Groups and Organizations

Collections of People
A social group refers to two or more people who identify and interact with one another. Human
beings come together in couples, families, circles of friends, churches, clubs, businesses,
neighborhoods, and large organizations. Whatever its form, a group is made up of people with shared
experiences, loyalties, and interests.

Not every collection of individuals can be called a group. People with a status in common, such as
women, homeowners, soldiers, millionaires, and Roman Catholics, are not a group but a category.

A temporary, loosely formed collections of people are better termed a crowd. In general, crowds are
too anonymous and transitory to qualify as groups.

Another collection of people which is not considered as social group

but are labeled with other nomenclature is aggregate which refer to a cluster Another collection of
people which is not considered as social group
another.

The Social Group

To differentiate the social group from the other collections of people, its characteristics can be
described as follows:
1. Group members interact on a fairly regular basis through communication.

2. The members of the group develop a structure where each member assumes a specific status and
adopts a particular role.

3. The members of the group agree to some extent on important norms. goals, and values.

4. The members of the group feel a sense of identity.

Types of Social Groups

1. Groups According to Social Ties
Primary Group
✓It is the most fundamental unit of human society.
✓According to Charles Horton Cooley, it is a small social group whose members share personal and
enduring relationships.

Secondary Group
✓ Refers to the group with which the individual comes in contact later in life. This group has
characteristics that are the opposite of primary
group.
✓It is also referred to as a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a specific goal or
activity.

2. Groups According to Self-Identification

Everyone favors some groups over others, whether because of political outlook, social prestige, or just
manner of dress.
Such judgments illustrate another important element of group dynamics: the opposition of in-groups
and out-groups. These groups are based on the idea that "we" have valued traits that "they" lack.
In-Group
✓ It is a social unit in which individuals feel at home and with which they identify.
✓ It is also a social group commanding a member's esteem and loyalty. It exists in relation to an out-
group.

Out-Group
✓It is a social unit to which individuals do not belong due to differences in certain categories social
and with which they do not identify.

Reference Group
✓It refers to the group 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.

2. Groups According to Purpose

Special Interest Group
✓ It refers to a group which is organized to meet the special interest of its members.
✓ Example: Hobby groups.

Task Group
✓ This group is assigned to
accomplish jobs which cannot
be done by one person.
✓ Example: Working Committee, Construction Workers.

Influence or Pressure Group

✓ This refers to a group organized to support or influence social actions.
✓ Example: Social Movements, Campaign Groups, Political Parties.

3. Groups According to Geographical Location and Degree or Quality of Relationship

Gemeinschaft
✓It refers to a social system in which most relationships are personal or traditional. It is a community
of intimate, private, and exclusive living and familism. The activities, interest, and personalities of the
members center around the large family groups and neighbors. Culture is homogeneous and
tradition-bound.
✓ Example: Tribal groups, agricultural and fishing villages, barrio.

Gesselschaft
✓ This is a social system in which most relationships are impersonal, formal, contractual or bargain-
like. Relationships are individualistic, business-like, secondary and rationalized. Culture is
heterogeneous and more advanced.
✓ Example: City or urban groups.

5. Groups According to Form of Organization

Formal Group
✓It is also called social organization. It is deliberately formed, and its purpose and objectives are
explicitly defined. Its goals are clearly stated and the division of labor is based on member's ability or
merit. ✓ Formal organizations have a certain type of administrative machinery which is aimed to
enable members meet its goals. This administrative structure is called "bureaucracy."

Bureaucracy-refers to a hierarchical arrangement in large-scale formal organizations in which parts of

the organization are ordered in the manner of a pyramid based on a division of function and
authority. (Weber, M. 1965)

Informal Group
✓ This group arises spontaneously out of the interactions of two or more persons. It is unplanned: it
has no explicit rules for membership and does not have specific objectives to be attained. It has the
characteristics of primary groups and members are bound by emotions and
sentiments.
✓ Example: Barkadas
and gangs.

Group size
Size plays an important role in how group members interact.

The Dyad
✓ This is the term used to designate a social group with two members. This is according to German
Sociologist Georg Simmel, who studied group dynamics in smaller groups.

The Triad
✓ Simmel also studied the triad, a social group with three members. A triad contains three
relationships, each joining two of the three people.

Social Network
✓ A network is a web of weak social ties. Think of a network as a "fuzzy" group containing people who
come into occasional contact but who lack a sense of boundaries and belonging. If we think of a group
as a "circle of friends," then, we might describe a network as a "social web" expanding outward, often
reaching great distances and including large numbers of people.

Formal Organizations
A century ago, most people lived in small groups of family, friends, and neighbors. Today, our lives
revolve more and more around formal organizations, large secondary groups that are organized to
achieve their goals efficiently.
Formal organizations such as business corporation and government

Types of Formal Organizations

Amitai Etzioni (1975) identified three types of formal organizations, distinguished by the reasons
people participate-utilitarian organizations, normative organizations, and coercive organizations.

1. Utilitarian Organizations
✓ Just about everyone works for income belongs to a utilitarian organization, one that pays people
for their efforts. Large businesses, for example, generate profits for their owners and income for their
employees.

2. Normative Organizations
✓ People join normative organizations not for income but to pursue some goals which they think are
morally worthwhile. Sometimes called voluntary associations, these include community service
groups (such as PTA, the Lions Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Red Cross), as well as
political parties and religious organizations.

3. Coercive Organizations
✓ Coercive organizations have an involuntary membership. That is, people join these as a form of
punishment (prison) or treatment (psychiatric hospitals).