Definition  The informal group in an organization is the interlocking social structure that governs how people work together in practice.  It is the aggregate of behavior, interactions, norms, personal and professional connections through which work gets done and relationships are built among people who share a common organizational affiliation or cluster of affiliations.

Small group of people could come together in an organization because:  They are friends,  They share the same interests,  They come from the same ethnic group.

 Experiments by Elton Mayo and his associates in the 1920s and 1930s showed that workers tend to establish informal groups that affect job satisfaction and effectiveness, while  Kurt Lewin experiments in the 1930s showed that different kinds of leadership produced different responses in groups.

Types of Groups  Formal and Informal Groups: While the informal group was previously defined by common interest, proximity and friendship, the formal group is more of an official group with public identity and goal to achieve. Formal groups could be temporary or permanent depending type of work done or performed.

Nature of Informal Groups  The informal groups are created independently by colleagues regardless of position, actual job in the organization or age.  They have no officially installed leaders rather leadership is earned either through contribution to the group, experience or even influence in the group.  Power in the informal group therefore could change rapidly from person to person depending on how much the group respects influence within their members.

How It Emerges  Informal groups are encouraged but controlled in most organizations so as to promote employee job satisfaction in the organization’s environment.  Most of these groups are usually monitored by the organizations so the discussions or actions don’t get out of hand.

Leaders in Informal Groups  There may be several leaders within groups for one reason or another, but the fact remains that a leader would always be an important factor within the group for the influence or experience they give.  A leader is mostly, but not necessarily, an important or high ranking employee in the organization.  An informal leader could also benefit from some organizational benefits because of his status within his colleagues.  Leaders are usually spotted in organizations as the people a ratio of the employees go to for advice, like hanging out with or even sit beside him in the cafeteria.  Even within managers in the company, a leader emerges as the on most of the other managers look up to for decisions or advice.

Benefits  Informal group systems tend to blend with formal systems to create better working environments in the organization.  They also lighten the workload on management by having multiple opportunities to tackle problems.  They also help in management abilities by further organizing themselves better to produces results effectively in projects and work.

Problems  As with nature, every action has a reaction and so does informal groups. The most important of these problems is the fact that while useful information is passed within one group, another group may be communicating malicious rumor.  Also, certain groups could be turned to an unnecessary hatred between themselves due to difference in interest.

Benefits/Problems BenefitsProblems Makes a more effective total systemDevelops undesirable rumors Lightens workload on managementEncourage negative attitude Helps get the work doneResist change Tends to encourage cooperationLeads to interpersonal and intergroup conflicts Fill in gaps in a managers abilitiesRejects and harasses some employees Gives satisfactions and stability to work groups Weakens motivation and satisfaction Improves communicationOperates outside of management control Provides a safety valve for employee emotions Support conformity Encourages managers to plan and act more carefully Develops role conflicts

Monitoring  Identifying feelings within a group can be useful for determining who trust whom, or for selecting an individual to negotiate a satisfactory compromise on a sticky issue.  Collecting data or monitoring behaviors between colleagues could help in avoiding or stopping unwanted conflicts within the organization.  Certain employees might be asked to compile a network chart between the individuals in a company so as to give a better idea of relationships between the employees and also help determine the source of unwanted behaviors or else know the right people to tackle those problems when the need arises.

Influencing Informal Organization The informal group cannot be established or destroyed by the organization, but it could have a great influence on them. Such guidelines needed are:  Accept and understand the informal organizations.  Identify various levels of attitudes and behaviors within it.  Consider possible effects on informal group systems when taking any kind of action.  Integrate as far as possible the interest of informal groups with those of the formal organizations.  Keep formal activities from unnecessarily threatening informal organizations.

Conclusion  The informal group are a very important aspect of everyday life in any working environment with multiple employees. The higher the number of employees, the more informal groups an organization is likely to have.  Every employee in an organization belongs to at least one informal group.  Informal group do not necessarily have to do with the daily work performed in the organization

ABUBAKAR USMAN KIBIYA