Preview

Organization and Political Power

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
994 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Organization and Political Power
Discussion Questions Week 4

1. Why do organizational structures differ? What is the difference between a mechanistic structure and an organic structure? Which structure would be most appropriate for an innovative organization like Apple or 3M? What about an organization that focuses on cost-minimization like Wal-Mart? Organizational structures differ because of the different strategies, organizational size, technology, and environment. Consider the mechanistic model and the organic model. The mechanistic model is characterized by extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network, and centralization. The organic model is flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information network, and relies on participative decision making. The structure that would be most appropriate for an innovative organization like Apple or 3M would be organic structure. The organization that would focus on cost-minimization like Wal-Mart is a mechanistic structure. 2. What is the difference between the position a person holds in a company and their political power? Is the top executive in an organization always the person who holds the most political power? Explain your answer. In business communities, there is no difference. There is always somebody who has the control of all the resources in an organization, both human and nonhuman resources. This person holds a position in the company above the others. He has a managerial position which exercises control over his subordinates. He has the say and the rest follow. There are of course some limitations as far as his political power is concerned in as much as there are also regulations to abide by. Political power is the ability to control the behavior of others to attain the objectives of the organization. Political power and the person who has it are just one and the same. Political power is the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Power Essay

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A way I also perceive this same idea of power is that the higher of the level you have the easier it becomes for them to control and influence the public with littler resistance. For example look at the president of the United States many people love him and he can almost do anything he wants; though you might say that many people also don’t like him this is because of a comparison, he runs against others for office so there are some contrasting factors. For me I can easily see power in everyday life, although it may not be how I view power when I picture it in my head. A way that I often see on a daily basis is direct control over someone else. Some example of this may include your teacher failing you if you do not do what they ask or a personal and ongoing one for me is my mother threatening to not let me go to see my favorite band in the summer unless I do everything she asks, and believe me the list gets daunting.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    BUSI690 Rothaermel Ex 3

    • 1270 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The relationship between an organization’s strategy and structure are extremely important because it “directly impacts a firm’s performance” (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Also, as an organization grows, it should reevaluate the current strategy and structure to ensure that it remains the optimal choice for the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). The four types of organizational structures, listed in order of least to most complex according to Rothaermel (2013), are: (1) simple, (2) functional, (3) multidivisional, and (4) matrix.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    . Political power is that power, which every man having in the state of nature, has given up into the hands of the society, and therein to the governors, whom the society hath set over itself, with this express or tacit trust, that it shall be employed for their good and preservation of their property……

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Power: the political power is the ability to shape and control the political behavior of…

    • 3430 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    When it comes to business as any organizations it requires a structure, based on the resources and demands organization can changed or modify their structure. The most common two structures are vertical and horizontal structure which we see every business organization in global market (Bateman & Snell, 2011). In today’s any business organization theirs and important trait is not only the structure, it is the functions within the organization. An organizing function in management highlights the practices individuals use to interact and work with each other. There are many business organizations that are very successful in their own way. When it comes to a business structure it all depends on what is the product business manufacture and what is the target market, it also depend on is this product goes local or it will be a global one. One of the great organizations that started as an idea then went local to national then bloomed to global social networking giant. That is Facebook organization.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Organizations respond differently with complexity and with instability. Organization structure that deals with complexity can be mechanistic or organic in nature. But the organization structure that deals with instability has to be always organic and cannot be mechanistic. They are “organic structure, [with] teamwork, participative, decentralized”. This is because to deal with instability effectively, the organization has to respond quickly. For example, take the case of W.L. Gore and Associates which has an organic structure. W.L. Gore and Associates has a lattice organization and there are no fixed or assigned authority4a. When the company had a crisis in 1978 when customers discovered that the Gore-Tex material was leaking, the company’s fabric and research divisions were able to offer a solution to wash the material to restore its waterproof quality. But when a mountain guide complained that his Gore-Tex parka was leaking while he is hiking in the mountains, the company realized the failure of the initial solution they offered and quickly recalled and bought back all their Gore-Tex products. They then produced a second generation Gore-Tex that did not leak and became the solution to their crisis.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mechanistic structures are mainly for organizations in a stable environment. They are hierarchical in nature with well-defined tasks and central authority. This type of structure works well in an environment where an organization does not need to respond rapidly to changes in the marketplace.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am writing this report for organisational structures which are different structures based on different categories in the business. For example a business like Volkswagen base their structure around the products as the products needs the most attention and all departments have to be involved in the production of the vehicles.…

    • 3222 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power & Authority

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Power is defined in the course study notes as the "ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition". Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The county Registrar of Voters, who is my boss, is a perfect example. In running the local elections office, she can exercise the ultimate power. However, in a situation where she attempted to get the county selected for a desirable, statewide pilot project, she was powerless, completely at the mercy of the Secretary of State. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where "the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear" (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on solely…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power in Business

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Power in a business situation can be described as having “the ability to influence people toward organisational objectives.” (US Navy, n.d.) There are many different forms of power that an individual may have within the workplace. Some examples of the various forms of power that an individual may exert are legitimate, referent, coercive, and informational. Each power source identified is used differently in managerial settings and subordinates react differently to each power type. These different forms of power help management in getting the required company objectives achieved. As each source of power is different the level of impact that it will have within the politics of business organisations will also differ.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anthropologists define power as the ability to take action if the face of resistance, through the use of force if necessary. The three aspects or modalities of power are authority, influence, and power itself. Some examples of power could be torturing and individual to get information, black mail, or keeping people enslaved. While authority is described as the ability to take action based on a person’s achieved or ascribed status or moral reputation. Unlike power, authority indicates the legitimate, socially approved use of power within particular institutions. This is pretty well known to those individuals that are currently living in the West. Our own elected officials hold a specific type of authority to govern our lands. Influence is the ability to achieve a desired end by exerting social or moral pressure on someone or some group. An example of this is a child trying to convince his parents to let him go out with his friends. He might bring up the fact that he’s been doing well in school and therefore persuade them to let him go. Power advocates the…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The word power has many meanings, “...rich in both political and personal associations.” [ (Manke, 1997, p. 3) ] Wrong (1995) claims where you are in the social order (your status) will influence your understanding of power. Geelan (2001) writes about Michel Foucault, one of the most influential thinkers about power of our time. He uses an analogy that a central argument of Foucault’s was that power is like mass energy in physics; it can “... be neither created nor destroyed, but only transformed and transferred.” (p.6) While there may not be a common understanding of what power is, Fadon (1985 cited in Manke, 1997) states that power can never really be seen, when some people are doing what others want, despite their own wishes, he said that power is at work.…

    • 1996 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Political Power

    • 1642 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Many political philosophers would argue that political science is nothing more than the study of political decision-making and how it affects the daily lives of the populous. Politically, having the ability to influence others is a very strong power that beckons responsibility. In order to obtain this, one must be able to convince others that what is being requested or instructed is being done in the best interest of the person and populous, in the name of the common good. Political power creates a foundation in our lives, through persuasion, manipulation, and our own morality, by which we are instructed about what we "ought to do."…

    • 1642 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    * Women on the news give the appearance that they work as a cocktail waitress instead of a news anchor.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    TOC \o "1-2" \h \z \u EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PAGEREF _Toc354331056 \h 2 HYPERLINK \l "_Toc354331057" POLITICAL PROCESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS PAGEREF _Toc354331057 \h 3…

    • 10556 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Powerful Essays