University:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Course:
15.501/516 | Accounting
Academic year:

2023
Views:

237

Pages:

10
Author:

German Collins

Ambivalence about POWER I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies. —Napoleon Bonaparte Contact with men who wield power and authority still leaves an intangible sense of repulsion. It's very like being in close proximity to faecal matter. —Jean Baudrillard The Political Perspective z Ideas, no matter how brilliant, alone change nothing • XEROX PARC z Not all conflict is due to miscommunication • Ignoring the issue of power won’t make it go away z Management is about influence • Power is the ability to get people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do (and like it). z The exercise of power need not be ostentatious • In some contexts, politics yields the most influence when it is performed invisibly and legitimately so as to provoke little resistance Leadership is the ability to get people to do things they did not want to do, and make them happy they did them. —Winston Churchill Organization as Political System ... Key Concepts: Power and influence, social networks, interests, dominant coalition Key Processes: Conflict, negotiation, forming (dissolving) relationships View of Environment: Stakeholders Role of Leader: Forging coalitions, identifying and leveraging interests, negotiating Stimuli for change: Shifts in dominant coalition, in power of stakeholders Barriers to change: “Entrenched interests” Power: The Ability to Mobilize Resources to Get Things Done Networks: The Map of the Political Landscape z z Power accrues to those who are central in the network Power accrues to those who understand the network Understanding Networks z Not easy: The best get only half of it right z Critical to powerful, effective leadership z A source of power to those who may have no formal power at all, even outsiders … Different types of power represented by different types of networks … z z Advise network: Reveals the power of getting things done in the routines Affect Network: Reveals the power of getting things done in the face of crises or major changes NETWORK CENTRALITY Three Flavors … Popularity Centrality – – Describes one who is influential within a clique Often the informal leader Closeness centrality – – Useful for diffusing information quickly Also useful as listening posts for rumors Betweenness Centrality (Structural Holes) – – Gatekeepers of information Access to non-redundant information Law of Propinquity 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 20 40 60 Distance (meters) 80 100 Diagnosing the Network: z z z z Groups, leaders and bridges are the first features to look for … Develop stakeholder’s map What are the interests of each group, leader and bridge Proper visualization helps but is difficult The Critical Question … HOW DO NETWORKS FORM ? Law of propinquity (with implications for strategic design of organizations) Reciprocity & Relationships (drawing on culture - notions of fair play, shared fate, etc.) Conflict and Negotiation … (‘the friend of my enemy is my enemy’)