Chapter 9: The Structure of Society: Organizations, Social Institutions, and Globalization

Social structure is the framework of society that exists above the level of individuals, shaping interactions and relationships.
It includes organizations, groups, statuses, roles, cultural beliefs, and institutions that provide order and predictability.
Social structure implies patterned regularity in societies.

Social dilemma: When individuals act in self-interest, potentially ruining outcomes for everyone.
Examples: environmental pollution, health care access during recession.
Tragedy of the Commons: Finite resources available to everyone are depleted when individuals overuse them for personal gain.
- Example: Overfishing in international waters.
Free-Rider Problem: People don't contribute to a common resource because they can access it for free.
- Example: Not donating to public radio.

Bureaucracy: Large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations with a clear division of labor.
Three important characteristics:
- Division of labor: job descriptions.
- Hierarchy of authority: Pyramid shape.
- Impersonality: Rules ensure tasks are done impartially/ efficiently.
McDonaldization (George Ritzer):
- The principles of fast food restaurants are dominating more and more sectors of society.
- Driven by efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.

Upper Echelons:
- Executives are homogeneous (male, white, upper class).
- Criteria for evaluation are often imprecise and rely on factors such as communication skills.
Middle Ground:
- Morale sustained by the hope of upward mobility.
- Corporate social ethic.
Lower Echelons:
- Low autonomy, freedom, or influence.
- De-skilling.
Two-tier system of morality which entail requirements for employees to work hard, abide by the law, and respect company rules.

Organizations are created, maintained, and changed through the everyday actions of their members.
Language creates boundaries between insiders and outsiders.
Informal structures develop within the larger formal structure.

Organizations link people and major social institutions such as economics, government, religion, healthcare and education.

Organizations interact, cooperate, and compete with one another.
Networks so complex that different organizations are dependent on each other for survival.

Organizations tend to imitate one another’s actions within a particular institution.
Organizations adjust to what other organizations are doing.
Organizational similarity is high in tines of institutional uncertainty.

Economic globalization: More goods being shipped from one place to another.
Multinational corporations have extended their markets and production facilities globally.

International competition in a global economy can foster changes in a country’s educational system.
Math and science are more heavily emphasized.
Time on foundational skills is emphasized.
Computer literacy is emphasized.

Nearly two thirds of the world’s population belongs to the major religions—Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam—which have successfully crossed national boundaries for centuries.
Islam is now the fastest growing global religion.
The globalization of religion is creating crises for religious communities.