There are many different approaches to the problem of classifying groups in the literature, and different bases for these classifications are named. Let's take a look at the most accepted ones.
First of all, among the groups there are conditional and real groups. Conditional (or nominal) groups are called groups that unite people who do not have direct relationships and contacts with each other. People united in these groups may not only never meet, but also know nothing about each other. So, in statistics, conditional groups of people are distinguished according to some criterion. For example, a group of people with a certain level of education, or a certain disease, or in need of separate housing is statistically distinguished from the inhabitants of a particular subject of the Russian Federation. (Based on the definition of the group, explain why the group selected in this way will be conditional.) People are also grouped into conditional groups according to such characteristics as the nature of the activity, gender, age, nationality, etc. (Think about what other signs can be taken as the basis allocation of conditional groups.)
In contrast to conditional, real groups are really existing associations of people connected by certain relationships and aware of their belonging to it. Real groups arise either in connection with the needs of society (created by various organizations), or at the request of the people included in this group (arise as voluntary associations). Really existing groups, for example, include a family, a team of workers, a student group, a school class, a yard company.
To understand the characteristics of socio-psychological research, it is important to distinguish between real groups laboratory and natural groups. Laboratory groups are specially created by social psychologists to perform experimental tasks in connection with the goals of their research. For example, during one of the experiments, during which the influence of television programs on children's aggression was studied, several elementary school students were combined into a laboratory group. The researchers set up TV viewing in the lab so that they could monitor the "amount" of abuse children witnessed and track its impact on children's behavior.
Natural groups arise in the course of the development of society. In connection with the number of their participants, natural groups are distinguished large and small groups. Examples of large natural groups are ethnic groups, professional groups, gender and age groups (in particular, youth, pensioners, etc.). Examples of small natural groups are school classes, sports teams, yard groups of friends.
The emergence of social psychology as a science is usually associated with the first attempts to study psychological phenomena in large groups(second half of the 19th century). Studied, for example, "the psychology of peoples", "the psychology of the masses." Starting from the 20s. 20th century social psychologists have focused on studying small groups. You will learn more about large groups in 11th grade. We mention them here to give a holistic view of what groups are like.
Among the natural groups are primary and secondary. The selection criterion is the presence or absence of direct contacts between members of the group. In primary groups (family, group of friends, team, etc.) there are direct contacts between people. Secondary groups are groups where there are no direct contacts between its members, and various "intermediaries" are used for communication. If the student group can be considered as a primary group, then all students of the course and faculty constitute a secondary association. Primary group is identified with a small group, saying that it is part of a higher-level system - a secondary association. From this point of view, a small group is often characterized as subsystem.
Now let's see what are small groups.
Researchers distinguish between groups formal(organized, official) and informal(informal, spontaneous). Formal groups are created by a specific organization with specific tasks to achieve any specific goals. According to the American sociologist Elton Mayo (1880-1949), who first proposed the division of small groups into formal and informal groups, the formal group differs in that it initially defines the status of its members, strictly distributes roles, a system of leadership and subordination (“power structure” ). Formal groups can, for example, include a football team in which the roles of each of the participants are initially clearly defined: attacker, defender, goalkeeper, etc. (Give your examples of formal groups.)
Informal groups are voluntary communities of people that are formed on the basis of common interests, friendships, mutual sympathy. They arise without any help, and sometimes against the will of the organization or other formal structures. Neither statuses nor roles in such groups are prescribed, they do not have a given system of relationships, but there are unwritten rules and norms regarding acceptable behavior and duties. An informal group may arise within a formal one. For example, in a school class as a formal group, smaller groups may arise, consisting of buddies or friends united by a common interest. An informal group may also arise not within a particular formal group, but outside it, as an independent one. This is how, for example, yard companies arise. Sometimes, within the framework of such groups, despite their informal nature, joint activities arise, and then they acquire some features of formal groups: positions and roles can be distinguished in them. (Remember, for example, Timur and his team, described in the book by A.P. Gaidar.) Social psychologists often consider the structure of formal and informal relations, distinguishing not groups, but the type and nature of relations within them.
Another classification often found in the literature is “membership groups” and “reference groups” (from Latin refero - I relate, English to refer - to relate, correlate).

Each person, regardless of his age and occupation, is in several small groups - this is a family, a school class, a sports team. The relationship of the individual with other members of the team plays a key role in shaping his personality. The variety of types of associations demonstrates the classification of small ones, which attaches particular importance to the study of the characteristics of small groups and their role in society.

What is a small social group

On the basis of small collectives, it is possible to study in detail the connection of the individual with his environment, the influence of society on its members. Therefore, in sociological research, the concepts of "group", "small group", "classification of groups" occupy an important place. The fact is that a person spends most of his life in small groups that have a strong influence on the formation of his values.

A social group is an association of people connected by joint activities and a system of interpersonal relations. Such groups are classified by size, that is, by the number of participants.

Small group - a small association of people connected by joint activities and in direct communication with each other. A feature of such a team is that the number of its members does not exceed twenty, and therefore they can freely contact each other and establish an emotional connection.

signs

There are a number of provisions, the presence of which may indicate that the association is a small social group:

• co-presence of people in one territory at a certain time;
• emotional contact between team members, the presence of stable relationships;
• joint activities aimed at achieving a common goal;
• division between members of group roles;
• the presence of an organizational and managerial structure;
• the formation of their norms and values.

The concept and classification of small groups are based on these features and the nature of their manifestation. The establishment of emotional relationships between individual members can lead to the emergence of subblocks and internal structure.

Association types

There are several aspects in relation to which the classification of small groups is formed. The table below shows the types of small social associations.

The nature of internal communications

The determining factor is the classification of small social groups with respect to the way it arises. Formal associations are created by management and have legal status. Their activities are regulated by certain documentation. The management of such a group is top-down, and its members are determined by the organization.

Informal groups arise spontaneously based on the emotional ties of the participants. Such societies do not have an official status, and its activities are directed "from the bottom up". Nevertheless, they also form some norms and values ​​shared by all members of the group and predetermining their behavior. If in formal organizations the leader has official powers, then in contact organizations he acts through the recognition of other participants.

Reference team

On the factor of significance of association for an individual, another small group is based, the norms of which play an important role for a person, called the reference (reference). A member of the team sorts through its value system, forms the appropriate standards. This group is divided into two subspecies:

• Ideal. The individual does not belong to the association, but in his behavior he is guided by its norms.
• presence group. A person is a member of this team and shares values.

Small communities play a crucial role in shaping The child sees the norms accepted in the family and among friends. At the same time, small social groups can also have a negative impact on the individual - suppress his personal qualities (inhibition), impose incorrect ideals.

social significance

Small organizations can play different roles in society, depending on the values ​​and goals pursued by the small group. The classification of small groups, based on the criterion of social significance, suggests the existence of three types of associations: socially oriented, asocial and antisocial. Accordingly, they play a positive, neutral and negative role. Socially oriented small groups include educational, public, productive organizations. Various criminal associations are not accepted by people, which nevertheless retain authority for their members.

Group management

Management includes a number of actions necessary to organize the activities of the association. This concept includes decision-making, goal setting, development of plans, control, coordination, and so on. There is a conditional classification of small groups regarding the method of management. There are the following types of relationships:

• subordination (top);
• coordination (horizontal system);
• reordination (bottom).

Successful organization of activities is based on the combination of these principles, the search for the best option for building internal relations.

Head of the team

A feature of the organization of small groups is the selection of a leader. This is a member of the association, which has a strong influence on its activities. He is respected among the other members due to his personality and plays an important role in the management of the group. The activity of the leader extends to both internal and external communication. He ensures the involvement of team members in joint activities, exercises control over decision-making. There is a classification of small groups based on the level of the leader's intervention in the activities of the association and the degree of involvement of each member in the process of managing the community. In the most successful organizations (both contact and formal), a balance is struck between the two extremes.

Management styles

The conditional classification of small groups, based on the involvement of members of the association in the process of its management, includes three positions presented in the table below.

There is also a theory of X and Y. In the first case, a person initially avoids work and prefers to be led. Theory Y suggests that the individual has a high level of self-control and strives for responsibility. Accordingly, two different control methods are applicable here.

Collective pressure

The norms adopted in the association have an impact on the way of life of its individual member. Everyone knows an experiment conducted with a group of children, where prearranged participants incorrectly answered the question posed, and the last subject repeated the words of his peers. This phenomenon is called conformism. The opinion of the majority of the members of a small group has an effect on the individual. The opposite of this phenomenon can be independence, that is, the independence of a person’s attitudes from the opinions of the environment.

At the same time, the classification of small groups regarding the role it plays for an individual is important. The higher the association's referentiality, the more conformism manifests itself.

Formation of a small social group

Each team goes through several stages of development. Psychologists G. Stanford and A. Roark developed a theory that includes 7 stages of the formation of a social group. The study is based on a two-factor model of team development, where there are contradictions between business and emotional activity.

1. Acquaintance, the first attempts of interpersonal interaction.
2. Creation
3. stage of conflict.
4. The state of balance, the emergence of a sense of unity.
5. Formation of unity - business activity increases, common goals are set.
6. The dominance is not workers, but interpersonal relations of individual members of the association.
7. Actualization, balance of business and emotional activity.

Social roles in a small group

Members of an association may be assigned certain behaviors related to solving problems or communicating with other members. Roles are manifested both in the business and in the emotional activity of the group. For example, in the process of solving problems, the "initiator" offers new ideas, and the "critic" evaluates the work of the entire group and finds its weaknesses. Roles are also manifested in the sphere of interpersonal relations of the team. So, the inspirer actively supports the ideas of other members, and the conciliator renounces his opinion and settles conflict situations.

In order of occurrence:
the primary group is a collection of individuals united on the basis of direct contacts, common goals and objectives and characterized by a high level of emotional closeness and spiritual solidarity (family, group of friends, closest neighbors). It is characterized by the following features:
1) small staff;
2) spatial proximity of members;
3) duration of existence;
4) commonality of group values, norms and patterns of behavior;
5) voluntariness of joining the group;
6) informal control over the behavior of members.
the secondary group is relatively large, the subjects of which are not connected by intimate, close ties, the social connection and interaction in the group are impersonal, utilitarian and functional. The secondary group is goal-oriented (work team, school class, sports team, etc.);

By public status:
1) formal group - a group created on the basis of official documents (class, school, party, etc.) and having a legally fixed status. A formal group is characterized by clearly defined positions of members, prescribed group norms, strictly assigned roles in accordance with subordination in the group. Between the members of such a group, business relations are established, provided for by documents, which can be supplemented by personal likes and dislikes;
2) an informal group - a real social community of people who are connected by common sympathies, closeness of views, beliefs, tastes, etc. Statuses and roles in such a group are not prescribed, there is no given system of vertical relationships. Official documents in such a group are irrelevant. The group breaks up when common interests disappear.

By direct relationship:
1) a conditional group - a community of people that exists nominally and is distinguished by some sign (gender, age, profession, etc.). People included in such a group do not have direct ones, they may not know anything about each other;
2) a real group - a community of people that exists in a common space and time and is united by real relationships (a classroom, a production team).

According to the level of development or formation of interpersonal relationships:
1) groups of low development - communities based on asocial factors, lack of common goals and interests, characterized by conformity or nonconformity of its members (for example, an association, a corporation, etc.);
2) high development groups - communities based on common interests, social goals and values ​​(for example,).

By importance:
1) a reference group is a real or imaginary group whose norms serve as a model. Reference groups may be real or imagined, positive or negative, may or may not coincide with membership. They perform a normative function and the function of social comparison. In the representations of an individual, a group can be:
"positive" - ​​groups with which the individual identifies himself and, a member of which he would like to become.
"negative" - ​​groups that cause rejection in the individual.
2) membership groups are groups where the individual is not opposed to the group, and relates himself to all other members, and they relate themselves to him.

Other types of groups:
1) permanent (exist for a long time (political party, school, institute, etc.)) and temporary (exist for a short period of time (train compartment, people in the cinema, etc.));
2) natural () and groups of psychological and other types of similarity (classes, parties);
3) organized and spontaneous, etc.

Society has a very complex structure; large and small groups are distinguished in it, which represent a variety of stable connections of people. A large group is a people, classes, nationalities, nations, adherents of a particular religion. It is through large groups that the influence of a certain ideology occurs, and its consolidation in society.

The concept of a small group

The direct instrument of the influence of large groups on the individual is performed by a small group. A small group is a small (from 2 to 30 people) association of people that occurs on the basis of a common cause and interests. Members of a small group are always in close relationship with each other. Vivid examples of small groups are: a work team, a school class, an academic group, family, close friends and buddies.

Types of small groups

Small groups are divided into different types, depending on their size, structure of relationships, individual composition, content of activities. Depending on the design of the small group, natural and laboratory small groups are distinguished. Since laboratory small groups are created artificially for scientific purposes, often by psychologists, in order to study a model of human behavior, we will consider in more detail precisely the natural groups that take shape in society on their own.

Natural groups are of two types: formal and informal. Formal small groups are created and function within the framework of official organizations - this is a school class, labor collective, academic group, etc. Informal groups are groups that take shape and function outside the official framework - friends, informal youth associations, family.

Well-being of a person in a small group

In order for a member of a small group to feel comfortable and at ease, it is necessary to consider those factors on which the personal state of an individual in such a group depends.

1. Contact. The concept of contact refers to emotionally favorable relationships between group members, which consist in goodwill, tact and respect.

2. Organization. The concept of organization is a conflict-free distribution of responsibilities in a small group, the ability to collectively solve current problems.

3. Informative. A member of a small group must know all the main aspects of the activities of other members of this group. The same factor provides for the members' knowledge of each other's characters.

group selfishness

Each small group is characterized by group egoism, which is often a necessary element of its existence. The concept of group egoism refers to the selfish motivation of the activities of a small group solely in the interests of its members. As a rule, the group egoism of this small group damages the interests of another, alien small group.

However, it is pointless to fight with group egoism, because it is thanks to this that the members of a small group achieve the tasks set in their activities. Group egoism must be harmonious and not go beyond the infringement of the interests of others. Often behind group egoism lies the totality of personal egoism of each member of a small group.

The main indicator that allows you to recognize the enterprise as small is the number of employees for a specific period of time. Criteria such as the size of its assets, the size of the authorized capital and the annual turnover also matter.

In Russia, a small business is a commercial organization in whose authorized capital the share of participation of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, charitable and other foundations, as well as religious and public organizations does not exceed 25 percent. In addition, a share that belongs to several legal entities or one legal entity. face, should also not be more than 25 percent.

The number of employees for a certain period should not be higher than the standard established in a particular area. If it is construction, industry or transport, the number of employees of a small enterprise cannot exceed 100 people. If it is a wholesale trade - no more than 50 people, if it is a consumer service or retail trade - no more than 30 people, if any other activity - no more than 50 people.

Medium enterprises

The definitions of medium and small business around the world are quite close. What generalizes them is economic entities that do not exceed a specific indicator in terms of the number of employees, the amount of gross assets and turnover. Medium enterprises are also eligible for simplified reporting. In order to understand the scope of the number of employees - after all, this criterion is most often the main one - it is worth considering a few examples.

If we take a consulting or research agency, it can be classified as a medium-sized enterprise when the number of its employees ranges from 15 to 50. If we talk about a travel company, then it can be classified as a medium-sized enterprise when the number of its employees is in the range from 25 to 75. The medium print media will be an editorial office with no more than 100 employees. As with small enterprises, medium enterprises are considered in terms of turnover and market share they occupy.

Large enterprises

A large enterprise is a company that produces a significant share of the total commodity volume of any industry. It is also characterized by the number of people employed in the work, the size of assets and sales. To classify an enterprise as a large business, it is necessary to take into account the territorial, industry and state specifics. For example, for the field of mechanical engineering, the main factors are the volume of products, the number of workers and the cost of fixed assets. If we take the agro-industrial complex, we can focus only on the number of livestock or the area of ​​land.