Lecture7.PowerandPoliticsOrganizationalTheory

7/28/2019 Lecture7.PowerandPoliticsOrganizationalTheory

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Power and PoliticsOrganization TheoryDr Alf Crossman Adv

ancedOrganzationTheory

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Key Areas of Focus

Adv


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Democracy and the Iron Law of Oligarchy

Robert Michels

Power in organizations

John French and Bertram Raven

James March Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Henry Mintzberg

Don Hellriegel and John Slocum

Power as property

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Power and personality

Niccolo Machiaveli

David Maclelland

Julian Rotter
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Session Objectives

To understand the concept of power

To distinguish between power and authority

To understand the bases of social power

To recognize the property concept of power

To understand the nexus between power and personality

Adv


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Evolution of

Organization Theory

AdvancedOrganizationTheory

4

Source: Doherty, J. P., Surles, R. C. and Donovan, C. M. (2001) Organization Theory, in Talbott, J.

A. and Hales, R. E. (Eds)A Textbook of Administrative Psychiatry, Washington, DC, AmericanPsychiatric Publishing Inc, 40

EMPLOYEE

ENVIRONMENT

PRODUCT NEOCLASSICAL

CLASSICAL

CONTEMPORARY
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The Iron Law of

Oligarchy

Adv


5

Robert

Michels

According to Michels thesis:

Bureaucracy happens. If bureaucracy happens,

power rises. Power corrupts [1].

An organization has to create a bureaucracy in

order to maintain its efficiency as it becomes larger. Many decisions have to be made daily that cannot

be made by large numbers of disorganized people.

For the organization to function effectively,

centralization has to occur and power will end up in

the hands of a few. Those fewthe oligarchywill use all means

necessary to preserve and further increase their

power.

Who says

organization,

says

oligarchy.

[1] Source: Leach, D.K. (2005) The Iron Law of What Again? Conceptualizing

Oligarchy Across Organizational Forms, Sociological Theory, 23 (3), pp. 312-337.
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The Iron Law of

Oligarchy

Adv


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RobertMichels

Democracy will fail for four reasons

Concentration of power at the top

Incompetence of the masses

Divergence of interests

Socialism an administrative problem
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Power versus Authority

Source: Buckley, W. (1967) Sociology and Modern Systems Theory, Englewood

Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

Authority System

Group

Consensus

Authority

Structure

Group

Compliance

Power

Structure

Differential

Goal Pursuit

Group

Goal Pursuit

Power System

Adv


7
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Theories of Authority

Adv


8Formal Theory of Authority Acceptance Theory of Authority
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Principles

Power, Authority and

Organizational Politics

AdvancedOrganzationTheory

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PowerAmbiguous and ubiquitous; relative, not absolute.

A person is only powerful in relation to others.

AuthorityWhen the distribution of power in a social setting

is accepted or legitimised by the other actors.

PoliticsAction taken to overcome resistance to ones

preferred outcomes. A conscious effort to muster

and use force to overcome opposition.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

Source: Pfeffer, J. (1981) Power in Organizations, Marshfield, MA, Pitman.
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Decision Making Models

Power and Decision

Making


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Rational Choice ModelGoals/objectives; rational choice; assessment of outcomes; decision.

Bureaucratic ModelRules-based, following previously adapted and effective processes.

Decision Process ModelSimilar to bureaucratic model; presumption that policy is an outcome of

choice. Processes precede choice. Power not significant in choices.

Source: Pfeffer, J. (1981) Power in Organizations, Marshfield, MA, Pitman.

Political ModelPluralistic and democratic. Bargaining/compromise to overcome inter-group

conflict. More powerful groups get the better deal.
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The Power of Power


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James March

Models of Social Choice and the Concept of

Power

2. Basic force models: choice being a direct result of

power exerted in the system

1. Chance models: choice is a chance event an

independent of power

3. Force activation models: not all power of every

component in the system is exerted at all times

4. Force-conditioning models: power of the components

is modified as a result of previous outcomes/choices

5. Force depletion models: power of components ismodified as a result of exertion of power in past choices

6. Process models: choice is substantially independent

of power but not a chance event

Source: March, J. G. (1966) The power of power, in Easton, D. (ed) Varieties of PoliticalTheory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.
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The Three Temptations

of Power


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1. The Obviousness of Power:The tendency to reify power, to grant it

reality status on the basis of our own

social conditioning to accept that power

exists.

2. The Importance of Measurement:The first corollary of the obviousness of

power is the tendency to look at how we

measure power, rather than why should

power be measured at all.

3. The Residual Variance:The second corollary is the tendency to

give any unexplained variance in

behaviour a nameGods will, power,

personality, extrasensory perception.

Source: March, J. G. (1966) The power of power, in Easton, D. (ed) Varieties of PoliticalTheory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall.

The extent to which we have used

the concept of power fruitlessly is

symptomatic of three unfortunate

temptations.
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Power Lines


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Lines of Supply Outward influence over environmental issues

Ability to obtain resources

Lines of Information

To be in the know, formally and informally

Lines of Support Formal: freedom to act without multi-layered

approval Informal: tacit support of other figures in the

organization

Three lines of power

Rosabeth

Moss Kanter

Source: Kanter, R. M. (1979) Power failure in management circuits, Harvard

business Review, Jul-Aug).
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Power Failure


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Source: Kanter, R. M. (1979) Power failure in management circuits, Harvard business

Review, Jul-Aug).

Position Symptoms Sources

First-line

supervisors

Close supervision.

Do it oneself, blocking

subordinates development and

information.

Resistant subordinates.

Routine, rules-minded.

Limited lines of information.

Limited advancement prospects.

Staff

professionals

Turf protection, information

control

Conservatism, resistance to

change.

Routine task seen as peripheral to

real tasks

Retreat into professionalism.

Easy replacement by external

experts.

Top

executives

Short-term focus.

Top-down communications.

Nepotism; retreat to the

comfort of like-minded

colleagues/lieutenants.

Uncontrollable lines of supply.

Limited/blocked lines of

communication.

Diminished lines of support
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The Game of Power

AdvancedOrganzationTheor

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Exit, Voice and Loyalty

Individual choiceExit

Give up and leave the organization Pick up by ball and go

Voice

Stay and try to change the system

Rather fight than switch

Loyalty: Stay and contribute to the system

Dont rock the boat

Source: Mintzberg, H. (1983) Power in and Around Organizations, Englewood Cliffs,

NJ, Prentice-Hall.

Albert

Hirschmann
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General bases of power

PrerequisitesPrime bases of power

The Game of Power


y

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NJ, Prentice-Hall.

1. Resource

2. Technical skill

3. Body of knowledge

Must be essential

Must be concentrated

Must be non-

substitutable

4. Formal power

5. Reciprocity

Organization power

comprises reciprocal and

dependency relations
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The Game of Power and

Politics: Coalitions


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External Coalitions

1. Owners

2. Associates

3. Employee associations

4. Public

Internal Coalitions

6. Top/General management

7. Operators

8. Line managers

9. Technostructure analysts

10. Support staff

11. Organization ideology

5.Directors


NJ, Prentice-Hall.
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Bases of Social Power

French, J. R. P. and Raven, B. H. (1959) The bases of social power, in Cartwright,

D. (ed) Studies in Social Power, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Institute for Social Research,

University of Michigan Press, 150-167.


y

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TYPE/SOURCE BASIS/EXAMPLE

Reward power - Perception

Ability to reward Piece-work rate

Coercive power - Perception

Ability to punish DismissalLegitimate power - Perception

Cultural values Military

Referent power - Identification

Feelings of oneness Hippies/gangs

Expert power - Perception

Expertise/knowledge Lawyers
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Typology of Power and

Influence

Normative

Influence

Informational

Influence

Legitimate Power

Reward Power

Coercive Power

Informational

Power

Referent Power

Expert Power

Source: DeZoort, F. T. and Lord, A. T. (1994) An investigation of pressure effects on

auditorsjudgements,Behavioural Research in Accounting (6) Supplement, 1-30.


y

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Knowledge is Power


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Nam et ipsa

scientia potestas

est
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Power as organisational

property

Dependency Creation

Financial Resources

Centrality of Activities

Non-substitutability

Uncertainty reduction

Organisational Power

Source: Buchanan, D. A. and Huczynski, A. J. (2010) Organizational Behaviour,

Harlow, Pearson Education, p.699.


y

21
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Power Enhancement

and Challenge

Organisation power

Structure

Policies and rules

Recruitment and training

Rewards and punishments

Budgets

Machinery and technology

Challenge to power

Individual

Exit

Sabotage

Malicious compliance

Collective

Voice

Collective bargaining

Industrial actionSource: Hellriegel, D. and Slocum, J. W.

(1978 Management: Contingency

Approaches, Reading, MA, Addison-

Wesley.
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Power and Personality

Ad

vancedOrganzationTheor

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People culturally acquire three

types of need

In any individual the strength ofthese needs vary.

Need for power nPow

Need for affiliation nAff

Need for achievement nAch

Source: McClelland, D. (1961) The Achieving

Society, Princeton, NJ, Van Nostrand Rheingold.

Locus of control

Internals: controlled by

self, political in nature,

less influenced by

others.

Externals: believe their

lives and fate is

controlled by others,

less political

Source: Rotter, J. (1966) Generalized

expectations for internal versus

external control of reinforcement,

Psychological Monographs, 80 (609),

1-28.
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Power and Personality

Ad


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The Prince is a lesson in statecraft; it offers

advice on how a ruler should best preserve

his power, conduct warfare and maintain his

reputation.

Machiavellian characteristics

Preferred to be feared rather than liked

Manipulation of others

Use of deceit in relationships

Engage in unethical behaviour

Believe that any end justifies the means

Niccolo

Machiavelli

Source: Machiavelli, N. (2004) The Prince, London, Collectors Library.
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Ad


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