4 feet
Social distance
Impersonal business relations
4 – 12 feet
Public distance
Used in formal settings
Especially with high-status speakers
12 feet and beyond

11. Theoretical Perspectives on the Interaction Process
Exchange/Rational Choice Theory
Assumes that relationships are formed (and persist) based on the rewards and costs of the interaction to the individual
When benefits of the interaction are high and costs are low, interaction will be valued and sustained
If the benefits of interaction are low and if the costs are high, the interaction will not be valued nor sustained
For exchange theorists, every interaction involves:
Calculations of self-interest
Expectation of reciprocity
Actions that have current or eventual pay-off for actors

12. Theoretical Perspectives on the Interaction Process
Symbolic interaction theory
Ethnomethodology – the use of empirical methods to study how people develop shared meanings and consider how common rules originate by
Breaking norms to discover rules of interaction
Being interested in people’s responses to norm violations
Not taking interaction norms for granted

13. Theoretical Perspectives on the Interaction Process
Symbolic interaction theory (continued)
Dramaturgy – the study of social life from the framework that life is similar to a play or drama on stage, with scripts, props, and scenes to be played
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs on two stages
Front stage behavior
Backstage behavior
Working to create a definition of self through social interaction

14. Theoretical Perspectives on the Interaction Process
Assumptions of Dramaturgical analysts:
We create an impression for our audience as in acting in a play
Individuals learn new lines to add to their scripts through socialization
Individuals perform scripts for social audiences in order to maintain certain images, much like the actors in a play
Individuals use props as visible symbols to create or reinforce our roles
Individuals perform according to society’s script for the situation
Individuals work to create a positive, advantageous impression through impression management
Individuals use tact, humor, and other strategies to try to create positive impressions
Dramaturgical analysts believe interaction occurs on two stages: front stage & backstage

15. Social Status: The Link to Groups
Social Statuses are positions that individuals hold in the social world
Define interaction with others
A status set is the combination of statuses held by an individual
Ascribed statuses are statuses that are assigned at birth and do not change during an individual’s lifetime
Achieved statuses are statuses that are chosen or earned by decisions one makes or by personal ability
Master statuses are statuses that are most important and take precedence over others

16. Social Status: The Link to Groups

17. The Relationship between Status and Roles
Roles are the expected behaviors, rights and obligations associated with a status
Statuses (positions)
Roles (behavioral obligations of the status)

18. Individuals hold formal and informal statuses

19. Role strain is tension between roles within one status
Role conflict is conflict between the roles of two or more statuses

20. Groups in Our Social World: The Micro-Meso Connection
Groups are two or more people who interact with each other because of shared common interests, goals, experiences, and needs
Create a sense of belonging among members
Share a common goal
Members are in contact with one another
Defined membership norms
Rules for members’ behaviors
Groups form through a series of steps:
Initial interaction between potential members
A collective goal emerges
Attempt to expand collective goals by building membership and pursuing new goals

21. The Importance of Groups for the Individual
Groups establish our place in the social world and deeply influence of state of mind:
Anomie or a state of normlessness
Suicide (Durkheim)
Egoistic suicide
Anomic suicide
Altruistic suicide

22. Types of Groups
Primary groups are groups with close contacts between members with whom members have lasting personal relationships
Characteristics of primary groups:
Strong sense of belonging
Strong group loyalty
Strong influence on behavior
Main purpose is belonging
Primary groups have intrinsic value
Secondary groups are groups with formal, impersonal, businesslike relationships between members
Characteristics of secondary groups:
Large membership base
Task-oriented
Relationships based on accomplishing
A clear division of labor
Specialized communication
Membership can be short-term or long lasting

23. Types of Groups
Reference groups are groups composed of members who act as role models to one another and establish standards against which members measure their conduct
Peer groups are people who share similar age or social status; they can also serve as reference groups
Ingroups are groups to which individuals feel a sense of loyalty and belonging
Outgroups are groups to which individuals do not belong, but that exists in competition or opposition to an ingroup

24. Organizations and Bureaucracies:The Meso-Macro Connection

25. The Evolution of Modern Organizations
Organizational structure depends on the type of society
Modern organizations and bureaucracies began with industrialization
Rationality or the attempt to reach maximum efficiency, is the governing principle of most modern organizations
Formal organizations are complex secondary groups formed to pursue and achieve certain goals
Organizational societies are societies where a majority of the members work in organizations
Bureaucracies are specific types of very large formal organizations with the primary goal of maximizing efficiency

26. Characteristics of Modern Organizations
Organizations are categorized by their ability to get members to comply with the rules:
Utilitarian organizations gain compliance by providing income that individuals need to live in exchange for their labor
Coercive organizations are involuntary organizations where compliance is achieved by force
Normative organizations are groups where compliance is based on moral or political beliefs; individuals tend to join normative organizations for personal satisfaction
Voluntary organizations are groups individuals join on their own accord, typically because they believe in a cause, or because they enjoy the social contact or activity

27. Characteristics of Bureaucracies
Max Weber was the pioneer thinker on them
Weber found 6 characteristics of ideal type bureaucracies
Division of labor based on technical competence
Administrative hierarchy
Formal rules and regulations
Impersonal relationships
Emphasis on rationality and efficiency
Provision of life-long careers
Bureaucracies also have an informal structure (fiefdoms, informal networks, gossip, etc.)

28. Characteristics of McDonaldization
McDonaldization – George Ritzer’s term for the process through which the principles of the McDonald’s corporation have been integrated into the operation of all organizations
The principles of McDonaldization:
Efficiency
Predictability
Calculability
Increased control
The dysfunctions of McDonaldization
Dehumanization
Irrationality
The desire for efficiency taking over creativity and human interaction
Loss of uniqueness and local flavor

29. Individuals in Bureaucracies
Professionals
Alienation
Autonomy
Minority-status groups
Glass ceilings -- to barriers which keep females and other minority group members from reaching high levels of management in organizations
Disproportional representation in middle or low occupational levels

30. Problems in Bureaucracies
Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy
Alienation
Worker dissatisfaction
Oligarchy
The iron law of oligarchy
Goal Displacement
Parkinson’s Law
Alternatives to Bureaucracy
Alternative organization structure
Democratic-collective organization

31. National and Global Networks: The Macro-Level
Multinational corporations
National systems and international organizations
The Internet

32. Policy Issues: Women and Globalization
Around the world, women are the most economically, politically, and socially marginalized group of people
The United Nations has created may policies to help raise the status of women worldwide
Education initiatives
Micro-lending agencies