Power Relationship in Organisations that Entail a Mutual Dependency - Essay Example

Why is it said that power relationship in organisations entail a "Mutual Dependency" Provide examples to illustrate. Presented by Onlyhermits have complete freedom as they have no relationships, therefore there is no exchange of power" - Handy 1993 This is a classic statement based on the theory that power is exercised between people and is thus relationship specific. It reiterates the concept that power is a interdependednt phenonmenon. It is indeed needless to say that the above is not the only definition of power. There are other classifications of power (Dahl 1957, Foucault 1980), however inevitably most of them are based on some form relationships or interdependency between those exercising power and those being controlled. A generalized common definition of power suggests that power is a useful resource which influences (or is used to influence) others behaviors to meet a goal. While interdependednce of the power equation began primarily in terms of socialiogy (Emerson 1962), it soon came to be very instrumental in the organizational setups across the developed world. It has now been established without doubt that power is central to organizational structure (Hall 2002). Infact several sources of power have been established within organizations (Morgan 1986). These can broadly be classified as Formal authority or legitimate power- This refers to the common concept that leaders or people in the high ladders of hierarchy have authority and compliance on the part of the subordinates is mandatory. Coercive power - This is the term given to power obtained by the fear of punishment , i.e warnings, and has much negative implications in the organizational set up. (French and Raven 1968) Reward power - This is the ability to exert control by having an authority to provide remunerations and rewards for work done. Expert power - This is power secured by the acquiring of skills and expertise in a field, that would be required by others. This is by far the most subjective base in the power model (Podsahoff and Schriesheim. 1985) Yet all these bases of power rely on interaction of groups with each other. While the benefits and disadvantages of each of these bases are still being researched, the fact that they all involve dependency and interrelationships are clear. The concept of interdependency of power is aptly described in the works of (Emerson 1962, 1964) Power dynamics has different aspects and in terms of organizations the two axis of power play an important role. The vertical axis - The horizontal axis - It is vital to have an understanding of the distribution of power along both these axes. While it is relatively easy to grasp the power concept along the vertical axis, even simply by applying the model of power bases described above, power dependency along the horizontal axes is relatively harder to visualize. This however is not a reflection of its operational value in an organization.Hence the mutual dependency pattern is observed along both these axes, more obviously in the horizontal than in the vertical, but is present in both. Several examples of the power dependencies can be observed in an organization setting and we will now go on to have a look at some of them. Power dependency along the vertical axis, egs. University structures where students are clearly lower in the hierarchy ladder, provide a good example of interdependencies along the vertical axis. To a large extent students are responsible for the functioning (both financial andoperational) of universities. While the very existence of universities is with the idea of training and teaching students, it is impossible to conceive of universities without the teaching and management staff. Hence while students depend on teachers for learning, and to that extent are under the power of the teachers, the latter also depend on students for the very running of the institution which provides their livelihoods. In terms of enterprises, a managers' power lies in his ability to build the businesses' market position. This need the managers team to perform optimally. Hence although power is vested in the manager, his power depends on his ability to optimize the output of his team members. To that extent, the manager is dependent on his team for the production and delivery of goods/services while the team depends on the manager for supervision, direction or even general co-ordination as the case may be. Relationship between medical specialists and mangers in hospital organization. This has been a subject of much debate and is also a classic eg. of interdependence. While the management of the hospital relies heavily on medical practitioners for all operational purposes, the running of the hospital is largely left to the management. Till very recently it was stated that this would put the management higher in the hierarchy and was a cause of much grievances. While the new Dutch model of hospital management advocating "co-makership" is now emerging as a solution (Scholten,1998), the old practice was an apt eg of the interpedent power flow. Power dependency along the horizontal axis, egs. Example of horizontal axes of power in universities is observed in the teaching and non teaching staff. While academics are the main workers for universities, the financial department, the HR, and the technicians are all vital to the effective running of the organization. It has not been established by any means as to what is the heiarchic relationships between these subunits in an institution but both rely on each other and the power variable is inevitably present. Interdepartmental power is also another horizontal axis relationship. In a pharmaceutics company, the preclinical and clinical trial departments rely heavily on each other for exchange of data, in order to build up on their work. However there is also a power struggle when it comes to allocation of funds and equipment in cases of paucity of either of the above Staff line power struggles in manufacturing organizations are the other classic example here and has been well explained by Dalton.(Dalton 1959) Conclusion There are several models of power for an organization, depending on the various perspectives of i.e modernist, Marxist, post-modern. However virtually all of them are defined by an interrelationship between 'A and B' as shown below : "A" has the power over "B" to the extent that he can get "B" to do something that "B" would not otherwise do (Dahl, 1957). "A" exercises power over "B" by not allowing "B" to get his/her issues onto the agenda. (Bachrach 1970) The leveraging of individual resources as is obsereve din an interdepened power relatinsship provides a synergy that far exceeds individual ability. People at all levels in an organisation have information and ideas of much consequence to their work and it is in the interest of the management to draw advantage from this by involving people in their decisions and promoting a certain degree of power equation between various groups. These benefits seem rather intangible but the outcome is a positive and quantifiable impact on the working of an organisation While the debate on which power model is superior is still ongoing there is now doubting the fact there is an exchange relationship underlying the very concept of power and hence the concept of mutual dependency! Work cited list Bachrach, P., Baratz, M.S. (1970), Power and Poverty, Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, . Dahl, R.A. (1957), "The concept of power", Behavioural Science, Vol. 2 pp.201-5. Emerson, Richard M. 1962. "Power-Dependence Relations." American Sociological Review. 27: 31-41. Emerson, Richard M. 1964. "Power-Dependence Relations: Two Experiments." Sociometry 27: 282-298. Foucault, M. (1980), in Gordon, Colin (Eds),Power/Knowledge, Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, Harvester Press Ltd., Brighton, . Hall, Richard (2002) "Power and Power Outcomes", Ch. 5 in Structures, Processes and Outcomes, Prentice Hall, New Jersey Handy, C. (1993), Understanding Organisations, 4th ed., Penguin, Harmondsworth. Lukes, S. (1974), Power: A Radical View, The Macmillan Press Ltd., London. McShane, Steven and Travaglione, Tony (2003) "Power, politics and persuasion", Chapter 12 in Organizational Behavior on the Pacific Rim, Hong Kong, pp398-410 Morgan, G. (1986), Images of Organization, Sage, London, Podsahoff, P.M., Schriesheim, C.A. (1985), "Field studies of French & Ravens bases of power: critique, reanalysis and suggestions for future research", Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 97 No.3, pp.387-411. Scholten, G.R.M. Van der Grinten T.E.D. Between physician and manager: new co-operation models in Dutch hospitals Journal of Management in Medicine; Volume:12 Issue:1; 1998 Research paper Read More