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Power in organizations. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat Institute of Administrative Studies University of Wrocław. Power in organizations. Organizations can be defined as systems of power : an interconnected series of order-givers and order-followers
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Power in organizations dr. hab. Jerzy SupernatInstitute of Administrative StudiesUniversity of Wrocław
Power in organizations • Organizations • can be defined as systems of power: • an interconnected series of order-givers and order-followers • tools by which those people with power can use other people to achieve particular goals
Power in organizations • It is important to note that: • individuals who are not formally designated as order-giversin an organization may also wield power, that is, be able to get others to carry out their wishes • individuals who are not official members of the organization may influence others in the organization to do as they wish • From this point of view wecan think of power in and around organizations.
Power in organizations Relational character of power Power has to do with relationships between two or more actors in which the behavior of one is affected by the behavior of the other. Robert A. Dahl: A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something B would not otherwise do. This simple definition captures the essence of the power con-cept. It implies an important point that is often neglected: the power variable is a relational one. A manager, a group or a de-partment cannot have power in isolation; rather, the concept describes a relationship between a given individual or organiza-tional unit and another specified person or collectivity. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations Types of power: authority Richard H. Hall,Pamela S. Tolbert: Authority is a type of power that is based on the acceptance by others of a given individual’s legitimate right to issue orders or directives. Thus, orders are followed because it is believed that they ought to be followed; recipients are expected to „suspend judgment” and comply voluntarily. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations Max Weber: Authority (rational-legal, traditional, and charismatic) is the probability that certain specific commands (or all commands) from a given source will be voluntarily obeyed by a given group of persons. Rational-legal authority rests on a belief in the legality of patterns of nor-mative rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands. Traditional authority rests on an established belief in the sanctity of imme-morial traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority under them. Charismatic authority rests on devotion to the specific and exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person and of nor-mative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations • Sanford M. Dornbusch andW. Richard Scott distinguished: • endorsed power:subordinates accept and comply with the orders given by their superiors (bottom-up view of authority) • authorized power:an individual’s orders are supported and enforced by higher-level members of an organization, and ulti-mately, by the larger society (top-down view of authority) • The above distinction addresses an old debate over the locus of authority in organizations.By distinguishing between endorsed and authorized power they recognized that authority has both bottom-up and top-down aspects. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Sanford M. Dornbusch W. Richard Scott
Power in organizations • Other types of power • Although authority is an important type of power in organiza-tions, it is not the only type. Other types of power relation-ships entail dependency: one party’s need or desire for some-thing that another party can provide. • The things that actors may possess or control that can be sour-ces of power are usually referred to as resources. Basic resour-ces that may provide organizational members with power above and beyond the formal authority they hold are • persons • information • instrumentalities (physical or tangible resources, such as ma-chinery, office supplies, and money) • nontangible, social factors (such as status and friendship) dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power and Power Outcomes • Access to power resources can be affected by: • the official / formal organizational position an individual holds • network relations; links to others provide access to information and power • personal characteristics (e.g. social attractiveness or intelligence)
Power in organizations • Shifts in power • There is not • a fixed amount of power in the organization • for all the time; • the amount of power • can expand (or contract) due to: • delegation • empowerment • employeeship
Power in organizations Delegation Delegation is the downward transfer of authority from su-perior to subordinate (or subordinates). The subordinate is empowered to act for the superior, while the superior remains accountable for the outcome. Delegation of au-thority is a person-to-person relationship requiring trust, commitment, and contracting between the superior and the subordinate. dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations Good News Bible, Exodus; 18, 13-23: The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, „What is all this that you are doing for the peo-ple? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morn-ing till night to consult you?”. Moses answered, „I must do this because the people come to me to learn God’s will. When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God’s commands and laws”. Then Jethro said, „You are not doing it the right way. You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. Now let me give you some good advice […] you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hun-dreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they them-selves can decide all the smaller disputes. This will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled”. dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations • Benefits of delegating: • leaves delegator (superior) free to concentrate on more important strategic issues • increases job satisfaction for delegator and subordinate • helps subordinate to develop new skills • helps subordinate to grow in confidence • provides an opportunity to assess subordinates’ potential • fosters teamwork • helps create a more motivated workforce • enhances morale • improves communication through feedback • creates fresh insights into work issues • helps create a climate for achievement • ultimately speeds up results • reduces costs (subordinate’s time is less expensive than delegator’s time) • increaseschances of promotion for delegator • ensures smooth succession when delegator is promoted dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Power in organizations • Power outcomes • compliance and involvement - alienative involvement (associated with the use of coercion) - calculative involvement (associated with the use of remunerative rewards) - moral involvement (associated with the use of symbolic rewards) • persuasion • withdrawal - complete departure from the organization - psychological disengagement (making only the barest efforts required to remain in the organization) • conflict (the resistance to power) The recipient of exercised power
Power in organizations Conflict Conflictarises whenever individuals orgroups (organizational units) perceive differences in their preferences involving decision outcomes, and they use power to try to promote their own preferences over others.
Power in organizations There is a strong tendency to view conflicts as necessarily harmful, or bad for organizations. However, research indicates that conflict can serve positive functions in organizations.
Power in organizations • Components of conflict situations: • parties involved • field of conflict • dynamics of the conflict situation • management of conflict
Methods of dealing • with conflict • as seen by • Mary Parker Follett • (1868-1933) • domination • compromise • integration
Power in organizations • Aftermath • The resolution of a conflict • leads to a stage that is known • as the aftermath. This is a useful concept because conflict resolution does not lead to a condition of total settlement: • if the basic issues are not resolved, the potential for future, and perhaps more serious, conflicts is part of the aftermath • if the conflict resolution leads • to more open communication • and cooperation among • the participants, that, too, • is part of aftermath
Concluding Remark We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace. William E. Gladstone, 1809-1898 dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
