informal groups1

8/6/2019 Informal Groups1

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INFORMAL GROUPS



Definition

The informal group in an organization is the

interlocking social structure that governs how

people work together in practice. It is the aggregate of behavior, interactions,

norms, personal and professional

connections through which work gets done

and relationships are built among people whoshare a common organizational affiliation orcluster of affiliations.



Small group of people could come together in anorganization because:

They are friends,

They share the same interests,

They come from the same ethnic group.



Experiments by Elton Mayo and his associates in

the 1920s and 1930s showed that workers tend

to establish informal groups that affect jobsatisfaction and effectiveness, while

Kurt Lewin experiments in the 1930s showed

that different kinds of leadership produceddifferent responses in groups.



Nature of Informal Groups

The informal groups are created independentlyby colleagues regardless of position, actual job inthe organization or age.

They have no officially installed leaders ratherleadership is earned either through contributionto the group, experience or even influence in thegroup.

Power in the informal group therefore couldchange rapidly from person to person dependingon how much the group respects influencewithin their members.



How It Emerges

Informal groups are encouraged but

controlled in most organizations so as to

promote employee job satisfaction in theorganizations environment.

Most of these groups are usually monitored

by the organizations so the discussions or

actions dont get out of hand.



Leaders in Informal Groups

There may be several leaders within groups for one reason oranother, but the fact remains that a leader would always be animportant factor within the group for the influence or experiencethey give.

A leader is mostly, but not necessarily, an important or highranking employee in the organization.

An informal leader could also benefit from some organizationalbenefits because of his status within his colleagues.

Leaders are usually spotted in organizations as the people a ratioof the employees go to for advice, like hanging out with or even

sit beside him in the cafeteria. Even within managers in the company, a leader emerges as the

on most of the other managers look up to for decisions or advice.



Benefits

Informal group systems tend to blend withformal systems to create better workingenvironments in the organization.

They also lighten the workload onmanagement by having multipleopportunities to tackle problems.

They also help in management abilities byfurther organizing themselves better toproduces results effectively in projects andwork.



Problems

As with nature, every action has a reaction

and so does informal groups. The most

important of these problems is the fact thatwhile useful information is passed within one

group, another group may be communicating

malicious rumor.

Also, certain groups could be turned to anunnecessary hatred between themselves dueto difference in interest.



Benefits/Problems

Benefits Problems

Makes a more effective total system Develops undesirable rumors

Lightens workload on management Encourage negative attitude

Helps get the work done Resist changeTends to encourage cooperation Leads to interpersonal and intergroup

conflicts

Fill in gaps in a managers abilities Rejects and harasses some employees

Gives satisfactions and stability to work

groups

Weakens motivation and satisfaction

Improves communication Operates outside of managementcontrol

Provides a safety valve for employeeemotions

Support conformity

Encourages managers to plan and actmore carefully Develops role conflicts



Monitoring

Identifying feelings within a group can be useful fordetermining who trust whom, or for selecting anindividual to negotiate a satisfactory compromise ona sticky issue.

Collecting data or monitoring behaviors betweencolleagues could help in avoiding or stoppingunwanted conflicts within the organization.

Certain employees might be asked to compile a

network chart between the individuals in a companyso as to give a better idea of relationships betweenthe employees and also help determine the source of unwanted behaviors or else know the right people totackle those problems when the need arises.



Influencing Informal

OrganizationThe informal group cannot be established or destroyed bythe organization, but it could have a great influence onthem.Such guidelines needed are:

Accept and understand the informal organizations.

Identify various levels of attitudes and behaviors within it.

Consider possible effects on informal group systems whentaking any kind of action.

Integrate as far as possible the interest of informal groupswith those of the formal organizations.

Keep formal activities from unnecessarily threateninginformal organizations.



Conclusion

The informal group are a very important aspectof everyday life in any working environment withmultiple employees. The higher the number of employees, the more informal groups anorganization is likely to have.

Every employee in an organization belongs to at

least one informal group. Informal group do not necessarily have to do

with the daily work performed in theorganization



ABUBAKAR USMAN KIBIYA

044133

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