Informal Organisation and its benefits

[rms]

What is meant by Informal Organisation. what are its benefits?

[nbm]

Organisation—Informal organisation refers to the relationship between people in the
organisation based on personal attitudes, emotions, prejudices, likes and dislikes etc. These relations
are not developed according to procedures and regulations laid down in the formal organisation.
Generally, large formal groups give rise to small informal groups. These groups are not pre-planned but
they develop automatically within the organisation.

Benefits of Informal organisation

(A) To Employees

Informal organisation yield certain benefits to their members i.e., employees.

(1) Sense of Belonging—Informal organisation, there is lack of sense of belogingness and personal
satisfaction. Informal organisation fills this void by constantly emphasising and reinforcing each
members individual personality and self-image.

(2) Safety valve for emotional problems—In the daily work routine there are many opportunities for
tension and frustration. In such situations a worker seeks a sympathetic ear of a friend in the informal
group who can share and understand his troubles.

(3) Aid on the Job—In case of accidents or illness, member of an informal group help one-another.
They may protect one another from authoritative action. They may increase group's efficiency by
changing work assignments or by increasing the specialisation of their task beyond what is prescribed in
the job description.

(4) Innovation and Originality-By enabling members to modify the job situation more to their liking,
the informal organisation creates the necessary environment for individual innovation and originality.
The individual can experiment with his ideas.

(5) Important Channel of Communication—News travels quickly via informal groups. They are the
clandestine transmitters and receivers of information before it is officially released.

(6) Social Control—Informal groups provide all its members a set of norms or guides to correct
behaviour. Members are expected to conform to those norms.

(7) Check on authority—Informal group forces the manager to plan and act more carefully than he
would otherwise. Informal organisation is a check and balance on unlimited use of authority by manager.

(B) To Management

Following are the benefits of informal organisation to management.

(1) Less supervision—Informal group is self-policing. This relieves the mangement of much of the
burden of supervision. A manager is encouraged to delegate and decentralise his authority to members
of an informal organisation.

(2) An aid to management—The information organisation fills in gaps in a manager's abilities.
Members of the informal group may help the weak manager without letting others know about the
manager's weakness.

(3) Feedback-The informal organisation gives the manager much feedback about employes and
their work experiences thereby increasing his understanding of what he needs to do. It also helps
interpret management to the workers so that they may be more supportive. It makes up for any
management failures in communication.