Differences between Formal Group and Informal Group

Basis for Comparison Formal Group Informal Group

Groups created by the Groups created by the

organization, to employees themselves,
Meaning accomplish a specific for their own sake are
task, are known as Formal known as Informal
Groups. Groups.

Formation Deliberately. Voluntarily

Size Large. Comparatively small.

It depends on the type of It depends on the

Life
group. members.

Structure Well Defined. Not well defined.

The importance is given

Position. Person.
to

Relationship Professional. Personal.

Moves in a defined Stretches in all the

Communication
direction. directions.
Skills for a Healthy Group Climate
To work together successfully, group members must demonstrate a sense of cohesion. For
cohesion to emerge, group members must exhibit the following skills:

 Support.
 Respect
 Openness.
 Trust and Self-Disclosure.
 Individual Responsibility and Accountability.
 Constructive Feedback.

Support

Group members demonstrate support for one another as they accomplish their goals. They
exhibit a sense of team loyalty and cheer on the group as a whole and help members
experiencing difficulties.They view one another not as competitors (common within a typically
individualistic educational system) but as collaborators.

Respect

Group members communicate their opinions in a way that respects others, focusing on “What
can we learn?” rather than “Who is to blame?”

Openness

Group members should show willing to know one another, particularly because of their
difference in interests and backgrounds. They should be open to new ideas, diverse viewpoints,
from the variety of individuals present within the group.

They elicit their ideas and listen to one another. They know how to balance the need for cohesion
within a group with the need for individual expression.

Trust and Self-Disclosure

Group members trust one another enough to share their ideas and feelings.

A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that everyone is willing to self-disclose and
be honest yet respectful. As a group trust also grows. The members demonstrate personal
accountability for the tasks they have been assigned.

Individual Responsibility and Accountability

All group members agree on what needs to be done and by whom. Each member determines
what he or she needs to do and takes responsibility to complete the task(s).

They can be held accountable for their tasks, and they hold others accountable for theirs.
Constructive Feedback

Group members can give and receive feedback about group ideas. Giving constructive feedback
requires focusing on ideas and behaviors instead of individuals, being as positive as possible, and
offering suggestions for improvement.

Receiving feedback requires listening well, asking for clarification if the comment is unclear,
and being open to change and other ideas.

LEADERSHIP AND DECISION MAKING IN THE COMMUNITY

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is a process by which a leader directs, guides and influences the behavior and work
of others towards the accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation. Leadership is the
ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal.

It is also the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. Leaders are
required to develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members to achieve the
visions. It is the human factor which binds a group together and motivates it towards goals.”

Characteristics of Leadership

1. It is an inter-personal process in which a manager is into influencing and guiding workers

towards attainment of goals.
 2. It denotes a few qualities to be present in a person which includes intelligence, maturity
and personality.
3. It is a group process. It involves two or more people interacting with each other.
4. A leader is involved in shaping and moulding the behaviour of the group towards
accomplishment of organizational goals.
5. Leadership is situation bound. There is no best style of leadership. It all depends upon
tackling with the situations.

TYPES OF LEADERSHIP STYLES

1. Autocratic or Authoritarian leadership

An autocratic leader centralizes power and decision-making in himself. He gives orders, assigns
tasks and duties without consulting the employees. The leader takes full authority and assumes
full responsibility.

Autocratic leadership is negative, based on threats and punishment. Subordinates act as he

directs. He neither cares for their opinions nor permits them to influence the decision. He
believes that because of his authority he alone can decide what is best in a given
situation.Autocratic leadership is based upon close supervision, clear-cut direction and
commanding order of the superior. McGregor labels this style of leadership as theory X

Advantages:

It facilitates quick decisions.

Prompt action and unity of direction.

It depends on a lesser degree of delegation

The employees work as hard as is necessary to avoid punishment

Disadvantages:

Too much use of authority might result in strikes and industrial disputes.

It is likely to produce frustration and retard the growth of the capacity of employees.

They will thus produce the minimum just to escape punishment.

This leadership style is less likely to be effective because

(i) The new generation is more independent and less submissive and not amenable to rigid
control
(ii) People look for ego satisfactions from their jobs and
(iii) Revolution of rising expectations changed the attitude of the people.

2. Democratic or Participative leadership

Participative or democratic leaders decentralise authority. This style of leadership is

characterised by consultation with the subordinates and their participation in the formulation of
plans and policies. He encourages participation in decision-making. He leads the subordinates
mainly through persuasion and example rather than fear and force. Sometimes the leader serves
as a moderator of the ideas and suggestions from his group. McGregor labels this style as Theory
Y. This will foster enthusiasm in them. The employees feel that management is interested in
them as well as in their ideas and suggestions. They will, therefore, place their suggestions for
improvement.

Advantages:

(i) Higher motivation and improved morale

(ii) Increased co-operation with the management
(iii) Improved job performance
(iv) Reduction of grievances and
(v) Reduction of absenteeism and employee turnover.
Disadvantages:

Subordinates may take things for granted.

The absence of close supervision may make the workers less productive.

There may be delay in decision making.

3. The Laissez-faire or Free-rein leadership

Free-rein leaders avoid power and responsibility. The laissez-faire or non-interfering type of
leader passes on the responsibility for decision-making to his subordinates and takes a minimum
of initiative in administration. He gives no direction and allows the group to establish its own
goals and work out its own problems.

The leader plays only a minor role. His idea is that each member of the group when left to
himself will put forth his best effort and the maximum results can be achieved in this way. The
leader acts as an umpire. But as no direction or control is exercised over the people, the
organization is likely to go into failure.

Advantages:

There is development of friendly approaches to the leader.

It is suitable for matured groups/ subordinates.

Disadvantages:

But suggestions from the groups were very low

They were also less productive.

.
DECISION MAKING IN THE COMMUNITY

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering

information and assessing alternative resolutions.

STEPS IN EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING

Step 1: identify the decision

Haven realized that you need to make a decision, make efforts to clearly define the nature of the
decision you must make.

Step 2: Gather relevant information

Some pertinent information must be collected before you make your decision. The information
may be internal (self-assessment) or external (found on-line, in books, from other people and
other sources)

Step 3: identify the alternatives

As the information is collected, your imagination and additional information can help you
construct new alternatives.

Step 4: weigh the evidence

Evaluate whether the need identified in step1, would be met or resolved through the use of each
alternative. You will find that this process will help you favour certain alternatives; especially
those that have higher potential of helping you achieve your goal. Place the alternative in priority
order based on your value system.

Step 5: choose among alternatives

After weighing all the evidence, select the alternative that seems best for you. This may likely be
the one or similar to the one you placed first on your priority list in step 4 above.

Step 6: Take action

Take some positive action by implementing the alternative chosen.

Step7: review your decision and its consequences

In this final step, consider the results of your decision and evaluate whether or not it has resolved
the need you identified in step one. If the need has not been met by the decision, certain steps
may need to be repeated.

Effective decision making

The community decision making process involves the following:

 Examining the situation

 Arriving at goals
 Identifying key problems
 Determining priorities
 Identifying and analyzing alternative solutions
 Selecting a course of action
 Developing an action plan
 Implementing the plan
 Evaluating the outcome
Key questions checklist during this process are:

 Is everyone involved who needed to be?

 Did every one agree on the definition of the situation?
 Was everyone clear on how the decision was made
 Were personal or value conflicts resolved to every one’s satisfaction?
 Was the chosen solution realistic and reachable?

COMMUNITY NEEDS

Once the decision is made, the next step is– identifying needs, which can be done through needs
assessment.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: is a way of finding out:

 What is needed?
 How many have the need?
 Who are they?
  How important is it that this decision/need be filled?
 What is already being done?
 What else - additional ideas, changes can be done?
 Who else is interested in doing something about this decision?

METHOD OF INITIATING ACTION

Methods of gathering information to carry on good decision making, such as:

 A review of the population statistics

 A review of the community resources and services.
 A survey of community leaders
 Focus group
 Public meeting
 Brainstorming
 Nominal groups

Statistics

A wide range of statistical data concerning the demography and economy of your community is
available through your municipal, provincial and federal governments, as well as many agencies
and institutions in your community, just ask. You can pull the information you need from these.
Numbers are interesting, but remember, they are just part of the community picture and are not
always the best indicator of the decision to take.

Community Survey

A community survey is usually a standard questionnaire that is widely distributed throughout the
community. It can be handled through the mail, by phone, or in face-to-face interviews. Keep in
mind your potential target groups - the people you especially want to reach. It is almost
impossible to make a community decision that will meet the needs of everyone. You will want to
collect your information noting differences across age groups and sex (i.e., seniors, young
mothers, pre-schoolers, school age children, teenagers, young men, etc.).
Community Leader Interviews

Key informants are the people in your community who are seen as leaders - people with a better
than average understanding of issues or community dynamics. All people should be asked the
same set of questions.

Focus Groups

This is simply a group interview. An experienced discussion leader meets with six to 12 people
whose experience relates directly to the decision. Questions are raised and participants are given
a chance to present and discuss their opinions. Their reactions are then analyzed.

Public Meetings

This is a discussion with many people. Public meetings or forums allow two-way communication
between the group interested in this decision and other community members. This is an excellent
way to reach a very large portion of your community.

Brainstorming

Here, creative thinking takes precedence over practicality. The concept is to review all possible
ideas, regardless of how impractical they may seem. This gets many new and novel ideas before
a group for discussion. It moves people to think beyond normal day to day and conventional
techniques that have failed to come up with a solution.

Nominal Groups

The Nominal group is a formal meeting of individual members that proceeds as follows:

1. Each member silently expresses his or her ideas about the problem and alternative
solutions in writing without any consultation with other members.
2. At the end of the time period (about 10 to 15 minutes), each member shares his or her
views with the other members in a highly structured round-robin fashion. When a
member's turn comes up he or she may share only one idea per round.
3. As each member expresses an idea, a recorder writes down the idea on a flip chart or
board. The process continues until all ideas are listed, with no reference to whom the
ideas belong.
4. All ideas on the board are then discussed with respect to their merits, feasibility and all
other qualities.
5. The group then votes silently on the ideas (usually ranking the ideas in order of
preference). The pooled outcome of the individual ranking or rating determines the
group's choice.