Case study- Officer Robert Barton - Research Paper Example

Case Study-Officer Robert Barton al affiliation These are the distinct social functions, which groups perform for their members, and they include: 1. Transforming resource inputs into product outputs 2. Educating member 3. Exposing members to varying scenarios Groups enable its members to transform their resource inputs into product outputs while at educating them on various aspects of life by exposing them to varying scenarios. The characteristics of formal work group within law enforcement agencies include being either permanent or temporary.

Formal work groups’ creation is related to functions, which are inherent in management (Hiriyappa, 2009). Formal groups found in the law enforcement agencies forms a mechanism through which the police officers can be assigned varying tasks, as well as task groups by a higher authority or the head of a sub group. However, in informal groups, the members satisfy needs related to security, belonging, self-esteem, and companionship. In formal groups, productivity is directly related to how managers handle division of labor, as well as the delegation of authority.

The management establishes formal groups in order to enhance the organization’s productivity, as articulated in the organization’s goals, objectives, and mission while informal groups evolve in order to satisfy mutual needs of law enforcement personnel. Formal work groups have leaders; these group leaders obtain power, as well as legitimate authority necessary to coordinate the work; however, in informal groups the participants are equal (More, 2006). The main difference between formal and informal groups is that formal groups are official while informal groups are unofficial.

Formal groups are artificial as compared to informal groups, which are natural (Hiriyappa, 2009). Social interactions define a group by determining whether it shall be an open or a closed. When there is freedom of interactions, new members are allowed to join a group freely or leave it without restrictions. However, when restrictions are placed to certain individuals, the resultant group is a closed one (More, 2006). Research shows that an individual’s behavior is determined by their social interactions, because human are social creatures, and want to be accepted by other individuals.

Therefore, social interactions determine how to define key attributes of a group be it formal, informal, open, closed, segmented, or unified. Social interactions place a higher emphasis on action because it offers law enforcement officers an opportunity to coordinate activities, which they engage in, either consciously or unconsciously with an aim of obtaining gratification. Studies reveal that when an individual engages in an action, which they are motivated by social interaction, the likelihood of forging forward to a shared objective or goal is extremely high (Hiriyappa, 2009).

The principal psychological needs that motivate human beings to join and remain active in informal, as well as formal include the fact that human beings are social animals, who have an innate desire to interact with other individuals (McShane & Glinow, 2000). Typically, it is a common practice in employment for people to be assigned assignments, which requires them to work in groups. The other key reason can be expressed from the utilitarian point of view, where individuals either joining groups or those who remain active have expectations of benefiting in a couple of ways.

The four categories used to classify groups in terms of their functions include command, task, interest, and friendship. More (2006) asserts that command groups take a vertical nature, and are found in complex organizations. The structure of a command group is mostly determined using a formal organizational chain and chart, where the subordinate officers report to a police manager. Task groups are developed with the objective of solving a particular task or project; therefore, they are a temporary unit formed by formal authority.

Interest groups are formed because there is a mutual interest for those forming a group and an example is police personnel joining hands in order to have their work schedule changed. Friendships groups exists as a result of the members love to be together because they mostly share common characteristics such a religious affiliations, fraternal associations, professional memberships, interest group activities and sports. Command and task groups are the ones, which are often associated with the division of labor (McShane & Glinow, 2000).

According to More (2006), the primary structural components, which are common to both formal and informal groups, include role, norms, values, status, and culture. Role is a particular action an individual is supposed to undertake in order to make a certain activity possible. Norms are guidelines, which are accepted for particular social behavior because of socializing. Values are general and abstract beliefs used to distinguish between what is right, desirable, and good (More, 2006). Status is the level held by an individual in an organization while culture consists of a society values, norms and attitudes differentiating them from other societies (McShane & Glinow, 2000).

A subculture is a subset of a culture, which takes unique characteristics from the main culture used to form a subculture. A subculture accommodates individuals with similar characteristics and interests (More, 2006). A subculture provides its members with an environments and platform to exercise their uniqueness by exchanging ideas. Values and norms are pillars of a subculture and are passed on to new members through seminars, interactions, and bonding activities. The prevailing reward structure influences an individual performance, as well as work-group productivity by motivating those who are rewarded to work extra hard, as well as the groups they belong to, and those individuals, who are not rewarded, strive to bring out their best, so that they can be rewarded the next time.

When individuals give their best, the likelihood of their performance being influenced positively, as well as their work-group productivity is high. The characteristics of work groups that have a direct effect on individual performance and organizational productivity include collaboration, leadership, accountability, self-management and efficiency (More, 2006). Collaborations ensure that individuals engage in activities, which they are acquainted with while leadership and accountability ensure individuals are kept on their toes leading to individuals acquiring self-management skills; therefore becoming enhancing individuals’ performance, as well as organizational productivity (Hiriyappa, 2009).

References Hiriyappa, B. (2009). Organizational behavior. New Delhi: New Age International. McShane, S. L., & Glinow, M. A. (2000). Organizational behavior. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. More, H. W. (2006). Organizational behavior and management in law enforcement (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.