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Informal and Formal Groups

A few deceptively simple changes in the way


top management teams set agendas and
structure meetings can make an enormous
difference in their efficiency and
effectiveness.
Michael C. Mankins
When core groups function well, the entire
organization moves naturally and smoothly
toward high levels of performance,
responsibility and creativity.
Art Kleiner
Types of Groups

There are many ways of classifying groups.


 Formal groups, Which are established by the
organization and have a public identity and
goal to achieve
 Informal groups, which emerge on the basis of
common interests, proximity, and friendships.
Another fundamental distinction is between two
types of formal groups.
 Temporary group. Some have a relatively temporary
life, they are created to accomplish a short term task
and then disband. An example of a temporary group is
a committee or task force.
 Team. The other type of formal group is a more
natural and enduring work group. This type of group is
formed when people regularly perform tasks together
as part of their job assignments and is called a team.

The event at which group members discuss ideas


or solve problems is generally called a meeting.
Definition of informal organization
Informal organization is a network of
personal and social relations not
established or required by the formal
organization but arising spontaneously as
people associate with one another. The
emphasis within the informal organization
is on people and their relationships,
whereas the formal organization
emphasizes official positions in terms of
authority and responsibility.
Informal power

Informal power, therefore, attaches to a


person, whereas formal authority attaches
to a position and a person has it
institutional.
Difference between Informal and
Formal Organization
Basis of Comparison Informal Organization Formal Organization

General nature Unofficial Official

Major concepts Power and politics Authority and responsibility

Primary focus Person Position

Source of leader power Given by group Delegated by management

Guidelines for behavior Norms Rules and Policies


Effects of the informal organization
 First, employees act differently than required. They may
work faster or slower than predicted, or they may gradually
modify a work procedure on the basis of their experience
and insight.
 Second, employees often interact with different people or
with different frequencies, than their jobs require. Georgia
may seek advice from Melissa instead of Todd, and Candy
may spend more time helping Jose than Steve.
 Third, workers may embrace a set of attitudes, beliefs and
sentiments different from those the organization expects of
them. Instead of being loyal, committed and enthusiastic
about their work, some employees may become
disenchanted, other are openly alienated.
Potential Benefits and Problems
Associated with the Informal
Organization
 Benefits.
• Makes a more effective total system.
• Lightens workload on management.
• Helps get the work done.
• Tends to encourage cooperation.
• Fills in gaps in a manager’s abilities.
• Gives satisfaction and stability to work groups.
• Improves communication.
• Provides a safety valve for employee emotions .
• Encourages managers to plan and act more carefully.
• Contributes to higher cohesiveness.
 Problems.
• Develops undesirable rumour.
• Encourages negative attitudes.
• Resists change.
• Leads to interpersonal and intergroup
conflicts.
• Rejects and harasses some employees.
• Weakens motivation and satisfaction.
• Operates outside of managements control.
• Develops role conflicts.
Influencing Informal Organizations
 Management did not establish informal organization and
it cannot abolish them. Not would it want to do so. But
management can learn to live with them and have some
measure of influence of them. Management guidelines for
action include the following:
 Accept and understand informal organization.
 Identify various levels of attitudes and behaviours within them.
 Consider possible effects on informal systems when taking any
kind of action.
 Integrate as far as possible the interests of informal groups with
those of the formal organization.
 Keep formal activities from unnecessarily threatening informal
organizations.
Formal Groups
 Factors that contribute to the often pervasive negative
attitudes about time spent in committee meetings:
• A lack of trust causes participants to withhold their true feelings.
• A negative mind set exits that ‘’meeting aren’t real work’ and hence
people don’t take them seriously (e.g, they come late or leave early,
they miss them completely, or the are distracted while there).
• Missing or incomplete information prevents participants from
making important decisions when appropriate.
• Meetings are poorly run (the person in charge fails to have an
agenda, a plan to follow, a finite length for the session or the
discipline to keep the discussion moving).
• Meetings are viewed as the end result, not the means to an end (the
group fails to focus on creating a product or outcome.
Committees
 A committee is a specific type of group
meeting in which members in their group
role have been delegated the authority to
handle the problem at hand. The group’s
authority usually is expressed in terms of
one vote for each member. This means that
if a supervisor and a worker serve as
members of the same committee, both
usually have equal committee roles.
Committees
 Factors to consider while forming a
committee:
Size.
Composition
Agenda
Leadership roles. Task leader and social leader
Effective surface agendas are critical to the
success of a committee meeting. Agendas
should:
• Clearly specify the date, time and place of the meeting.
• Indicate a primary purpose for the meeting.
• List presenters, the time allotted to them and the time
available for discussion.
• Help the group to focus on decisions, not just discussions.
• Have room for new items to be added.
• Address items in priority order (Highest to lowest).
• Identify the date, time and place of the next meeting.
Potential Outcomes of Formal Group
Processes
 Support for Decision. Probably the most important by
product of face to face group meetings is that people who
participate in making a decision feel more strongly
motivated to accept it and carry it out.
 Quality of Decisions. In addition to supporting decisions,
groups often are effective problem-solving tools.
Individual Development. When working in decision
making groups, some individuals are naturally more
passive than others and may withhold their ideas.
Facilitation skills. Facilitation is the process of helping a
group attain resounding success, maximize efficient use of
time and feel satisfied with its effort

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