Formal Organization Meaning
Formal organization refers to that organization in which there are set of rules which every employee is expected to follow besides every employee is given specific roles and responsibility so that there is no ambiguity with regards to work and role which employee has to perform leaving little scope of flexibility as far as working in the company is concerned. In order to understand more about this concept, one should look at the advantages and disadvantages of a formal organization –
Advantages of Formal Organization
Easier to Fix Responsibility
The first and foremost advantage of formal organization is that it is easier to fix responsibility as once all employee knows their roles and duties it is their responsibility to ensure that all allocated tasks are completed on time. In simple words in case of formal organizations by defining roles as well as responsibilities of employees companies put the ball in the court of employees who in turn have to ensure that they do their duties properly otherwise they have to face the consequences of being irresponsible towards their work as well as the company.
No Ambiguity
In case of formal structure, there is no confusion with regards to roles and responsibility of employees and often when employees are clear about roles as well as job description which they are expected to perform in the company they will more often than not complete their tasks efficiently and effectively.
Stable and Effective
Formal organizations are far more stable when one compares it with another form of organizations due to strict discipline as well as careful planning about various positions and duties of employees in case of formal organizations besides since there are laid down rules and regulations for every aspect of the job it makes these organizations effective also as far as company is concerned it leads to better coordination between the employees of the company.
Disadvantages of Formal Organization
Lack of Flexibility
These organizations are characterized by strict rules and regulations and every employee is expected to perform their tasks within the framework of these rules and regulations which leaves a little scope of flexibility as one cannot deviate too much from set rules and regulations even if it is for the benefit of the company.
Ignores Emotions
In the case of humans, you have to keep provision for the emotional nature of human beings because it is emotions that separate humans from others but sadly in the case of formal organizations this aspect is ignored. Hence for example suppose an employee is doing good work from past 1 or 2 year but due to some family problems and mental pressure he or she is not doing the work effectively for past one month than instead of understanding the employee situation company will take action against the employee for not performing assigned work effectively which is a wrong thing and will lead to lower morale of the employees of the company.
Kills Creativity
This form of organization kills the creativity of employees because when rules are laid down and roles are fixed you cannot do much no matter how talented and creative you are in the performance of your work. In simple words just like a lion in a circus becomes means of entertainment for the public in the same way employees in the formal organizations become resources for execution of work and if you try to be creative than either you are suppressed or shown the exit door.
As one can see from the above that formal organization structure has pros as well as cons and that is the reason why companies should carefully analyze the above points and then take the decision whether to implement this structure in the company or not.