Managing Groups In The Organization

As stated earlier structured organizations consist of two kinds of groups (formal and informal groups)

A formal group has several prescribed characteristics e.g.

•        an official and designated leader
•        a specific mission
•        established goals
•        specified performance standards
•        known rewards and punishment
•        rules to be followed

The informal group on the other hand has the following characteristics:

•        created by members
•        no official leader
•        if rulers exist they are developed by the group
•        the group also establishes peer sanctions and rewards
•        it may mainly thrive on mutual trust and interest, and confidence in members ability to keep information within the group.

Informal groups mainly exist due to the following reasons:

(a) Transmission of information

not all information is transmitted through the official channels. Some managers can be very secretive and pass very little information. Informal groups manage to gather both official and unofficial information and pass it around through their communication channel popularly known as the "grapevine". Information through the grapevine is undocumented and is based mainly on hearsay, rumours and it undergoes changes as it is passed around.

(b) Fear

people may form an informal group because they fear what they do not know hence they form protective grouping.

(c) Amusement (entertainment)

mainly from knowing the personal lives and affairs of the managers from the gossip passed around.