![](https://i0.wp.com/revision.co.zw/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/friends-min.jpg?resize=600%2C287&ssl=1)
Informal groups meet social needs of members. Image credit psypost.org
ZIMSEC O Level Business Studies Notes: Importance, Advantages and Disadvantages of informal groups
- Informal groups play an important role within organisations
Advantages /Importance of informal groups
- They satisfy the social needs of their members
- The group members can help each other during times of crisis for example divorce at home and other situations for which there is no formal group help
- Members encourage each other to meet an acceptable level of performance e.g. lazy members may be told to work hard
- Managers can use informal groups to relay information
- Provides an extra channel of communication via the grapevine
- Members motivate each other
- Managers can leak information and use it to gauge the reaction of employees e.g proposed salary cuts
Disadvantages
- They can be a source of conflict within the organisation
- They result in idle time as members chat away during work time
- The grapevine might be cause confusion, anxiety and enmity
- They result in the perpetration of bad practices as new employees are initiated into the group
- Can be a source of resistance to change.
To access more topics go to the O Level Business Notes page