The word organization has been used and understood widely in our daily lives.

It has been
defined in a number of ways by psychologists, sociologists, management theorists as well as
practitioners. A definition of organisation suggested by Chester Bernard, a well-known
management practitioner nearly sixty years ago still remains popular among organizations
and management theorists. According to him an organization is, a system of conscious
coordinated activities or efforts of two or more persons. Another writer Cornel Popa defined
an organization as a relatively stable number of agents that have a unique goal, a decision
making department, execution departments, as well as a certain labour division, cooperation
relations between agents, a formal structure and a norm system that is meant to increase the
efficiency of their social actions. When these two definitions are critically analysed, a formal
organization can simply be a cooperative system in which people gather together and
formerly agree to combine their efforts for a common purpose (Bernard, 1938; Robbins,
1991).
Having understood and found that formal organizations are cooperative system in which
people gather together and formerly agree to combine their efforts for a common purpose,
how do schools being formal organizations involve the social aspect? Bedeian and Zamnuto
more recently have defined organizations as social entities that are goal directed,
deliberately structured activity systems with a permeable boundary. Gary Johns also defined
organizations as social inventions for accomplishing goals through group efforts. These
definitions though simple cover a wide variety of groups such as businesses, schools,
hospitals, fraternal groups, religious bodies, government agencies and a like. We will use
these two definitions to critically analyse and examine ways in which one can tell whether the
school is a formal social organization (Bedeian and Zamnuto, 1991; Johns, 1988).
To start with a school is a formal organization and has a social aspect. The word social, as a
derivative of society, basically means gathering of people as against plants, machines and
buildings. Therefore there is no organization without people. Schools are made up of people
from different walks of life. Students and pupils travel long distances from various towns and
village going to various schools. Teachers also are sent across the country to various districts
and chiefdoms just to go and teach. For this reason a school is a formal social organization
because it is made up of people. Without pupils and teachers there would be no schools.

The teachers and pupils are formally governed by rules and regulations set by the government
through the Ministry of Education. Due to these rules and regulations, pupils and teachers are
bound to work together in unity. When a group of people in a formal set up in our societies
work together to achieve an object, they form a formal social organization. The objective of
the school is to teach. This is achieved by parents taken their children to schools so that they
can interact with teachers and end up with knowledge. Teachers impart knowledge and ideas
to students and pupils until they complete a formally designed curriculum. Those who
complete the curriculum graduate and go into society. For this reason, schools are formal
social organizations involved in education society on several aspects of life so as to enable
people live harmoniously together.
Schools are managed by both teachers and parents. The teachers and parents form what is
commonly known as Parent Teachers Association (PTA). The PTA helps teachers and parents
set up rules and conditions on how the school should be run. There are general meetings held
every year where teachers and parents determine how much fees and others amenities
required in order to efficiently run the school. This gathering makes school management be
undertaken by both parents in society and teachers in school. The teachers are simply
implementers of what is agreed in PTA General Meetings. This interaction between parents
and teachers widens the scope of the school in society. Therefore, without parents
involvement schools would not have been running efficiently. This makes schools social
formal organizations.
Furthermore, these schools are managed by the government which provides money to
teachers so as to enable them run the schools. Because they are set up by government, they
become formal organisations. The aim of the government in setting up schools across the
country is to uplift the societies in the country. These schools are owned by the government
which is owned by the people. Therefore, it is prudent to say that schools are premises for
everyone within the country just as the government that creates the schools is owned by the
people. We call such premises as public premises as they are owned by all. Running schools
requires the involvement of everyone in society. In villages we see headmen and chiefs fully
participate in the formation and running of schools. They do this because the existence of the
school benefits the entire society.

Schools also perform a lot of activities in societies they belong to. Pupils and students are
involved in various activities such sports. These sports attract a lot of people in various
locations. The people in society go to schools and watch the students and pupils perform their
numerous activities which acts as social entertainment and stress relief to the grieved in
society. These sports also enable the pupils and students interact with society at various levels
as they are being carried out. For instance, recently there was a chess tournament which saw a
number of pupils from various schools in both Kazungula and Livingstone districts compete
in that tournament. Parents and other members of various communities went there to watch
how the pupils were playing in the tournament. This social activity enabled some chess
organizations find pupils to sponsor in future tournaments.
Schools also act as a source for intellectual people in society. Mostly when teachers retire,
they end up living in the societies in which they have been teaching. With their knowledge of
teaching, teachers continuously remain respected and sources of knowledge in society. They
are recognised as civilised people who always help in the formation of certain groups such as
cooperatives which help bring certain services that are missing in society. As such, schools
will remain important to society as they enable society receive free knowledge from the
teachers.
In addition to that, we find schools interacting with surrounding communities in many ways.
For instance, many churches that are being formed lack church buildings. The members of
these churches go to schools in order to seek for space for worship. Teachers usually convene
a meeting as a formal organization so as to tell the church members the dos and donts of
their members when in the school premises. This interaction of schools and the surrounding
community makes the schools party of the community they are found. For this reason the
school befits being called a formal social organisation.
Schools also provide employment to society. Apart from employing teachers, schools employ
typists and other general working staff from the society in which they belong. These
employees share ideas with teachers and pupils in a number of ways. They also interact on a
daily basis as they happen to be in the same environment. This makes a school a social
organisation as it is open to work with everyone who happens to be living within the
proximity of the school.

In conclusion, schools are formal social organisations that are owned by the general public.
Pupils and students converge in a school for a sole purpose of acquiring knowledge. This type
of conversion makes schools to be social gatherings. Therefore without people there would
have been no schools. Schools provide interaction between society and learners which helps
them to understand the kind of society in which they will leave after school. Teachers and
parents are all involved in the running of the schools as they are both stakeholders in the
school. All in all, schools are social inventions for accomplishing goals through group efforts.

References
Bedeian, A. & Zamnuto, R., 1991. Organization: Theory and Design. s.l.:Dryden Press.
Bernard, I. C., 1938. The functions of the Exective. United States: Harvard University Press.
Johns, G., 1988. Organisation Behaviour: Understanding Life at Work. s.l.:Scott Foresman
and Company.
Robbins, S. P., 1991. Management. s.l.:Prentice Hall.