The Role of Behavioral Formality and Informality in the Enactment of Bureaucratic Versus Organic Organizations

Modes of social activity in organizations are frequently described using the terms formal and informal. Behavioral and situational informality, in the sense of this article, entails “loose,” spontaneous, more casual social intercourse and comportment. Formality, in contrast, designates “tighter,” more deliberate, impersonal modes of conduct, as well as settings that occasion such conduct. This article outlines a number of specific behavioral and contextual codes of formality and informality and further explores how these categories of social activity may be related to organizational effectiveness. Specifically, the article explores how behavioral informality may be instrumental in the social construction of innovative, organic work organizations and how formality is implicated in the social construction of bureaucratic, impersonal work organizations.

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