More than Just the Smartest Guys in the Room: Intellectual Capital ...
Asch's experiment. Smartest Guys in the Room -- Groupthink.
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Transcript of Asch's experiment. Smartest Guys in the Room -- Groupthink.
Asch's experiment
Smartest Guys in the Room -- Groupthink
Bureaucracy --- Necessary Evil
Organizations (collectives purposely constructed) that are formal
Ronald “Mc…who”?
Formal Organizations Make up
Social structure
Normative (service, charitable organizations)
Coercive (prisons) Utilitarian (corporations)
Offices, Vertical official functions Authoritarian Structure: a hierarchy of unequal positions Specialized division of labor Everything in writing Structure based on legal-rational
authority
Functions like McDonaldization the
intent is to meet specific goals with the most efficiency, predictability, control through technology, quantity over qauality, calculation
Bureaucracies perpetuate differences in “Life Chances”
"HAMBURGER-IZING THE WORLD"
Weber worried about the over rationalization of society “iron cage”
But he missed some things…
the dysfunctions that come with “Bounded rationality”
Not all organization members are rational.
Alienating (powerless)
Trained incapacity – blind adherence
Red tape Catch 22 Knowledge at the
lower ranks
“Whoa... I think the boss doesn’t like you!”
Leads to Whyte’s “Organization Man” – or bureaucratic personality
a person whose life is controlled by organization “cheerful robots”
Often they have an inability to think outside the box….
Can lead to “trained incapacity”
Bureaucracy dysfunctions….
Goal conflicts: (units conflict with
organizational goals or infighting occurs)
Goal Displacement: (lose sight of original
goals and sometimes those in power start to manipulate the organization “oligarchy”
Parkinson’s Law: work expands to
fill time
Peter Principle: promoted beyond
competence – some excel but many do less than their job description
Leave no trace – oral communication to keep secrets
“What do I need to do to have promotion written all over me”
Today’s Bureaucracies are more diverse that Weber considered but…..
Gendered Organizations persist….
Perpetuates inequalities “visible display” means
more pressure, more stress but does not equal authority
“Glass Ceiling” exists where advancement can be seen but not accessible. Justified by “unique” positions –
Glass escalator – men in traditionally female occupations
Women represent more than half of professional positions in the United States
•Women hold 18 percent of all Fortune 500 board seats and 17 percent of Fortune 100 companies
• Make up less than 4 percent Fortune 500 CEOs at only 18
“Double Pane glass ceiling” for women executives – especially in relation to global companies
Outsourcing – transfer of activities from one organization in exchange for money.
Offshore outsourcing - India, Phillapines call centers
1989 – U.S. spent between $9 – $12 Billion
2008 – U.S. spent $55 billion
Much military spending was outsourced – Blackwater (Xe) and Halliburton (KBR)
Gender and Race
Schwartz argues
“Mommy Tracks” encourage lowered aspirations and satisfaction with less
Leads to decreased advancement
Because men have not been allowed to have “Daddy Tracks”
Today in place but hard for men to access
Feagin argues entry does not equal integration for minorities
Best explained by social networks, lack of mentors
Class differences
Dual Labor Market
Middle and Upper classes more likely to work in industries with higher wages, more job security
Poor and Working classes more likely to work in industries with lower wages, less job security, fewer opportunities to advance
Bureaucracies have an informal side
Day to day interactions Work Cultures arise Subcultures develop when
people try to humanize an impersonal organization.
The informal culture can become exclusionary.
Hawthorne Effect e.g. “Chislers”, “Squealers”,
“Rate Busters”
Traditional views
Assume people are lazy
Informal networks should be controlled e.g., locking doors at chicken plant,
monitoring e-mails, videotaping stockrooms
Human relation views
If you assume traditional view, you’ll get resistance
Informal networks should be nurtured
Let workers determine organizational efficiency – this oils the wheels and provide intrinsic motivation