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Primary Group
A small social group whose members share personal and lasting relationships. These people spend a great deal of time together, engage in a wide range of activities, and feel that they know one another pretty well. An end in itself (not a means to an end). Our friends are unique and not replaceable.
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Secondary Group
A large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or activity. Involve weak emotional ties, exist for a short period of time, tend to be impersonal. A means to an end.
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Network
A web of weak social ties. Technology has generated a global network of unprecedented size in the form of the Internet.
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Three types of Formal Organizations
- Utilitarian Organization- anyone who works for income belongs to one
- Normative Organization- join to pursue some goal they think is morally worthwhile
- Coercive Organization- forced to join these organizations as a form of punishment or treatment
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The "Great Bureaucracy"
An organizational model rationally designed to perform tasks efficiently. Characteristics are: specialization, training, rules, hierarchy of office, technical competence through evaluation, impersonality, formal written communications/instrucions, recognition is merit-based. The system could not exist without the organizational capacity to keep track of everything. The great bureaucracy developed because of overall progression of society (growing population=greater needs,desire to become more efficient). Consequences include: dehumanization, alientation, efficiency becomes inefficient(too many subgroups, people get confused), ritualism creates "red tape"
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Three Challenges of Formal Organizations
- Race and Gender: By excluding women and minorities from the workplace you ignore more than half the population, possibly decreasing efficiency- this isn't based on competence like it should be.
- The Japanese Work Organization: (rising competition from abroad)
- The Changing Nature of Work: service and technology are now important, rather than production
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"McDonaldization" of Society, what is it?
Refers to the extent to which we have adopted the principles of fast food to all aspects of our life, including- Efficiency (what is fast is necessarily good), calculability(quantification rather than quality), uniformity and predictability/standardization, control through automation
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