Principles of Management: Power & Resistance
25 Questions
0 Views

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

What did Crozier study in 1965?

A French monopolistic company

What was the surprising observation in Crozier's study?

Central strategic decisions were not made by the top managers but by service technicians

Why did hierarchical power fail in Crozier's study?

The technicians had the capacity to deal with internal uncertainty caused by machinery malfunctions

Coercion is described as getting a person to do something that they would otherwise not do.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of these are NOT features of coercive power?

<p>Motivational</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the bases of coercive power? (Select all that apply)

<p>Ability to Cope with Uncertainty</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term "power through non-decisions" refer to?

<p>Manipulation</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the three forms of manipulation in organizations?

<p>Mobilization of Bias</p> Signup and view all the answers

Mobilization of Bias refers to informal decision processes that exclude alternatives deviating from the desires of powerful individuals.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of Institutionalized Rule- and Norm-Making?

<p>Systematic exclusion of women from managerial roles through rules like working hours and lack of childcare</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between coercion and manipulation?

<p>Coercion relies on observable acts, while manipulation operates through non-decisions and less visible forms of power</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of these are forms of resistance against coercion? (Select all that apply)

<p>Theft</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main idea behind the idea of "Voice" as a form of resistance?

<p>Voice aims to change the background rules of the game by gaining access to flows of domination and participating in decisions</p> Signup and view all the answers

Trade unions and independent organizations supporting whistleblowers are examples of voice as a form of resistance against manipulation.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between dominance and coercion?

<p>Dominance involves shaping preferences and attitudes through broader social structures, while coercion is direct force or threat</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the sources of domination?

<p>Unquestioned Rules Shaping Social Reality</p> Signup and view all the answers

Domination through technological rationality relies on making decisions based on efficiency, even if it contradicts social considerations.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of domination through technological rationality?

<p>Layoffs, where efficiency is prioritized despite social consequences</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main argument against cultural management?

<p>It assumes that organizational cultures can completely control workers</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the concept of "Escape" as a form of resistance against domination?

<p>It involves creating a distance between feelings and actions as a way to cope with ideological and cultural control</p> Signup and view all the answers

Cynicism is a form of escapism that can be viewed as both a form of resistance and a safety valve.

<p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two main perspectives on cynicism?

<p>Humanist</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is "Subjectification"?

<p>The shaping of individuals' subjectivity and the way they understand their circumstances</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is one example of a source of Subjectification?

<p>Discourses, like those of consumer care or total quality management that infiltrate employee identity</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is "Creation" as a form of resistance against Subjectification?

<p>Using power to create something not intended by those in authority, such as alternative identities and narratives</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Principles of Management: Power & Resistance

  • Anselm Schneider presented a lecture on the principles of management, specifically focusing on power and resistance.
  • Crozier (1965) studied a French monopolistic company where central strategic decisions were often made by technicians, not top managers.

Introduction

  • Power is inherent in businesses and organizations.
  • Power is exercised in diverse ways and by various actors within organizations.
  • The lecture explores different forms of power and their respective responses (resistance).

Objectives

  • Understanding power as a core element of organizations
  • Exploring different forms of power
  • Analyzing the relationship between various power dynamics and resistance.

Coercion (1)

  • Definition: compelling someone to do something they wouldn't otherwise do.
  • Three key features of coercive power: causal (one party influencing another), episodic (power demonstrated through observable actions), and situational (power dependent on context).

Coercion (2)

  • Bases of coercive power include: position, skills, ability to handle uncertainty, and access to crucial resources.

Shortcomings of a Narrow Focus on Coercion

  • Power isn't exclusively about observable actions.
  • Less visible forms of power also exist.

Resisting Coercion: Refusal (1)

  • Refusal is a tactic to diminish the impact of power by weakening the dominance dynamic.
  • It includes passive refusal (non-compliance) and active refusal (opposition escalation).
  • Common forms of refusal include work-to-rule, strikes, theft, and sabotage.

Manipulation (1)

  • Definition: "power through non-decisions" - limiting decision scope to seemingly safe issues via manipulation of values, myths, and procedures.

Manipulation (2)

  • Three forms of manipulation in organizations: anticipating results (complying with expected power displays), mobilizing biases (dismissing undesirable options), and institutionalizing rules and norms (designing rules beneficial to the powerful).
  • Focus on manipulation, unlike coercion, is often not on observable actions making empirical support challenging.

Anticipation of Results

  • Key to anticipation of results is the existing power structure/previous power exercises.
  • Actors foresee future power expressions and adjust behaviors accordingly.
  • This can lead to feeling powerless in some situations.

Mobilization of Bias

  • Decision-making processes can be designed so that certain issues are de-prioritized.
  • Informal pre-decision processes exclude alternatives that go against the wishes of powerful elites.
  • Only a limited subset of potential options is subjected to comprehensive evaluation.
  • Alexander (1979) studied Airport in London's 4 stage decision process as an example.

Institutionalized Rule- and Norm-Making

  • Issues might not arise because rules/specifications discourage them.
  • Rules and norms can systematically exclude certain groups (e.g., women in managerial roles, due to working hours/childcare constraints).

Shortcomings of a Narrow Focus on Manipulation

  • Difficult to empirically verify.
  • Often focuses on individual behaviors, neglecting the larger structural context.
  • May overlook higher-level organizational structures & processes.

Resisting Manipulation: Voice (1)

  • Voice is a way to gain access to controlling forces and participate in decisions impacting one's life.
  • Focus shifts to modifying the fundamental rules of the game.
  • Conditions for effective "voice" include creating a platform, demonstrating legitimacy, and presenting relevant arguments.

Resisting Manipulation: Voice (2)

  • Examples of voice forms include trade unions, whistleblowing support groups, social movements, and alternative organizational structures.
  • Public protests can also serve as forms of legitimate voice.

Wrap-up (1)

  • Coercion and manipulation are individual-level power forms.
  • Refusal and Voice are resistance methods.
  • These two power forms may neglect broader systemic/structural power dynamics.

Domination (1)

  • Definition: shaping preferences and attitudes through unquestioned norms.
  • Sources of domination:
    • Unquestioned rules shaping social reality
    • Ideology (generating preferences that go against personal interests, like Technical Rationality).
    • Cognitive schemas (validating certain perspectives while disregarding others).

Domination: Technology as Ideology

  • Organizational decisions are often influenced by efficiency considerations (technological rationality).
  • Powerful elites often benefit most from efficiency-focused decisions (e.g., mass layoffs).

Domination: The Case of Culture Management

  • Since the 1980s, organizational culture has been recognized as a valuable resource.
  • Organizational culture is often "engineered," attempting to increase productivity.
  • There's an assumption that successful culture management can completely control employees.

Resisting Domination: Escape

  • Irony and cynicism are forms of resentment and escaping cultural/ideological controls.
  • This often manifests as a reaction to unchangeable power relations and organizational cultures that claim to liberate employees.

Cynicism

  • Cynicism can be a form of escapism and a form of passive resistance.
  • Cynicism creates a disconnect between feeling and action, thereby avoiding challenging dominating forces.

Different Approaches to Cynicism

  • Managerial view sees cynicism as a problem needing fixing.
  • A humanist view conversely looks at cynicism as a coping mechanism.

Cynicism as a Double-Edged Sword

  • Cynicism can be a form of resistance against power.
  • But it can also perpetuate or reinforce existing power structures.
  • It might be tolerated by the powerful.

Subjectification (1)

  • Definition: the complex process of constituting the decision-making individual.
  • Focuses on the shaping of subjectivity ("the way individuals interpret/understand their circumstances & sense of self").

Subjectification (2)

  • Sources of subjectification:
    • Disciplinary control systems/organizational practices.
    • Discourses that shape employee identity ("total quality management," etc.).
    • Governmentality (individuals control themselves through auto-monitoring).

Resisting Subjectification: Creation (1)

  • Resisting subjectification involves creating alternative identities & discursive systems for representing oneself; a way to participate in constructing one's own subjectivity, rethinking and reshaping how they view and experience their social realities.

Resisting Subjectification: Creation (2)

  • Example: Rewriting organization’s rules to include ideas like autonomy & self-management.
  • Recognizing organizational constraints on self-management and distrust.
  • These insights to can lead to different self-narratives/identities and potentially new practices.

Wrap-up (2)

  • Domination and subjectification are structural/systematic power forms.
  • Escape and creation are resistance strategies in response to these dominating power forms.

References

  • Fleming & Spicer (2007), Contesting the Corporation
  • Jermier, Knights & Nord (1994), Resistance and Power in Organizations

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Quiz Team

Related Documents

Description

Explore the dynamics of power within organizations through Anselm Schneider's insights on management principles. This quiz delves into how power is exercised, the forms it takes, and the responses it provokes, including resistance. Gain a deeper understanding of how these elements interact in the realm of business.

More Like This

Organizational Power Dynamics Quiz
3 questions
Understanding Organizational Power
5 questions
Power and Influence in Organizations
30 questions
Understanding Power in Organizations
5 questions
Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser