Managing Power and People

George J. Seperich, Russell W. McCalley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780765616043
• eBook ISBN:
  9781315289670
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

This practical text offers management students as well as professionals a comprehensive guide to an essential management function: the use of power and authority to achieve specific objectives. Incorporating numerous case studies and examples of actual management experiences in both large and small companies, the book provides an effective approach to the use of power to manage people and projects successfully without fear of conflict. The work is based on a unique blending of management and leadership, combined to create a powerful influence on employees resulting in the "managed responses" required to reach the planned objective. Building on this principle, the authors demonstrate how managers can use the different types of power effectively in a wide variety of situations. They show how to make use of an organization's established power structure, and offer step-by-step guidance on the essential concept of FOCUS Management. Including learning objectives, case studies, and discussion questions, this text prepares students to apply what is learned directly to any working environment. An online Instructor's Manual is available for instructors who adopt the book.

Part I
Managing Power

1
Introduction

Whether directing a family-owned small business, an international corporation, or the government of the United States, those who are in a position to manage must use power. Someone with authority must give directions and maintain control over the functions of the organization as well as its workers or employees. The power centered in an organization’s structure and functions must be controlled, directed, and applied to managing the actions of the people who perform the work of the organization.

The title of this text, Managing Power and People, makes two significant assumptions. The first is that the power established in an organization can be managed. The second is that there is an instructional process that can equip managers to accomplish this important task in the management of people. It is the intention of this text to reveal how both of these goals can be accomplished.

If the power that is available to managers is to be productively used in a management process, it must be clearly and definitively identified and understood. This text recognizes that organizational power originates both in the hierarchy and in the operating functions. From these two sources the different types of power that managers use to fulfill their responsibilities may be developed.

Most members of an organization, whether in a management position or not, will be very familiar with the predominately used type of power, which this text identifies as entitled power. Those who are in a position to instruct others in what they should do and judge whether or not they do it well are managers with entitled power. This power is designated by one’s position in the organizational hierarchy.

The larger the organization, the more difficult it is to maintain control. In an attempt to make clear who is in charge, hierarchies are established to provide a power structure. In theory, those at the top of the hierarchy have the most power and those at the bottom have the least. We recognize this as position power, or the entitled power ascribed to those who have the title.

In some organizations, such as the military, the hierarchy is designated by rank. We are asked to recognize the rank as possessing power rather than the person holding the rank. Yet, we all know that not all sergeants, captains, or generals will use the power of their rank with the same courage or intensity to direct and control the activities of their function or the people for which they are responsible. Regardless of one’s rank in the hierarchy, the use of power is always subject to the predilection of those who hold the position. This is less true when one is managing from a position of authority. When the manager is authorized to take specific action in the performance of his or her duties, the opportunity to individualize the use of power is restricted.

In most organizations there are two hierarchies with which managers may be associated. There is the overall hierarchy of the organization and the hierarchy of the functional departments within the corporate structure. As an example, companies that are divisionalized may designate the head of each division as president or director of the division. This designation would place the one holding it at the top of the divisional hierarchy, but the holder might be only one of several in the overall structure of the organization. The president of a division may report to a senior vice president or an executive vice president in the corporate hierarchy. The importance of this distinction becomes apparent when one uses his or her power within each of the hierarchies. The corporate hierarchy will always take precedent over hierarchies in departments or divisions of the organization.

Managing Power

The structure of an organization is conceived, diagramed, and established by its founders much the way an architect would provide plans for the construction of a building. How these plans actually result in the formation of the organizations structure depends upon which functions will be included and the size of the operation.

When a building has been completed according to plan, it will normally remain as built with only periodic maintenance for many years. On the other hand, upon the establishment of an organizational plan, people must be hired and placed into the positions designated as required for it to function as intended. Once people are inserted into the structure, everything takes on new dimensions that will be forever changing. Individuals designated as managers have their own ideas of how a function should operate and how their authorized power may be used. For this reason, the power sources that are a part of the corporate hierarchy, and those authorized within the functions, are established and fundamentally unchangeable.

Sources of Organizational Power

In this first part of this text, a detailed analysis of organizational hierarchies is presented. The importance of the corporate hierarchy and of the functions is examined for their effect on a manager’s ability to establish and use power.

Since the physical structure of an organization significantly affects how power is distributed and recognized, this subject is presented to show the relationship between the structured authority within the functions and the power of the corporate hierarchy.

The Power Structure of an Organization

The physical structure containing the reporting relationship of the various functions indicates the power potential they are provided. Most organizations try to provide a balanced table of organization that identifies where the functions are located in the corporate hierarchy. They may appear equal in the structural layout, but if the ability to secure and use such resources as money and personnel are restricted, the power potential has been limited.

The Power of Group Membership

Not all of the power that affects an organization with significant consequences is under the control of the corporate leaders. The power of unions, employees’ groups, regulatory agencies, and even some management groups can be of paramount importance. How the corporation decides to manage these situations and the power used to do so is viewed through the example of actual case studies involving the consequences of using and abusing power.

The text also details the ability of corporations to form industrywide associations that brings the power of many large corporations together as a force against governments, unions and competitive interests. The benefits cooperatives can provide their members is presented in an evaluation of the large and powerful Land O’Lakes Cooperative.

Power is also developed by committees, marketing agreements, and collective participation in a variety of special interests. How this power is managed to the benefit of organizations and controlled by the corporations affected is of keen interest to managers on both sides of this subject. Students are presented with the alternatives for management action.

Usurping and Assuming Power

Wherever power is assigned to a position in the hierarchy, there is the potential that the manager responsible for using it will not be prepared or possess the management skill to take the necessary action. Should a power void occur, someone will usually step forward to provide the power and or leadership needed to drive the project forward. If a supervisor allows unauthorized power to develop without controls, management loses its ability to direct the action.

Dealing with those who will not use their power to provide management action is as much a problem as dealing with those who develop unauthorized power and use it for selfish interests. Assumed power is found in most organizations. Managing and avoiding the consequences that result from the use of assumed power is the learning objective of this important situation.

Power and Authority

Part II of this book provides the student with a close look at how power is authorized by a corporate hierarchy. The powers that are structured within the organization and the authority of those who manage services and functional activities such as manufacturing, marketing, research, and the like, are discussed in a variety of management situations. Each type of power is positioned in real case-study situations. The authors view power as a tool that can be used in different ways to accommodate the management situation and facilitate the pursuit of objectives.

Various types of power are discussed as they realistically occur in a variety of organizational formats. The use of authority is viewed as related to those who provide resources such as money, manpower, materials, information, and time. Authority is also the power used by the functions that provide services such as information, training, accounting, and legal advice to an organization.

Chapter 7, which discusses entitled power, is directed to specific types of managers and management situations as well. Since entitled power is one of the most universal in its application, a considerable amount of attention is given to this topic. How this most easily used and abused power type can best be applied by those who manage is an important subject of the text.

Authority represents the power source of resource providers. Their ability to control the availability and use of resources is a force that affects the managers of every function. The allocation of money, personnel, time, materials, and information is a controlling factor in every enterprise. How managers acquire and use power to enhance their ability to manage resources and direct the functions of the organization comprises Part I of the text.

The management of power is not only possible, but also essential if an organization is to be efficiently productive. The authors believe this book demonstrates how this task should be evaluated and pursued as well as how it can be accomplished.

2
The Power of Fear

No study of the use and effects of power would be complete without including fear as the most dominant factor of all. Reality demands inclusion of this topic in our text even though we do not endorse using any type of fear as a productive management tool. Even the legitimate use of authority and entitled power may be fearsome to some. Employees who are not a part of management or who find themselves under the entitled power of a hierarchy are susceptible to the power of fear. Many managers find the use of fear an easy way to gain compliance with their directives.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs

The human behaviorist Abraham Maslow proposes that we humans have a hierarchy of needs that corresponds to our willingness to take action. He identifies survival as our most basic need. Our fear of death will prompt us to take the most drastic actions. If there is no threat to our survival, we will next seek safety and comfort. This is followed by love or acceptance and then status or self-esteem. The element of fear is often introduced when the opportunity to reach any of the levels in our hierarchy of needs is withheld or threatened.

In our business life it is essential for us to feel that we are accepted and that our contribution is of value. When a manager does not demonstrate that employees are valued, it will often result in a competitive environment in which employees vie for inclusion by offering to perform special services that are not a part of their job. This can result in conflict, dissension, and derision from fellow employees.

The manager who seldom compliments good work creates the fear among employees that they are not competent and implies that more effort is required for acceptance. In time, people who are capable of good work will cease competing. The fear of being considered as less than successful will be replaced by lethargy.

For these reasons and others, we have taken the position that fear is not a force that managers can use to sustain improved productivity.

Maslow completed his hierarchy of human needs with the observation that when one has security and status, the next step to fulfillment is what he termed self-actualization. Since there is no fear factor associated with this level, it is seen as a worthy goal for those who have been successful in what they set out to accomplish.

Case Studies: The Power of Fear

The Sales Example

The manager of a 250-person retail sales force systematically used the power of fear to prompt performance. It was the announced policy of this manager that a ranking of employees according to their ability to reach the assigned sales quota would be made at the end of each year. The twenty-five sales-people who finished at the bottom of the performance list would be terminated, whether they made their quota or not. The fear of losing one’s job was always a motivational influence to this sales group.

As one would expect, few of these people gave any help to their fellow employees. It was more to be expected that cheating would take place. This was not a sales team; rather they were competitors in order to keep their jobs. Since the next year’s quota was based on the current year’s sales, there was also the fear of performing too well and being assigned a difficult and increased new quota as the reward for current success.

Using fear to motivate or manage employees shows a lack of leadership ability. Alternatives to using the power of fear are discussed in the chapters that follow.

The Advertising Vice President Example

A company that produced and sold food products under a well-known national brand name had a vice president of advertising that used a unique fear power technique. This company spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising annually. It employed two or three different advertising agencies at the same time, and made frequent agency changes. To make his job easier, the vice president of advertising developed a considerable amount of fear power. Shortly after hiring a new agency, it was his practice to insist that an employee of his choosing be removed from the agency team assigned to service their account. This introduction of fear by the innate power and pressure of the advertising vice president upon the management of the agency gave him considerable control over the people in charge of the company’s account.

This advertising manager confided to one of the authors of this text that whenever he was given a new job or advancement, he would fire someone to show his power. This action would implant fear and establish him as the dominant force in the group. His rationale was simple: show that you have power and are willing to use it in order to gain and maintain control, no matter what.

If it is the job of managers to encourage the best from their employees, one must question whether or not fear, used in this negative way, will support that goal. The use of fear to motivate will often prompt employees to take desperate measures to protect themselves. In the act of self-preservation they are not likely to make creative suggestions or take innovative actions.

The Fear of Decision Making

The San Francisco district manager of an international chemical manufacturer was ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figure
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Part I Managing Power
• Part II Managing People
• References
• Annotated Bibliography
• Index