Are standards of behavior that groups expect of their members?

one that shows minimal concern for either people or performance.

one that exhibits high concern for people but minimal concern for performance issues.

one that shows little concern for people but a high concern for performance; it focuses on the interests of the organization.

one that combines a high concern for people and performance.

an assessment of an organization's values.

Values-based ethics culture

ethical corporate cultures relies upon an explicit mission statement that defines the core values of the firm and how customers and employees should be treated.

people learn ethical or unethical behavior while interacting with others who are part of their role-sets or belong to other intimate personal groups.

exposing an employer's wrongdoing to outsiders such as the media or government regulatory agencies.

a person's ability to influence the behavior of others by offering them something desirable.

belief that a certain person has the right to exert influence and certain others have an obligation to accept it.

abusive leaders who treat employees with contempt and disrespect and can use legitimate power to pressure subordinates into unethical conduct.

a person's knowledge (or a perception that a person possesses knowledge). Expert power usually stems from a superior's credibility with subordinates.

when one person perceives that his or her goals or objectives are similar to another's.

force within the individual that focuses his or her behavior toward achieving a goal.

function of ability and motivation and can be represented by the equation (job performance = ability A— motivation).

decision making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers, and little authority is delegated to lower levels.

Decentralized organization

decision making authority is delegated as far down the chain of command as possible.

assembly of individuals with an organized structure that is explicitly accepted by the group.

two or more individuals with a common interest but without an explicit organizational structure.

standards of behavior groups expect of their members.

43.are standards of behavior that groups expect of their members.a.Codes of conductb.Group valuesc.Group normsd.Organizational norms

44.An organization that is owned by shareholders but managed by agents on theirbehalf isconventionally known as the modern:

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45.What makes a corporation distinct from a partnership?

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46. The view that sees profit maximization as the main objective is known as:

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47.Where an organization takes into account the effect its strategic decisions have on society,this is known as:a.Corporate governanceb.Business policyc.Business ethicsd.Corporate social responsibility

1. Social Psychology
2. Social Roles

By Dr. Saul McLeod, published 2008

There are many ways that people can influence our behavior, but perhaps one of the most important is that the presence of others seems to set up expectations

We do not expect people to behave randomly but to behave in certain ways in particular situations.  Each social situation entails its own particular set of expectations about the “proper” way to behave. Such expectations can vary from group to group.

One way in which these expectations become apparent is when we look at the roles that people play in society.

Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role you adopt, your behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role.

In the words of William Shakespeare:

All the worlds a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits, and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts.

These lines capture the essence of social roles.  Think of how many roles you play in a single day, e.g. son, daughter, sister, brother, students, worker, friend etc.  Each social role carries expected behaviors called norms.

Social Norms

Social norms are the unwritten rules of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that are considered acceptable in a particular social group or culture. Norms provide us with an expected idea of how to behave, and function to provide order and predictability in society. For example, we expect students to arrive to a lesson on time and complete their work.

The idea of norms provides a key to understanding social influence in general and conformity in particular. Social norms are the accepted standards of behavior of social groups.

These groups range from friendship and workgroups to nation-states.  behavior which fulfills these norms is called conformity, and most of the time roles and norms are powerful ways of understanding and predicting what people will do.

There are norms defining appropriate behavior for every social group. For example, students, neighbors and patients in a hospital are all aware of the norms governing behavior. And as the individual moves from one group to another, their behavior changes accordingly.

Norms provide order in society. It is difficult to see how human society could operate without social norms. Human beings need norms to guide and direct their behavior, to provide order and predictability in social relationships and to make sense of and understanding of each other’s actions. These are some of the reasons why most people, most of the time, conform to social norms.

Conclusion

There is considerable pressure to conform to social roles. Social roles provide an example of social influence in general and conformity in particular.  Most of us, most of the time, conform to the guidelines provided by the roles we perform.

We conform to the expectations of others, we respond to their approval when we play our roles well, and to their disapproval when we play our roles badly. But how far will conformity go? Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment illustrates the power of social roles in relation to conformity.

How to reference this article:

How to reference this article:

McLeod, S. A. (2008). Social roles. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/social-roles.html

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