The term group refers to any collection of at
least two people who interact frequently and share identity traits
aligned with the group (Griffiths et al. 2015). Groups play
different roles in our lives. Primary groups are
usually small groups characterized by face-to-face interaction,
intimacy, and a strong sense of commitment. Primary groups remain
“inside” us throughout our lifetime (Henslin 2011).
Secondary groups are large and impersonal groups
that form from sharing a common interest. Different types of groups
influence our interactions, identity, and social status. George
Herbert Mead (1934) called individuals effecting a person’s life as
significant others, and he conceptualized “generalized others” as
the organized and generalized attitude of a social group.
Different types of groups influence our interactions, identity,
and social status. An in-group is a group toward
which one feels particular loyalty and respect. The traits of
in-groups are virtues, whereas traits of out-groups are vices
(Henslin 2011). An out-group is a group toward
which one feels antagonism and contempt. Consider fans at a
sporting event, people cheering on our supporting the same team
will develop an in-group admiration and acceptance while viewing
fans of the opposing team as members of
their out-group.
Figure
\(\PageIndex{1}\): Man Person People Stadium. Image used
with permission (CC0 1.0; Pixabay).
Reference groups are also influential groups in someone’s life.
A reference group provides a standard for judging
one’s own attitudes or behaviors within a social setting or context
(Henslin 2011). People use reference groups as a method for
self-evaluation and social location. People commonly use reference
groups in the workplace by watching and emulating the interactions
and practices of others so they fit in and garner acceptance by the
group.
Group dynamics focus on how groups influence
individuals and how individuals affect groups. The social dynamics
between individuals plays a significant role in forming group
solidarity. Social unity reinforces a collective identity and
shared thinking among group members thereby constructing a common
culture (Griswold 2013). Commonalities of group membership are
important for mobilizing individual members. When people attempt to
create social change or establish a social movement group,
solidarity helps facilitate motivation of individuals and framing
of their actions. The sense of belonging and trust among the group
makes it easier for members to align and recognize the problem,
accept a possible solution, take certain actions that are congruent
and complementary to the collective identity of the group (Griswold
2013).
People accept the group’s approach based on solidarity and
cohesiveness that overall amplifies personal mobilization and
commitment to the group and its goals.
COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Research TED Talks videos on social movements and social change
such as the following:
- How to Start a Movement by Derek Sivers
(www.ted.com/talks/derek_sive...art_a_movement)
- Online Social Change by Zeynep Tufekci
(www.ted.com/talks/zeynep_tuf...ze_hard_to_win)
- What lessons can you learn about collective identity from the
stories presented?
- How does group culture make it possible to construct a social
movement? Explain how microsociological acts (social interactions)
lead to macrosociological changes (systems, organizations, and
processes) in society.
- What impact does intrinsic or internal motivation and framing
of the issue have on organizing a social movement?
An organization refers to a group of people
with a collective goal or purpose linked to bureaucratic tendencies
including a hierarchy of authority, clear division of labor,
explicit rules, and impersonal (Giddens, Duneier, Applebaum, and
Carr 2013). Organizations function within existing cultures and
produce their own. Formal organizations fall into three categories
including normative, coercive, and utilitarian (Etzioni 1975).
People join normative or voluntary
organizations based on shared interests (e.g.,
club or cause). Coercive organizations are groups
that people are coerced or forced to join (e.g., addiction
rehabilitation program or jail). People join utilitarian
organizations to obtain a specific material reward (e.g.,
private school or college).
When we work or live in organizations, there are multiple levels
of interaction that effect social unity and operations. On an
individual level, people must learn and assimilate into the culture
of the organization. All organizations face the problem of
motivating its members to work together to achieve common goals
(Griswold 2013). Generally, in organizations small group
subcultures develop with their own meaning and practices to help
facilitate and safeguard members within the organizational
structure. Group members will exercise force (peer pressure and
incentives), actively socialize (guide feelings and actions with
normative controls), and model behavior (exemplary actors and
stories) to build cohesiveness (Griswold 2013). Small groups play
an integral role in managing individual members to maintain the
function of the organization. Think about the school or college you
attend. There are many subcultures within any educational setting
and each group establishes the norms and behaviors members must
follow for social acceptance. Can you identify at least two
subcultures on your school campus and speculate how members of the
group pressure each other to fit in?
Figure
\(\PageIndex{2}\): Army Authority Drill Instructor Group.
(CC0 1.0; Pixabay).
On a group level, symbolic power matters in recruiting members
and sustaining the culture of a group within the larger social
culture (Hallet 2003). Symbolic power is the power
of constructing reality to guide people in understanding their
place in the organizational hierarchy (Bourdieu 1991). This power
occurs in everyday interactions through unconscious cultural and
social domination. The dominant group of an organization influences
the prevailing culture and provides its function in communications
forcing all groups or subcultures to define themselves by their
distance from the dominant culture (Bourdieu 1991). The instrument
of symbolic power is the instrument of domination in the
organization by creating the ideological systems of its goals,
purpose, and operations. Symbolic power not only governs culture of
the organization but also manages solidarity and division between
groups. We see examples of symbolic power in the military. Each
branch of the military has a hierarchy of authority where generals
serve as the dominate group and are responsible for the prevailing
culture. Each rank socializes members according to their position
within the organization in relation to the hierarchy and fulfills
their role to achieve collective goals and maintain functions.
CULTURAL SOLIDARITY
Describe the culture of an organization where you have worked,
volunteered, or attended school.
- What are the stories and symbols that everyone who works,
volunteers, or attends there knows?
- What subculture groups exist within the organization, and what
forms of conflict take place between units or classifications?
- How do the heads of the organization use symbolic power to
motivate people?
There are external factors that influence organizational
culture. The context and atmosphere of a nation shapes an
organization. When an organization’s culture aligns with national
ideology, they can receive special attention or privileges in the
way of financial incentives or policy changes (Griswold 2013). In
contrast, organizations opposing national culture may face
suppression, marginalization, or be denied government and economic.
Organizations must also operate across a multiplicity of cultures
(Griswold 2013). Culture differences between organizations may
affect their operations and achievement of goals. To be successful,
organizations must be able to operate in a variety of contexts and
cultures. Griswold (2013) suggested one way to work across cultural
contexts is to maintain an overarching organizational mission but
be willing to adapt on insignificant or minor issues. Financial and
banking institutions use this approach. Depending on the region,
banks offer different cultural incentives for opening an account or
obtaining a loan. In California, homeowners may obtain a low
interest loans for ecological improvements including installation
of solar panels, weatherproof windows, or drought resistance
landscaping. In the state of Michigan, affluent homeowners may
acquire a low interest property improvement loan, and very
low-income homeowners may receive grants for repairing, improving,
or modernizing their homes to remove health and safety hazards.
Working across organizational cultures also requires some
dimension of trust. Organizational leaders must model forms and
symbols of trust between organizations, groups, and individuals
(Mizrachi, Drori, and Anspach 2007). This means authority figures
must draw on the organization’s internal and external diversity of
cultures to show its ability to adapt and work in a variety of
cultural and political settings and climates. Organizations often
focus on internal allegiance forgetting that shared meaning across
the marketplace, sector, or industry is what moves understanding of
the overall system and each organization’s place in it (Griswold
2013). The lack of cultural coordination and understanding
undermines many organizations and has significant consequences for
accomplishing its goals and ability to sustain itself.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Consider the culture of an organization where you have worked,
volunteered, or attended school. Describe a time when you witnessed
someone receive a nonverbal, negative sanction (e.g., a look of
disgust, a shake of the head, or some other nonverbal sign of
disapproval).
- What organizational norm was being broken (i.e., what was the
act that led the person to give a nonverbal negative
sanctioning)?
- Was the norm broken considered a structural or cultural
violation?
- What was the reaction of the norm violator to the negative
sanction?
- Was the norm being enforced a result of peer pressure, external
forces, mimicking, or modeling?
