Organizations are not only made up of individuals themselves, but they make up a network of social relationships and are members of different groups, which largely marks their organizational behavior.
The recognition of the important role that groups play in organizations already has a certain tradition. Among the main antecedents are the experiences that back in the 20s and 30s were carried out in the Hawthorne workshops of the Western Electric Company in Chicago, through which the important influence that social factors exerted on the performance of people was observed in their workplace, and the value of the "informal group" was realized.
These and many other subsequent experiences have shown that organizations are not only composed of individuals themselves, but that they form a network of social relationships and are members of different groups, which largely marks their organizational behavior.
Indeed, the participation of people in organizations is carried out through diverse groups. These can be structured according to the tasks, the competencies of its members or other criteria aimed at achieving the objectives of the organization. It can also be about groups that emerged spontaneously and aimed at satisfying personal and social needs not covered by it.
At present there is no doubt that all these groups, which interact with each other, constitute the basic units of organizations and configure both their formal and informal structure. Group and group work thus becomes fundamental for the operation of the former, and involves both its members (whatever their level and function) and external professionals who carry out some type of intervention. Everyone must bear in mind that group work and group collaboration do not happen accidentally, but must be planned and promoted, which implies having the appropriate skills to lead and participate in groups.
I. What is meant by group?
Without attempting to enter into complex and exhaustive disquisitions on the subject, and taking into account that the existing definitions are very diverse, we can conclude a series of characteristics that make a mere set of people into a group:
1. Independence: according to this criterion, what makes a group of people become a group is their mutual interdependence, that is, that these people depend on each other to achieve certain objectives. From here, two details can be established:
Motivation for group membership: whether membership of the group is voluntary or not.
Objectives: if the objectives are established by the group itself or are imposed externally.
It is clear that every group has its objectives and that, in addition, in situations in which there is a high interdependence among its members, individual objectives and interests can vary over time and be convergent (common), divergent (antagonistic) or mixed, which generates both moments of cooperation and internal competition.
For example, when talking about groups and work teams, the importance of sharing objectives is highlighted, that their members share a common and well-defined goal, for which it is necessary that they be interdependent and mutually responsible.
2. Identity: it is about a certain «collective consciousness»; by belonging to a group in which its members carry out tasks, interact, share objectives, etc., or simply by sharing characteristics that are considered relevant at a given moment (although the individuals do not even know each other), a common identity develops: these people are perceived and defined as a group.
Obviously, this characteristic can not only occur in specific groups such as a work team, a research group or a department, but it also applies to older groups, of a social nature, such as: by age (young / old), by sex (men / women), by profession (psychologists / doctors / lawyers…), and so on.
3. Interaction: characteristic complementary to the previous ones (interdependence is «materialized» through interaction, and this can generate a common identity) but which is of sufficient importance in itself, since it is the motor of the group and the one that generates its social structure (produces differentiation of roles and status, promotes the creation of group norms, can catalyze group cohesion, etc.).
It goes without saying that the interaction processes in the groups play a central role in the performance and satisfaction of their members. All this is of great relevance for the operation of the organization.
It should be noted, however, that these characteristics do not always occur simultaneously, so that we can find "groups" with a strong sense of identity, but whose members hardly interact with each other, or only a few do; We can also see, for example, groups in which there is high interdependence but low identity.
All this should make us aware of the diversity of situations that may arise and the inappropriateness of taking standardized measures when we intervene in or with groups.
II. Groups as basic units of organizations
Taking into account the previous approaches, we can refer to groups from three different perspectives, all of them equally important for the functioning of an organization:
1. Social groups or groups as social categories
These are groups that meet a broad classification criterion and are usually very large. We are talking, of course, of groups that are based on categories of sex, age, social class, geographical origin, national belonging, profession, etc. Organizations turn to these groups to recruit new members.
On the one hand, as we all know, there are social groups (women, unemployed people, disabled people, etc.) that are in an unfavorable situation from the socio-labor point of view and that require actions to alleviate this situation.
On the other hand, beyond the above, although to a large extent related, from this perspective there is a risk of generalization or, rather, of stereotype. People are still being sued (or rejected) according to their affiliation to some groups or others under the belief that, by the mere fact of belonging to them, they already possess certain valuable characteristics (or not) for the position and the organization: continues having job offers exclusively aimed at men or women, with rigid age limits, etc.
However, "belonging" to one of these groups does not guarantee anything a priori, especially in these moments in which we are witnessing, among other events, the development of new intervention approaches (for example, the competences approach, which has the potential to avoid group discrimination), to a redefinition of gender roles, to greater access to a more complete and better quality training, to the development of new technologies, in short, to a change in many of the schemes and frames of reference in which we traditionally moved.
2. "Small" groups as formal and informal units of the organization
It is difficult to establish what is the number of people who have to compose a group so that we can say if it is large or small. This will depend on the situation, the type of task, the objectives and other circumstances.
In any case, and in contrast to the large social groups, we are talking here of smaller groups, easy to define and identify, made up of members of these different social groups, which are framed in a specific context (in this case the organization) and in which its members know and interact with each other (regardless of whether the criteria of mutual interdependence and / or group identity are met to a greater or lesser extent).
They are the basic units of organizations and can be formal (of planned origin and oriented to achieve the objectives of the organization) and informal (of spontaneous origin and oriented to satisfy personal needs of the members of the organization).
The groups that revolve around work are characterized by their diversity, the complexity of the tasks they must tackle and the variety of objectives and functions they must fulfill. Various influences coexist in them:
Those derived from its own internal dynamics.
Those that come from the formal and informal structures (depending on the relationships that the group and its members maintain with other parts of the organization and the positions they occupy in it).
Those that have their origin in the group's relations with the environment outside the organization.
Much of the influence that the organization exerts on its members occurs through these groups. The perception that the subjects may have of this influence, and in general of the entire organization, is mediated precisely by factors such as the groups they are part of, the roles and the position they occupy.
3. "Small" groups as a technique or instrument
From this perspective, groups are seen as a "tool" that allows intervening in a given situation with very different purposes: setting up a training group to train participants in skills, carrying out a group dynamic through which to sensitize the assistants about their communication problems, carry out a simulated situation that allows evaluating the competencies of those involved, develop a group interview to obtain information from a specific group and a very long etcetera.
Obviously, this facet requires an adequate level of competence to use these group "tools".
III. Type of groups in organizations
One of the characteristic features of organizations is the variety of groups that coexist within them, whose composition, functions and other properties differ notably. Different criteria can be taken into account to establish a classification of them. The most common (without being exclusive) are:
1. According to a time criterion: it has to do with the stability of relationships:
Permanent groups: they are conceived as stable over time and are in charge of the normal tasks of operation and maintenance of the organization. The temporary permanence of these groups does not prevent changes in their composition. The different departments that make up a company are an example.
Temporary or "ad hoc" groups: they are designed to carry out temporary tasks, projects or activities. The group has a limited duration, dissolving once its function has concluded or its objective has been reached. It can be a research and development group, a study commission, an advisory committee, etc.
2. According to a criterion of formality: it has to do with the origin of the groups:
Formal: these are groups defined and planned to achieve the objectives of the organization. Work teams, departments, commissions… all of them, regardless of other criteria, share its formal character.
Informal: they arise from the spontaneous relationships between the members of the organization and are oriented to the satisfaction of personal and social needs of its components.
Groups that are formed by ties of friendship or attractiveness, groups of people who share the same problem, etc.
3. According to a criterion of purpose: it has to do with the objectives of the groups;
Production: groups whose members jointly carry out certain work. They configure the work teams, departments and units of the organization.
Problem solving: they focus on particular problems in the organization itself. For example, quality circles or project study groups.
Conflict resolution: aimed at facing confrontational situations between different parts of the organization or between the organization and the outside world. These are mainly negotiating groups.
Organizational Change and Development: include different groups and group techniques. Among others, training groups, team development or awareness groups.
4. According to a hierarchical criterion: it has to do with the location in the organizational structure:
Vertical differentiation: made up of the different groups ranging from senior management ("strategic apex"), through intermediate management groups ("middle line"), to non-management groups ("operational core").
Horizontal differentiation: it mainly includes the different functional groups, groups that provide specialized services (related to production, research, etc.) based on particular competences, and temporary committees, created with different missions, mainly advisory and decision-making.
5. According to a hierarchical criterion: it has to do with the location in the organizational structure:
Group activity: group with interdependent tasks, group goals and incentives, stable relationships, etc.
Individual activity: the group as a context in which individual activity and values predominate. Members have little more bond with each other than sharing a space, a task, a professional specialty or being under the same boss. For example, a "sales team" in which, among other conditions, individual commissions are provided (which generates competition among its members).
As mentioned above, these criteria are not mutually exclusive, such that, for example, a quality circle will be a temporary, formal, problem-solving group, related to horizontal differentiation, within which an activity takes place. group character.
Identifying the characteristic groups of organizations and recognizing the central role they occupy in their operation is only a first step. It is necessary from here to consider and analyze all those factors that influence the performance of these groups.
As highlighted at the beginning of this article, group work and participation in and of groups does not happen "just because." Whatever perspective is adopted (that of who heads a department, that of someone who performs a selection process, that of someone who carries out a training course…), action in and through groups requires a timely planning and implementation, for which it is necessary that those responsible have the appropriate skills and, in general, have a good foundation in Group Psychology.
