Man is a social being by nature, therefore he needs to relate to others of the same species to develop both personally and professionally. In an organization it is very important that the collaborators feel part of a group, feel that they belong and are important for the company in order to develop a sense of belonging and motivation to work for its objectives.
Collaborators within organizations need to maintain social contact with the rest of their colleagues, either because of their affinity with them or because of the need to solve problems that arise in day-to-day activities. This will generate interpersonal relationships that will depend largely on the hierarchical level at which they are within the company. Said interpersonal relationships will lead to the formation of groups and work teams that result in the performance of each person within the organization.
Previously, companies were considered to be made up of isolated individuals. The interpersonal relationships established between them were not taken into account. Currently, practically all companies include two large groups of people: formal groups and informal groups, which are differentiated by the objective they pursue:
Formal groups: They are created by the manager and represent a degree of subordination in the company. They are related to each other by the level of command that each one possesses depending on their position. They are created to perform a specific task in the organization and therefore have certain obligations and activities that must be fulfilled in order to generate the product or service that the company manufactures. Formal groups can be permanent or temporary. The permanent ones are those that are defined in the pyramid structure of the company and are distributed in areas, departments and processes. Temporary are those that are created to solve a specific problem and are rolled back once the solution has been found, the latter are called Work Teams.
Informal groups: They are created by the human being's need to interact with others. They are formed in organizations with members of the same formal group or with people who have similar interests. They arise spontaneously and allow further development of the tasks that must be accomplished in formal groups.
Belonging to some type of formal or informal group contributes to the formation of a sense of relevance in the company.
In this writing we will look in detail at the definition and characteristics of formal, informal groups and work teams.
Formal, informal groups and work teams
The formation of groups is typical of the nature of the human being due to the need to unite with others in order to survive.
Group definition
Group is defined as the set of two or more people who can interact with each other, are interdependent and psychologically aware of the existence of the other while being recognized as members of a team.
A group is not exclusively exists by the sum of the individuals that compose it; It is necessary to form affective, social or business ties that give rise to new skills and enhance the results that will definitely be superior to those that could be obtained if each of its members worked separately.
A group is generally made up of a maximum of ten people and the number of individuals that comprise it is determined by the task to be performed.
Organizations can be viewed as a series of coupled groups, so that the performance of the organization will depend on the individual performance of each of the groups that comprise it. (Hunt, 2010)
Characteristics of the groups
- They are made up of people who perceive others individually and where there is a reciprocal relationship. The activities of the group respond to the interests and values of each one of the people, therefore it is permanent and dynamic. It gives rise to the formation of subgroups. by the affinity that the members of the group have and the intensity of the relationships. There is solidarity and interdependence between people inside and outside the group. The roles of the individuals that comprise it are well defined and differentiated. The group has its own code and language as well as their own norms and beliefs.
What is the process of forming a group like?
The process of forming a group, whether formal or informal, consists of four stages: formation, conflict, regulation and operation.
Training
At this stage, individuals define the objectives and the procedure to follow to carry out the task. They are groping the ground, seeing how the others are, knowing each other. They begin to probe the borders but they do not establish. There is confusion about what is expected of others and what is expected of them.
Conflict
At this stage the conflict arises about how the group should function, what will be the responsibility of each one, who will exercise leadership, the struggle to excel and impose ideas on others begins. At this stage there may be withdrawals from the group of some individuals due to disagreement in the way things develop, there may also be dismissals, there are many tensions due to imbalance and power struggles. It is important that they try to solve or cope with the conflicts so that this does not affect the group later in the resolution of the activities.
Normative
In this stage the norms and codes of behavior are established as to how the tasks should be carried out, who is responsible, what are the acceptable behaviors and what are the sanctions imposed on those individuals who do not comply with the norms.
Functioning
At this stage, the individual members of the group accept the role assigned to them without generating conflict, as well as the guidance of the person who has assumed the role of leader. It is characterized because there is mutual trust between the members of the group, there are minimal discussions and conflicts. The group is focused on solving problems because a balance has already been generated. (Hunt, 2010)
These stages are not necessarily followed to the letter during the creation of a group, but serve as a basis to understand the dynamics of group formation.
Two types of groups are formed in organizations: formal and informal.
Formal groups
Formal groups are officially created within the organization and are backed by management, their roles are clearly specified, often in writing. Work groups, committees, councils, and departmental group meetings are examples of formal groups. Why are formal groups important within organizations?
Why are formal groups important within organizations?
Through the formal groups the organization structure is defined, since through them certain work assignments are given in which activities are established. According to the needs and organizational processes of companies, there is always a tendency for two types of formal groups to form: those of command and those of task. The command groups are those where the members report results to a supervisor, that is, they are made up of several subordinates and a boss. An example of this type of formal group is the one made up of the workers of a company and its manager, the purchasing coordinator and their subordinates, etc. The command group is established by the organization chart of the company. On the other hand, formal task groups are those that are created to accomplish a specific task or project.The command groups are permanent while the task groups can be created according to the needs that arise, therefore they are temporary.
In organizations, the most prevalent type of formal group is that of command, since, as indicated, they are formally established and determine the organizational structure of the company. (Gibson, 1998)
Informal groups
They are based on friendship, the sharing of beliefs and the way of seeing life. They are more relaxed and fun than formal groups. As they are not official, they are provided for each individual to express themselves freely, which can generate valuable ideas for conflict resolution, which is why it is of great importance that their training be promoted within organizations because the success of the same.
Why are informal groups important?
Informal groups are formed within organizations for various reasons that include both the needs of the members of the organization for relating to others and the characteristics of the organization itself.
Among the main causes of the formation of informal groups are:
- The physical closeness between people due to the need to carry out the same activity, task or obligation. Common interests such as likes, hobbies and others among the people who make up the group. The people who make up the group may have common experiences and relationships outside of those lived in the organization. Affinity in the way of thinking of the members of the group.
Informal groups are important within the organization because they fulfill the following functions:
- They help perpetuate common social and cultural values. They contribute to the social satisfaction, security and status of the people who are part of the organization. They are of great help for the members of its members to communicate. They allow solving problems. (Gastelum, 2007)
Work teams
A work team is a unit made up of an undetermined number of people who come together to carry out a specific task and who are related to each other to achieve a goal. As the team is created to achieve objectives, each individual will put into play their knowledge, abilities, skills and competencies; This combination is known as synergy. As a consequence of the relationship between the members, positive synergies are generated through coordinated effort. The result of individual efforts is greater than the sum of individual contributions. (Vertex, 2008)
Differences between work groups and work teams
A work group has a strong leader to whom all responsibility falls, while in a work team there are shared leadership roles
- In a work group there is individual responsibility while in a work team there is individual and group responsibility. The objective of the work group is the same as that of the organization while the work team has specific purposes that carry out the same. Work groups aim to measure effectiveness while work teams meet to create open discussions that generate solutions.
Characteristics of work teams
- They are made up of a group of people who work in a coordinated manner in the execution of a project. The entire work team is responsible for the final result of the project and not each of its members independently. Each member of the team It is specialized in a certain area important for the execution of the project. Each member of the team is responsible for a task and only if everyone fulfills their role will it be possible to carry out the project. Teamwork is not simply the sum of individual contributions. "A group of people working together on the same subject, but without any coordination between them, in which each one carries out her work individually and without being affected by the work of other colleagues, does not form a team." (Vertex, 2008)
Why are work teams important?
Working as a team helps to unite the outstanding skills of each member of the team to face and carry out tasks together, increase the quality of work, overcome obstacles, solve problems effectively, generate innovations, efficiently manage resources, create opportunities and attract new resources. The sum of the personal skills of each member of the team creates great results, so it is very important that all organizations promote their creation, especially small and medium-sized companies, since they will be able to better face global competition and serve larger and greater amount. Working is the most effective and efficient way of developing a project and generating resources with results in accordance with the initial investments made.
Working as a team requires having a shared vision and purpose, in which the objective must be clear to each member of it. Currently the labor market requires interdisciplinary work, in which it is not enough to master a single activity, but must work and coordinate with other disciplines that are complementary.
“The importance of teamwork is based on the fact that today's business projects are increasingly interdisciplinary, and people in their individuality are not able to cover the areas necessary to carry out a project. That is why with teamwork it is possible to obtain the best of its components. It is necessary to learn to work correctly as a team, since some vices or tendencies can spoil the collective effort. ” (Vertex, 2008)
conclusion
Organizations are made up of human beings who, by their nature, are in constant need of interacting, sharing experiences, tastes and desires as well as feeling part of something. There are several reasons why people come together to form a group, among which are human nature, the closeness with others during the execution of their daily activities and the common interests they have with other individuals. Two types of groups are formed within an organization: formal and informal. The formal ones are those established by the management and determine the organization structure of the company and the informal ones are formed spontaneously. In turn, within the formal groups of companies are the work teams,They are created to achieve a common goal in which each member contributes their skills, abilities and knowledge, generating great results for the company. Today it is of great importance that within companies the creation of efficient work teams is promoted, leading to the effective resolution of problems and the generation of innovations that position the organization above the competition.
Within the company, both formal and informal groups and work teams are very important, because each one provides benefits that can be used to achieve the objectives and goals proposed. Managers must know how to efficiently manage each group.
Bibliography
- Gastelum, RG (2007). Communication and culture organizations in Chinese and Japanese companies. Gibson, JL (1998). Organizations: behavior, structure, process 10 edition. Santiago: McGraw-Hill Interamerica.Hunt, JW (2010). Personnel management in the company: guide on the behavior of organizations. Madrid: McGraw-Hill Interamericana. Vertice, E. (2008). Team work cordination. Madrid: Vértice Publications.
