Formal and Informal Groups
In workplaces two types of groups are commonly created—formal and informal groups. Formal groups are constructed deliberately by the company with the purpose being for the group members to work together to achieve a specific task. Informal groups are formed by the people themselves with the purpose being simply to “satisfy their social needs on the job” (Surbhi, 2015). The main differences of these two groups and why managers should pay attention to informal groups will be discussed in this paper.
Formal groups are those created by the organization, typically with a hierarchical structure—i.e., a group leader, who reports to a higher manager and who has followers fulfilling roles within the group. The formal group is presented with a defined mission and is tasked with accomplishing a clear goal or objective. The size of the formal group is often large and can include several members from a department or can be interdepartmental in nature. The structure of the formal group is well-defined and the life of the group will typically be for the duration of the designated task that is to be carried out. Importance of place is given to positions within the group; individual...
The relationship of the members to one another in the formal group is professional and tends to be formalistic and respectful. Communication between group members routinely moves in a clearly defined direction, such as at regularly scheduled meetings of group members or by way of the hierarchical structure of the group.
Informal groups differ in nearly every way from formal groups. Instead of being created by the organization, they are created by the workers themselves for their own sake. They are loosely if at all defined, and there is no structure to the group—at least not in the same sense as structure of a formal group where evident position hierarchy exists for the purpose of delegating tasks, though social hierarchy can be evident within an informal group setting, based on personal popularity and appeal. Formation of the informal group is voluntarily rather than mandatory and deliberate. The size is often small and intimate, or at least smaller than that of the formal group, though informal groups can grow in size depending upon how popular they become. The life of…
