expected. Therefore, power that is accepted and expected becomes. Authority. â« A preference (be it willing or unwilling) to such procedures of power strengthen ...
Understanding the role of Power in Decision Making Jeffrey Pfeffer
Annastiina Aamurusko Márk Szász Ricardo Duque
The Concept of Power Most definitions include an element stating that Power is the ”Capability of one social actor to overcome resistance in achieving a desired objective”. Power becomes defined as force; a force exerted from one Actor unto Another. The enforcement changes the behavior.
The Concept of Authority Legitimacy is defined and is accepted as a series of activities that are accepted and expected. Therefore, power that is accepted and expected becomes Authority. A preference (be it willing or unwilling) to such procedures of power strengthen the concept of authority.
...Organizational Politics They become defined as activities through which power is used to obtain a certain catalogue of desired results. Usually, in a setting in which politics are used or seen, dissensus is widespread. Power is then the property of the system at rest, politics is the system seen in its most dynamic setting. Influence is the key to organizational politics.
The place of power in organisation theory literature Why are power and politics neglected in the literature of organisation theory? Reason #1. the issues associated with the definition and measurement of these concepts previously. Reason #2. the issues of competing perspectives for analyzing organisational choice processes.
Power in organisation theory literature Looking up the subject index of the major textbooks now current in the field, the subject of power is either not mentioned at all, or if it is, only just an inconsiderable number of pages are devoted to it. Management writing serves a variety of functions which all have a strong component of ideology and values. Topics such as power and politics are basically incompatible with values and ideology being developed.
Power in organisation theory literature To ask what functions are served by management writing, we can begin by asking: Who reads management books? 1. students 2. practicing
managers 3. the general public
What books or writings are needed in each case? 1. In the case of STUDENTS, one of the important functions of business education is socialization = the inculcation of norms and values The norm of rationality is the most important in the existing management practice and ideology! Rationality and rational choice models focus on the development of technologies to more effectively achieve a goal, such as profit or efficiency.
A moral-political problem Choosing among the descriptive theories is a political act in the sense that each theory takes for granted certain assumptions about the world and how it operates, thereby accepts implicit values by a widely varying set of participants. Problem! Some actors may benefit from the application of the values and some may lose.
Bureaucracy acceptable? We are expected to operate in multinational, thus well bureaucratized companies where less ownership and control is distributed. That’s why the socialization of managers must facilitate the manager’s integration into large, formalized bureaucracies, in other words, the acceptance of a legitimate authority (implemented through a hierarchical structure) is of vital importance. Such authority will be more readily accepted to the extent that it is perceived to be legitimate.
Conclusion Given the social values stressing universalism and rationality, any organisation which operates according to these values will appear to be more legitimate.
2. In the case of practicing managers as well as for the students, the ideology of rationality and efficiency provides and explanation for career progress: the theory, that bureaucratic rationality and efficiency consideration drive out power and politics, reassures those in or entering the corporate world, that their success in rising through the ranks will be more a function of the marginal product than of their ability to diagnose power distributions and play politics.
Conclusion In this way, the ideology of efficiency and rationality provides comforting explanations for practicing managers who find their careers blocked. „The invisible hands of marginal productivity and human capital have put them where they deserve to be.”
3. In the case of the general public a legitimation of these formal organisations should be found. The most appropriate would be the idea that these bureaucracies are tremendous stores of resources and energy and that they are huge concentrations of power. The legitimation and justification of this is clearly facilitated by theories arguing that efficiency, productivity and effectiveness are dominant dynamics underlying the operation of organizations.
The Four existing models of Organizational Decision Making Mostly, these models differ from each other in the way these procedure indicators are handled: Goals and Preferences Power and Control Decision Process Rules and Norms Beliefs And others of relevance importance..
Rational Model „Behavior Reflects purpose of intention” Power is centralized and the decision process is orderly and procedural. Rules are based on optimization of all sorts of resources, the information is often widespread and extensive. Decisions are taken focusing on valuemaximizing choices. Ideology is efficiency
Bureaucratic Model This Model has an extremely bounded relliance on Rules The Goals are purposeful and power is less centralized, yet dependent on the system. Rules are based on precedence and tradition. Information is blocked away often because of lack of compatibility with the Rules. The ideology is Stability
D. Process – Organized Anarchy Here the Goals are unclear or non-existant. Goals rise as a rationalization of the decision process. Power is decentralized and anarchic. Rules, Norms and Information levels vary from each episode or for each situation. Decisions are not linked with a framework, they are the result of random interactions. The ideology is Playfulness and Randomness
Political Power Model The mainstream difference is the disorder of the decision process and the freedom of flow of Rules and Norms. Power constantly shifts between parties. Information handled with subjectivity and kept astray. Decisions are usually the results of bargaining in behalf of a Party. The ideology is Struggle and Conflict.
