Lecture 10 Organisations and Power Flashcards
(32 cards)
What do organisations do?
Weber (1947)
Divide up tasks (division of labour)
Decide who makes which types of decisions (delegation of authority)
Decide the scope of supervision - who (and how many) people report to who (span of control)
“Structure” refers to the formal ways in which these elements are resolved and coordinated
Ways people can coordinate in organisations (Mintzberg, 1989)
- Informal interpersonal arrangements
- Direct supervision
- Process standardization
- Skill standardization (what people need for roles)
- Output standardization
- Norm standardization (culture)
Three key components of organisational structure: Centralisation
Extent to which decisions are made by the most senior people
Three key components of organisational structure: Formalisation
Standardisation of processes – each job has clear and limited scope
Importance of rules, policies, and official procedures
Three key components of organisational structure: Span of control
How many people report to a supervisor
Two general types of organisation structures: Mechanistic (traditional hierarchical coordination)
Centralised
Formalised
Narrow span of control
Two general types of organisation structures: Organic (flexible coordination)
Decentralised
Low formalisation
Wide span of control
Organisational structure: Common types: Functional
- Arrange by specialisation
- Suitability: Small organisation with clear goals in stable environment
- Advantages: Develop specialised expertise in each area
- Disadvantages: Less communication and integration across functions
Example: Top of hierarchy: CEO/President Underneath: Vice president of production/vice president of engineering/vice president marketing and sales/vice president of accounting Underneath: Quality control and R&D``
Common types of organisational structure: Divisional
Arrange by type of output
Functionsclusteredwithindivision
Suitability: Large organisation with many goals in uncertain environment
Advantages: Good integration and communication within divisions
Disadvantages: Poor integration and communication across divisions
Common types of organisational structure: hybrid
FunctionalplusDivisional
Suitability: Very large organisation with many goals and products
Advantages: Benefits of functional specialisation and divisional integration
Disadvantages: Can be inefficient-substantial duplication of resources
Common types of organisational structure: Matrix
Teams with amix of product andtechnicalspecialists
Suitability: Project-based tasks requiring multiple skills
Advantages: Gets functional and product specialists working closely together
Disadvantages: Divided responsibilities and demands (people have 2 bosses)
New types of organisational structure: Virtual/Network
High centralisation
Low formalisation
Suitability: Highly unstable environment
Advantages: Highly flexible, adaptive to changing circumstances
Disadvantages: Little direct coordination between areas
Psychological Effects: Centralization
Less centralised → more autonomy. More autonomy → greater job satisfaction
Psychological effects: formalisation
Standardising work increases productivity (to a limit) but decreases job satisfaction
lower satisfaction for those with greater education
lower satisfaction for those wanting intrinsic rewards (e.g., growth)
higher satisfaction for those wanting routine or low intellectual effort
Psychological effects: span of control
No relationships with job satisfaction
Except for managers for whom greater span represents greater status
Cultural differences
Preference for more mechanistic structures in high power-distance cultures
Organisational structure and power
Organisations use structures to decide who to employ and under what conditions
Employment contract
Specified work and expectations within an organisational structure
Psychological contract
Unwritten set of expectations between employer and employee
Judgements about what’s reasonable/unreasonable within a role
e.g., use of social media and free speech…
Power: the capacity to influence others
this can relate to influence under either type of “contract”
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6): Legitmacy
Position Power:
Authority granted from an accepted source
Influence behaviour through official authority
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6): Reward
Position Power: Ability to reward others for helpful behaviour
Influence behaviour using promise of positive outcomes
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6): Coercion
Position Power: Ability to punish others for non-compliance
Influence behaviour using fear of negative outcomes
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6):Informational
Position Power/personal power:Ability to provide valuable information to help others
Influence based on persuasive arguments
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6): Expertise
Personal power: Ability to provide better solutions to problems
Influence based on holding special skills or knowledge
Bases of individual power (from Raven, 1992) (6): Referent
Personal power: Ability to make people identify and like you
Influence based on respect and admiration
How to enhance power: Position power
Legitimacy, reward, coercion power
Increase centrality of your work
tightly link your work to key organizational goals
Increase criticality of your work
respond quickly to urgent organizational needs
Information power
Increase information network centrality and control
try to be the conduit of information between people and areas
