Managers must understand the relationship between two groups in organizations: majority groups and minority groups. Majority group refers to that group of people in the organization who hold most of the positions that command decision-making power, control of resources and information, and access to system rewards. Minority group refers to that group of people in the organization who are fewer in number than the majority group or who lack critical power, resources, acceptance, and social status. Together, the minority and majority group members form the entire social system of the organization.

However, the majority group is not always the group that is larger in number: Sometimes, in fact, the minority group is actually greater in number. For example, women are seen as a minority group in most organizations because they do not have the critical power to shape organizational decisions and control resources. Moreover, they have yet to achieve full acceptance and social status in most workplaces. In most health-care organizations, for instance, women outnumber men; however, although men are numerical minorities, they are seldom denied social status because white males hold most positions of power in the health-care system hierarchy, such as physicians and health-care administrators.