Formal and informal groups in the structure of the organization. Summary: Formal and informal groups. Main reasons for joining groups
Formal and informal
The importance of the harmonious functioning of the organization is constantly emphasized in management writings. According to many authors, if the right formula is found, the organization will act like a well-oiled machine.
Speaking about the role played by the "human resources" management system in the development of the company, one of the leaders of the American company 3M noted that effective management of "human resources" is being put forward among the critical factors of economic success. In the recent past, the competitive struggle was concentrated in the field of technical progress, improvement of technologies, organizational structures, marketing, after-sales service. But the essence of business is determined primarily by people.
Each employee of our company performs its function and joins efforts with others in achieving common results. A key component of our business today is personnel management. It provides a favorable environment in which labor potential is realized, personal abilities develop, people get satisfaction from the work performed and public recognition of their achievements.
Leaders of the organization are satisfied if the organization continues to exist as a single organism. However, almost always the real stereotypes of the behavior and attitudes of the members of the organization deviate slightly or very far from the formal plan of the organization's management.
Informal groups that form in organizations are a powerful force that, under certain conditions, can actually become dominant in the organization and nullify the efforts of management. Informal groups can also carry a positive influence on the activities of a formal organization.
Middle managers need to reconcile the demands of the organization's informal groups with the demands of the top management. This need encourages managers to look for non-standard methods of managing people or to use existing methods more effectively in order to use the potential benefits and reduce the negative impact of informal groups.
An unambiguous definition of a group does not exist, since it is a rather flexible and subject to the influence of circumstances phenomenon, however, a fairly general, well-established view of the group as a relatively isolated phenomenon of two or more persons who are in a fairly stable interaction and carry out joint actions for a sufficiently long period of time is widely accepted. . The interaction of group members is based on a certain common interest and may be associated with the achievement of a common goal. At the same time, the group has a certain group potential, or group capabilities that allow it to enter into relationships with the outside world and adapt to changes taking place in the environment.
The characteristic features of the group are as follows:
· Members of the group identify themselves and their actions with the group as a whole and thus act as if on behalf of the group in external interactions. A person speaks not about himself, but about the group as a whole, using the pronouns "we".
· Interaction between members of the group is in the nature of direct contacts, personal conversation, observation of each other's behavior, etc. In a group, people communicate directly with each other, giving formal interactions a "human form".
· In a group, along with the formal distribution of roles, if any, there is necessarily an informal distribution of roles, usually recognized by the group. Individual members of the group take on the role of generators of ideas, others tend to coordinate the efforts of group members, others take care of relationships in the group, maintain a good climate in the team, fourth ones make sure that there is order in work, everything is done on time and brought to end. There are people who act as structurizers, they set goals for the group, monitor the influence of the environment on the tasks solved by the group.
There are two types of groups: formal and informal. These types of groups matter to the organization and have a great impact on the members of the organization.
Formal groups usually stand out as structural units in an organization. They have a formally appointed leader, a formally defined structure of roles, positions and positions within the company, as well as formally assigned functions and tasks.
A formal group has the following features:
1. It is rational, i.e. it is based on the principle of expediency, conscious movement towards a known goal;
2. She is impersonal, i.e. It is designed for individuals, relations between which are established according to a compiled program.
In a formal group, only official connections between individuals are provided, and it is subject only to functional goals.
The formal groups are:
· A vertical (linear) organization that unites a number of bodies and a subdivision in such a way that each of them is located between the other two - higher and lower, and the leadership of each of the bodies and subdivisions is concentrated in one person.
· Functional organization, in accordance with which management is distributed among a number of persons specializing in the performance of certain functions and jobs.
· Staff organization, characterized by the presence of a staff of advisers, experts, assistants, not included in the vertical organization system.
Formal groups may be formed to perform a regular function, such as accounting, or they may be created to solve a specific task, such as a commission for the development of a project.
informal groups are created not by orders of the management of the organization and formal regulations, but by members of this organization in accordance with their mutual sympathies, common interests, identical hobbies and habits. These groups exist in all companies, although they are not represented in the diagrams that reflect the structure of the organization, its structure.
Informal groups usually have their own unwritten rules and norms of behavior, people know well who is in their informal group and who is not. In informal groups, a certain distribution of roles and positions is formed. Usually these groups have an explicit or implicit leader. In many cases, informal groups can exert equal or even greater influence over their members than formal structures.
Informal groups are a spontaneously (spontaneously) established system of social ties, norms, actions that are the product of more or less long-term interpersonal communication.
The informal group manifests itself in two varieties:
1. It is a non-formal organization in which non-formalized service relations have a functional (production) content and exist in parallel with the formal organization. For example, the optimal system of business connections that spontaneously develops between employees, some forms of rationalization and invention, methods of decision making, etc.
2. It is a socio-psychological organization, acting in the form of interpersonal relationships that arise on the basis of the mutual interest of individuals in each other, out of connection with functional needs, i.e. a direct, spontaneously emerging community of people based on a personal choice of connections and associations between them (comradeship, amateur groups, relations of prestige, leadership, sympathy, etc.).
The picture of an informal group is extremely varied and variable in the direction of interests, the nature of activity, age and social composition, and so on.
Depending on the ideological and moral orientation, style of behavior, informal groups can be classified as follows:
Prosocial, i.e. socially positive groups. These are socio-political clubs of international friendship, social initiative funds, groups for environmental protection and the rescue of cultural monuments, amateur club associations, etc. They, as a rule, have a positive orientation.
· Asocial, i.e. groups standing apart from social problems.
· Antisocial. These groups are the most unfavorable part of society, causing him anxiety. On the one hand, moral deafness, inability to understand others, a different point of view, on the other hand, often their own pain and suffering that befell this category of people contribute to the development of extreme views among its individual representatives.
Individuals rarely work in isolation from others. This can happen only in those exceptional cases when the employee performs a strictly individual task, controlled only by the top management of the organization, when he autonomously contacts the external environment and makes decisions mostly on his own.
However, most of the situations that arise in the course of organizational activity characterize group relations. Groups in organizations are the basis of the synergy effect, and, as a rule, members of the organization simply do not think of their activities outside the social group.
A distinctive feature of the organization is that the work in it is always carried out within groups or teams. At the same time, the features of the work performed by this organization do not matter.
The behavior of individual group members in an organization, as shown by numerous studies, is greatly influenced by the group. Leaders of an organization need to be aware of group pressures to help the group act more effectively towards achieving common goals.
Groups in an organization are characterized by the content and direction of their activities. The content of the activities of group members can be defined in different ways. For example, the members of a group can be said to interact; have a common goal; know about each other.
Consider the purposes that a group can serve in an organization: sometimes groups arise to solve other, less formal tasks (some of which may not contribute to the organization's goals). In doing so, the group leader must:
Distribute work among group members;
Manage and control the performance of work;
Solve problems and make decisions;
Conduct information processing;
Collect ideas and information for group activities;
Verify and ratify decisions regarding group members;
Coordinate and establish communication with the external environment of the group;
To instill in subordinates a sense of responsibility and involvement in affairs;
Negotiate with group members and resolve conflict situations in the group;
Conduct investigations and make inquiries about past activities of group members.
Features of group activity. The group activity of people within the organization (rather than the activity of individual workers) can be considered a necessary condition for achieving organizational goals. We highlight the main features of group activities:
1. Groups seem to provide a psychological home for the individual.
2. The group as a whole gives the best ideas, although it generates fewer ideas than individual members of the group. However, the ideas of the group are distinguished by better elaboration, a comprehensive assessment, and a greater degree of responsibility for them.
3. The group makes more risky decisions than individual members of the group. A certain type of groupthink is probably developing, in which the group feels invulnerable.
Types of behavior of members of the organization in groups. In order to successfully complete the work tasks required by the organization, workers must cooperate and integrate into groups. The process of cooperation and integration will be successful if group members follow certain social norms, perceive social control through group pressure, experience a sense of identification between group members, relationships of interdependence, the influence of a group leader, etc.
Groups can be formed as a result of pre-planned actions of the organization's management as some part of the formal structure. But sometimes informal organizational structures emerge as a consequence of unplanned social processes. In this regard, it is important to determine the nature and features of the functioning of formal and informal groups in the organization.
formal groups.By formal we mean groups in an organization that are consciously created to achieve the collective goals of the organization. These groups perform formal functions, such as performing specific tasks, generating ideas, maintaining communications, etc., which contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organization. It is clear that the achievement of each goal requires the creation of a certain structural unit (in some cases, several structural units), which acts quite autonomously, and, according to the requirements of cooperation and joint labor activity, this structural unit must be formally connected with other structural units of the organization.
Formal groups tend to remain relatively stable, although their composition may change. This is explained by the impersonality of the formal structure - in groups there are only statuses, regardless of the individuals occupying these statuses. Of course, temporary formal groups can also be created in the organization for the implementation of a specific task. Formal groups can be classified in many ways, such as differences in membership, tasks performed, positions within the organizational structure.
informal groups. As already noted, in the formal structure of any organization there are informal groups. These groups are based primarily on interpersonal relationships, the satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) of psychological and social needs that are not related to formal goals and objectives. In this case, members of social groups in the organization are focused not on social statuses and roles, but on primary group relations. In such groups, interdependence develops, its members constantly influence each other's behavior and contribute to the satisfaction of personal needs, for example, in communication, in other social motivations that are absent in purely working situations, especially in industrial enterprises or in profitable firms.
Membership in an informal group can be terminated through a formal structure, in particular by transferring an employee to another, spatially remote part of the organization or moving vertically to another managerial level. In some cases, an informal group can also be a formal group or part of a formal group (an asset of a department, department, sector, or even the organization as a whole).
The members of an informal group usually nominate their own leader, who has informal power only within the group. As a rule, the informal leader reflects the attitudes and values of the group members, helps to resolve conflicts, leads the group to achieve goals, establishes connections outside the group and uses them, which contributes to the adaptation of the group in the organization. The informal leader often changes depending on the situation. In some cases, the informal leader simultaneously performs the functions of a formal leader. However, this situation is not typical for an organization, since an informal leader who has received a formal status usually loses informal authority, being forced to apply formal sanctions to members of the group.
Informal groups are very important for the success of the organization, so even attempts are being made to artificially create such groups. Natural groups of three to six workers who have developed a high level of intimacy and affection for each other through interactions should be supported by the management of the organization. Otherwise, the natural informal structure will either not develop, or will develop in forms that are undesirable for the organization, hindering the achievement of goals-tasks. A natural group can be artificially grown into a family group of 8-30 members. Further, the process of developing and strengthening the feeling of affection within 6-12 months should lead to the formation of one organized group, consisting of family groups united by an extensive network of communications on an organization-wide scale, each of which includes several natural groups. Such an organized troupe can be viewed as a social organization, all members of which are connected by common intentions.
So, groups in an organization can be both formal and informal; informal groups are not part of a formal organizational structure; they may be led by workers who have little or no formal power in the organizational structure. However, such groups can be very powerful and useful in completing tasks.
2. Informal groups and the reasons for their emergence. Informal group management
An informal organization is a spontaneously formed group of people who interact regularly to achieve a specific goal. In a large organization, there are many informal groups. Informal organizations, just like formal ones, have a hierarchy, leaders, tasks, and norms of behavior.
The main reasons for the emergence of informal groups are:
1) unsatisfied social needs for belonging, belonging;
2) the need for mutual assistance;
3) the need for mutual protection;
4) close communication and sympathy;
5) a similar way of thinking.
Affiliation. One of the highest human needs, which is satisfied through the establishment and maintenance of social contacts and interactions. But many formal organizations deprive people of social contacts. Therefore, workers turn to informal organizations.
Mutual assistance. Help, support, advice, advice, employees should receive from their immediate superiors. But this does not always happen, because the leader is not always able to create an atmosphere of openness and trust when the performers want to share their problems with him. Therefore, often people prefer to resort to the help of their colleagues. This interaction has a double benefit. The one who provided it acquires a reputation as an expert, prestige, self-respect. Who received - the necessary guidance for action, belonging to an informal organization.
Mutual protection. Members of informal organizations protect their interests and each other from superiors, other formal and informal groups. For example, they protect each other from unfair decisions, harmful rules, poor working conditions, invasion of their zone of influence by other departments, lower salaries, and dismissal.
Close communication. Thanks to the formal organization and its tasks, the same people come together every day, sometimes for many years. They are often forced to communicate and interact, as they solve the same tasks. People want to know what's going on around them, especially when it comes to their work. But sometimes leaders deliberately hide information from subordinates. Subordinates are forced to resort to an informal channel of communication - rumors. It satisfies the need for security, belonging. In addition, people want to be closer to those they sympathize with, with whom they have a lot in common, with whom they can discuss not only work, but also personal matters. Such relationships often arise with those who are nearby in the workspace.
Similar way of thinking. People are united by the same shared social and ideological values, common intellectual traditions, professed philosophy of life, common hobbies, etc.
It is necessary to know the main characteristics of informal groups that have a great influence on the effectiveness of a formal organization and which must be taken into account in management. These characteristics are:
1) exercising social control;
2) resistance to change;
3) the emergence of an informal leader;
4) spreading rumors.
social control. Informal groups establish and reinforce norms of acceptable and unacceptable behavior within the group. This may concern both clothing, manners, and acceptable types of work, attitudes towards it, and the intensity of work. Those who violate these norms are subject to alienation and other sanctions. These norms may or may not correspond to the norms and values of the formal organization.
Resistance to change. This phenomenon is also characteristic of formal groups, since changes disrupt the usual, well-established rhythm of work, the distribution of roles, stability, and confidence in the future. Changes can pose a threat to the continued existence of an informal group. Reorganization, the introduction of new technology, the expansion of production, the elimination of traditional industries can lead to the disintegration of informal groups or a reduction in the ability to meet social needs and realize common interests.
Leadership must reduce resistance to change using a variety of methods, including participatory management.
informal leaders. Informal organizations, as well as formal ones, have their own leaders. To influence the members of the group, they apply to them the same methods as the formal leaders. The only difference between these two leaders is that the leader of a formal organization has the support of delegated official authority and usually operates in a specific functional area assigned to him. The support of the informal leader is the recognition of his group. In his actions, he relies on people and their relationships. The sphere of influence of the informal leader may go beyond the administrative framework of the formal organization.
The main factors determining the opportunity to become the leader of an informal organization are: age, official authority, professional competence, location of the workplace, freedom of movement in the work area, moral qualities (responsiveness, decency, etc.). The exact characteristics are determined by the value system adopted in the group.
Informal organizations interact with formal ones. This interaction can be represented as a Ho-mans model. The model demonstrates how an informal group arises from the process of interaction between people performing certain tasks.
In the organization, people perform the tasks assigned to them, in the process of performing these tasks, people interact, which in turn contributes to the emergence of emotions - positive and negative in relation to each other and superiors. These emotions influence how people will carry out their activities and interact in the future. Emotions, favorable or unfavorable, can lead to either an increase or decrease in efficiency, absenteeism, staff turnover, complaints and other phenomena that are important for assessing the performance of an organization. Therefore, even if an informal organization is not created by the will of the leadership and is not under its complete control, it must be managed so that it can achieve its goals.
To ensure effective communication between formal and informal groups, the following methods can be used:
1) recognize the existence of an informal organization, refuse to destroy it, realize the need to work with it;
2) identify leaders in each informal group, involve in the decision-making process and take into account their views, encourage those involved in solving production problems;
3) check all managerial actions for their possible negative impact on the informal group;
4) to reduce resistance to change, involve group members in making management decisions;
5) quickly provide accurate information to prevent the spread of false rumors.
In addition to organizational factors, the effectiveness of the work of groups is also influenced by specific factors. They can be divided into two groups:
1) characteristics of the group;
2) group processes.
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Question 21. Formal and informal groups in the organization. Theories and stages of the formation process. Types of formal groups.
So, there are two types of groups: formal and informal. These types of groups matter to the organization and have a great impact on the members of the organization.
Formal groups- These are groups created by the will of the leadership.
Allocate groups of leaders, working (target) groups and committees.
Leadership Group consists of the head and his immediate subordinates who are in the zone of his control (the president and vice presidents).
Working (target) group- employees working on the same task.
Committee- a group within an organization that is delegated authority to perform a task or set of tasks. Sometimes committees are called councils, commissions, task forces. Allocate permanent and special committees.
informal group- a spontaneously formed group of people who regularly interact to achieve a specific goal. The reasons for joining are a sense of belonging, help, protection, communication.
Informal organizations exercise social control over their members. There are usually certain norms that each member of the group must comply with. In informal organizations, there is a tendency to resist change. Usually an informal organization is led by an informal leader. The informal leader should help the group achieve its goals and keep it alive.
The same factors affect the effectiveness of the work of formal and informal groups:
Group size. As the group grows, communication between members becomes more difficult. In addition, informal groups with their own goals may arise within the group. In small groups (of 2 - 3 people) people feel personally responsible for making a certain decision. It is believed that the optimal group size is 5 - 11 people.
Compound(or the degree of similarity of personalities, points of view, approaches). It is believed that the most optimal decision can be made by groups consisting of people who are in different positions (i.e., dissimilar people).
group norms. A person who wants to be accepted by a group must comply with certain group norms. (Positive norms are norms that support behavior aimed at achieving goals. Negative norms are norms that encourage behavior that is not conducive to achieving goals, such as stealing, being late, absenteeism, drinking in the workplace, etc.).
Cohesion. It is considered as a measure of the attraction of group members to each other and to the group. A high level of group cohesion can improve the performance of the entire organization.
group consensus. This is the tendency of an individual to suppress his views on some phenomenon in order not to disturb the harmony of the group.
Conflict. Differences in opinion increase the likelihood of conflict. The consequences of the conflict can be positive, as they allow you to identify different points of view (this leads to an increase in the effectiveness of the group). The negative consequences are to reduce the effectiveness of the group: a bad state of mind, a low degree of cooperation, a shift in emphasis (giving more attention to one's "winning" in the conflict, rather than solving the real problem).
Status of group members. It is determined by seniority in the job hierarchy, job title, education, experience, awareness, etc. Usually, members of a group with a high status have a greater influence on other members of the group. It is desirable that the opinion of high-status group members is not dominant in the group.
Formal groups are usually distinguished as structural divisions in an organization. They have a formally appointed leader, a formally defined structure of roles, positions and positions within the company, as well as formally assigned functions and tasks.
The formal group has the following features:
it is rational, i.e. it is based on the principle of expediency, conscious movement towards a known goal;
it is impersonal, i.e. It is designed for individuals, relations between which are established according to a compiled program.
In a formal group, only official connections between individuals are provided, and it is subject only to functional goals.
The formal groups are:
A vertical organization that unites a number of bodies and a subdivision in such a way that each of them is located between the other two - higher and lower, and the leadership of each of the bodies and subdivisions is concentrated in one person.
A functional organization in which management is distributed among a number of individuals who specialize in certain functions and jobs.
Staff organization, characterized by the presence of a staff of advisers, experts, assistants, not included in the vertical organization system.
Formal groups may be formed to perform a regular function, such as accounting, or they may be created to solve a specific task, such as a commission for the development of a project.
Informal groups are created not by orders of the organization's management and formal resolutions, but by members of this organization in accordance with their mutual sympathies, common interests, the same hobbies and habits. These groups exist in all companies, although they are not represented in the diagrams that reflect the structure of the organization, its structure.
Informal groups usually have their own unwritten rules and norms of behavior, people know well who is in their informal group and who is not. In informal groups, a certain distribution of roles and positions is formed. Usually these groups have an explicit or implicit leader. In many cases, informal groups can exert equal or even greater influence over their members than formal structures.
Informal groups are a spontaneously (spontaneously) established system of social ties, norms, actions that are the product of more or less long-term interpersonal communication.
Depending on the style of behavior, informal groups can be classified as follows:
Prosocial, i.e. socially positive groups. These are socio-political clubs of international friendship, social initiative funds, groups for environmental protection and the rescue of cultural monuments, amateur club associations, etc. They, as a rule, have a positive orientation.
Asocial, i.e. groups standing apart from social problems.
Antisocial. These groups are the most unfavorable part of society, causing him anxiety. On the one hand, moral deafness, inability to understand others, a different point of view, on the other hand, often their own pain and suffering that befell this category of people contribute to the development of extreme views among its individual representatives.
Control work on discipline
"Management".
Topic 15. Formal and informal groups.
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..page2
2. Formal groups…………………………………………………………………...page 2
3. Informal groups ………………………………………………………………..p4
4. Leadership of formal and informal groups………………………………..p7
5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… page 18
6. List of literature used…………………………………………………..page 19
Introduction
Organization is a social category and at the same time a means to achieve goals. It is a place where people build relationships and interact. Therefore, in every formal organization there is a complex interweaving of informal groups and organizations that have been formed without the intervention of management. These informal associations often have a strong impact on performance and organizational effectiveness.
Although informal organizations are not created by the will of management, they are a factor that every leader must reckon with, because such organizations and other groups can have a strong influence on the behavior of individuals and on the work behavior of employees. In addition, no matter how well the leader performs his functions, it is impossible to determine what actions and attitudes will be required to achieve the goals in an organization moving forward. The manager and subordinate often have to interact with people outside the organization and with units outside their subordination. People cannot successfully carry out their tasks if they do not achieve the official interaction of individuals and groups on which their activities depend. To cope with such situations, the manager must understand what role this or that group plays in a particular situation, and what place the leadership process occupies in it.
One of the prerequisites for effective management is the ability to work in small groups, such as committees or commissions created by the leaders themselves, and the ability to build relationships with their direct reports.
formal groups.
Based on the definition of Marvin Shaw: “a group is two or more persons that interact with each other in such a way that each person influences the others and is simultaneously influenced by other persons”, we can assume that an organization of any size consists of several groups. Management creates groups of its own accord when it divides labor horizontally (divisions) and vertically (management levels). In each of the numerous departments of a large organization, there may be a dozen levels of management. For example, production in a factory can be divided into smaller divisions - machining, painting, assembly. These productions, in turn, can be further divided. For example, production personnel involved in mechanical processing can be divided into 3 different teams of 10 - 16 people, including foremen. Thus, a large organization can literally consist of hundreds or even thousands of small groups.
These groups, created at the behest of management to organize the production process, are called formal groups. However small they may be, these are formal organizations whose primary function in relation to the organization as a whole is to perform specific tasks and achieve certain, specific goals.
There are three main types of formal groups in an organization: leadership groups; production groups; committees.
Command (subordinate) group The manager's team consists of the manager and his immediate subordinates, who, in turn, can also be managers. The company president and senior vice presidents are a typical team group. Another example of a command subordinate group is the captain of an airliner, co-pilot and flight engineer.
The second type of formal group is working (target) group . It usually consists of individuals working together on the same task. Although they have a common leader, these groups differ from the command group in that they have much more autonomy in planning and carrying out their work. Working (target) groups are included in such well-known companies as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Texas Instruments and General Motors. More than two-thirds of Texas Instruments' total workforce (89,000+) are members of target groups. For improving the overall efficiency of the company, they can receive a 15 percent bonus to their budget. In this company, management believes that the target groups are breaking down barriers of distrust between managers and workers. In addition, by giving workers the opportunity to think about and solve their own production problems, they can meet the needs of higher-level workers.
The third type of formal group is Committee . This is a group within an organization that has been delegated authority to perform a task or set of tasks. Committees are sometimes referred to as councils, task forces, commissions, or teams.
All team and working groups, as well as committees, must work effectively - as a single well-coordinated team. It is no longer necessary to argue that the effective management of every formal group within an organization is critical. These interdependent groups are the building blocks that make up the organization as a system. The organization as a whole will be able to effectively fulfill its global tasks only if the tasks of each of its structural units are defined in such a way as to support the activities of each other. In addition, the group as a whole influences the behavior of the individual. Thus, the better the manager understands what the group is and the factors of its effectiveness, and the better he knows the art of effective group management, the more likely he will be able to increase the productivity of this unit and the organization as a whole.
informal groups.
Despite the fact that informal organizations are not created by the will of the leadership, they are a powerful force that, under certain conditions, can actually become dominant in the organization and nullify the efforts of the leadership. Moreover, informal organizations tend to interpenetrate. Some leaders are often unaware that they themselves are affiliated with one or more of these informal organizations.
Under production conditions, protection is also often required, for example, from harmful production conditions, wage cuts, and layoffs. This protection can be found in an informal organized group.
Often, informal organizations use informal information, the so-called rumors, which are the subject of satisfaction of the vanity of individuals. In the group, you can also express your sympathies and get satisfaction from communicating with other employees. Informal groups develop their own norms of behavior, and require their members to comply with these norms.
An informal organization is a spontaneously formed group of people who interact regularly to achieve a specific goal. Like a formal organization, these goals are the reason for the existence of such an informal organization. It is important to understand that in a large organization there is more than one informal organization. Most of them are freely networked. Therefore, some believe that an informal organization is essentially a network of informal organizations. The working environment is especially favorable for the formation of such groups. Due to the formal structure of the organization and its objectives, the same people usually come together every day, sometimes for many years. People who otherwise would hardly even meet are often forced to spend more time in the company of their colleagues than in their own family. Moreover, the nature of the tasks they perform in many cases forces them to communicate and interact with each other frequently. Members of the same organization depend on each other in many respects. The natural result of this intense social interaction is the spontaneous emergence of informal organizations.
Informal organizations have a lot in common with the formal ones, in which they are inscribed. They are in some ways organized in the same way as formal organizations - they have a hierarchy, leaders and tasks. Spontaneous (emergent) organizations also have written rules, called norms, which serve as standards of behavior for members of the organization. These norms are reinforced by a system of encouragement and sanctions. The specificity is that the formal organization was created according to a premeditated plan. Informal organization is rather a spontaneous response to unmet individual needs.
The difference in the mechanism of formation of formal and informal organizations is shown in the Figure:
Informal groups tend to resist industrial changes that may threaten the existence of the group. In the form of threatening factors may be the expansion of production, the introduction of new technology, reorganization. The consequence of these factors is the arrival of new people who can encroach on established relationships in an informal organization.
Leadership of formal and informal groups.
Leadership has a great influence on management as a whole. A manager is a person who, as a leader, effectively manages his subordinates in order to fulfill their permanent tasks. A leader is a person who effectively exercises formal and informal leadership.
Leadership is based on influence. Influence is “any behavior of one individual that makes a change in behavior, attitudes, feelings, etc. another individual."
One person can also influence another through ideas alone. Karl Marx, who never had any official authority in any political organization and never personally used the medium of violence, had an unintended influence on the course of events in the twentieth century. Managers must influence in a way that is easy to predict and that leads not just to the adoption of a given idea, but to action - the actual work required to achieve the goals of the organization. In order to make his leadership and influence effective, the leader must develop and apply power. In other words, power is used - the ability to influence the behavior of others. Possessing authority, but not having power, the leader cannot effectively manage.
The leader has power over his subordinates as a result of their dependence on him in wages, meeting social needs, presenting work, etc. But subordinates also have a certain degree of power over the leader: obtaining information, informal contacts, the desire to do work.
An effective leader must use his power within reasonable limits so that subordinates do not have a desire to exercise their power, which could reduce the effectiveness of management, i.e. it is necessary to maintain a balance of power, to achieve the set goals and not to cause recalcitrance of subordinates.
A certain share of power in relation to other leaders is also possessed by leaders on whom the receipt of information, raw materials, and equipment depends. If the leader controls what the subordinate is interested in, he has power over him, which makes the subordinate act in the right direction. In fact, power rests on the needs of the performer.
University of Michigan professor R. French and B. Raven proposed the following classification of power.
1. Power based on coercion. It is based on the subordinate's belief that a leader who has power can interfere with the satisfaction of any need or perform other undesirable actions.
2. Power based on reward. The subordinate believes that the leader has the ability to satisfy his needs.
3. Expert power. The subordinate is convinced that the special knowledge of the leader will satisfy his need.
4.Reference power. The leader has properties that make the performer want to imitate him.
5. Legal authority. The subordinate believes that the manager has the right to order, as he is at a higher level of the managerial hierarchy. The legitimacy of power is based on the delegation of authority to manage.
In formally organized structures, legal authority is predominantly used. Traditionally, people report to bosses who hold certain positions. Tradition is impersonal. The subordinate reacts not to the person, but to the position. In this case, there is subordination to the system as a whole.
In management theory, three approaches are used to determine the effectiveness of leadership: from the standpoint of personal qualities, behavioral and situational approaches. The personal qualities of a leader, which determine the effective influence on subordinates, include: a high level of intelligence and knowledge, honesty, truthfulness, initiative, legal and economic education, self-confidence. However, one cannot talk about the sum of specific qualities that will necessarily give an effective result in management. Studies have shown that in different situations, the leader needs to use his different qualities, and therefore, to influence his subordinates in different ways. This allows us to talk about the different behavior of the leader in different conditions. Supporters of the behavioral approach believe that the effectiveness of influence is determined not by the personal qualities of the leader, but by the generalized types of behavior of the leader in relations with subordinates in the process of achieving the set goals, i.e. leadership style.
But we must not forget about other factors. The personal qualities of the leader and his behavior determine success, taking into account the needs and personal qualities of subordinates, the nature of the task, and the impact of the environment. A situational approach to the definition of leadership is necessary, the personal qualities of the leader and the style of behavior must correspond to a specific situation.
It is essential that leaders understand that informal organizations interact dynamically with formal ones. One of the first to pay attention to this factor, as well as the formation of informal organizations, was George Homans, a theorist in the field of group studies. In the Homans Model, activities are understood as tasks performed by people. In the process of performing these tasks, people enter into interaction, which, in turn, contributes to the emergence of feelings - positive and negative emotions in relation to each other and superiors. These emotions influence how people will carry out their activities and interact in the future.
In addition to the fact that the model demonstrates how from the management process
(delegation of tasks that cause interaction) informal organizations arise, it shows the need to manage an informal organization. Because group emotions affect both tasks and interactions, they can also affect the effectiveness of formal organization. Depending on the nature of emotions (favorable or unfavorable), they can lead either to an increase or decrease in efficiency, absenteeism, staff turnover, complaints and other phenomena that are important for assessing the performance of the organization. Therefore, even if a formal organization is not created by the will of the management and is not under its complete control, it always needs to be effectively managed so that it can achieve its goals.
One of the biggest and most common difficulties that hinder the effective management of groups and informal organizations is the initially low opinion of their leaders. Some managers stubbornly continue to believe that the informal organization is the result of poor management. In essence, the emergence of informal organizations is a natural and very common phenomenon - they exist in every organization. Like many other factors operating in the field of management, they carry both negative and positive aspects.
Indeed, some informal groups may behave in an unproductive way that interferes with the achievement of formal goals. False rumors can spread through informal channels, leading to negative attitudes towards management. The norms adopted by the group can lead to the fact that the productivity of the organization will be lower than that determined by the management. The tendency to resist all change and the tendency to maintain ingrained stereotypes can delay the necessary modernization of production. However, such counterproductive behavior is often a reaction to the attitude of superiors towards this group. Right or wrong, the members of the group feel that they are being treated unfairly and respond in the same way that any person would respond to something that seems unfair to him.
Such instances of backlash sometimes make it difficult for leaders to see the many potential benefits of informal organizations. Since in order to be a member of a group, one must work in the organization, loyalty to the group can translate into loyalty to the organization. Many people turn down higher-paying jobs at other companies because they don't want to disrupt the social bonds they've made with that company. The goals of the group may coincide with those of the formal organization, and the performance standards of the informal organization may exceed those of the formal organization. For example, the strong team spirit that characterizes some organizations and generates a strong desire for success often grows out of informal relationships, involuntary actions of management. Even informal communication channels can sometimes help a formal organization by complementing the formal communication system.
By failing to find ways to effectively engage with informal organizations, or by trying to suppress them, leaders often miss out on these potential benefits. In any case, whether the informal organization is harmful or beneficial, it exists and must be reckoned with. Even if the leadership destroys some group, another group will certainly arise in its place, which, perhaps, will develop a deliberately negative attitude towards the leadership.
Earlier writers thought they knew how to deal with informal organization—just destroy it. Today's theorists believe that the informal organization can help the formal organization achieve its goals. Scott and Davis propose to address this issue as follows:
1. Recognize the existence of the informal organization and realize that its destruction will entail the destruction of the formal organization. Therefore, management should recognize the informal organization, work with it and not threaten its existence.
2. Listen to the views of members and leaders of informal groups. Developing this idea, Davis writes: “Every leader should know who is the leader in each informal group and work with him, encouraging those who do not interfere, but contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organization. When the informal leader opposes his employer, his widespread influence can undermine the motivation and job satisfaction of the employees of the formal organization.
3. Before taking any action, calculate the possible negative impact on the informal organization.
4. To reduce resistance to change on the part of the informal organization, allow the group to participate in decision making.
5. Give out accurate information quickly, thereby preventing the spread of rumors.
In addition to the task of managing informal organizations in order to use their potential benefits and reduce negative impacts, management must also improve the effectiveness of command groups and committees. Since these groups are a deliberately created component of the formal organization, most of what is true for running an organization is also true for them. Like the entire organization as a whole, in order to achieve effective functioning, groups require planning, organization, motivation and control of activities.
The Group will be able to more or less effectively achieve its goals, depending on the influence of the following factors: size, composition, group norms, cohesion, conflict, status and functional role of its members.
The size. Management theorists have devoted much time to determining the ideal group size. The authors of the school of administrative management believed that the formal group should be relatively small. According to Ralph K. Davis, the ideal group should consist of 3-9 people. Keith Davis, a modern theorist who has devoted many years to the study of groups, tends to share his opinion. He believes that the preferred number of group members is 5 people. Studies show that actually 5 to 8 people come to meetings in a group.
Some studies suggest that groups with 5 to 11 members tend to make better decisions than those with more than that size. Research has also shown that in groups of 5, members tend to be more satisfied than in larger or smaller groups. The explanation for this seems to be that in groups of 2 or 3, members may be concerned that their personal responsibility for decisions is too obvious. On the other hand, in groups consisting of more than 5 people, its members may experience difficulty, timidity in expressing their opinions in front of others.
In general, as the size of a group increases, communication between its members becomes more difficult, and it becomes more difficult to reach agreement on issues related to the activities of the group and the fulfillment of its tasks. An increase in group size also reinforces the tendency for groups to be divided into sub-groups informally, which can lead to conflicting goals and clique formation.
Compound . The composition here refers to the degree of similarity of personalities and points of view, the approaches that they show when solving problems. An important reason for putting a question to the group's decision is the use of different positions to find the optimal solution. Therefore, it is not surprising that, based on research, it is recommended that the group be composed of dissimilar personalities, since this promises to be more effective than if group members had similar points of view. Some people pay more attention to the important details of projects and problems, while others want to look at the whole picture, some want to approach the problem from a systemic perspective and consider the relationship of various aspects. According to Miner, when “groups are matched to either very similar or very different people, groups with different points of view produce more high-quality solutions. Multiple viewpoints and perceptual perspectives are bearing fruit.”
Group norms
. As it was revealed by the first researchers of groups, in labor collectives, the norms adopted by the group have a strong influence on the behavior of the individual and on the direction in which the group will work: to achieve the goals of the organization or to resist them. Norms are designed to tell group members what behavior and work is expected of them. Norms have such a strong influence because only by conforming their actions to these norms can an individual count on belonging to a group, its recognition and support.
This applies to both informal and formal organizations.
Cohesion.
Group cohesion is a measure of the attraction of group members to each other and to the group. A highly cohesive group is a group whose members are strongly attracted to each other and see themselves as similar.
Since a cohesive group works well as a team, a high level of cohesion can increase the effectiveness of the entire organization if the goals of both are consistent with each other. Highly cohesive groups tend to have fewer communication problems, and those that do are less severe than others. They have less misunderstandings, tensions, hostility and distrust, and their productivity is higher than in non-cohesive groups.
But if the goals of the group and the entire organization are not consistent, then a high degree of cohesion will adversely affect the productivity of the entire organization.
Leadership may find it possible to increase the positive effect of cohesion by meeting periodically and emphasizing the global goals of the group, as well as allowing each member to see his or her contribution to achieving these goals. Management can also build cohesion by allowing periodic meetings of subordinates to discuss potential or current problems, the impact of upcoming changes on operations, and new projects and priorities for the future.
A potential negative consequence of a high degree of cohesion is group like-mindedness.
Group unanimity is the tendency of an individual to suppress his real views on some phenomenon in order not to disturb the harmony of the group. Group members feel that disagreement undermines their sense of belonging and therefore disagreement should be avoided. In order to preserve what is understood as agreement and harmony among the members of the group, the group member decides that it is better not to express his opinion. In an atmosphere of group unanimity, the primary task for the individual is to stick to a common line in the discussion, even if he or she has different information or belief. This tendency is self-reinforcing. Since no one expresses opinions different from others, and does not offer different, opposing information or point of view, everyone assumes that everyone else thinks the same way. Since no one speaks out, no one knows that other members may also be skeptical or concerned. As a result, the problem is solved with less efficiency, since all the necessary information and alternative solutions are not discussed and evaluated. When there is group consensus, the likelihood of a mediocre solution that will not hurt anyone increases.
Conflict. It was previously mentioned that differences of opinion usually lead to more efficient group work. However, it also increases the likelihood of conflict. While an active exchange of opinions is beneficial, it can also lead to intra-group disputes and other manifestations of open conflict, which are always harmful.
Status of group members . An individual's status in an organization or group can be determined by a number of factors, including seniority in the job hierarchy, job title, office location, education, social talents, awareness, and experience. These factors can raise or lower status depending on the values and norms of the group. Studies have shown that high-status group members are able to influence group decisions more than low-status group members. However, this does not always lead to increased efficiency.
A person who has worked for a company for a short time may have more valuable ideas and better experience in relation to a project than a person with high status acquired through years of work in the management of this company. The same applies to the head of department, whose status may be lower than vice president. In order to make effective decisions, it is necessary to take into account all the information relevant to a given issue and weigh all ideas objectively. To function effectively, a group may need to work together to ensure that the views of higher-ranking members do not dominate it.
Roles of group members.
A critical factor in determining the effectiveness of the group is the behavior of each of its members. For a group to function effectively, its members must behave in ways that promote its goals and social interaction. There are two main focus of roles to create a well-functioning group
- target and supporting roles.
Target roles are distributed in such a way as to be able to select group tasks and perform them. For employees performing target roles, the following functions are characteristic:
1. Initiation of activity. Suggest solutions, new ideas, new problem statements, new approaches to solving them, or a new organization of material.
2. Search for information. Seek clarification of the proposed proposal, additional information or facts.
3. Collecting opinions. Ask group members to express their attitude to the issues discussed, to clarify their values or ideas.
4. Providing information. Provide the group with facts or generalizations, apply your own experience in solving the problems of the group or to illustrate any points.
5. Expressing opinions. Expressing opinions or beliefs regarding any proposal is obligatory with its evaluation, and not just reporting facts.
6. Study. Explain, give examples, develop the idea, try to predict the future fate of the proposal, if it is accepted.
7. Coordination. Explain relationships between ideas, try to summarize sentences, try to integrate the activities of different subgroups or group members.
8. Generalization. Re-list the proposals after the end of the discussion.
Supporting roles are behaviors that support and energize the life and activities of the group. Employees performing support roles perform the following functions:
1. Encouragement. Be friendly, sincere, sympathetic towards others.
Praise others for their ideas, agree with others, and appreciate their contribution to solving a problem.
2. Ensuring participation. Try to create an environment where every member of the group can make a suggestion. Encourage this, for example, by saying:
“We haven't heard anything from Jim yet” or to offer everyone a certain time limit for speaking so that everyone has a chance to speak.
3. Establish criteria. Establish criteria by which the group should be guided when choosing substantive or procedural points, or evaluating the group's decision. Remind the group to avoid making decisions that are inconsistent with group criteria.
4. Performance. Follow the decisions of the group by being thoughtful about the ideas of other people who make up the audience during group discussions.
5. Expressing the feelings of the group. Generalize what is formed as a feeling of the group. Describe the reactions of group members to ideas and solutions to problems.
Conclusion.
Group management is very important in modern management. Since organizations of any size are made up of groups, a manager needs to be well versed in the emergence and development of formal and informal groups. The modern manager must understand the importance of the existence of informal groups. He should strive to ensure close interaction between formal and informal organizations, since informal organizations interact dynamically with formal organizations, influence the quality of work performance and people's attitudes towards work and superiors.
Problems associated with informal organizations include: inefficiency, the spread of false rumors, and a tendency to resist change. Potential benefits include greater organizational commitment, greater team spirit, and higher productivity when group norms are higher than official ones. In order to cope with the potential problems and capture the potential benefits of the informal organization, management must recognize the informal organization and work with it, listening to the opinions of the informal leaders and group members, consider the effectiveness of the decisions of the informal organizations, allow informal groups to participate in decision-making, and extinguish rumors by promptly providing official information.
Knowing group dynamics well, management will be able to effectively manage formal groups, it is reasonable to use such structures as committees in the activities of their enterprise.
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