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formal organization

Definition of Formal Organization

(noun) An impersonal organization that is typically large and highly structured, formed to achieve explicit tong-term objectives and designed to maximize efficiency.

Example of Formal Organization

  • British Petroleum
  • Disney
  • McDonald’s
  • Peace Corps

Types of Formal Organization

Formal Organization Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: for·mal or·gan·i·za·tion

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /fOR-muhl orguh-nuh-zAY-shuhn/
  • British English – /fAWm-uhl awguh-nie-zAY-shuhn/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈfɔrməl ˌɔrgənəˈzeɪʃən/
  • British English – /ˈfɔːməl ˌɔːgənaɪˈzeɪʃən/

Usage Note

Related Video

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Formal Organization

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “formal organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 9, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/formal-organization/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

formal organization. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/formal-organization/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “formal organization.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 9, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/formal-organization/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“formal organization.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 9 Nov. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/formal-organization/>.