Reframing Organizations, 4th ed.

Chapter 9

Power, Conflict, and Coalitions

Power, Conflict and Coalitions

Assumptions of the Political Frame Organizations as Coalitions Power and Decision-Making Authorities and Partisans Sources of Power Distribution of Power: Overbounded and

Underbounded Systems Conflict in Organizations Moral Mazes: The Politics of Getting Ahead

Assumptions of the Political Frame

Organizations are coalitions Enduring differences among coalition

members Allocation of scarce resources Scarce resources and differences make

conflict the central dynamic which makes power the most important asset

Goals and decisions arise from bargaining, negotiation and jockeying for position

Organizations as Coalitions

Coalitions rather than pyramids Organizational goals are multiple and

sometimes conflicting because they reflect bargaining involving multiple players with divergent interests

Power and Decision-Making

Gamson: Authorities and partisans Authorities make binding decisions

Agents of social control Seek to maintain authority; their position depends

on it Partisans are subject to authorities’ decisions;

they will support or question authority depending on decisions affect their interests

Recipients of control from authorities Support authority when satisfied, but may

challenge when not

Sources of Power

Position power Control of rewards Coercive power Information and expertise Reputation Personal power Alliances and networks Access and control of agenda Framing: control of meaning and symbols

Distribution of Power: Overbounded and Underbounded Systems Overbounded: strong, top-down control,

conflict is tightly-regulated (e.g., Iraq under Saddam Hussein)

Underbounded: weak authority, chaotic decision-making, open conflict and power struggles (Iraq after invasion and collapse of old regime)

Conflict in Organizations

Conflict is natural and inevitable: organizations can have too much or too little

Political frame focuses on strategy and tactics for dealing with conflict

Forms of organizational conflict Hierarchical conflict Horizontal Cultural

Moral Mazes: The Politics of Getting Ahead Getting ahead is a political process involving

conflict for scarce resources Assessment of individual performance often

depends on subjective judgments Does advancement depend on doing good

work or doing what is politically correct? Organizations can’t eliminate politics, but they

can influence the kind of politics they have

Conclusion

The political frame sees a very different world from the traditional view of organizations Traditional: organizations are hierarchies, run

by legitimate authorities who set goals and manage performance

Political view: organizations are coalitions whose goals are determined by bargaining among multiple contenders

Politics can be nasty and brutish, but constructive politics is possible and necessary for organizations to be effective