Theories of power and contemporary organisation

Q2.   How might  theories of power be relevant to the analysis of contemporary organisations ?  Draw an examples and perspectives from the module to support your answer .

Zainab, it looks like you have been on the internet searching a history of power, whilst that is OK I gave three tutorials on how to answer this question and I produced a handout, which is on blackboard setting out the theories on power that you need to discuss. Have a look at that handout and the tutorial slides on power on blackboard; as it stands this will not pass.

Theories of power and contemporary organisations

It is safe to say that in the recent years the world of business has changed significantly. Such factors as globalisation and IT revolution have reshaped the way organisations function to a large extent. Under the circumstances, it may seem that contemporary business has nothing to do with theories and concepts developed centuries ago. However, it is only partially true. Although the tools and approaches to doing business are different from what they used to be in the past, it is necessary to understand that the major role in organisations is always played by human resources which, whose nature does not change over time. Hence, there are reasonable grounds to assume that many theories of power that were developed and presented hundreds of years ago remain relevant for the contemporary business. Within a framework of this paper, the most prominent theories of power will be discussed and their relevance to the modern organisations will be considered.

To begin with, it is important to provide a definition of the term ‘power’. According to the definition in Oxford Dictionaries, power needs to be understood as ‘the ability to control people or things’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2016). Power is what exists in different spheres of life including politics, business, social life, and so forth. However, the major concern of this paper is to see how the theories of power developed years ago affect organisations and businesses today.

It is necessary to briefly consider the major facts of the history of modern theories of power. It is believed that the beginning of the history traces back to the times of Nicolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes who lived and worked on the development of their theories in early 16th and mid-17th centuries respectively. Both of them are considered classics in a question of theories of power. Apart from it, Hobbes and Machiavelli represent two major approaches along which the thought about power has continued to present. Thus, Machiavelli supports and represents the decentralised and strategic thinking on organisation and power. He considers power to be a means rather than a resource, and it makes him seek different types of strategic advantages. Hobbes, in his turn, supports more traditional and casual thinking of power as hegemony. According to Hobbes, power should be centralised and always focused on sovereignty. While Machiavelli believed that total power is a so-called desirable final end that can be sometimes achieved, Hobbes stated that the power stems from a single unit such as a society or a state (Sadan 1997).

The next personality that is known to be especially influential in terms of the theory of power is Max Weber. Based on the major principles of Hobbesian rationalism, Max Weber decided to link his professional interest in bureaucracy with the concepts of power, rule, and authority. In a contrast to his predecessors, Max Weber claimed that a power is a force that can be activated in a response to one’s will even in a case when others are in opposition. In other words, he defined power as ‘the probability that an actor within a social relationship would be in a position to carry out his will despite resistance to it’ (Sadan 1997). Because of Weber’s interest in bureaucracy, he was usually criticised for idealising of the bureaucratic organisation. However, it needs to be pointed out that Max Weber considered a power of bureaucracy as one of the sources and tools that can help mechanise and rationalise peoples’ life. According to Weber, bureaucracy was rather an ideal than something possible to achieve. However, he firmly believed that by the means of bureaucracy it would be possible to ‘put an end to the exploitation of employees and to ensure equal opportunity and treatment for all’ (Wren & Bedbeian 2009). To put it differently, Max Weber believed that being close to his bureaucratic ideal would be a perfect model to be used in organising a firm, assessing and comparing performance.

I would lose this bit as you have already done enough on Weber Speaking of the theory of Weber, it is immensely important to mention his six major characteristics of bureaucracy. The first principle is known as a division of labor in order to make sure that responsibility and authority are clearly defined. Obviously, the major advantage of this principle and its application within organisations is that it can help to increase efficiency through specialisation of employees. The second principle to consider is managerial hierarchy, which means that all the positions or offices within an organisation must be organised by the principle of a hierarchy of authority. The expected consequence of this principle is that it enables better communication. The third principle of Weber’s theory is a formal selection. According to him, all employees should be selected and hired based on their technical qualifications assessed by education, training, and examination. It is evident that this principle can ensure that all the employees are hired and promoted according to their level of expertise, which adds up to an organisation’s transparency. Yet another principle is called career orientation. By this needs to be understood that employees are career professionals so they should all work for fixed salaries and pursue their careers within their fields of expertise. It is obvious that the advantage of this principle is about being sure that the expected level of performance will be demonstrated without a need for extraneous pressure. The fifth principle mentioned in Weber’s concept is about formal rules and other controls. This principle stands for an idea that all employees should be considered as subject to organisational rules and controls. According to Weber, this principle can help to significantly increase efficiency. The last but not the least principle to consider is impersonality. Just like some other principles discussed above, it stands for fair and transparent management because it ensures that controls and rules are applied to any employee in all cases without exceptions (Wren & Bedeian 2009).

You need to move away from these historic view points to the more modern theories Now, as three different theories of power have been discussed, it is time to find out if some of them can be applied to contemporary organisations. Speaking of the theory of Machiavelli, it needs to be pointed out that its idealistic principles under which morality and ethics are at the core of any power are hardly consistent with the actual business world (Galie & Bopst 2006). However, it is safe to say that some companies with the highest level of corporate social responsibility Microsoft, Google or Apple can be somehow associated with the theory developed by Nicolo Machiavelli.

As for the theory of Hobbes, it appears to be more consistent with a modern business practice. Just like it is described in Hobbes’ concept of power, the majority of businesses today are ruled by presidents whose role predominantly consist of stewardship of company’s affairs through the authority trusted into the hands of a president by the company’s stockholders. So, both theoretically and practically, companies’ presidents or executives act unilaterally without any kind of formal approval from the board of directors so their role can be considered absolute and their decisions and words are to be obeyed (Evans 2013). Hence, it is safe to say that some basic principles of Hobbes’ theory of power are widely applicable to modern companies and organisations.

Although the principles proposed by Max Weber in his theory of bureaucracy seem to be general and applicable to any type of organisation, there are many critiques claiming that his concept could work well in its time only. According to their opinion, a method of imposing strict controls within an organisation and regarding each and every employee as a so-called ‘cog’ in a machine designed to follow any instructions blindly is not what a contemporary model of business should look like. This can be explained by the fact that the majority of organisations in the past were expected to deliver very straightforward and simple tasks and the external environment was rather stable, but today’s world is a rapidly changing place characterised by technological revolutions, demanding customers, global economic competition, and highly educated workforce. All these factors require from organisations to be innovative, flexible and mobile in order to be competitive on a market (Suleiman 2006). However, a detailed analysis of some companies’ organisational strategies proves that Weber’s theory can be applied successfully even in modern business.

For example, the world-known fast food giant McDonalds’s is believed to build its working process based on four major principles including calculability, efficiency, predictability, and control over people.  In order to cope with a huge amount of activities associated with the fast food industry and they all need to be routinised so the business can function appropriately. This routinisation is what can be done through the use of different formal procedures and rules as well as scripts for interacting with customers (Volti 2008).  Hence, some experts consider McDonald’s as the most stereotypical bureaucratic and impersonal organisation.

In order to make a conclusion to everything written above, it is necessary to say that the although the ways people use power can change over time, still there are some timeless fundamental principles associated with this phenomenon. This can be explained by the fact that power becomes a reality only when used by humans, whose nature is the same for all countries and times. That is why, regardless of century or country, people are expected to use power in order to convince others to act according to their interests. While some external factors such as a state of economy, a level of technological development and extents of globalisation may be in a constant change, the nature of people is what remains stable. Hence, a detailed analysis of companies and their organisational strategies are likely to show that some of the principles and tools of power usage, which were described and explained hundreds of years ago, remain relevant and applicable to the most innovative companies in the world. Considering that in comparison with the past modern world seems to be less moral, ethical, and transparent, those companies that strive to become the leaders of their industries are advised to get back to the roots of power theory and find approaches and ways to apply them to their organisations. Of course, far not all the companies are able to understand and value the importance of this step, but it is safe to say that those who do have significantly more chances to succeed in a highly competitive market of today.S