The informal and formal group is ... Formal and informal social groups: entities, dynamics and characteristics

Regularly communicating and constantly interacting with each other community is called a group. There is no place on earth where this phenomenon is absent. People everywhere create a definite community plan that can be divided into formal and informal groups. Within each such community there must be two or more people, and the influence of all of them on each other must be mutual.

Definition

A formal group is a small individual team created in a purely management and purposefully directed activity in a general collective, which is directed to the organization of the production process. That is, it is an organization with certain functions, specific tasks and clearly set goals. Unlike formal, informal groups arise spontaneously and do not have status.

The organization itself and each of its units are also groups whose members share common values, attitudes, rules, standards of conduct. If employees value their organization, they behave adequately. Hence, a formal group is a community, bound together by an understanding of the behavioral norm. Internal links of each organization also form in groups - both formal, that is, created by the manager and documented, and informal, which have formed spontaneously through interpersonal relations and are not officially marked anywhere.

Main differences

By the criteria of difference, the following analysis can be carried out. A formal group is one created by an organization purely for its needs, its behavioral traits can be influenced by the specific position of the job description, and the influence itself is only spread from the top down. The characteristics of the group are clearly defined by the use of official channels, even the interpersonal relations are prescribed by the organization, and also the leader is appointed by the will of the authorities.

Informal groups arise spontaneously, the goals meet the needs purely within the group, individual individuals influence each other, and not from top to bottom, but more often to the contrary. Characteristics are unstable, variables, relationships arise spontaneously, the leader, if it does, is only the will of the group itself. That is, formal and informal groups differ from each other in almost all parameters.

Types

Before determining the type of group, it is necessary to find out on which foundation the community is built: friendly relations or industrial ones. In any case, the foundation of any group is organization. A formal group can belong to one of three types:

• The steering group: the chief executive and his immediate subordinates, also the leaders. For example, the president and vice-presidents.
• Working group (or production, or target): people who perform the same task, planning it, rather, independently, rather than collegially.
• Committee or public organization: an intra-organizational group that takes decisions by a general meeting, as it is established to coordinate the actions of various departments. There are committees working on an ongoing basis and created to perform a specific task, that is, temporary

Interaction

The formal organization created by the will of the authorities is also a social environment for all kinds of people interaction, and not always according to the instructions of the leadership. Such social relationships sometimes engender numerous friendly groups within the common, and in general they represent one organization. Formal and informal social groups also have their similarities and differences.

Every person in the community necessarily influences others and is exposed to influence, both positive and negative, in the process of communication. This is how the personality traits of each member of the group are formed, and the behavioral norms within this community. An individual can influence the whole group as much as he likes, it depends on the authority, which is determined both by the informal part of the collective, and by the official one.

Objectives of creation

The community formed within the organization is people who spontaneously interact for the sake of certain common goals, and the created for production has at the heart of a well thought out plan. Nevertheless, formal and informal groups in the organization are largely similar. Both there and there can be tasks, leaders appear and a hierarchy is built.

The difference is that informal groups are an unintended reaction to any individual needs that are unsatisfied with the organization, while formal groups are created according to a certain plan.

The purpose of the formal group is also clear and understandable: people enter into it for the sake of professional interest, prestige or income. The reason for the appearance of an informal group is usually more "sincere": it is a close communication and interest, common interests, mutual protection, mutual assistance and so on.

Reasons for joining

First of all, the reason for joining formal and informal groups is the social need to belong to it. Thus, self-knowledge, self-assertion, self-determination is acquired, needs are activated, and an environment for their satisfaction is created. The second place is the reason for seeking trust and mutual assistance. With all the difficulties, people turn to colleagues rather than to managers. With such a relationship, a synergistic effect of group interaction appears. The goal of the formal group is a healthy and efficient team, and therefore the creation of informal groups is usually monitored by the leader, and if necessary, the relations in them are regulated.

To protect personal or group interests, for example, harmful conditions, problems with wages and so on, also most often turn to a group. Informal relations in a formal group usually promote the unity of the collective. Often the basis of communication in groups is common interest, the same hobbies, shared spiritual values, as well as obtaining information of all kinds, not necessarily only production. And, of course, a great role in the creation of the group is played by friendly communication, mutual sympathy. So people can avoid loneliness, feelings of uselessness, lostness, and also get moral help in cases of personal dramas.

Characteristics

In informal organizations, there is always social control over all members of the group. First of all, this is strengthening of behavioral norms. If the changes in the team threaten a peaceful existence, that is, the common interests, positive emotions or the general experience of communication will suffer, then the informal group will actively resist all formal formations of the organization.

A leader can have any structure of a formal group and any unstructured informal. The formal leader will have formal authority, while the informal leader will have authority in the team. In the case of priority struggles, it is difficult to predict the winner, since the rate of people and having a good relationship are almost more expensive than any official status. Clever leaders understand this and direct the energy of the informal group in the right direction, usually production.

Management of an informal group

All group formations within the collective necessarily interact, and dynamically. The general emotional mood greatly influences both the interaction and the fulfillment of the tasks facing the team. The effectiveness of the formal group in everything depends on the mood of informal groups. Therefore, their rapprochement is the main goal of any leader, so the negative manifestations in the relations of the members of the collective to each other will disappear, the "informal" will be oriented positively, they will easily fit into the public production space.

The cohesion of the collective is the result of the coincidence of the interests of the formal and informal groups, it is under such conditions that labor productivity is the highest. On the contrary, if the interests, rules and norms do not coincide, even the authoritative leader finds himself in a difficult situation, the struggle between the structures of the collective always hinders the growth of productivity. Unofficial relations can help here, for this purpose methods of personnel management are created.

Mechanisms of formation

If formal groups are created on a scheduled basis, then informal groups always self-organize. Sometimes it happens that an informal group gets the status of an amateur collective or a public organization. In each collective there are contacting formal and informal groups, and the interaction has both positive and negative points. A smart leader will always manage to dispose of informal groups competently, so that they help achieve the goals set by the company.

The problems associated with the appearance in the collective of informal groups, most often concern the dissemination of false rumors, resistance to change, and the decline in labor efficiency. But the benefits are much more interesting: this is the appearance of devotion to this enterprise, the spirit of collectivism. Performance is noticeably higher if group norms start to exceed officially established ones. With negative manifestations, it is necessary to fight without fail, listening to the opinions of informal leaders, dispelling rumors with official full information, and positive initiatives need to be supported, allowing members of informal groups to participate in decision-making.

Small formal group

This is too flexible to have a standard definition. But formal formalities , of course, have characteristic features. A separate association of people, which is a small group, is characterized by frequent interaction with each other, the obligatory definition of oneself as members of one group, the division of almost all interests as common. All those in the small group take part in the system of distribution of roles, there is an identification of oneself in the same objects and ideals. A small group co-operates all its members in interdependence to feel the most complete unity. Regarding the environment, a small group coordinates its actions.

In a small formal group, the number of members rarely reaches ten people, which helps to coordinate joint actions for quite a long time. Such groups are incredibly tenacious. They will not only carry out the work for which they have united, but will also receive the result along with the reward. In addition to the fulfillment of a certain task, it is positive that an environment arises for self-assertion and self-knowledge, which is a completely objective need of any person.