Name: DON MCARTHNEY C.

TUGAOEN
Course Code: CM 203/HRM 203
Title of Specific requirement/exercise: Assignment 3
Course Professor: DR. EVELYN ARO-ESQUEJO

Date Submitted: 11/14/2015

Module No: 3

THE FORMAL EFFECTS OF INFORMAL GROUPS IN AN ORGANIZATION

We know that groups are vital to the understanding of organizational
behavior because they are the building blocks of the larger organization. In
todays organization, where productivity and efficiency demand collaboration
within and across functional, physical and hierarchical boundaries, collaboration in
employee networks has become critical to innovation, and to both individual and
company performance. The heavy emphasis on teams and group decision making
in todays organizations only increase the importance of understanding teams and
groups for managers.
As we have discussed in our class, groups are usually divided into formal
and informal groups. Formal group is one deliberately formed by the organization
to accomplish specific task and achieve goals. And most managers would put so
much emphasis on the creation, maintenance and control of formal structure in
getting things done to achieve organizational objectives. According to Parker and
Cross (2004), most managers have little understanding of how their employees
actually interact to get work done. In fact, organizational charts fail to reveal the
often hidden social networks that truly drive or hinder an individuals
performance.
Mullins (2010) articulates that informal groups are very powerful social net
works which are constructed in response to and through actions of their members.
Mullins (2010) further articulates that managers and supervisors frequently face
problems due to failure to recognise that within every organisation there are often
informal group pressures that influence and regulate individual behaviour.
Informal groups formulate an implicit code of ethics or undesirable set of
standards establishing acceptable behaviours for a group of employees, (Mullins
2010).
According to Greenberg (2010), Informal groups can exist in an organisation
as a result of the mutually shared interest of the individuals. According to Helliegel
and Slocam (2007), an informal group is a type of social network that emerges
without any guidance from the organisation and develops out of their daily
activities, interactions and sentiments that the workers have for each other. The
concept of informal groups in the Educational sector plays a vital role due to the
nature of jobs and the working environment which needs commitment by the
employees so as to keep standards.
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Name: DON MCARTHNEY C. TUGAOEN

Course Code: CM 203/HRM 203
Title of Specific requirement/exercise: Assignment 3
Course Professor: DR. EVELYN ARO-ESQUEJO

Date Submitted: 11/14/2015

Module No: 3

Printah Nkala & Mbuyisa Barbara(2013)in their study identified that the
most popular types of informal groups among the selected schools. They found
out that 92% of the respondents indicated that interest groups are common in
most schools while 8% are friendship groups.It is also indicated in their study that
school heads agreed that overall school performance is heavily affected by
informal groups. 60% of the respondents strongly agree, 20% agree, 5% disagree
while the other 5% strongly disagree that informal groups affect the level of
employee performance.
Furthermore, their findings indicated that 60% of the respondents indicated
that informal groups negatively affect employee performance, while 35%
indicated that informal groups positively affect performance and 5% indicated
that informal groups have both negative and positive effects on employee
performance.
With such increasing number of studies and literatures on emphasizing the
impact of informal groups on individual behaviour and organizational
performance, it is really imperative for managers to give attention to the
dynamics of informal groups. Greenberg and Baron, (2003) argue that informal
groups cannot be established nor be destroyed by the organization but have a
strong influence on the organization. With this conclusion, management be careful
in the
Being part of the academe for four years now, I also adhere that
informal groups can really affect individual and organizational behaviour as well
as individual and organizational performance. I am part of informal groups in our
organization. As being describe by Helliegel and Slocam(2007) we join informal
groups for the satisfaction of our need for friendship, need for security and
protection, need to get advice, need to get support and need to communicate. To
be real, those are also the reason why I am part of informal groups right now.
Looking into our organizational chart which I attached also in this
assignment let me identify the informal groups that existing and still evolving.
There are interest groups who come together for the purpose of achieving some
common objective. There are groups who are interested with health and physical
fitness and activities. They are attending fun runs, gym sessions and biking
activities. There are group of young & junior faculties who going for lunch together
discussing ways to further their career and work issues. There are also groups of
men talking about cars, sports and manly topics. There are also groups of senior
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Name: DON MCARTHNEY C. TUGAOEN

Course Code: CM 203/HRM 203
Title of Specific requirement/exercise: Assignment 3
Course Professor: DR. EVELYN ARO-ESQUEJO

Date Submitted: 11/14/2015

Module No: 3

faculties discussing retirement, mid-life crisis, family and organizational concerns.

There are also friendship groups who come together on the basis of social
interaction outside working environment who regularly hang out in coffee shops,
food parks, cinemas and even travel buddies. There are also groups of all
department heads discussing departmental concerns from time to time even
without official meeting and structure. There are also membership groups who are
part of a big group to which they belong to but they have minimal relationship just
like a group belonging to the same religious organization. There are also groups of
fellow advisers of academic organizations that from time to time consult each
other but without formal directive and structure. There are also groups with the
same educational background and expertise who discuss and share technical
competencies and subject matter knowledge. There are also members of different
departments who go out with their families for picnic and other recreational
activities.
Technically speaking, it seems that these informal groups would not help or
hinder the organization to achieve its mandate but realistically it can have an
impact. Informal groups are avenue for the employees to meet their social and
love needs and may as well self-esteem needs. Thus a satisfaction of their social
and self-esteem needs would result into satisfaction and even motivation of the
individual. A satisfied and motivated workforce would surely help in the
achievement of the organizational mandate. Inversely, if informal groups cannot
satisfy social and self-esteem needs of workers, it could result to dissatisfaction
and demotivation that would results to employee absences, tardiness, turnover
and even low productivity and performance.
Another advantage of informal groups in the achievement of organizational
mandate is that it improves communication in a means for people to keep in
touch, to learn about their work and understand what is happening in their
environment. This is very essential in the academe.
And because of such form of informal communication channels it will allow more
rapid and flexible interactions, responses and prevent surprises on the workforce
which may affect the performance of the employees. And lastly, Informal groups
help in organizational knowledge sharing.
Consequently, informal groups can also impose negative effects in the
organization. Informal groups may oppose senior management and organizational
goals especially when the informal groups have strong bond and was able to
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Name: DON MCARTHNEY C. TUGAOEN

Course Code: CM 203/HRM 203
Title of Specific requirement/exercise: Assignment 3
Course Professor: DR. EVELYN ARO-ESQUEJO

Date Submitted: 11/14/2015

Module No: 3

create a norm that is beneficial and acceptable to them. Informal groups can also
exercise undesirable power over individual members. A group may restrict the
ways by which social needs can be satisfied on the job. Informal groups may
ridicule certain members or give them silent treatment for not conforming to
group standards of acceptable behaviour. This treatment may threaten the
individuals safety, social and esteem needs.
Informal groups can also create confusion and inefficiency within the organisation
because of grapevine ignoring the formal channels of communication that is laid
down in the organizational structure. There will be a quick passing of information
throughout the organization and in some cases spreading of rumours which is
incorrect information that is not supported by substantial evidence.
In our organization, I cant sense that management is recognizing the influence of
the informal groups. They always rely on the formal structure of responsibility,
authority and accountability.
Informal groups in organizations cant be classified simply as positive or negative.
They may exhibit both characteristics from time to time, depending on the
circumstances or issues facing the organization. Therefore, leaders should try to
minimize the undesirable effects of informal groups rather than try to eliminate
them.
Informal groups always exist even for a very formal structure of organization. It is
inevitable. And in reality can have effects, I mean formal (real) effects on
individual and organizational behaviour as well as individual and organizational
behaviour. They can impose both positive and negative effects. But when manage
effectively the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks.

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