course material

1. For Weekly Activity 6, you will select an in-group in
For Weekly Activity 6, you will select an in-group in which you belong, or used to belong, for
a 300-400 word sociological analysis. Your in-group can be an interest group, members-
only club, religious organization, etc., but follow ethical protocol when discussing other
members of the group. In addition to incorporating key terms from Chapter 6 (and other
chapters, if applicable), select a sociological paradigm (such as functionalism, conflict
theory, or symbolic interactionism) to guide your analysis.Your analysis should address
most or all of the following questions. What is the size of the group? What are some cultural
components of the group (such as shared language, values, beliefs, etc.)? How is
membership achieved? Can membership be revoked or expired? What are some examples
of conformity in this group? What level of nonconformity is tolerated? Does this group serve
a primary function, secondary function, or a combination of both? How does it accomplish
this? If there are leaders, how is leadership determined, and what function (instrumental or
expressive) does leadership serve? What leadership style (democratic, laissez-faire,
authoritarian) is employed and how? Is this dependent on the leader(s) serving at the
time?KEY TERMSaggregatea collection of people who exist in the same place at the same
time, but who don’t interact or share a sense of identityauthoritarian leadera leader who
issues orders and assigns tasksbureaucraciesformal organizations characterized by a
hierarchy of authority, a clear division of labor, explicit rules, and
impersonality.categorypeople who share similar characteristics but who are not connected
in any wayclear division of laborthe fact that each individual in a bureaucracy has a
specialized task to performcoercive organizationsorganizations that people do not
voluntarily join, such as prison or a mental hospitalconformitythe extent to which an
individual complies with group or societal normsdemocratic leadera leader who encourages
group participation and consensus-building before moving into actiondyada two-member
groupexplicit rulesthe types of rules in a bureaucracy; rules that are outlined, recorded, and
standardizedexpressive functiona group function that serves an emotional needexpressive
leadera leader who is concerned with process and with ensuring everyone’s emotional
wellbeingformal organizationslarge, impersonal organizationsgroupany collection of at
least two people who interact with some frequency and who share some sense of aligned
identityhierarchy of authoritya clear chain of command found in a
bureaucracyimpersonalitythe removal of personal feelings from a professional situationin-
groupa group a person belongs to and feels is an integral part of his identityinstrumental
functionbeing oriented toward a task or goalinstrumental leadera leader who is goal

2. oriented with a primary focus on accomplishing tasksIron Rule of Oligarchythe theory that
an organization is ruled by a few elites rather than through collaborationlaissez-faire
leadera hands-off leader who allows members of the group to make their own
decisionsleadership functionthe main focus or goal of a leaderleadership stylethe style a
leader uses to achieve goals or elicit action from group membersMcDonaldization of
Societythe increasing presence of the fast food business model in common social
institutionsmeritocracya bureaucracy where membership and advancement is based on
merit—proven and documented skillsnormative or voluntary organizationsorganizations
that people join to pursue shared interests or because they provide some intangible
rewardsout-groupa group that an individual is not a member of, and may even compete
withprimary groupssmall, informal groups of people who are closest to usreference
groupsgroups to which an individual compares herselfsecondary groupslarger and more
impersonal groups that are task-focused and time limitedtotal institutionan organization in
which participants live a controlled lifestyle and in which total resocialization occurstriada
three-member grouputilitarian organizationsorganizations that are joined to fill a specific
material need