Power & Organizational Life

Chapter 13: 389-405 Organizational Behavior 261

Gabrielle Durepos

Reminders for Today

• Attendance

• Globe and Mail Assignment – Due on Mon Oct 3rd at the start of class

– Physical format

• Unavailability over the weekend:– I will be away from my email from Friday, Sept 30th at 12.00pm to

Monday Oct 3rd at 9.00AM

• Group Sign up is due today– Via Moodle

Outline

• Toward an understanding of power• Defining power:

– The one dimensional model and criticisms

– The two dimensional model and criticisms

– The three dimensional model and criticisms

• Perspectives of power:– Managerialist Perspective of Power

• Bounded rationality

• Strategic contingencies theory

• Resource dependency theory

• Conclusions• Academic (dis)honesty exercise

Towards an understanding of:

Power• Power

– The ability to influence behaviors to lead to desired outcomes– The ability to get others to do what you want – Can be an action, structural, attribute, position, institution, relation– Can be enacted through politics (the application of power)– Can be enacted through resistance

• Much debate over a definition of power

• Rational definition of power dominates organizational behavior literature– Illegitimate sources of power are seen in a negative light

• Different models of power– All highlight different aspects of power– Not one which is better suited

Defining Power:

The One Dimensional Model

• Definition:– Synonymous to “action” – I can change your actions– The ability to get others to do what you want– Overt form of power – we can see power enacted

• “I know she has power because she just told him to change and he did!”

• Understood as:– A “thing” – in concrete terms– Possessed by an actor (someone “has” power”)– Stemming from an identifiable source or base– Exercised through a particular means– Attaining or aimed at a particular end– Linear – A influences / changes behavior of B

• Power is visible in certain sites, when:– A desired end is achieved– Decisions are made– There is conflict - competing interests– Power is mobilized – through politics

Defining Power:

Criticisms of One Dimensional Model

• Focus only on overt forms

• Usefulness is limited due to its sole focus on specific situations, such as:– Where visible decisions are made – A course of action is taken

• BUT no distinction is made between important situations and unimportant situations

Defining Power:

The Two Dimensional Model• Definition:

– Synonymous to “action” OR “inaction”– Overt forms – I can change your actions (action)– Covert forms – I can make you not change your actions (inaction)– Sustained by individuals and also through the dominant beliefs, values and biases

within the organization

• Power is visible in certain site; in:– decision making, situations of conflict– non decision making situations

• Situations where conflict is avoided through silencing voices of those with competing interests• Where there is potential for conflict but status quo is maintained• Where the types of decisions made are limited

– Ex: a meeting where employees are expected to exercise voice but managers limit the meetings agenda; Ex: the Challenger disaster and engineers, 1986

- Questions we may ask to identify enacted power:- Are there dominant beliefs, biases and values in the organization?- Who gains and loses from these biases?- Do those who benefit from biases/assumptions influence

decision making?- Who participates in decision making

Defining Power: Criticisms of Two Dimensional Model

• Limited: power is synonymous to action / inaction– We assume power is exercised ONLY in cites where we view

action – either overt (explicit) or covert (implicit)– This may make more sense when we look at three dimensional

model

• Reduce power to conflict situations– We think an exercise of power is found only in cites where

conflict is seen

• Arising only in specific situations– The focus is on decision making

Defining Power:

The Three Dimensional Model 1/2

• Definition:– Alter your actions – overt – I make you change– Inaction – covert – I make you stay the same– Change the way you think – I manage your meaning making

– Management of meaning• Focus on relationships• Ability to create / shape one’s reality

– Power is maintained through Ideology:• Deep seated belief systems that guide a group of people• Refers to the process of creating systems of meaning

– Hegemonic work arrangements / nature of organizing • The ability of a dominant group to maintain influence by securing consent • The ability of dominating and influencing ideological consensus• Embedded within ideologies that maintain dominance; structures, cultures

Defining Power:

The Three Dimensional Model 2/2

• Site of power: direct attention to power as processes where groups– Come to accept certain situations as impossible to contest

– Normal or natural

• Conflict is:– Assumed

– Is not a necessary precondition for the enactment of power

• Questions we ask:– What sustains the status quo?

– What has prevented conflict from occurring in the first place?

– Whose notion of reality (way of seeing) is privileged/accepted by the masses?

– Who benefits from this collective acceptance of status quo?

Defining Power: Criticisms of Three Dimensional Model

• Very difficult to understand power as management of meaning– As insidious as opposed to a concrete “thing”

• Difficult to find situations where power is enacted?– Which situations to focus on?– How to define their importance?

Managerialist Perspective of Power 1/5

Conception:

• Visible through decision making

• Focus on the behavior of actors (behaviorism)

• A structural view of power:– Looks at organizational structures such as a hierarchy and defines power accordingly– Start with the assumption: organizational roles legitimate power

• ex: People in higher levels of the hierarchy have power

– But also argue: people in non legitimate power roles have developed power– Challenges the idea that power is only held in legitimate roles…

• Ask: How does non-legitimate power develop? What factors lead to lack of rational behavior in the organization?

• Control of resources

• Ability to create dependencies

Managerialist Perspective of Power 2/5

• There are three main contributions from this approach– Bounded rationality

– Strategic contingencies theory

– Resource dependency theory

• Focus mainly at looking at power at the site of:– Decision making

– This is overt

– One dimensional models of power

Managerialist Perspective of Power 3/5

• Bounded Rationality (Simon)

– Actors try and make “rational” decisions but are always “bounded” by constraints

– Constraints include:• Limited information• Unable to process all information• Uncertain how to maximize utility / conditions

– Actors do not optimize decision making outcomes, rather they “satisfice”

Managerialist Perspective of Power 4/5

• Strategic Contingencies Theory (Cyert & March)

– The organization is made of many collectives (sub-units) of individuals who compete for resources

• This is very political

– Focus on key decision making and conflicts

– Sub-units are constantly changing to deal with uncertain conditions

– Power emerges in subunits that show their ability to cope with uncertainty

Managerialist Perspective of Power 5/5

• Resource Dependency Theory (Pfeffer & Salancik)

– Organization is a political entity• Laden with conflict

• Can not be viewed as a whole – made of subunits

– Sub-units compete for resources BUT want to minimize dependency

– Focus on how organization allocate resources to sub-units• How do sub-units engage in activities and relations to acquire

scarce resources (Human, financial, legitimacy)

Conclusions

• Most discussion on power is limited to:– One dimensional model

– Two dimensional model

• No one view of power will provide us with a complete understanding of the sources and implications of power relations for individuals and groups

• Must acknowledge and be CRITICAL of our assumptions

Academic (dis)honesty 1/5

• APA style guide:– Library website: http://library.stfx.ca/help/apa.php – Writing center: http://mystfx.ca/resources/writingcentre/

• What is academic dishonesty?

• General rules to follow when referencing– In-text citations– End of text citations

Academic (dis)honesty 2/5

• What is academic dishonesty?

– Plagiarism refers to the intentional or unintentional use of someone else’s work and/or ideas and passing them as your own

– Plagiarism is a very serious matter

– When writing papers, all ideas and content used should be supported by appropriate references

Academic (dis)honesty 3/5

• General rules to follow:

– There are two types of things to do when references, in-text citations and end of text citations

– If you mention a citation in your text, you MUST reference it at the end of the text in the reference list

– To include a reference in your reference list – you must have mentioned that reference within your text

– USE YOUR REFERENCES TO SUPPORT and BUILD arguments

Academic (dis)honesty 4/5

• In-text citations – the basics

– DIRECT QUOTE: • Mills (2006, p. 131) has recently argued that “family and population

encouraged women to leave the workplace, post-war labour shortages and the changing character of the British industry encouraged them to remain in the pair workforce”

– DIRECT QUOTE: • Leadership refers to “an influence relationship between leaders and followers

who intend changes or objectives that reflect shared meanings, strategies, and purposes” (Mills, Helms Mills, Bratton, & Forshaw, 2007, p. 483)

– CITING AN IDEA: • The various societal factors encouraging British women to leave the

workplace were countered by other factors forcing them to stay (Mills, 2006)

Academic (dis)honesty 5/5

• End of text citations – the reference list– Organize these in alphabetical order– Make sure you get the author order correct!!– The examples I have given you below are books, for journal articles,

the referencing is different. Consult your APA handout– Double space your references

References:

Mills, A. (2006). Sex, Strategy and the Stratosphere. New York: Palgrave.

Mills, A., Helms Mills, J., Bratton, J., & Forshaw, C. (2007). Organizational Behaviour in a Global Context (1st Edition ed.). Toronto: Broadview Press.