The Basic Building Blocks of Organizational Structure

Informal linkages refer to unofficial relationships such as personal friendships, rivalries, and politics. In the long-running comedy series The Simpsons, Homer Simpson is a low-level - and very low-performing - employee at a nuclear power plant. In one episode, Homer gains power and influence with the plant's owner, Montgomery Burns, which far exceeds Homer's meager position in the organization chart, because Mr. Burns desperately wants to be a member of the bowling team that Homer captains. Homer tries to use his newfound influence for his own personal gain and naturally the organization as a whole suffers. Informal linkages such as this one do not appear in organizational charts, but they nevertheless can have (and often do have) a significant influence on how firms operate.