Question

Read the Fast Cars case on p. W-111 (Chapter 8 > OB Skills Workbook > Cases for Critical Thinking > Teams Drive the Fast Cars) and the following question:

What types of formal and informal groups would you expect to find in a racing team? What roles could each play in helping the team toward a winning season?

Answer 1

What types of formal and informal groups would you expect to find in a racing team? What roles could each play in helping the team toward a winning season?

For winning a car race a collective effort of efficient teamwork is needed. There are two types of groups that are present in an organization as well as in racing track. Formal groups are a type of group that is doing their work in a specifically designed way ie. they have fixed objectives, that are to be achieved and the role of the group members is also fixed. This type of group works for the achievement of some fixed objectives. Whereas informal groups are created by the people themselves and the people in the team somehow try to assign or divide the roles gaming themselves as to who can do that part ina better way. These teams do not have some fixed way of doing or responsibilities assigned to complete a target.

In-car racing, a driver is the main person, who drives and wins the race but it is a team job. The efficiency of the team crew members is very important for winning a race. There are several functions performed by the team crew members. The formal type of the group consists of members who are responsible for refueling, changing the tires, fixing any mechanical defects e.t.c. in a very fast manner. These members are working together as their roles are predefined and they are working towards the achievement of their goal (winning the race) with full cooperation and efficiency. The more they are disciplined and are having collaborative teamwork, there are more chances for them to win season.

In-car racing informal groups are formed by gathering the best members from different formal groups and making them, work together for achieving the ultimate goal of winning the race. Due to the team member's expertise as a formal team, they are more efficient than the members of the formal team and their chances of winning are more than that of the members of the formal team. They don't act according to a fixed role but they are trying to set up cooperation amongst themselves and use their expertise and efficiency towards winning season.

As winning season requires a good driver as well as a good and efficient team's collaborative effort, both formal and informal group have an equal role in winning the race, one as a systematic way and the other is not so systematic but in a specialized way.