The Importance of Power in Management

‭The importance of power in management‬ ‭ ower‬ P ‭To succeed in promoting or defending his interests, the actor must interact with others‬ ‭and this is where the power of each person inevitably comes into play. The latter can be‬ ‭defined as the ability of the actor to influence others in such a way that it can allow him‬ ‭to benefit from them with regard to the interests he pursues.‬ ‭ he bases of power‬ T ‭Power of coercion:‬‭Ability to coerce others through the use of force, intimidation or fear of‬ ‭reprisals (e.g. dismissals, salary reduction, promotion system, etc.)‬ ‭ ower of reward:‬‭Ability to influence based on the granting or promise of material‬ P ‭or symbolic rewards (promotion, salary increase, stimulating task)‬ ‭ ierarchical power:‬‭Ability to dictate the conduct of others based on hierarchical‬ H ‭authority. (orders, regulations, administrative policies)‬ ‭ harismatic power:‬‭Ability to influence based on identification with personal‬ C ‭qualities (ideas, charisma, vision, charm)‬ ‭ raditional power:‬‭Ability to influence based on mastery of traditions (values, rites, beliefs,‬ T ‭seniority)‬ ‭ ower of expertise:Ability to influence based on the expertise of the actor (skills,‬ P ‭competencies, information)‬ ‭Political games‬ ‭ rom a political perspective, it therefore appears that organizations are deeply political‬ F ‭universes which bring together a diversity of actors with interests that are not always‬ ‭convergent and very often contradictory.‬ ‭ urviving in an organization then means investing in its political game, since an organization‬ S ‭is always a political playing field, a plural space where the interests of some collide with the‬ ‭interests of others, where negotiation to hogging resources is permanent.‬ I‭f organizations are technical realities, they are also deeply political spaces that we can‬ ‭decode in terms of challenges, ofRule of the game, of players, of resources, from interactions‬ ‭and D' arbitrator. (Components of the political game) (Table of the organizational political‬ ‭game‬ ‭ he art of management consists of substituting a common interest where there is, in fact, an‬ T ‭indefinite variety of potentially conflicting individual interests. The common interest, the‬ ‭mission, the strategic intentions and the collective objectives are the fruit of the political‬ ‭game.‬ ‭ he manager must be able to convince, influence and generate support in a context‬ T ‭where all the players are, to varying degrees, capable of influencing the collective game.‬ ‭Political skills‬ ‭ rom a political perspective, the manager is also a political player, an actor who has interests,‬ F ‭access to resources and an ability to mobilize rules in order to control issues, particularly‬ ‭management issues.‬ ‭ s a political actor, the manager can also count on his legitimate power, on the authority that‬ A ‭everyone immediately gives him within the organization. However, before using his legitimate‬ ‭authority to impose the performance objectives which are the principle of the technical‬ ‭system for which he is responsible, the manager must be a skilful reader of the political reality‬ ‭of the organization, one who knows how to discern the interests that everyone tries to‬ ‭advance by engaging in the political game of the organization.‬ ‭ y demonstrating political skills, the manager therefore seeks to align the interests of the‬ B ‭organization's stakeholders with technical objectives. The possible political conflicts that‬ ‭the meeting of the interests of each party generates and then pave the way for a logic.‬ ‭ mong the range of political skills that can be identified, managers must mainly master‬ A ‭influence and negotiation skills. On the one hand, managers must master the art of‬ ‭influencing the action of organizational members rather than controlling them‬ -‭Restore their legitimate capacity to impose administrative directives. Through their ability‬ ‭to influence each other, managers can then unite them around the organization's‬ ‭performance objectives, build a connection between their particular interests and the‬ ‭performance objectives.‬ ‭The symbolic perspective‬ ‭ ust like the previous one, the symbolic perspective is juxtaposed with the technical‬ J ‭system and decodes it in terms of values that matter to the members of the organization.‬ ‭The organization itself is seen as a system of intertwined values, a system which then‬ ‭takes the form of an organizational identity. Faced with this symbolic reality, managers‬ ‭must master symbolic skills, in particular that which consists of bringing all members‬ ‭together around a common organizational identity and ensuring that the values of each‬ ‭person are mixed around a project of integration of individual values.‬ ‭The symbolic organization‬ ‭ nder the gaze of the symbolic perspective, the members of the organization are motivated‬ U ‭by the values which base their actions and the organization is seen as being a place of‬ ‭mixing of individual values, a place which makes it possible to build a collective identity‬ ‭which promotes integration of everyone around shared values‬ I‭n symbolic terms, the organizational actor embodies values that he wishes to share with‬ ‭others. The actor's values guide his action and give it a symbolic meaning which goes well‬ ‭beyond the interest sought, because they are experienced in terms of identity requirements or‬ ‭duties to be respected, rather than in terms of benefits. expected.‬ ‭ alues reflect the identity requirements of actors and not their interests. They reflect their‬ V ‭convictions, beliefs and principles.‬ I‭dentity questions‬ ‭Under the gaze of the symbolic perspective, the organizational actor therefore judges the‬ ‭quality of his action on the basis of his values. These are the values in which he believes and‬ ‭which he embodies daily which allow us to fully appreciate the quality of his actions. In the‬ ‭same way, for the actor, the collective action that the organization brings into play will be‬ ‭judged on the basis of the values that it embodies.‬ ‭ o evaluate the quality of the organization's collective action, the actor then asks himself‬ T ‭identity questions which cover many aspects of organizational life. The actor questions‬ ‭himself about the dominant value which guides organizational action, about the qualities‬ ‭and defects of the members of the organization, about the quality of their actions, about the‬ ‭values that managers embody, about material objects and the symbolic devices that the‬ ‭organization displays and which deserve respect and, finally, on the ideal that the‬ ‭organization must embody. (values: Dominant value, Qualities sought after, Flaws despised,‬ ‭Determining actions, Exemplary roles, Objects and devices respected, Image of the‬ ‭organization)‬ ‭All these questions bring values into play and demonstrate the fact that the reality of the‬ ‭organization is never reduced to its technical dimension alone.‬ ‭Organizational identity‬ ‭By answering the identity questions they ask themselves, by acting in accordance with their‬ ‭values and simply through their daily interactions, the members of an organization construct‬ ‭a collective identity which is made visible through their collective action.‬ ‭By combining the possible answers to the identity questions asked by the members of an‬ ‭organization, we can then distinguish six major organizational identities: traditional, civic,‬ ‭professional, commercial, innovative and prestigious.‬ ‭The six identities are autonomous, but can undergo cross-breeding, sometimes at the cost‬ ‭of identity conflicts.‬ ‭Each of these identities is in itself coherent and self-sufficient.‬ ‭Furthermore, if all organizational identities are self-sufficient, they can also open spaces for‬ ‭exchange. From these encounters new identities can emerge, but also identity conflicts.‬