Chapter 9

Social Groups and Social Organization

Concepts of social group and social
organizations
Psychologically, man is said to be a thinking
rational being
Politically, he is political and power-seeking being
Theologically, he is religious, god-seeking being
Sociologically, man is gregarious, social being
seeking the company of others social beings.
“No man is an Island”
-John Donne-
Homans (1950)

defines a group as a collection

of two or more persons who are
in social interaction, who are
guided by similar norms, values
and expectations and who
sustain a stable pattern of
relations over a period of time.
Donald Light (1985)

defines group as a set of

individuals who identify and interact
with one another in a structured
way based on shared values and
goals.
 Social Group

is a unit of interacting personalities with

interdependence of roles and states existing
between and among themselves. It is a collection
of people who interact with each other in
accordance with the position they occupy in the
society.
 Social Organization

refers to a type of collectivity established for the

pursuit f specific aims or goals, characterized by a
formal structure of rules, authority relations, a
division of labor and limited membership or
admission. (Jarry D. 1994)
Other Collections or Clusters of People

Aggregates
Collectivity
Social Category
Aggregates

Refers to a cluster of people who may be on

close physical proximity that do not interact with
one another. This is the case of people gathered
in an unstructured manner in a bus or jeepney
stop, people sharing an escalator or people lining
up to buy their movie tickets.
Collectivity

Refers to a cluster of people interacting with

one another in a passing or short-lived manner.
The collectivity is characterized by spontaneity,
fleeting interaction, anonymity, lack of structure
and established norms to guide their behavior.
Crowd, mass, public and social movements are
the forms of collectivity.
Social Category

Refers to a collection of people who are

classified or categorized by accordance with
some status characteristics like sex, race, age,
religion, political siltation, occupation or
profession, income, social class and ethnicity.
For example, women who feel they are
discriminated in a “male-oriented and male-
dominated” society may join the Women
Liberation Movement to redress their grievances.
Characteristics of Social Group

1. Group members interact on a fairly regular basis through

communication. They affect and influence each other.
2. The members of the group develop a structure where each
member assumes a specific status and adopts a particular role.
Each members accepts certain duties and responsibilities and is
entitled to certain privileges.
3. The members of the group agree to some extent on important
norms, goals, and values. Certain orderly procedures and values
are agreed upon.
4. The members of the group feel a sense of identify. They think of
themselves as united and interdependent, somewhat apart from
other people.
Types of Social Groups

1. According to social ties:

a. Primary Group
b. Secondary Group
2. According to self-identification
a. In-group
b. Out-group
c. Reference group or psychological group
3. According to purpose
a. Special interest groups
b. Task group
c. Influence or pressure groups
Types of Social Groups

4. According to geographical location and degree or quality of relation

a. Gemeinschaft
b. Gesselschaft
5. According to form of organization
a. Formal groups
b. Informal groups
According to social ties

Primary Groups
it is the most fundamental unit of the human society.
It is a long-lasting group whose members have intimate,
personal, continuous face-to-face relationships. It is
usually characterized by strong ties of love and
affection, personal identify with the group, mutuality of
interest, cooperation and the “we” feeling.
Example: Family
According to social ties

Secondary Groups
it refers to the groups with which the
individual comes in contact later in life. These
groups have characteristics which are the
opposite of primary groups. It is characterized by
impersonal, business-like, contractual, formal
and casual relationship.
Examples : industrial workers, business associates,
faculty staff, company employees
According to Self-Identification

 In-group. It is a social unit in which individuals feel at

home and with which they identify. Members of the in-
group have the “we” feeling for they are similar in
certain ways, such as being poor, being rich, being a
Tagalog, and other social categories
 Out-group. It is a social unit to which individuals do not
belong due to differences in certain social categories
and with which the do not identify. Examples: If we are
law abiders, the out-group is the law-violators: we violate
the laws , the law abiders are the out-group.
According to Self-Identification
 Reference group or psychological group. It refers to the
groups to which we consciously or unconsciously refer
when we try to evaluate our own life situations and
behavior, but to which we do not necessarily belong.
Reference groups serve a comparison function; they
provide us with standards against which we evaluate
ourselves.
Example: if we belong to the middle class, we may
feel fortunate and satisfied in comparison to the poor
class or dissatisfied in comparison with the rich or upper
class. It all depends on which social category serves as a
reference group.
According to Purpose

 Special Interest Groups. It refers to groups which are

organized to meet the special interest of the members.
Example: hobby groups
 Task Groups. It refers to groups assigned to accomplish
jobs which cannot be done by one person. Examples:
working committee, construction workers.
 Influence or Pressure Groups. It refers to groups
organized to support or influence social actions.
Examples: social movements, campaign groups, political
parties.
According to Geographical Location
or Degree or Quality of Relationship
Gemeinschaft. It refers to a social system in
which most realtionships are personal or
traditional. It is a community of intimate, private,
and exclusive living and familism. The activities,
intersts and personalities of the members center
around the large family groups and neighbors.
Culture is homogenous and tradition- bound.
Examples: tribal groups, agricultural and fishing
villages, barrio.
According to Geographical Location
or Degree or Quality of Relationship
Gesselschaft. It refers to a social sustem in which
most realtionships are impersonal, formal ,
contractual or bargain-like, relationship is
individualistic, business-like, secondary and
rationalized. Culture is heterogenous and more
advanced. Examples: city or urban groups
According to Form of Organization

 Formal Groups. They are also called social organizations.

They are deliberately formed, and their purpose and
objectives are explicitly defined. Their goals are clearly
atated and the division of lavor is based on member’s
ability or merit.
Formal organizations have a certain type of
administrative machinery which aimed to enable
members meet therir goals. This administrative structure is
called “bureaucracy”. The best example is the
government.
 Bureaucracy

It refers to a hierarchical arrangement in large-

scale formal organizations in which parts of the
organization are ordered in the manner of a pyramid
bsed on a division of function and authority. (Weber,
M. 1965)
Merton (1965) defines the bureaucracy as a formal,
rationally organized social structure involving clearly
defined patterns of activity in which eey series of
actions Is fundamentally related to the purpose of the
organization
Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
(according to Weber)
 Positions and offices are clearly defined.
 The hierarchical arrangement of authority, rights, and obligations is
specifically drawn and clear cut.
 The personnel are selected on the basis of technical or professional
qualification and exper training and competence through competitive
examination.
 Definite rules govern official behavior.
 Securit of tenure and the pursuit of a career with promotion in the hierarchy
is assured.
 “the chief merit of the
bureaucracy is its technical
efficiency with a premium
placed on precision, speed,
control, continuity,
discretion and optimal
returns on input”

-Robert King Merton (1964)

According to Form of Organization

Informal groups. An informal group arise

spontaneously our of the interactions of two or
more persons. It is ynplanned: it has no explicit
rules for membership and does not have
specific objectives to be attained. It has
characteristics of primary groups and members
are bound by emotions and sentiments.
Example: Barkada and Gangs.
Elements of Effective Group Functioning

i. Democratic or “participate” leadership is employed.

ii. Flexible patterns of communication are used.
iii. A cooperative problem-solving approach to discussion is employed rather
than a competitive “win-lose” approach
iv. Members deal openly an candidly with one another.
v. Decision techniques which favor a sharing of responsibility via protection of
the individual rights are used rather than techniques which place the
responsibility cearly in the hands of but a portion of the group.
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Group size
Size is a limiting condition on the amount and
quality of intraction and communication that
can occur among individuals. In aaddition to
the number of relationships, other characteristics
change with the increasing size. Among thes are
division of labor, the group structure, the type of
leadership, and the communication patter
(Panopio 2004)
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Type of Group Goals
A group will develop structural forms or
arrangement that will facilitate the attainment
of its goals; inversely, it will block structural from
that will slow down the pursuit of its goals (Mc
Gec 1977). Example: bureaucratic structure or
autonomous structure,
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Motivational Base Shared by Individuals
People bound by mutual or share interests,
common goals, expectations, or even the
pursuit of nefarioyus activities organized
themselves and secure result through group
concerted action. Example. Hobby club, bible
study groups, criminal gangs.
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
The Kind of Group Cohesion
Group cohesion refers to the degree to which
the members of the group have the ability to
funkction and interact together towards the pursuit
of their goals. (Santos, 1984). When members show
a sense of honor they develop the group’s “code of
honor”, when needs of the members are satisfied by
the group, cohesion will be strong and the broup is
unlikely to break up. When morale nad
camaraderie of the group is low, the possibility of
break-up is high.
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Social Conformity
Members of the group evolve group norms
and conform them to achieve goals. Example:
code of conduct among group members.
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Group Decision Making
whatever the group’s composition or the
task at hand, the grou typically goes through
four distinct stages in arriving at its choice
a. Orientation
b. Evaluation
c. Reaching a Decision
d. Restoring Equilibrium
Factor or Forces Affecting Group
Dynamics
Leadership
it is the process of influencing the activities of
individuals in a group towards the attainment of
grou goals in a givn situation. It implies the
existence of particular influence relationship
between two or more persons.
Leadership, Qualities of a Leader,
Style of Leadership
Leadership

The success or failure of an organization is

largely dependent upon the effectiveness of its
leaders. Effective leadership is that attribute which
set apart organiztions that succeed from
organizations that fail. A true and well-loved
leader is long remembered and does not perish in
the dustbin of history. His gratness transcends time
and space.
“ Lives of great men all remind us
we can make our lives sublime,
And parting leave behind us
Footprints in the sands of time.
―Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
”
QUALITIES OF A LEADER

Most people believe that leaders have special traits

that make them different from no-leaders. Such traits
include intelligence, dominance, charisma, enthusiasm,
courage and determination, self-confidence, high sense of
integrit, tact and diplomacy and involvement. However,
studies have shown that attempts to attribyte leadership
on the basis of personality traits alone have consistently
failed. People are caught in a variety of social situations
and event that leadership dependes more on the situation
and the need to be satisfied by the given situation than on
the person.
QUALITIES OF A LEADER

Groups need leaders for two basic purposed: to

direct various tasks and provide support to group
members. The act of directing a group toward its
goal is known as task leadership and the act of
maintaining god spirits is known as socio-
economical leadership.
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

 Functional Leadership – functional leader need not

occupy a vantage position but he is accepted by the
group because he wields influence on the thinking and
behavior of the members. Functional or operational
leadership.
 Status Leadership – status leader occupies a position of
authority such as the manger, director, principal or
supervisor. He holds a vantage position and is accepted
as leader only because of innate bureaucratic fear of a
person in authority.
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

 Task-oriented Leadership – a task-oriented leader is

production oriented and gives emphasis to the needs
and goals of the organization. He is high on tasks but low
on relationship.
 Relationship or person-oriented leadership – a person-
oriented leader stresses building and maintaining
goodpersonal relations between himself and his
followers. He has more concern for the needs and
feelings of the individuals in the organization. He is seed
as high in relationships but low in tasks.
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

 Transactional leadership – a transactional leader scores

high both on tasks and relationships. He sets a high
standard of performance but takes in interest in
everyone. He is a team player.
 Authoritarian leader – the authoritarian leader decides
on the goals to be achieved and prescribes how this is
to be achieved. He assumes that he is more
experienced, more intelligent and better trained than
any and all members of the group
STYLES OF LEADERSHIP

 Democratic leadership – a democratic leader engages in

cooperative planning. He believes that the members of the group
are a capable as he is in making decisions in relation with their
particular training and experience.
 Tradition-oriented leadership – a tradition-oriented leader clings
tenaciously to established practices and norms and perceives
change with no little apprehension and distrust.
 Development-oriented leadership – he conceives change as a
component of development, making sure that whatever changes
are adoped shall improve the delivery system of the organization
and consequently the organizational product.
IS THERE A BEST STYLE OF LEADERSHIP?
Empirical studies tend to show that there is
no best style of leadership. Leadership style
must take into consideration the following
factors:
 Level of education of members
 Cultural characteristics of followers
 Standard of living of the group
 Particular situation e.g., emergency situations; crises-
oriented organizations.
 Maturity of the staff