Lesson 10.

Social Groups and Social Organizations

Introduction
Man’s uniqueness as biological creature arises from the fact that man is also undoubtedly a rational,
social, economic, political and cultural being. Although some of man’s physical strength and capabilities
are admittedly inferior to some animals, his highly develop nervous system and cultural behavior enable
him to have dominion on the surface of the earth.

Even during pre-historic times, man had learned to live with other human beings in groups. Man
discovered that group life is necessary not only for his survival but also for the [reservation of the human
species. Informal social organizations are formed when a number of people with common interrelated
and independent functions work together for the attainment of a common goal.

Discussion and Analysis

Concepts of Social Group and Social Organization
Homans (1950) defines a group as collection of two or more persons who are in social interaction, who
are guided by similar norms, values, and expectations, and who maintain a stable pattern of relations
over a period of time.

Donald Light (1986) defines a group as a set of individuals who identify and interact with one another in
a structured way based on shared values and goals.

A social group is a unit of interacting personalities with interdependence of roles and statuses 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.

On the other hand, social organization refers to a type of collectively established for the pursuit of the
specific aims or goals, characterized by a formal structure of rules, authority relations, a division pf labor
and limited membership or admission. (Jarry, D. 1995)

How is Society Organized?

Basically, society starts with an aggregate of people called a social group. A social group exists when two
or more persons are in contact and mutually stimulating and responding with one another through
language both verbal and non-verbal. This mutual interstimulation and response between two or more
persons and groups is referred to as social interaction.

When interaction recurs often enough, a pattern of social relation exists which is reciprocal in nature
that is, the behavior of the interactants derives its meaning from his relation to the other person or
persons involved. Examples of social relations are husband and wife, father and son, teacher and
students, employer and employee, and so on.

This reciprocal social relation are results to the development of social status and a corresponding social
role. A social status is a collection of rights and duties that goes with a position in a group. A status may
be ascribed or achieved. An ascribed status is the status by virtue of one’s birth. He does not have a
choice or decision on the matter such as his sex, age, gender, kinship, religion or nationality at birth. An
achieved status, on the other hand, is one an individual may acquire by virtue of his own efforts, use of
intelligence and skills, choice, or through some stroke of good fortune. This can be through marriage,
occupation, profession, education, financial acumen, industry or lotto winning.

The pattern of behavior that accompanies a status is a social role. Any one person occupies a number of
statuses and plays a corresponding varied roles at different stages of his life and different social groups
to which he belongs and depending upon which social relationship is in effect at any particular time.
Thus, a teen-ager, Jose can play the role of a son in a father-son relationship in the family at home or
play the role of a student in a teacher-student relationship in his school group. Once he gets married he
plays the role of a husband in a husband-wife relationship or play the role of an employee in an
employer-employee relationship in his workgroup in the workplace.

When is a Social Group a Society?

As previously stated, a fairly large social group sharing common culture and a sense of common identity
in a community is a society. The bases for such societal grouping can be ethnic identity and loyalty,
dialect or language, religious or political affiliation, regional or national identity, cultural orientations,
social category in a national category in a national or international dimension. An emerging concept of
society in a broader sense is the global society dominant-dependent societies as an offshoot of the trend
towards globalization advocated by the capitalist technologically advanced nations. Another concept is
“virtual society” as an adjunct in the world-wide proliferation of electronic gadgets and devices in the
contemporary Information Age and Age of Convergence in the global landscape.

What Hold a Society Together?

The members of the society interact more with one another than with the members of other societies.
The share more values in common. They have a sense of common identity, group consciousness and
group loyalty. This interdependent web of interrelationship, common shared values, sentiments,
mental-set, and common way of life.

Characteristics of Social Group

The characteristics of a social group are described as follows:

1. Group members interact on a fairly regular basis through communication. They affect and
influence each other.
2. The members of a group develop a structure where each member assumes a specific status and
adopts a particular role. Each member accepts certain duties and responsibilities and is entitled
to certain privileges.
3. The members of the group feel a sense of identity. They think of themselves as united and
interdependent, somewhat apart from other people.

Types of Social Groups

Diverse groups exist in the society. Knowledge of their important distinction is necessary in describing
and analyzing group behavior.

Sociologists classify the different groups as follows:

1. According to Social Ties
a. Primary Group. It is the most fundamental unit of 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 identity within the group,
mutuality of interest, cooperation and a “we” feeling. Examples: families, gangs, cliques,
play groups, friendship groups. A primary group like the family serves as the principal agent
of socialization. Cooley viewed the family as “the nursery of human nature” because within
it the child is initiated into the cultural ways of the society, develops his/her self-concept,
acquires a status, plays a corresponding role and emerges with a personality.
The family and other intimate groups provide the child with a sense of love, security,
recognition, and companionship. Also, the child’s first ideas of the norms of the group – the
do’s and don’ts of behavior – are learned in primary groups.
b. 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. A
secondary group is characterized by impersonal, business-like, contractual, formal and
casual relationship. It is usually large in size, not very enduring and with limited
relationships, weak ties of affection, weak personal identity with the group and limited face-
to-face interaction. People engage in secondary relationships because people need other
people for the satisfaction of their complex needs or because they have certain obligations
toward them as in business
Example: industrial workers, business associate, faculty staff, company employees
2. According to Self-identification
a. In-group. It is a social unit in which individuals feel at home with which they identify.
Members of the in-group have “we” feeling for they are similar in certain ways, such as
being poor, being rich, being a Tagalog, and other social categories.
b. Out-group. It is a social unit to which individuals do not belong due to differences in certain
social categories and with which they 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.
c. 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 as comparison function; they
provide us with standards against which we evaluate ourselves. Thus, depending on which
groups we select to compare ourselves with, we can feel deprived or privileged, satisfied or
discontented, fortunate or unfortunate.
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.
Reference groups also have a normative function. They provide us with the guidelines
we use in fashioning our behavior. They serve as a model to which the individual patterns
his life styles.
3. According to Purpose
a. Special interest groups. It refers to groups which are organized to meet the special interest
of the member.
 Example: Hobby groups
b. Task group. It refers to group assigned to accomplish jobs which cannot be done by one
person.
Example: Working committee, construction workers
c. Influence or pressure groups. It refers to group organized to support or influence social
actions.
Example: Social movements, campaign groups, political parties
4. According to form of organization
a. Formal groups. They are also called social organization. They are deliberately formed, and
their purpose and objectives are explicitly defined. Their 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 their goals. This administrative structure is called “bureaucracy”.
The best example of bureaucracy is the government.
Bureaucracy refers to a hierarchical arrangement 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)
Merton (1965) defines the bureaucracy as a formal, rationally organized social
structure involving clearly defined patterns of activity in which every series of actions is
fundamentally related to the purpose of the organization.
Weber (1965) identified the following characteristics in a bureaucracy.
1. Positions and offices are clearly defined.
2. The hierarchical arrangements of authority, rights and obligations are specifically drawn
and clear-cut.
3. The personnel are selected on the basis of technical or professional qualification and
expert training and competence through competitive examination.
4. Definite rules govern official behavior.
5. Security of tenure and the pursuit of a career with promotion in the hierarchy are
assured.
As Merton (1964) pointed out, “the chief merit of the bureaucracy is its technical
efficiency with premium placed on precision, speed, control, continuity, discretion, and
optical returns on input.
Among the defects of bureaucracy includes “red tape” or extreme adherence to rigid
procedures and paper work, the tendency of those in power to maintain the status quo,
“the boss officials” who feel so powerful that they are indispensable fixtures of the
organization, and “gentlemanly malingerers” or employees who have become so secure
and contented in their jobs, that they feel they do not have to work too hard (Merton,
1957). These defects have resulted in non-productivity, graft and corruption, inefficiency
in service, delay in transactions, palakasan system, “lagay system”, official misconduct
and malpractices.
b. Informal groups. An informal 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’

The Formation of Networks

Definition and Nature of Networks
One way of forming a network is through affiliation with a group. A network is the structure of
connection of an individual with oneself, with other individuals and group/s (Faust, 1994). It can be
either small or vast, intrapersonal or interpersonal.

For example a labor union may be affiliated with other labor unions in the provincial, regional, national
and even in international level of labor union. The bigger and more complex the network, the more
complicated the connections are rarely do individuals exhibit personal face-to-face social interactions.

Social networking is fast becoming a cultural behavior, a way of life among almost 50% of the 100
million Filipino internet users and applications of other social media gadgets like the cellphones,
Facebook, Messenger, and others. With the reported almost 115 million listed mobile connections
which are 15% larger than the Philippine population, the country was cited as the “most social country
in 2015”. These are clear indications of Filipino values of “pakikipagkapwa”,”pakikipagkaibigan”, and
hyper connectivity which have been perceived differently by other people as intrusion upon private lives
of others.