| Chester Barnard (1938) clearly defined the difference between formal and informal structures within an organization. In the decades since, informal networks and their relationship with formal networks have been primarily portrayed as antagonistic. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to explore the emergence of knowledge flow between the collective learning systems of formal and informal networks. Using qualitative research methods, the phenomenological approach included interviewing, document analysis, and observation to study the lived experiences of 10 members of a small nonprofit organization who went through a recent change in executive leadership. The research questions explored in this study examined the role of these networks in their interaction with the learning media interchanges (new information, goal reference knowledge, and sensemaking) contained within the Schwandt (1995) model.; The study found that for this nonprofit organization, formal and informal networks interact in eight primary types of exchanges. These exchanges include: gossip, task orientation, conflict, trust, advice, influence, personal information, and support. Social network maps displaying the interaction of each of the exchanges were also developed. This study also found that the learning media interchanges related to collective learning (new information, goal reference knowledge, and sensemaking) interact in a variety of ways in relation to the eight types of exchange, through structure and substance interactions. Through an evaluation of these interactions, it was found that the most complex interactions within an organization's collective learning system occur within the informal structure and formal substance interaction, where informal structures discuss the formal actions of the organization.; Additionally, it was found that the formal and informal networks of an organization maintain a tumultuous yet symbiotic relationship within the collective learning process. The findings suggest that while the formal organization maintains a focus on task oriented knowledge to maintain system cohesion, and on control in order to maximize goal attainment; the informal organization was found to serve as a pressure valve for the formal organization, dealing with conflict without disrupting the functioning of the formal organization. |
