According to authors Lee G. Bolman’s and Terrence E. Deal’s book, Reframing Organizations, one of the most important models or framework for understanding the manner in which an organization is run is the Political Frame. The political frame focuses on power, conflict and competition within an organization. Traditionally, this view point sees organizations as “created and controlled by legitimate authorities who set goals, design structure, hire and manage employees and ensure pursuit of the right objectives.” (page 204). The book continues to explain that this puts power and conflict at the heart of decision making within the organization.
The Political Frame operates under 5 assumptions. They are as follows:
• Organizations are coalitions
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In other words, power within this institution is highly concentrated and regulated at the top. Because SUNY Downstate Medical Center has been operating at a steep deficit of over 106 million dollars, there has been a scarcity of resources. As a result, the limited resources are available are strictly regulated by top administration leave no autonomy to department heads and managers. In an effort to maintain control and ensure that resources are being used in the best way possible or that the institution is getting more bang for every buck, all final decisions are signed off by the President, the EVP & COO and the VP of Hospital Finance. If all three of these individuals do not jointly agree on a particular project, contract, purchase or activity to take place, then nothing will be done. In this way, power is key. It confers the ability of top administration to allocate resources, almost in a way, to increase power and to consolidate power by bringing only the goals that they deem important to the core of the …show more content…
With a huge deficit looming in the shadows, there has been a decreased sense of job security within the institution. Employees are fearful that because there are no extra funds within the institution, that very soon, more people will be discharged. This is following a steep number of people that were fired after SUNY DMC took a financial hit after buying and merging with Long Island College Hospital back in 2012. It is with this limited sense of job security that upper administration exercises their power. In other words, if a request is made by upper management, employees within the organization are hesitant to oppose or even suggest an alternate way of doing tasks out of fear of losing their jobs.
While the overwhelming, narrowed control of power is very apparent within the organization, there was, at one point, a sense of partisanship within the departments at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Employees generally work together to best achieve the goals, missions and objectives of the institution. Lately, however, low morale is forcing the employees to work to rule. Employees are not exercising autonomy or taking initiative anymore because there is a sense that upper management will make the final decisions to do what they feel might be best without regard for partisan
The CEO’s Day Overview This case examines the multiple duties that the President and CEO of Midvale Community Hospital, Terry Blaze, participated in throughout the day to ensure that the hospital is running effectively. Throughout the day, Blaze attends numerous meetings, which are directed towards improvements, changes, or concerns that will overall affect the hospital. During several of them, he is required to make final decisions; however, he often directs other personnel to make that final judgment call. It was evident that Blaze wore many hats as the President and CEO of the hospital, which made it evident that his time was stretched thin. This could result in tasks going unfinished or completed incorrectly.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
...ng to pay or sacrifice to obtain such a goal, and take the necessary steps to ensure that all parties involved in the negotiation are in understanding of one another. With this particular type of power breeds confidence and confidence creates the ability to listen rather than prepare to answer.
The political lens examines an organization through the “roots of conflict” in “different and competing interests, and disagreements” (Ancona, Kochan, Scully, Van Maanen, & Westney, 2005: M-2, 33). The political aspect of an organization requires the “exercise of power and influence” by stakeholders over others to achieve “buy-in” (Ancona et al., 2005: M-2, 33). I will analyze Dynacorp through the political lens to discuss the factors that will hinder of facilitate the success of the change to the front end/back end design (Dynacorp Revisited, 2005: M-2, 85).
Managers know the importance of having positive relationships with their employees. It boosts the company’s goals while the lack of any relationship with the workers may lead to losses in the business. Most managers rarely know that they are looked up to by many employees and, as such, should be careful with the actions they take. Lee b. Bolman & Terrence E. Deal, the authors of the book The Reframing Organizations, point out that the kind of measures taken in the business influences the employees acts and thoughts. In particular, this book gives insight to managers on how to relate to their subordinates. The discussion is carried out on the three parts of the book that highlight the missteps taken by managers as they try to improve their businesses.
Power is everywhere; in organizations, relationships, businesses, government, education, et cetera. Power is defined as a capacity that X has to persuade the behavior of Y so that Y acts according to X's wishes (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Power is essential because without it, organization and leadership effectiveness is eliminated within the confounds of the given relationship. A dependency is Y's relationship to X when X possesses something that Y requires (Robbins & Judge, 2007). In essence, there are five bases of power: Coercive power, Reward power, Legitimate power, Expert power, and Referent power (Robbins & Judge, 2007). The scenario exemplifies each power and how each is used. The scenario also illustrates the dependency relationship of each power for the parties involved.
In different industries, there are companies that operate for a purpose, but the bottom line is the management style between supervisors and subordinate can break or make an organization. Organizations and businesses have to run their management a certain way in order to motivate their employees. The main type of organization management is the Classical Theory which contains Theory X. There are five key employee conflict management styles. Building relationships between employees and managers is crucial for an organization to function and execute their purpose whether it is to provide a service or product. Both theories and conflict strategies were present in the film “Office Space” to demonstrate the negatives of corrupt management and ongoing conflicts which were not resolved that led to destruction.
Usually, the belief is that the managers, administrators, presidents or even the supervisors, have the greatest source of power, because they are at the top of the ladder in the hierarchy of the organization. The reality is that they need
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
Office politics can have advantages that may motivate certain employees and cliques. It can be very productive, as they usually know each other well and can utilize each person’s talent in a team setting. How a supervisor or manger deals with office politics can ultimately lead to his or her success or demise. It can also be the most unproductive and destructive problem in the workplace; which can derail the best laid business plans. It can eventually take down what was once a profitable smooth running business if it is allowed to continue or if upper management is a participant.
The political frame relies on the assumption that organizations are alliances of unique people and interest groups. The people are unique due to their different views of the world, their morals, faith and activities and the information they have given these characteristics. The political frame also assumes that all key decisions arise from the need to allocate scarce resources such as time, money and information. These scarce resources and differences amongst people are what make conflict the core of organizational dynamics and make power such a crucial asset. Finally, the political frame assumes that all objectives and conclusions are e...
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 soley hierarchical authority.
Power equals influence. It 's personal, too, residing within those who wield it. Sometimes a position of authority within an organization lends power to a person, but borrowed power isn 't necessarily as effective as power derived from leadership. Every organization has leaders who hold no positional authority, yet somehow wield influence, while managers who should be able to command respect flounder. Small-business owners wanting to enhance their influence and that of their managers should consider the five sources of power available at organizations. Three come with position. The other two are available to anyone.
In reality, most employees pretend to be non-assertive, let others make decisions but remain resentful to a resolution reached. Despite allowing the top management makes a vital decision on the conflict most team members remain aggressive. They use their powers to pass a clear stand that the autocratic interventions are non-satisfactory.
The moment an individual actively pursues an interest or works toward the completion of a goal, it is projected outside him. For example, a person is shopping for a car. The situation is no longer individual because he cannot achieve his goal of obtaining a new car alone; another person or dealership must make the car available to him. Because the person selling the car also has a goal, there is interplay of interests, and the implications of politics.