One popular approach to group incentive plans is gainsharing which is a program that shares the gains of the efforts of group members with those group members. Since the essence of TQM is process improvement, employee participation is critical. Another application to TQM is quality circles, which are work groups that meet regularly to discuss, investigate, and correct quality problems. Joining a group can help increase an individual's sense of power since often what cannot be achieved individually becomes possible through group action. Also, informal groups provide additional opportunities for individuals to exercise power over others.
Informal groups are of a social nature and tend to form around friendships and common interests.
Yes, informal groups could be detrimental to an organization if employees spent more time and effort on informal group activities than they did working at their job. Some common classes of organizational norms include those that focus on effort and performance, dress, and loyalty. Norms can help an organization by providing clues as to behavioral expectations. They could hurt an organization if the norms are contradictory to what the organization's goals and expectations are. The results of Asch's conformity studies suggest that there are group norms that force group members toward conformity.