Organizational Group Dynamics and Job Specialization

Group Work and Organizational Structures

Organizations are sets of personas establishing relations between them. A group consists of two or more individuals acting freely who collectively share certain standards to meet continuous objectives.

Types of Groups

Formal Groups

These are set by the organizational structure to achieve specific objectives. Examples include sections and departments. Within project groups, we can distinguish:

• Command-makers: Focused on planning.
• Work groups: Focused on the development of concrete tasks.

Informal Groups

These arise spontaneously as a consequence of relations between people who join to satisfy their own needs.

Group Dimensions

• Permanent: Created for regular work tasks within the organization.
• Temporary: Created for specific purposes and characterized by their transience.

Reasons for Joining Groups

• Security: Members feel stronger and have fewer doubts.
• Status: Brings recognition to the people involved.
• Self-esteem: Groups provide personal value.
• Membership: Satisfies social needs.
• Power: Groups usually have more power than individuals.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Provides more complete information.
• Diversity enriches the analysis of problems.
• Support for problem solutions.

Disadvantages

• Slowness in processes.
• Development of standards that may reduce individual effort.
• Diffusion of responsibilities.

Concept of Position and Work

A position is the set of tasks recommended for an individual within an organization. It is often confused with "work," but the difference lies in the fact that a position represents the set of actions entrusted to a person, while work refers to the category and qualification of the worker.

Technical Elements Differentiating Jobs

Horizontal Specialization

This reflects the number and variety of tasks entrusted to a worker. When the number of tasks is small, the post has a high degree of horizontal specialization. Arguments supporting this suggest it increases productivity, but it has the disadvantage of making work monotonous and boring.

Vertical Specialization

This is measured as a function of the autonomy provided to the occupant to manage their own work and the ability to design improvements. The greater the autonomy, the lower the level of vertical specialization.