Social groups: formation, dynamics, and functions

Social Groups: Modern Bureaucracies and Primary and Secondary Associations

Max Weber wrote extensively about the development of the modern civil service and the capitalist bureaucracies that arose as the result of industrialization. Weber believed that these hierarchies were partially due to the cultural shifts created by the ideology of the Protestant Revolution. But the first social group I ever became a part of was that of the Roman Catholic Church. In terms of its bureaucratic structure, Catholicism is a famously hierarchical religion, as opposed to, for example, Quakerism, which has little hierarchy of leadership. In the 'macro' sense, the Catholic Church does obey all of Weber's principles.

For example, jurisdictional or job descriptions areas are clearly specified within the Church. Priests are supposed to function in a defined way, in relation to their congregation. The organization follows hierarchical principles, as priests must obey bishops, cardinals must obey the Pope, etcetera. Abstract rules govern decisions and actions, as was evident in the selection of the new Pope, after the death of the old one. "Means of production or administration belong to office. Personal property" is "separated from office property" in a bureaucracy Rollag, 2008). In other words the church owns the church's property, not the officers of the church, officials are selected on basis of "technical qualifications," or vocation, they are appointed, and not elected, and employment by the organization is a career (Rollag, 2008). Also, the officials of the church are full-time employee and look forward to a life-long career, after a trial or educational period of training which leads to tenure of position and protection from dismissal (Rollag, 2008).

But although this may be true of the social group of Catholics from the point-of-view of a priest, as a believer, not all of these rigid characterizations of bureaucracy hold true. For example, my function in the church may change quite rapidly -- I may be teaching Sunday school, making a confession as a congregant, or simply enjoying social time with my fellow believers, all on the same Sunday. My function and my social role can rapidly change within the organization, and the nature of the organization as to the degree which it is a social, religious, or educational authority.

The degree of obedience I practice, frankly, also shifts, because although doctrine may remain unchanged, the importance with which I hold that doctrine may shift with the needs of my life, unlike a professional priest. My rules as a Roman Catholic are personalized and contextual as well as abstract, and although I do not own my church, I feel more proprietary about the church where I grew up and its customs than other churches. I am a member of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, but my status as a believer is not a 'job' although it is true that I did have to go through an educational process (Sunday school, first confirmation, etcetera) to become a member. But even these rituals and training, one could argue, are in many ways uniquely American as they are Catholic, and thus local and personalized.

The Catholic Church, in other words, exists for many members on both a primary and secondary mode of membership and association. "Primary groups tend to be informal in nature and dominate the structures of traditional societies. Often organized around kinship ties, these groups regulate the activities of their members through informal norms and folkways of the culture. Secondary organizations are much more formal in structure and are usually coordinated through bureaucracy" (Elwell, 2008). The secondary organization of the Catholic Church is quite formal, organized, and bureaucratic in structure, but the informal social rules of the neighborhood church -- how much participation is demanded at the church bake sale, for example, is quite informal and based upon social and kinship ties. A parallel could be drawn with the American Heart Association, another organization I am a member of. The American Heart Association is a nonprofit charity, led by all of the hierarchy of administration of a nonprofit Weberian bureaucracy, including clear chains of authority from the CEO downward, impersonality of rules, written rules of conduct as to how employees and the organization can legally operate, employment and promotion based on achievement, specialized division of labor with career training and promotion, and efficiency (Elwell, 2008).

But informally, doing volunteer work, people often do multiple jobs, based not in descriptions but in availability and simply as to what needs to be done at any point in time. Promotion may be based on who seems most committed or has had a family member affected by the illness rather than upon experience or passing a test, and people volunteering for a walk-a-thon are not 'professionals.' This twofold structure of professionalism and voluntary association for enrichment or pleasure is also true of the International Association of Administrative Professionals and American Bowling Congress. I joined the first organization to make professional and personal contacts in my field, and the second for leisure, and while my membership and role may not be functional, rule-governed, or defined, the leadership of these organizations is bureaucratic.