The informal organization makes the formal organization come alive. The informal
ID: 453531 • Letter: T
Question
The informal organization makes the formal organization come alive. The informal organization consists of informal networks. These networks can help the supervisor if they influence employees to perform at higher levels or they can hinder performance if they interfere with supervision. Please respond to all of the following prompts:
What are the advantages of an informal organization? What are the challenges?
How can the supervisor foster cooperation with informal groups and their leaders?
How can the leader(s) of the informal organization help the supervisor achieve departmental goals? How can they hinder their attainment?
Explanation / Answer
An informal organization is not the formal structure of an organization; rather it is the social structure of an organization. The advantages of an informal organization are: (i) fast communication - as no scalar chain is being followed in informal organizations, communication tends to be faster. (ii) proper feedback - informal organizations give correct feedback as there are no formal bottlenecks. (iii) fulfills social needs - lastly, informal organizations helps in fulfilling the psychological and social need of employees.
In terms of challenges, the first challenge is to make systematic working happen. Informal organizations are not conducive for systematic working. Secondly, there is a challenge to go beyond the individual interests and address the organizational interests.
A supervisor can foster cooperation with informal groups and their leaders by encouraging norms that have a positive effect on the organization's goals on one hand and on the group's effectiveness on the other hand. By creating positive norm goals through cooperative effort, the supervisor can foster cooperation with informal groups and their leaders. The leader will become a part of the decision making process and thus cooperation will be fostered.
The leaders of the informal organization are instrumental as they work directly with other employees of the organization. The leader is usually followed by others and the leader should lead by example to motivate others to work hard to achieve the departmental goals. This action of the leader will be emulated by others and a synergy will be created. Leaders can hinder this attainment by not working together with the management or cooperating with them.
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