Organisational Culture, Authority, Power and Politics

1. Organisational Culture, Authority, Power and Politics

2. Learning Outcomes To identify the main features of organisation design, organisational culture and the implications for leadership and management. To demonstrate awareness and understanding of political processes and ethical considerations in organisational communications and decision-making. To understand the political context of organisations. To examine the main sources of power in organisational settings and the methods by which power and resources can be enhanced to increase effectiveness in such contexts. To analyse authority, power and politics as sources of control.

3. Organisational Culture

4. Definitions (1) Culture is ‘how things are done around here’. (Drennan, 1992:3) Culture…is a pattern of beliefs and expectations shared by the organization’s members. These beliefs and expectations produce norms and powerfully shape the behaviour of individuals and groups in the organization. (Schwartz and Davis, 1981:33)

5. Definitions (2) A quality of perceived organizational specialness – that it possesses some unusual quality that distinguishes it from others in the field. (Gold, 1982: 571-2) By culture I mean the shared beliefs top managers have about how they should manage themselves and other employees, and how they should conduct business(es) (Lorsch, 1986: 95)

6. Definitions (3) Culture represents an interdependent set of values and ways of behaving that are common in a community and that tend to perpetuate themselves, sometimes over long periods of time. (Kotter and Hesketh, 1992:141) Culture refers…’to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs, ways of behaving and so on, that characterise the manner in which groups and individuals combine to get things done’. (Eldridge and Crombie, 1974:78)

7. Levels of Culture (1) Values; rituals; heroes; symbols (Hofstede, 1990) Basic assumptions; beliefs, values and attitudes; artefacts (Schein, 1985) Basic assumptions; values; norms; artefacts (Cummings and Huse, 1989)

8. Levels of culture (2) Organisational stories and myths (Martin et al 1983) Rituals – rites of passage; rites of questioning; rites of renewal (Trice and Beyer, 1984) The role of heroes (Peters and Waterman, 1982; Deal and Kennedy, 1982) Symbols of culture

9. Levels of awareness Basic assumptions Values Norms Artefacts

10. The development of organisational culture The role of leaders The role of critical incidents The role of working relationships The role of the external environment Cultural diversity and sub-cultures

11. Essence of culture Culture is owned by the group Culture is transmitted to new members Cultural strength External adaptation and internal integration

12. Problems of external adaptation Strategy Goals and means to accomplish them Measuring performance Correction These ultimately determine the group’s survival in the environment.

13. Problems of internal integration Language Boundaries Power and status Intimacy Rewards and punishments Ideology An organisation cannot survive if it cannot manage itself as a group

14. Classifying organisational culture (1) Deal and Kennedy (1982): Tough guy Work hard/play hard Bet-your-company Process

15. Classifying organisational culture (2) Quinn and McGrath (1985): The Market The Adhocracy The Clan The Hierarchy

16. Classifying organisational culture (3) Handy (1979) based on Harrison (1972): Power culture Role culture Task culture Person culture

17. Class exercise Exploring Handy’s model of organisational culture

18. Changing organisational culture Cultural analysis Supporting and reinforcing cultural values Levers for cultural change Performance Commitment Quality Customer service Teamwork Values

19. Authority, Power and Politics

20. Authority is… (1) Definitions: The power or right to enforce obedience (Oxford English Dictionary); Power made legitimate by position or expertise (Weightman, 2004) The process of exerting influence on others in order to get things done (Armstrong, 2001)

21. Authority is… (2) Distinctions: In authority – relies on control over resources to influence people; it confers the right to control and judge the actions of others An authority – based on personal attributes, credibility or ability to influence people; it is the basis of credibility that you must earn and maintain for yourself Moral authority – based upon equity, ethics and fairness Authority to act Authority to authorise

22. Credibility ‘In authority’ is no longer enough Expertise and personal qualities Operational expertise Extra-role behaviour Clear role Undermining credibility

23. Power ‘Power lies in the acceptance of your authority by others – their knowledge that if they try to resist you, they will fail and you will succeed.’ Jay, A. (1967) ‘Power is the capacity to impress the dominance of one’s goals or values on others.’ (Armstrong, 2001) Some definitions.Some definitions.

24. The Nature of Power The scope of power (power v. influence v. control) Trait factor theory (Hovland et al, 1949) Dynamic-interdependence theory (Cartwright, 1959) Objective v. subjective power Power is in the mind of the perceiver Interpersonal v. structural approaches (Lawler, 1992)

25. Power Theories Power/dependence theory (Emerson, 1962) Deterrence theory (Blalock, 1989) Network exchange theory (Markovsky et al, 1988)

26. Sources of Power (1) Reward – being able to give the other what he or she wants Coercive – forcing him or her to do it Referent – having desirable attributes that make people wish to refer to the leader Legitimate – as opposed to illegitimate in the eyes of the followers Expert – having an expertise that others want to use. Ref: French and Raven (1958)

27. Sources of Power (2)

28. Individual exercise Analysing your power base

29. Handling Power Credibility Beliefs, attitudes and motives Asserting power

30. Gaining and Retaining Power Gain more sources Exploit the mistakes of others Exposure of others Appear powerful Appear inscrutable Use power successfully Choose what to reveal/conceal Set up regulations to preserve power

31. Empowerment Empowerment is a concept whereby employees at all levels are responsible for their actions and should be given authority to make decisions about their own work. It concerns the ownership of problem and solution Empowerment requires training for employees and their managers – previous managers need to give up some of their power.

32. Power and Politics Political behaviour in organisations has been described as ‘a process, that of influencing individuals and groups of people to get your own point of view, where you cannot rely on authority’ (Kakabadse, 1983)

33. Playing Politics Power is a property of all organisations – politics reflects how power is put into action Ethical or unethical behaviour? Ends versus means? The nature of competition

34. Control versus Participation Scientific management – control Continuum of behaviour depending on control of leader over the led Unitarist and pluralist perspectives Tells, sells, consults, joins