...Group is defined as two or more individuals who are interacting with each other, interdependent on each other and work together to achieve certain specific objectives (Robbins, Millett, Cacioppe & Water-Marsh, 2001). Groups are formed to address social and security needs, achieve specific goals, to pursue common interests and goals and based on various other attributes (Robbins et. al., 2001) . Within organizations, generally there are two main types of groups that are formed; formal groups and informal groups. Formal groups are formed by the systematic and deliberate grouping of people in an organization based on the organizational needs in order to achieve certain set organizational goals, whereas informal groups are formed spontaneously and naturally by employees of an organization when they work or interact with each other over a period of time (Australian National University, 2006). This essay list the functions of these groups, formal and informal, in an organization set-up along with the advantages and disadvantages of each for an organization. In the last part, it mentions how the understanding of the group behaviour can be used by the managers to perform effective management. During the course of the essay, different theories and concepts are used to justify the points and opinions made. These theories and concepts include division of labour theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, social identity theory, balance theory and groupthink theory. Formal groups are the...
Words: 2393 - Pages: 10
...------------------------------------------------- Informal organization The informal organization is the interlocking social structure that governs how people work together in practice. It is the aggregate of, norms, personal and professional connections through which work gets done and relationships are built among people who share a common organizational affiliation or cluster of affiliations. It consists of a dynamic set of personal relationships, social networks, communities of common interest, and emotional sources of motivation. The informal organization evolves, and the complex social dynamics of its members. Tended effectively, the informal organization complements the more explicit structures, plans, and processes of the formal organization: it can accelerate and enhance responses to unanticipated events, foster innovation, enable people to solve problems that require collaboration across boundaries, and create footpaths showing where the formal organization may someday need to pave a way. Contents * 1 The informal organization and the formal organization * 2 Functions of informal organizations * 2.1 Perpetuate the cultural and social values * 2.2 Provide social status and satisfaction * 2.3 Promote communication among members * 2.4 Provide social control * 3 Disadvantages of informal groups * 3.1 Resistance to change * 3.2 Role conflict * 3.3 Rumor * 3.4 Conformity * 4 Benefits of the informal organization * 4.1 Blend...
Words: 1996 - Pages: 8
...THE FORMAL EFFECTS OF INFORMAL GROUPS IN AN ORGANIZATION We know that groups are vital to the understanding of organizational behavior because they are the building blocks of the larger organization. In today’s organization, where productivity and efficiency demand collaboration within and across functional, physical and hierarchical boundaries, collaboration in employee networks has become critical to innovation, and to both individual and company performance. The heavy emphasis on teams and group decision making in today’s organizations only increase the importance of understanding teams and groups for managers. As we have discussed in our class, groups are usually divided into formal and informal groups. Formal group is one deliberately formed by the organization to accomplish specific task and achieve goals. And most managers would put so much emphasis on the creation, maintenance and control of formal structure in getting things done to achieve organizational objectives. According to Parker and Cross (2004), most managers have little understanding of how their employees actually interact to get work done. In fact, organizational charts fail to reveal the often hidden social networks that truly drive or hinder an individual’s performance. Mullins (2010) articulates that informal groups are very powerful social net works which are constructed in response to and through actions of their members. Mullins (2010) further articulates that managers and supervisors frequently...
Words: 1403 - Pages: 6
...Give an example of a content theory. Critically evaluate your chosen theory in terms of its usefulness and practical application in work organisations. Content theories centralise on what can motivate people and also, are concerned of their needs. In order to satisfy those needs there are goals that must be pursued. An example of a content theory is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs and some examples for each one of them are as following: Physiological needs are concerned with the people’s basic needs of air, food, water, clothing and home. In other words, physiological needs are the needs for basic customs of life. Safety needs are concerned with the physical, environmental and emotional safety and protection. For instance, job security, health security, financial security and family security. Social needs are concerned with the need for care, love, belongingness, and friendship. Esteem needs are concerned with internal esteem needs for example, competence, confidence, self- respect achievement and freedom, and external esteem needs such as power, recognition, attention, appreciation and status. At last is the self-actualization, which is concerned with peoples creativity, morality and solving their problems. Self-actualisation comes after the first four needs are full-filled and after the employer receives recognition on his potential. The self- actualization needs are never truly fulfilled. Conversely, then comes the desire for gaining more knowledge...
Words: 1155 - Pages: 5
...maintain relationships with others. In fact communication makes up most of our life and nearly all of our social activity, an example of then it is used in our social activity is when you go out for a chat with your friends this communication is verbal. When at a party the communication will be less verbal and more and more informal. Communication is the simple act of transferring information from one place to another, which can be done by: . Vocally . Written .Digital media .magazines .websites. .Visual . Informal . Formal .1.1 In the health care setting different types of communication can be more common such as a group informal conversation. A group has to consist of three or more people, whilst in a health care setting this could be a gathering of the service users chatting. The conversation can be about anything and does not have to use the Queen’s English it could simply be in a colloquial form. An example of what could be said could be things such as “hey, what’s up, how ya doing”. This form of communication can be common among friends, it allows the person to have a relaxed tone in their voice, this can be beneficial in an informal group discussion between...
Words: 1631 - Pages: 7
...organizational settings. Organizational communication occurs when a group of people working together and communicate to each other in order to achieve individual or collective goals. Communication is been considered a functional part of an organizational system and in interpersonal context. The purpose of organization communication ranges from completing a task or mission to creating and maintaining satisfying human relationships within the organization. The structure of an organization is determined in part by the network of channels or paths along which information must flow between members or sub-units within the organization. Communication networks in government organization In the past, the concern of management of large bureaucratic structure such as government organization, in which the major focus of the organizational communication literature, was formal and top-down communication. The government needs systems for controlling the flow of information in order to balance the structure. Today, informal communication in which is generally associated with interpersonal, horizontal communication is primarily seen as a potential contribution to effective organizational performance. On-going, dynamic, and non-formal, if not informal, communication has become more important to ensuring the effective conduct of work in modern government organizations. [pic] Creating a climate of formal and informal communication Communication climate can be defined as the internal...
Words: 2228 - Pages: 9
...not have an independent existence, they interact with many groups to achieve their outcomes. (Allan, 2005). This interaction occurs through many different channels of communication and by many different methods. All organizations need to be aware of the communication patterns that may occur within their environment. Weather...
Words: 1442 - Pages: 6
...INFORMAL LABOUR MARKETS AS A SOLUTION FOR UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA – A CASE STUDY OF CAR GUARDS IN BLOEMFONTEIN1. P F BLAAUW Department of Economics Rand Afrikaans University L J BOTHMA Independent Labour Economist ABSTRACT The car guard industry in South Africa evolved out of the plight of the unemployed. Very little research has been done on the industry in South Africa. The first objective of this paper is to address the lack of research and the second is to determine whether the car guard industry can provide a solution to the problem of unemployment. Car guards involved in this study were found to be generally low skilled, earning low income and working under harsh conditions for long hours. The majority of them held formal sector employment before becoming unemployed. Car guarding is not a solution to the plight of the unemployed. Training and skill development supplemented by accelerated economic growth are vital to bridge the gap between the formal and informal sectors. OPSOMMING Die motorwag-industrie in Suid Afrika het onstaan uit die lot van die massa werkloses in die land. Weinig navorsing is al oor die industrie gedoen. Die doelwit van die referaat is eerstens om die gebrek aan navorsing aan te vul en tweedens om te bepaal of die motorwagindustrie ‘n oplossing vir die probleem van werkloosheid kan bied. Motorwagte in die studie is oor die algemeen laag geskoold, swak besoldig en werksaam vir lang ure onder moeilike omstandighede. Die meeste het...
Words: 4514 - Pages: 19
...prototype about the general characteristics of a group of people. Many stereotypes are about racial and ethnic groups, age groups, and the sexes. Other stereotypes have to do with such acquired characteristics as education or occupation. Stereotypes of accountants and engineers hold that both groups have poor social skills, and a common stereotype of people with MBA degrees is that these people are arrogant and overly concerned with the bottom line. Stereotypes cause problems for at least two reasons. First, because they are so general, it it risky to apply them to particular people. Many individuals differ from stereotypes applied to them. A German man who spent many years in Japan and spoke Japanese fluently found that people in that country often did not understand him , only if he spoke to them in peson. No one has had trouble understanding him when he spoke over the telephone. Apparently, am assumption that foreigners cannot learn Japanese-that is, a stereotype about foreigners –prevented people from understanding this man if they saw he was a foreigner. A person who repeatedly makes mistakes using stereotype may not have been exposed to other groups enough to have developed accurate prototypes. Another source of problem is that because stereotypes are widely held, they are sometimes hard to notice. If you aren’t aware you have a particular stereotype, you cannot check whether it truly applies to a particular person or group. The result cannot be inaccurate perceptions and...
Words: 1710 - Pages: 7
...situational, rather than determined by personality trait. There are four types of Leadership: Formal-Legitimate, Formal-Illegitimate, Informal- Legitimate, and Informal- Illegitimate. 1. Formal-Legitimate: Formal legitimate leader has the power to influence and, when he or she does, it is considered as proper by those being influence. The production manager, Raph Porter, and the Supervisor, Otto Schell, possessed a formal leadership which was assigned. This leadership was legitimate. Either the manager or the supervisor could stop the dishonesty problems in the plating department. Everyone in the plating department had to follow the order. 2. Formal-Illegitimate An individual who holds a formal position but isn't considered proper by those individuals in the group The production manager and the supervisor possessed a formal leadership. But if the production manager or the supervisor tried to stop people borrowing money, cars, clothing, tools, or sharing the lunch each other, it would be a formal illegitimate. The people in the plating department would not be willing to follow the order. 3. Informal- Legitimate An individual doesn’t have a formal position, but gains the respect and acceptance from other individuals in the group. Tony Sarto was the most respected member in the plating department. He did not possess any formal leadership position. But he was one acted as arbiter between the other members. He was a master...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
...*RETHINKING THE INFORMAL ECONOMY IN *THE * *NEO-LIBERALIST PHASE TABLE OF CONTENTS *RETHINKING THE INFORMAL *ECONOMY IN THE * *NEO-LIBERALIST PHASE Introduction : The labour markets in developing countries is markedly different from that in the developed countries. The most striking feature of labour markets in the developing countries is its non-homogeneous character. The status of the vast majority of workers in the developed countries is of wage and salary earners. Whereas in the developing countries there is a predominance of self-employment. This non-homogeneous character of labour markets in developing countries also implies that the nature of employment and the manner in which it is created is different in the two world’s. In the developing countries the vast majority of the population is left to fend for itself and create employment out of its own ingenuity, skills and capital. This leads to vast differences in the nature of employment and the creation of dualistic structure of ‘formal’and ‘informal’ components of the labour market. A large proportion of the workforce is in the unorganised or informal sector. These workers are engaged in economic activities with lower productivity resulting in lower incomes. They are also engaged in activities with less stable employment contracts (including the self-employed) and fewer social security benefits. While the wages and salaries of the formal sector workers are periodically revised to counter inflation...
Words: 9126 - Pages: 37
...Informal and Formal Groups Company overview Starbucks corporations are one of the largest stores that deal in the retail market with more than 7,000 stores in 25 countries. It is said to have strong position in the market since it gets the largest share through its retail market. It carries out intensive market expansion and wide arrays of distribution channels innovatively by differentiating its products, hence making the company to have a competitive advantage. This company has a flat organizational structure whereby this structure allows for employees' involvement in the utilization of cross-functional work teams in its strategic planning processes. It operates many different stores in most of the industrialized countries of the world. This company uses the organizational theory which has led to its success. It is the use of the organizational theory whereby the company has been in a position to utilize its resources effectively, hence to increase the production. The company can be seen as a leader in this category when compared to other companies. For example, Starbucks Inc. uses the decentralized structure in most of its stores; decentralized structures are one of the structures which lead to an improved performance of a company. There are several ways that make Starbucks different from the other companies (DeSanctis & Fulk, 2000). Organization structure Organizational theory can be defined as the study of the whole organization, the various strategies which are used...
Words: 974 - Pages: 4
...Group is a form of two or more people who work with one another to achieve the same or common missions. It can help organizations fulfill the vital task and maintain a steady-quality workforce by meeting members' needs. When there is no expert in the specific problem or the problem solving can be settled by a division of labor and the sharing of information, or new ideas are needed, these kinds of situations are better than handling it by individuals. Normative view, group dynamics and internal nature of group are the views of the interaction between members of a group. Firstly, normative view is to describe how to form a group and implement events. Secondly, group dynamics involve of a set of techniques such as role play, team building and training. Thirdly, through the group dynamics, it studies the internal nature of the groups. Groups are typically separated into two main categories – formal and informal. Formal groups is to complete a specific task. The members have a sense of identity and loyalty. It can be permanent or temporary. Permanent work groups are command groups in the organization structure. Task groups are temporary work groups which is to overcome the problem or form a defined task. Furthermore, it is a virtual group that the members convene and work together via networked computers and complete the same things face to face. Informal groups, goals or intentions differ to the main organizations, are formed by the employees. Friendship and interest groups...
Words: 488 - Pages: 2
...Formal and Informal English The difference between formal and informal English is not a difference between correct and incorrect, but a difference of what is known as register. A register is a variety of language related to a particular subject matter or area of activity, a set of words and expressions as well as syntactical features that may be said to characterise that specific area of language. There are many registers: technical, academic, mathematical, scientific, etc. Very broadly speaking, we can also speak of a “formal” and “informal” register in English. In writing academic reports and the like, it would be normal to draw most of the vocabulary and expressions from the formal register, and few, if any, from the informal. This entails avoiding colloquial (everyday) or slang expressions in your writing assignments. The question of register is far more complicated than indicated here; for example, there are many degrees of formality and informality. However, below are listed a few examples which may be of practical assistance.[1] Diffenetions of formal & informal: Formal language, even when spoken, is often associated with the conventions expected of written standard English. Formal English follow rules of grammar very strictly. Sentences tend to be longer and more complex. The vocabulary tends to be elevated, using big words and avoiding colloquial or slang vocabulary. It avoids split infinitives and prepositions at the end of sentences. Formal...
Words: 2253 - Pages: 10
...participants within an organization. It is important to distinguish between communications on behalf of the organization and the day to day intercourse within work groups or between managers and subordinates. Organizational communication flows in all directions and the network may be planned or unplanned. Nike communicates internally among managers and subordinates in their organization flow chart. To add, Nike compliance staff, which numbers more than 80 people, monitors workplace conditions through a series of internal audits conducted by them and other Nike personnel. [B] Formal Communication Pattern Formal communication refers to interchange of information officially. The flow of communication is controlled and is a deliberate effort. This makes it possible for the information to reach the desired place without any hindrance, at a little cost and in a proper way. This is also known as ‘Through Proper Channel Communication.’ Formal communication can both be written and oral. Nike communicates its progress to its stakeholders, through its website www.nikeresponsibility.com backgrounders, quarterly electronic newsletters, the 2015 Corporate Responsibility Report and Community Investment Report 2014-2015. Nike also engages stakeholders directly through one-on-one meetings and other forms of collaboration. Nike held its first formal stakeholder forum in February 2015. Nike actively communicates with its stakeholders and encourages their feedback. Nike engages with its stakeholders through...
Words: 1274 - Pages: 6
