Chapter 4

Social Groups and Formal Organizations

Formal Organizations

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Formal Organizations

Formal organization:

group deliberately created for the achievement of specific objectives.

Usually consisting of several interrelated groups or subsystems. governed by clearly stated and enforced norms.

EX.:Corporations, the Catholic Church, court

systems, military organizations, and university

administrations.

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Formal Organizations

Amitai Etzioni (1975): three types of organizations

Voluntary: members enter and leave freely normative organization is one that individuals join in order to promote an important social cause. Most voluntary organizations are considered normative.

community service groups, political parties and religious organizations.

Coercive: members enter against their will. Form of punishment (prisons or mental institutions).

Utilitarian: members join to accomplish tasks pays people for their efforts. Anyone who works for income belongs to this organization. Becoming part of utilitarian organization-a business, government agency, or school system, for example- is usually a matter of individual choice

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Formal Organizations

It is possible for a single formal organization to fall under these 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 for a hospital volunteer.

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Formal Organizations

Bureaucracy: combining the idea of office and office holders

(bureau) with the notion of rule or power(the Greek term kratia).

social structure made up of hierarchy of statuses and roles

prescribed by explicit rules and procedures and based on

division of function and authority.

hierarchy of authority

clear division of labor emphasis on impersonality of positions

written rules, communications and records

bureaucracy always embodies power and is charged with

making binding decisions

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Formal Organizations

Bureaucracy (continued)

Growth of bureaucracy response to growth of industrialism

Structural units and divisions

Synchronization and integration

Planning and coordination

Focus on process

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Formal Organizations

Characteristics of Bureaucracies Problems of Bureaucracy

The Iron Law of Oligarchy (Robert Michels): bureaucracies invariably lead to oligarchy (the rule by a few).

If bureaucracy happens, power rises. Power corrupts.

large organization, has to create a bureaucracy in order to

maintain its efficiency.

For the organization to function effectively, centralization has to

occur and power will end up in the hands of a few.

Oligarchy—will use all means necessary to preserve and

further increase their power. oligarchy denotes a political regime in which the power is concentrated in

the hands of a small group, regardless of whether this power is based on

wealth (plutocratic system), weapons, or other sources of influence and control.

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Formal Organizations

Characteristics of Bureaucracies

Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy

Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”

Relentless growth of bureaucracy reflected in federal government

sufficiently large bureaucracy will

generate enough internal work to keep

itself 'busy' and so justify its continued

existence without commensurate output.

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Formal Organizations

Characteristics of Bureaucracies

Dysfunctions of Bureaucracy

Peter Principle: a tongue in cheek observation

that the members of an organization are

promoted for their accomplishments until they

reach their level of incompetence there they

cease to be promote remaining at the level at

which they can no longer do good work

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Formal Organizations

Characteristics of Bureaucracies (continued)

Bureaucracy as an Idealized Model

Humans do not exist only for organizations

Not immune to social change

Designed for average person

Forms of informal organization (interpersonal networks and ties that arise in a formal organization but are not defined or prescribed by it) emerge within real bureaucracies

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Formal Organizations

Conflict Perspective

Organizational goals serve those in power

Marx: factory is despotic regime

More recent studies suggest bureaucratic mechanisms arose from desire to control workers and abstract notions of efficiency and rationality

Emergence of the collectivist-democratic organization

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Formal Organizations

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

People are active agents who shape their destinies

Strauss (1964): researched organizational behavior at Chicago-area psychiatric hospitals

Negotiated order: fluid ongoing understandings and agreements people reach as they go about daily activities

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Formal Organizations

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective (continued)

Ethnomethodology: procedures employed in making social life and society intelligible

Zimmerman: as we go about activities, we continually develop and interpret what rules mean

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Formal Organizations

A Synthesis of Alternative Perspectives

Perrow: world more “loosely coupled” than structural theories admit

Actions determined by executives, employees, and other stakeholders, and formally stated goals determined based on what executives observe themselves doing

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The Sociology of Work

Work influences

Social class position, income, prestige, health, life satisfaction, life expectancy, and more

Work is embedded in, or linked, to major social institutions:

The economy

Education

Medicine

The family

Others

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The Sociology of Work

The significance of work

People work for many reasons, in addition to “self-interest”

Work has many social meanings

Gain a contributing place in society

Receive pay

Affords identity

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The Sociology of Work

Changes in the work experience

Have been accompanied by a shift from nonindustrial to industrial society, and now to a service and informational society

The worker-boss model is changing

Telecommuting

Outsourcing

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The Sociology of Work

Satisfaction and alienation in work

Happiest workers: those in helping professions or doing creative work

Most important factors:

Workers’ self respect

Chances to perform well

Opportunities for achievement and growth

Chances to contribute something personal and unique

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The Sociology of Work

Alienation and a lack of power

Alienation: a pervasive sense of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement.

Burnout: a sense of boredom, apathy, reduced efficiency, fatigue, frustration, and despondency

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The Sociology of Work

Humanizing bureaucracies

Employee participation

Alternative work schedules

Virtual offices

Specialized benefits

Employee stock ownership plans