Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter you should be able to understand the following:

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 perform a comparison function for people's evaluations of themselves and others.

4 Interactionist researchers have revealed that there are distinct and predictable processes at work in the functioning of small groups. The simplest group is a dyad, composed of two members. Triads and larger groups increase ways of interacting and allow for coalitions to form.

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 will share these five basic characteristics: division of labor, hierarchical authority, written rules and regulations, impersonality, and employment based on technical qualifications.

7 Bureaucracy can be understood as a process and as a matter of degree; thus, an organization is more or less bureaucratic than other organizations.

8 When leaders of an organization build up their power, it can lead to oligarchy (rule by a few).

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

10 Technology has transformed the workplace through automation, telecommuting, and electronic communication.

11 Sexual harassment has been reported not only in the federal workplace and in private-sector organizations but also in schools.