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Unit 10: Informal Organization

authority. The kitchen cabinet of a boss may be far more powerful than the more Notes
visible and formally established executive. (Simon maintains that the best way to
analyze an organization is to find out where the decisions are made and by whom).
• Communication overlays, comprising employees who occupy central positions on
channels of communication. Location of desk and machines, partitions, common
facilities, relationship in social or religious organizations outside the plant, etc. all
affect communications, so that certain persons communicate with one another more
than with others.

If these overlays are superimposed on a formal organization chart, it can be easily seen that
there are three patterns of contact between individuals, namely horizontal, vertical and
random. Horizontal contacts develop among members who are more or less at the same
level of management and work in more or less the same area. Vertical contacts are among
individuals on different levels in the same line of command. These individuals may be in
superior-subordinate relationship with each other. Random contacts encompass members of
different departments at different levels of hierarchy and from different physical locations.
10.5 Stages of Group Development

There have been many descriptions and studies of the formation and development of
informal groups. According to Tuckman the typical evolution of an informal group includes
5 definite stages as described below:
10.5.1 Forming

During this stage, group members establish the “ground rules”, both for the task requirement
(How much am I expected to do? Which rules are not enforced?) And also for interpersonal
relationships (Who has the “real” power? What are the informal norms?)
10.5.2 Storming

During this stage, intergroup conflict develops. Some members try to gather more power.
They become hostile towards one another and/or towards the leader. They, therefore, ignore
group goals and resist task requirements.
10.5.3 Norming

During this stage, uniformity develops in the behaviour of members of a group. Members
begin to think and work alike. Their behaviour becomes standardized. This is the result of
three important factors:

(i) Norms
(ii) Group pressure on individual judgments and
(iii) Similarity of environment.

Norms
Norms of a group lay down the desired behaviour of a group. Hare calls them “rules of
behaviour which have been accepted as legitimate by members of a group.” They specify
the “oughts” which have to be followed under specific circumstances. “Oughts” are not the
“actual”. They tell us what the members of a group ought to do, not necessarily what they
actually do most often (the mean average, for example). A group of 10 members may have
a norm that each member ought to produce 500 pieces a day. If we were to count each
person’s production, we could very well find a range in which some workers may be closest
to this norm called “regulars”, some others may be much above this norm-called “rate
busters” and a few others may be much behind this norm called “isolates”.

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