Using Power in Organizations - Essay Example

?How can power be used ethically in organizations? Introduction Power is capable of doing good if it is used for purposes that are well-intentioned and used carefully however it also has the capacity to cause damage if used irresponsibly and carelessly for unethical or evil purposes, it also corrupts the person who exercises it. Yet benefits and legitimate uses of power cannot be neglected because of it (Harvard Business School Press 2006) and its capacity to corrupt lies in how it is perceived and how people react toward others. It was found in previous research that people with power are more creative and feel free to take decisions that they think are fit and can lead to organizational success (Robbins et al 2011). It is in the hands of the leaders to use power ethically because they are also organization’s ethic officers and use it for the best interests of the organization (Johnson 2009). In the present paper it is explained ‘how power can be used ethically in organizations’ to derive benefits from legitimate use of power by presenting theoretically concepts and arguments related to the same. Theoretical Concept of Power & Ethics To know how to use power ethically in an organization first power, organizational politics and ethics concept should be understood clearly. “Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes” (Bass 1990, p.170). Power is used as a means by leaders to achieve their goals. However power is different from leadership as power requires only dependence and not goal compatibility as in the case of leadership that requires compatibility of goals between the leader and their followers and also power can be exercised both by a group and individual to influence an individual or a group (Robbins et al 2011). Leadership is more about influencing the followers whereas power is controlling the behaviour of the followers according to the wishes of the person or group who wields power. Oxford dictionary defined Ethics as “of or pertaining to morality” and ‘the science of morals, the moral principles by which a person is guided’ (2013, p.534) and according to Foucault (1990) “Ethics are those processes that create the alignment of individual actions and the moral code” and “Ethics is concerned with the study of morality and the application of reason to elucidate specific rules and principles that determine right and wrong for a given situation” (Crane and Mitten 2007) based on the cultural and legal standards. In this perspective Leaders should be conscious of the morality of their actions at all times and a leader to be successful must not only take right actions but through right means and with right intentions according to Ciulla (2005). Therefore ethical behaviour refers to conforming to moral principles as well as to cultural and legal standards. It is very common for employees to indulge in organizational politics to exert more influence, for career advancement and for gaining credit and rewards. Organization politics refers to “use of power to affect decision making in an organization or on self-serving and organizationally unsanctioned behaviours” (Robbins et al 2011, p. 415). It is used in all organizations in some form or the other everyday and by everyone. However not all organizational politics is illegitimate or unethical there is also a legitimate and ethical dimension to it (Robbins et al 2011). Leader’s bear more responsibility to exercise power ethically in an organization compared to others and can create ethical organizations through their responsible behaviour. People emulate their leader’s behaviour, attitudes and values because they consider them to be attractive, credible and legitimate as they exert power through their position of authority they occupy (Johnson 2009). Therefore power to be used ethically in an organization the focus should be on the leader’s behaviour. But what constitutes ethical use of power and how to differentiate it from unethical use is complex and not easy to answer. The following section enlightens on the ethical and unethical use of power and organizational politics. Difference between ethical and unethical use of Power A very thin line differentiates ethical and unethical use of power in an organization and most of the time the line gets blurred. Apart from that people working in an organization also have to face often the dilemma of using or not power unethically for organizations benefit (Harvard Business School Press 2006) and how to exercise power in an organization ethically without forgoing their career prospective (Provis 2004). Brown, Trevino and Harrison (2005, p. 120) differentiated an ethical leader from a common leader through their ethical leadership that is “the demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relations and the promotion of such conduct to followers through two-way communication, reinforcement and decision making”. But how should a person know what is normatively appropriate conduct is also debatable. Therefore a leader must consider three things to distinguish ethical from unethical behaviour, the purpose for which the power is used whether it is for good or evil purpose and the consequences of the action taken by the leader whether causes harm to anyone, if yes it is unethical and finally whether their actions conform to the principles of justice and equity if yes then it is ethical action. These three considerations help a leader to assess whether their behaviour is ethical or unethical (Robbins et al 2011). On the same lines Harvard Business School Press (2006) listed conditions that sets apart ethical and unethical exercise of organizational power, they are when leaders use power for others and organization benefit and that use of power conforms to the ethical behaviour’s cultural or legal standards. They argued that when organizational power is exercised for personal or for family and friend’s benefit then it is unethical (Harvard Business School Press 2006 ) for example when CEO of an organization is using his power over the board of directors to increase his compensation then it is termed as unethical exercise of power however if a leader is using his power to get more resources for his department that could result in improving its productivity and performance it is ethical as ultimately it will lead to organization’s benefit. And even when power is used for organizational benefit yet it is illegal and does not meet the culture and legal standards of ethical behaviour then also it is unethical use of power (Harvard Business School Press 2006). For example salesman are empowered to communicate about their products benefit to clients but if he is lying and exaggerating the benefits of a product, it might help in achieving better sales for that product and increase organization’s revenue however it is illegal and deceiving the clients therefore it is unethical use of power. Leaders in an organization are like ethic officers. Their behaviour is critical in using power ethically in an organization. By fair treatment of employees, by showing concern and care and being responsive for their issues and meeting with their expectations and championing the values they expect from their leaders and setting high standards of ethical behaviour, they can enhance their credibility, legitimacy, and attractiveness (Johnson 2009) and also guides and influences them to behave ethically. Leaders who say and promise something but not deliver on it are referred to as using power unethically and tend to be corrupt leaders (Harvard Business School Press 2006). Authentic leadership ensures that power is used ethically by leaders, it refers to the leaders who represent themselves as they are, have conviction in their beliefs and values and actually act upon it and encourage sharing of information, open communication and do not dissuade from their ideals that builds trust among their followers and they consider such leaders to be ethical (Robbins et al 2011). Even Impressions management by leaders is termed to be unethical use of power. It is “the process by which individuals attempt to control impression others form of them” (Gardner and Martinko 1998). Misrepresenting or lying to create a false impression on others also amounts to unethical behaviour. Leaders must exercise caution while using impressions management and consider the conditions of ethical behaviour before applying it to gain some advantage (Robbins et al 2011). Organizational factors responsible for unethical use of power The above section clarified the distinction between ethical and unethical use of power by leaders in an organization. However there are certain organizational factors that promote organizational politics and unethical use of power. If these factors are tackled effectively then it leaves no room for leaders to use power unethically. The factors are resources reallocations, ambiguity of role, performance evaluation system not clear, opportunities of promotion, pressure to perform high, senior managers with self-serving interests, democratic style of decision making, low trust between employees and management. If there is a clear cut policy, guidelines, procedures and proper systems for performance evaluations, promotion, resource reallocation, conducive environment to perform better, high trust, good leadership with high standards and code of ethical conduct for all then there is less scope of leaders exercising power unethically and employees engaging in organizational politics (Robbins et al 2011). Employees react negatively to illegitimate organizational politics and unethical use of power, there morale decreases along with motivation to perform, employee turnover increases and overall decrease in job satisfaction with increased stress and anxiety. Therefore it is very important for organizational success and human resource performance that use of power remains ethical and organizational politics is legitimate (Robbins et al 2011). Conclusion To sum up, it can be concluded that to use power ethically in an organizations leaders who wield power should always use power for good intentions that is for organizational benefit and benefit of others rather than for personal gain, their actions should conform to equity, justice, cultural and legal standards of ethical behaviour and consider the effect of their actions on others. Also Organizations should provide a climate and system that discourages unethical use of power and illegitimate organizational politics. Therefore power can be used ethically in an organization by taking right actions through right means and for right intentions. References Andrew, C. and Matten, D., 2007, Business Ethics – Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization, 2nd Ed, Oxford University Press. Bass, B.M., 1990. Bass & Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership, 3rd Ed. New York: The Free Press. Brown, M.E, Trevino, L.K., and Harrison, D.A 2005, Ethical Leadership: a social learning perspective for construct development and testing, Organizational Behaviour and Human Decisions Processes, 97, pp.117-134. Ciulla, J.B. 1995, Leadership Ethics: mapping the territory, Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 5-8. Ciulla, J & Forsyth, D 2011, ‘Leadership ethics’, in Bryman, Collison, Grint, Jackson & Uhl-Bien, (Eds) The Sage book of leadership, Sage, London, pp. 229-241. Foucault, M. 1990. The history of sexuality: the use of pleasure. Vol.2. New York : Knopt In Ciulla, J & Forsyth, D 2011, ‘Leadership ethics’, in Bryman, Collison, Grint, Jackson & Uhl-Bien, (Eds) The Sage book of leadership, Sage, London, pp. 229-241. Gardner, W.L. and Martinko, 1998, ‘Impressions Management in Organizations’, Journal of Management. pp 321-338. Harvard Business School Press 2006 ‘The ethics of power, influence, and persuasion’, in The Essentials of Power, Influence and Persuasion, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, pp.175-187. Johnson, C 2009, ‘Creating an ethical organizational climate’, in Ethical challenges of leadership: casting light or shadow, Sage, London, pp. 265-302. Oxford Dictionary (2013), ‘Ethics Definition’, Oxford Dictionary. Provis, C 2004, Ethics and Organisational politics, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK. Robbins S.P., Judge, T.A, Vohra, N., 2011, Organizational Behaviour, 14th Ed. Pearson Education Inc. Read More