A Thought Paper on
Informal Organizations and Their Relation
to Formal Organizations
By Chester Barnard
As I was reading Barnard’s article, I could immediately imagine two scrawny college dudes in cardinal red university hoodies hunched up in front of boxy desktop computers surfing the Internet (instead, probably, of working on their doctoral dissertations) while a 1994 hit song fills their tiny campus trailer. Then unaware of the phenomenal consequences their hobby had potential of becoming, friends Jerry Yang and David Filo simple-mindedly keyed in codes just so they could keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” or as we now all know it as: Yahoo!, as with most organizations and as the article points out, had its roots in the informal, the structure-less and indefinite.
Barnard elaborates on the correlation between the informal and the formal organization, how and what is needed for one to transition into and coexist alongside the other. Yahoo!, among countless more examples fit perfectly what it is he is trying to materialize in writing. It begins with at least two individuals linked by personal ties, as were schoolmates Jerry and Dave, sharing definite purposes or ends of action which help maintain the association. [1] In the time which their academics would spare them, they sought activity i.e. techie pursuits; they were impelled to do something [1]. This eventually became a hobby (Note: established pattern of activity) with them and though their social circles were limited, the endless chain of relationships between persons [1] somehow got the word about their innovation out. (“Some friend of a friend told somebody’s friend about this internet guide…”) And before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. [2] A culture of technological sophistication persisted in their closely-knit Internet community. [2] An institution which enabled access to information and to people at a mouse’s click or at a key’s command was established. And then afterwards came the inevitable – due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands and in March 1995, the pair incorporated the business [2] – the informal has transitioned into the formal.
Essay Informal & Formal English
Here is your goal for this assignment: * Produce writing that illustrates your understanding of formal and informal English You will be writing two separate paragraphs. The first paragraph, on any subject of your choice, will be written in informal English. Informal English is conversational in tone. There should be no grammatical or spelling errors in this paragraph, so be sure to proofread your ...
I knew Yahoo!’s back story and a number of other companies’ but never before this article have I come across a more encompassing and proper phrasing to what I merely address as these companies’ ‘humble’ and or ‘chance’ beginnings. It’s been brought to my awareness that these are embodiments of a prevalent statement – in a nutshell, formal organizations arise out of and are necessary to informal organization… [1] Company start-ups don’t just happen nor are these college-friends-coming-up-with-something-brilliant-in-garages founding stories coincidental. There are specific preconditions that yield and consequences that yield from this outcome. This article was able to generalize a commonplace yet indispensable occurrence I failed to recognize as such. Yahoo! is just one among hundreds if not thousands of well-built companies that have had their informal start-ups evolve into formal successes. (Note to self: Hang out with family and friends in the garage more often. The next big thing might as well come out of one of our seemingly inconsequential conversations.)
References
[1] Barnard, C.I. (1983).
“Informal Organizations and their Relationship to Formal Organizations”. Organizations in Classics of Public Administration. (6th Ed).
Shafritz and Hyde (Eds).
(2007).
pp 93-97.
[2] “The History of Yahoo! How It All Started…” Yahoo! Media Relations. Yahoo! Inc., Web. 13 Aug 2012. <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html>.
The Essay on Formal And Informal Organization
1. Explain the interrelationship between formal & informal organization. This question requires the discussion interrelationship between formal organization and informal organization. First we want to know about what the formal organization is and what the informal organization is. Formal organization is a fixed set of rules of intra-organization procedures and structures. As such, it is ...
