12 Questions
What is an informal group in an organization?
A group formed based on friendship
Which term is used to describe an informal group's susceptibility to underhanded behavior?
Vulnerability
What is the primary disadvantage of an informal group within an organization?
Potential for harm due to perversions
In a functional organization, how are employees grouped together?
Based on a common functional activity
Which organizational structure brings together individuals involved with a certain type of product or customer?
Product or market organization
What type of firms are functional organization structures particularly effective for?
Start-up companies
In a functional organization, what is a disadvantage related to work specialization?
Produces routine, nonmotivating tasks
What is a common issue in functional organizations regarding decision-making?
Delayed decision-making at the top management level
Which type of organization structure is suitable for corporations with diverse product lines in related industries?
Product or market organization
What is a key advantage of a product or market organization in terms of responsiveness?
High concern for customer's needs
Why might it be challenging to identify responsibility for problems in a functional organization?
Difficulty in determining responsible sections or groups
What aspect of work in a functional organization could lead to employee tasks being nonmotivating?
'Routine, nonmotivating' tasks
Study Notes
Informal Groups
- Informal groups are formed spontaneously within an organization, with friendship as a primary reason for membership.
- They are not part of the formal organization and do not have a formal performance purpose.
- Informal groups are vulnerable to expediency, manipulation, and opportunism, and can cause harm to the company due to their low visibility.
Types of Organizational Structures
- Organizations can be classified into three types: functional, product or market, and matrix.
- Functional organization: departmentalization by functional activity, such as engineering or marketing.
- Product or market organization: organization by divisions based on product or customer type.
- Matrix organization: employees report to both functional/division manager and project/group manager.
Functional Organization
- Effective in smaller firms, especially single-business firms with well-defined skills and areas of specialization.
- Advantages:
- Economies of scale and efficient resource use through task grouping.
- Centralized decision-making with unified direction from the top.
- Excellent communication and coordination within departments.
- Promotes high-quality technical problem-solving.
- In-depth skill specialization and development.
- Career progress opportunities within functional departments.
- Disadvantages:
- Poor communication and coordination between departments.
- Delayed decision-making due to top-level involvement.
- Routine, non-motivating tasks due to work specialization.
- Difficulty in identifying responsible sections or groups.
- Limited view of organizational goals by employees.
- Limited general management training for employees.
Product or Market Organization
- Suitable for large corporations with multiple product lines in several related industries.
- Advantages:
- Flexible and responsive to change.
- High concern for customer needs.
Explore the concept of informal groups in organizations where members form spontaneous friendships. Learn about the characteristics of informal groups and their impact on the formal organization. Understand the challenges of managing informal groups in the workplace.
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