Interpersonal relationships within staff

The relationships play a very important role in our lives. Being a part of society we interact with hundreds of people every day. Taking into account the fact that we spend much time at work, the interpersonal relationship is of great importance.

Organization is such kind of social group, where there is functional division of labor. This division is aimed to achieve goals. The effective achievement of the organization's goals sometimes fully depends on collective unity. And surely, the head of organization is interested in friendly staff not only at work, but also at informal circumstances.

It is the common-known fact that each organization has its own informal groups and such group always has its leader. The new-formed group communicates not only at informal circumstances but at formal ones too. And then the working space becomes an area of new group's rules and norms. A lot of candidates, who start working at a new place suffer from problems with communication. Rarely, the group consisting of close to each other people, allows a new and unknown person to become part of their group.

The adaption procedures are aimed to make the process of joining the group for a new person easier. Adaption is the process of fitting in the internal and external work of collectivity.

We can point out the following stages of adaption of a new person in the new organization:

• 1.    Habituation, i.e. getting the information about a new situation, criterion of evaluating the activity, moral rules;

• 2.    Fitting in, i.e. gaining knowledge about the essential values of organization and saving the most of personal beliefs at the same time;

• 3.    Assimilation, i.e. the full adaption to group by an employee;

• 4.    Identification, i. e. the equalizing of employee's and organization's values.

The following types are distinguished according to identification: indifferent, partially identified and fully identified workers. The last ones make up the core of organization. More often the personality realizes the process of adaption distinctly and tries to finish it as soon as possible and to determine its new social status as well. It also depends on how quickly the employee learns the social roles in the collectivity, follows its norms and rules, realizes the professional goals and motivation.

Interpersonal relationships in working collectivity. The structure of every collectivity can be of 2 main types: primary and secondary ones. If we take this structure for example in one organization, the primary structure is composed by the group of all workers in company.

The secondary group has quite narrow understanding. This group may be represented by colleagues who work in one department and who works on one aim as well. The interpersonal relationships in the secondary collectivity are of general nature. The communication between the members of this group usually takes place on business, emotional levels. Close contact and interaction between people are not obligatory factors for the primary group. The secondary collectivity consists of smaller groups, where people are connected closer to each other. That's why the analysis of interpersonal relationships in the collectivity should be done on the basis of such secondary groups.

The working collectivity contains the whole system of relationships. The main aim of these relationships is to reach the goals of organization.

Besides the formal groups, the informal groups are always the part of collectivity too. The informal group emerges only during the process of interactions between colleagues and it doesn't obey the administrational body of organization. Also the informal group is based on mutual affection and antipathy between colleagues, and there always leaders and outsiders in such group. Because of the fact that some members can depress the other members of groups, conflicts become the inevitable fact.

The problems of interpersonal relationships in collectivity. Conflicts in the collectivities start with the disagreements between the members of the formal group. This fact is inevitable and sometimes it may have the positive influence. For example, if there is a person who likes arguing in collectivity, then some members of organization do not argue with him, they just watch how things go. Such line of behavior lets learn much about your colleagues and their point of view on different things. Such disagreements can make the collectivity reunite. Conflict as the social phenomenon can be of 4 types:

• 1.    Personal type , the most frequent case of this conflict, is when person is given quite reversible requirements concerning his work.

• 2.    Interpersonal type is the common known type of conflict. The example may be struggling for using this or that equipment or when naming the candidates on definite title in company.

• 3.    Conflict between personality and group . It touches the informal groups mainly and the existing norms of behavior there. You must follow these norms and rules if you want to be accepted by group. Every opinion which does not follow the opinion of group may cause this type of conflict.

• 4.    Conflict between the groups . First, it touches the conflicts between formal and informal groups of the collectivity. It may be seen in struggling between departments for some financial and labor conveniences.

There are different ways of solving the interpersonal relationships problems in collectivity. Let's study the most effective ones.

• 1)    avoidance means the ability to avoid the conflict and prevent its growing;

• 2)    accommodation is followed by belief that conflict does not lead to something good, it will only produce the negative impact on the members of collectivity;

• 3)    coercion means an attempt to force people accept only one point of view, which is considered to be the only right. This method is used by the heads of organizations, as a rule;

• 4)    compromise is acceptance of opinions of both sides in balanced manner, when both opinions are taken into account during the conflict;

• 5)    solving the problems means the readiness of collectivity to consider all opinions, realize the conflict's main reason and solve it, coming to one opinion.

Interpersonal relationships and cohesion of the collectivity. Researching in the sphere of interpersonal relationships in collectivity led the sociologists and the founders of management to conclusion that relationships between the colleagues in organization can be of following types:

• 1)    formal relationships where all attempts of unprescribed behavior are forbidden, only working spirit is encouraged;

• 2)    informal relationships where we may see the spirit of unity more often. The members of the collectivity are usually friends in this case. Such groups have common traditions and holidays;

• 3)    lack of management. In this case the administration of organization does not care about the corporate spirit among employees.

As a result the labor capacity is low because of conflicts.

Studying the interpersonal relationships in collectivity should always be started with the defining of leading type of existing relationships between colleagues. But even if the collectivity turns out to be friendly and united, it doesn't mean that you have to make friends and tell something about yourself at once. Such information can be used against you in the future.

The best way to join the collectivity is to learn its corporate culture and try to follow it. Though you will face the difficulties in adaption to new colleagues anyway, you will just have to admit it.