Formal and Informal Groups Essay

A testicle group is the deliberate and corpseatic grouping of people in an organization so that organisational goals ar better achieved. Now any organization would have a authentic formula. They atomic number 18 very essential for the efficient functioning of the organization. What does an organization do? The total no. of people working in an organization is divided into smaller groups (teams or sections or departments) and each group is responsible for fulfilling a travail which would ultimately contribute to fulfilling the organizations goal. This increases the efficiency of the organization.Ex If we take NITK as an example, we all know that we have a larger goal of readying students for the engineering profession. save within this larger goal, we deficiency students to be trained for computer engg, electrical, mech, etc. So this larger goal is divided into departments (example computer department), which is a ceremonial group in this larger organization. So, all the dep artments together achieve the goal of efficiently training the students for engineering purpose. Informal Group Informal groups are the natural and spontaneous grouping of people whenever they work together over a period of time.Whenever people interact and work together over a certain period of time, its very natural for them and it comes very spontaneously for them, that they form folksy groups. For example, we are officially assigned to the computer engineering department. But in the hostel, we live with friends from other branches. So when all of us live together for a 4 year period, its very natural for us to interact and build up groups internally with our friends from other branches. So like this, any organization would have idle groups. Lets compare both Formal and Informal Groups FORMAL GROUPS INFORMAL GROUPS Deliberately created. Spontaneously created. Formal groups are knowingly and systematically created. Informal groups are non really created, they are naturally f ormed. Systematic structure. Loose structure As we discussed earlier, in the computer department, we have HOD, In informal groups, there is no structure at all.So there is a system in place. together for some time. There is no junior and senior every(prenominal)body is equal. Importance to position. Importance to the person. In a formal group, importance is always given to the position. Ex The beauty of being in an informal group is that the position does the group leader, the head of department, etc. The position gets not exist at all because there is no structure. So importance is importance in a formal way because there is a system in place. always given to the person. Relationship is official. Relationship is personal. The relationship is very formal and official in a formal group. So In an informal group, the interaction and the attachment becomes very the relationship and behavior is almost prescribed in a formal group. personal and not official. parley is restrict ed and slow. Communication is free and disruptive. By restricted we mean that the boss may decide that certain Everybody wants to tell everyone all the information.With the gossip information should not be discussed under a certain level. network in an informal group, information is passed very quickly. Communication is very slow because a certain procedure has to be followed if we want to pass down the information. Importance of formal groups As human being, we tend to tilt towards informal groups.But we have to remember that formal groups have certain characteristics that are very essential for the efficiency of the organization. For example If we remain informal all the time, the organizational goals cannot be met. Importance of informal groups Informal groups are honorable as important because they serve some very important human means. Informal groups help in developing good human relations in the organization. When we interact with people in an informal scale, we dev elop good relationships with them .So this develops better working relationships and therefore creates better efficiency in the organization. So, good organizations at present are promoting informal activities and formation of informal groups. Ex Parties in companies, which promotes informal interaction. Informal groups promote human dignity. Human dignity is something which is very important for every human being. As human beings, we want to be respected and treated in a particular way. So, self respect is very important for a human being. In a formal group setup, very often, our dignity is destroyed.For example If we have a very bossy boss, everyday he go forth be de-motivating you by saying things like You are useless fellow Who made you an engineer So our dignity is destroyed. But what supports us Its the informal group that supports us and keeps up our dignity. For example The support from our friends helps us to keep our dignity. Informal groups help in spreading information fast through the GRAPEVINE-the informal network of communication (The gossip network). The grapevine is the plant on which the grape fruit grows. The characteristic of a grapevine is that it grows in all directions.So in an organization, the grapevine is the informal communication network that has grown into every group and corner of the organization. If we want information to be passed on very fast to everybody in the organization, then the grapevine is the best way. Example 1 We can put information on a notice board Example 2 When director makes an announcement for a holiday, information is passed very quickly. So the grapevine is active. And if a formal notice is made, then it takes time for the information to reach everybody because the formal network is very slow.