No man is an island said that renowned 17th-century English poet John Donne. So much has been written about that no man (human being) is an island to itself and thus each of us are a piece of some continent of the world structures that are driven by power. Sometimes, one can say that a lot of learning is wasted because the forces (or the power that be) disallow its implementation. We can still cry for years for some good ideas that never carried forward. So much so, that those in power must use it to advantage of the organizatons and business they serve to benefit society for the better than benefit of themselves. Chieftains of power, use it to good advantage of other people and not unto yourself. The article that follows - ' A Clout With a Silver Lining' was first published in CIMA Insider, London, England, November 2003. Reproduced with kind permission of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom (CIMA). CIMA is the power of financial management in business.
A clout with a silver lining by Merrill Cassell
How does your organization empower its managers?
The most important and unyielding necessity of organizational life is not better communications, human relations or employee participation, but power. Power can be defined as the capacity to modify the conduct of other employees in a desired manner, together with the capacity to avoid having one’s own behaviour modified in undesired ways by other people.
Executives need power because without it there can be no authority; without authority, there can be no discipline; without discipline, there can be difficulty in maintaining order, system – and power. An executive without power is therefore only a figurehead. The higher an executive is in the hierarchy, the greater their need for power. This is because power tends to weaken as it is disseminated downward. As long as power is used in positive ways, it will be respected, even if it is dispersed to managers across the company.
An executive who owns the firm is likely to start with power. Those who do not own the firm (and sometimes those who do) must acquire and retain power through the skillful use of politics. It’s vital that this power is dependable, even when most of it is derived or delegated. Executives must be able to count on backing in times of crisis. This is why the development of continuing power is the most immediate and nagging concern of many managers.
Power needs to be diffused throughout the organisation in order to deal with the uncertainty that exists because people do not work like machines. Unfortunately, traditional human resources practice focused too much on white-collar jobs and widened the gap between white-collar and blue-collar workers. This increased divisions and created more uncertainty. Blue-collar workers became more reactive than proactive. It was only when blue-collar workers were given the power to make decisions and act that they felt valued and became more proactive.
If a firm could be completely certain about the choice, implementation and consequences of an action, then all the power could be held by one person. A chief executive who could predict the exact outcome of his plans would only need to order staff to carry them out. Of course, life is not so predictable and few modern firms can be managed this way.
This recognition makes the relationship between those who hold the power and those who carry out the actions more complex. Managers usually depend on the activities of people in a range of roles to do their jobs effectively. Unlike doctors and mathematicians, whose performance depends more directly on their own talents and efforts, managers are dependent on superiors, subordinates, peers in other parts of the company, the subordinates of these peers, external suppliers, customers, competitors, unions, regulating agencies and many others.
The effects of uncertainty therefore necessitate a wide diffusion of power throughout the enterprise, so the dynamics of power become a key part of the managerial process. Uncertainty leads to decentralisation, so it’s necessary to segment the major components of the organisation and arrange the segments into self-sufficient and self-operating clusters. Since each cluster has its own domain, dependency tends to be confined to that domain, so the ability of an individual to handle that dependence is of limited use to the organisation.
You can’t learn to acquire power by rules; it has to come from inside. But you can develop an awareness of it by following certain rules. We all have a power potential, but few of us use it or even know it’s there. Authority in the hierarchy extends with it a certain amount of bestowed power. This is one of the ways in which power is distributed. But the level of uncertainty and dependence in most firms means that managers need more than bestowed power.
Power based in one position creates a dependency in another position. This leads to the establishment of power in relationships, which affects the behaviour and attitudes of employees. Such relationships depend on a sense of obligation, the limits of the manager’s expertise, employees’ identification with a manager and their perceived dependence on that manager.
• Sense of obligation. One of the ways that successful managers generate power in their relationships is to create a sense of obligation in others. When the manager is successful, others feel that they should allow the manager to influence them within certain limits. For instance, a manager who rules that all mobile phones are turned off during meetings is instilling a sense of obligation. Employees are likely to see the manager as a no-nonsense boss and will carry this impression into other business relationships with them. Of course, to be accepted, such instructions must be seen to be rational, non-discriminating and co-operative.
• Limits to a manager’s expertise. Managers can gain power by building a reputation as an expert in certain areas. If others believe in this expertise, they will refer to them on those matters. Managers usually establish this type of power through visible achievement. The larger the achievement and the more visible it is, the more the manager tends to develop. Bill Gates’s expertise was seen to make Microsoft a world leader, and this reputation makes it easier for those who work for him to make new products.
• Identification with a manager. Sigmund Freud described this phenomenon, which is most clearly seen in the way that people look up to charismatic leaders. Managers gain power by fostering others’ unconscious identification with the ideas they stand for. Generally, the more a person views a manager consciously and, more importantly, unconsciously as their ideal, the more they will refer to that manager. Charismatic managers have the gift of influencing employees. As long as they are not revealed to be liars, they will earn people’s trust and inspire them to achieve more.
• Perceived dependence on a manager. Effective managers can gain power by feeding others’ beliefs that they are dependent on the manager for help or protection. The more they perceive they are dependent, the more many people are inclined to co-operate with such a manager. This should not be confused with the unpleasant influence that a manager or organisation can gain by threatening employees or making them afraid of offering a criticism.
So, if uncertainty is the central issue affecting power relationships in organisations, how do they cope with uncertainty? Most attempt to reduce it by bringing as much of the environment under their direct control as possible. For instance, successful managers use their power and persuasion to make it possible for the employees below them to get their jobs done effectively.
Managers usually gain positions of political power by moving into established roles. When someone has to create a new power structure from scratch, they gain only a tiny fraction of the enormous web of power relations they would command if they had moved into an existing position of authority. If too many people try to establish a new power centre, the power in the organisation is diluted. This is because the degree of uncertainty increases. To reduce it, organisations create segments of specialisation (HR, finance, IT etc) and disperse power to these. Organisational cultures also vary widely, so new managers must learn how to exercise their power to influence others.
The distribution of power is more obvious in the informal structure of organisations. For example, individuals in highly discretionary jobs may increase their power by forming coalitions with useful contacts for specific tasks. Such coalitions occur when two or more individuals in discretionary roles see that their ability to satisfy organisational dependencies is greater together than alone and agree to share the resulting increase in power.
The ratio of certainty to uncertainty in any organisation determines how efficiently its managers use power and, therefore, how it moves ahead. Total certainty is impossible, but the tighter the standards of rationality, the more energy the organisation will devote to moving toward certainty by concentrating power. This stems from a need to take organised action in cases where the interests of a number of parties are involved. The interests of one party cannot be achieved without other parties, so it’s necessary to focus power on the formal and informal structures of the organisation.
The way in which managers wield power affects the bottom line of a company and also affects the personal lives of those who work there. Trade unions protect their members against irrational management behaviour, but the day-to-day relationships between employees and managers are the crux of power management. Good procedures and systems mean nothing if power is sabotaged.
Once a manager believes that certain rules do not apply to them, they start to misuse power. This kind of abuse has brought down huge companies. Firms spend vast sums on HR management, but it is hierarchy that drives power, and a loss of power spells disaster for an organisation. Some people may have the talent or skills for the job, but will never be fit to be managers. Companies must gear their management development to reduce the amount of uncertainty in their organisations. Devolution of power and the freedom to act must be balanced by ability and responsibility.
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