Study note on "The Social Psychology of Organizations"

Study note on Katz, D. and R.L. Kahn. 1978. The Social Psychology of Organizations, Wiley, Chichester.

Some useful points noted for application in dissertation project works

Chapter 3: "Defining characteristics of social organizations"

"The social-psychological bases of social systems comprises the role behaviors of members, the norms prescribing and sanctioning these behaviors and the values in which the norms are embedded. Roles describe specific forms of behavior associated with given positions; they develop originally from task requirements. In their pure or organizational form, roles are standardized patterns of behavior required of all persons playing a part in a given functional relationship, regardless of personal wishes or interpersonal obligations irrelevant to the functional relationship".

"Roles, norms and values differ also in degree of abstractness. In most systems, the major requirements of roles are stated in relatively specific terms; ambiguity in role definition occurs and can be troublesome,, but clarity is the dominant characteristic";

"Roles, norms, and values thus differ with respect to the type of justification mobilized to sanction behavior. At the level of role behavior it is simply a matter of expectancy about task performance; at the level of norms it is a matter of following the legitimate requirements of the system; at the level of values it is a matter of realizing higher moral demands";

"Although organizational integration is a fusion of role, norm, and value components, it is useful to consider them separately for analysis purposes";

"The general development of role systems has been in the direction of getting rid of surplus elements in role relations";

"At the individual level the role concept implies that people need to be involved in system functioning only on a segmental or partial basis";

"The organizational role stipulates behaviors that imply only a "psychological slice" of the person, yet people are not recruited to organizations on this basis";

Chapter 7: The taking of organizational roles

"Generically, role behavior refers to the recurring actions of an individual, appropriately interrelated  with the repetitive activities of others so as to yield a predictable outcome. The set of interdependent behaviors comprise a social system or subsystem, a stable collective pattern in which people play their parts";

"All members of a person's role-set demand on that person's performance in some fashion; they are rewarded by it, judged in terms of it, or require it to perform their own tasks. Because they have a stake in that person's performance,  they develop beliefs and attitudes about what  he or she should and should not do as part of the role";

"The content of role expectations consists mainly of preferences with respect to specific acts, things the person should do or avoid doing. But role expectations may also refer to personal characteristics or style, ideas about what the person should be, should think, or should believe";

"The expectations do not remain in the minds of members of the role-sets, however. They tend to be communicated or "sent" to the focal person. Moreover,  the numerous acts that make up the process of role-sending are not merely informational.  They are attempts at influence, directed at the focal person and intended to bring about conformity to the expectations of the sender";

"Roles also become more complex when they require the focal person to be simultaneously involved in two or more sub-systems, since each is likely to have its own priorities and to some degree its own subculture";

"The idea of role as a set of expected activities associated with the occupancy of a given position assumes substantial agreement among the relevant people as to what those activities are";