View
216
Download
0
Category
Tags:
Preview:
Citation preview
Reframing Organizations, 4th ed.
Chapter 9
Power, Conflict, and Coalitions
Power, Conflict and Coalitions
Assumptions of the Political Frame Organizations as Coalitions Power and Decision-Making Authorities and Partisans Sources of Power Distribution of Power: Overbounded and
Underbounded Systems Conflict in Organizations Moral Mazes: The Politics of Getting Ahead
Assumptions of the Political Frame
Organizations are coalitions Enduring differences among coalition
members Allocation of scarce resources Scarce resources and differences make
conflict the central dynamic which makes power the most important asset
Goals and decisions arise from bargaining, negotiation and jockeying for position
Organizations as Coalitions
Coalitions rather than pyramids Organizational goals are multiple and
sometimes conflicting because they reflect bargaining involving multiple players with divergent interests
Power and Decision-Making
Gamson: Authorities and partisans Authorities make binding decisions
Agents of social control Seek to maintain authority; their position depends
on it Partisans are subject to authorities’ decisions;
they will support or question authority depending on decisions affect their interests
Recipients of control from authorities Support authority when satisfied, but may
challenge when not
Sources of Power
Position power Control of rewards Coercive power Information and expertise Reputation Personal power Alliances and networks Access and control of agenda Framing: control of meaning and symbols
Distribution of Power: Overbounded and Underbounded Systems Overbounded: strong, top-down control,
conflict is tightly-regulated (e.g., Iraq under Saddam Hussein)
Underbounded: weak authority, chaotic decision-making, open conflict and power struggles (Iraq after invasion and collapse of old regime)
Conflict in Organizations
Conflict is natural and inevitable: organizations can have too much or too little
Political frame focuses on strategy and tactics for dealing with conflict
Forms of organizational conflict Hierarchical conflict Horizontal Cultural
Moral Mazes: The Politics of Getting Ahead Getting ahead is a political process involving
conflict for scarce resources Assessment of individual performance often
depends on subjective judgments Does advancement depend on doing good
work or doing what is politically correct? Organizations can’t eliminate politics, but they
can influence the kind of politics they have
Conclusion
The political frame sees a very different world from the traditional view of organizations Traditional: organizations are hierarchies, run
by legitimate authorities who set goals and manage performance
Political view: organizations are coalitions whose goals are determined by bargaining among multiple contenders
Politics can be nasty and brutish, but constructive politics is possible and necessary for organizations to be effective
Recommended