Group in Organization
Types of groups found in organization can primarily be classified into the following two types:
Informal grew: When people develop a group based on their informal relationship, it is called informal group. It is the natural outcome of co-existence of people. In every organization, Informal groups develop based on common interest, religion, geographical identification, beliefs, values etc. Informal group affiliation exerts significant influence on the behavior of its members.
Formal group: When a group is formed based on formal authority relationship or functional relationship, it is called formal group. Formal group is created consciously and deliberately. Formal groups may take many forms. However, there are three commonly found formal groups. These are as follows:
(a) Functional groups: A functional group is a combination of individuals who perform the same job or task within the organization.
(b) Project groups: When a group is formed to carry out a project, it is called project group. Here project means a specific endeavor with definite beginning and ending. In other words, a group that includes members from different functional areas of the organization to perform a specific task, it is called project group. Once the task is accomplished, the group is dissolved. A project group may consist of engineers, mathematicians, behavioral scientists, marketing experts, management experts and so on.
(c) Committees: A committee is a group of some people who are assigned to look after some specific tasks of an organization. A committee group generally operates in an ad hoc or advisory capacity to examine, analyze, and evaluate different areas of organizational operations. Organizations employ different committees like purchase committee, finance committee, recruitment committee etc. to ensure smooth and authentic performance of activities.
