Power - Everyday Power-Plays
Ordinary, functionally necessary activities such as job appraisals, budget
meetings, briefings and so on readily become subject to power processes. The
Hawthorne experiments first documented how supervised operatives controlled their own work and reward system even though performances were scientifically measured by work study experts.
People are ingenuous and creative for their own purposes. Office workers may
feign being busier than they really are. The reluctant employee to undermine or
block the actions of others may exclaim:
"Its not in my job description."
"Thats an infringement of the Health and Safety at Work Act"
"You are denying my equal opportunities"
Embarrassment or ignorance may do the rest.
- Department heads may bid for larger budgets than needed and be pleased with a
cut to what they wanted in the first place.
- Politicing over rules and procedures can secure advantage for bureaucrats who
apply them.
- Staff in functional departments may place the values and plans of their own unit values before common organisational goals.
- sales staff may push for higher sales volumes even though accountants point to low margins and problems of sales to bad risks. Sales commisions and reputations rest on how others see success sales volume terms.
- Management training stresses team working and collaboration - yet the very
specification of job roles can exacerbate contradictions and rivalries.
- A trade union negotiator may be pleased to agree a legally binding
agreement with management knowing that if the contract contains 300 rules -
legally enforceable - then the morning after the signing of the agreement, the
dynamic operation of the firm will throw up a new rule to be bargained over.
Add personality differences, bloody-minded or querky interpretation and
subjectivity to this and the scope for conflict greater than for harmony. People
raise hidden agendas in conversation (the aside or disparaging remark or the
block) and they slide these, undeclared, into meetings where broader issues are
being discussed. Pettiness and resentments fester and affect decision-making over long periods.
- An eye for an eye
- do unto others as they would do unto you
- love thy neighbour.
Reconcile these aphorisms.
This resource was written by Chris Jarvis who maintains and develops BOLA.