Group Formation and Structure

Group is communion of two or more individuals interacting among themselves for the accomplishments of similar goals. Its important elements are group interaction and common goals. Group is formed to satisfy the needs of an organisation.

On the basis of formation, groups in an organisation can be classified as formal work groups and informal work groups. Formal groups are created by the organisations and there are four types of formal groups. They are command group, the committees, the team and the self-managed work teams. Informal groups are formed by individual employees and can be divided as friendship groups and interest groups. Group sizes are of two types and they are small and large groups. The development of groups is divided into five stages – forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

A Person joins any company as an individual and after that he joins a group or forms a group. It is done as to satisfy the needs of an organisation. These needs can be psychological, social, safety, economic and cultural needs which may not be fulfilled by the organisation. Group can be defined as communion of two or more individuals interacting among themselves for the fulfillment of similar goal. The important elements of group are group interaction and common goals.

The factors that influence the formation of groups in organisation are psychological, social, security, economic, cultural, proximity, interactive interest and influence. The groups in an organisation can be classified on the basis of their formation. There are two types of work groups and they are:

1. Formal Work Groups

2. Informal Work Groups

Formal groups are the one that are created by the organisation for some specific purposes. There are four types of formal work groups in an organisation and they are

(a) Command Group

(b) The Committees

(c) The Team

(d) Self Managed Work Teams

Informal groups are formed by the individual employees and emerge naturally in organisations. They are perceived as it is difficult for their organisation to formally fulfill some of their bare needs. Sometimes, some employees form informal groups due to their ideological similarities. These work groups are considered shadow of the formal organisation. They can be divided into two types and they are:-

(a) Friendship Groups

(b) Interest Groups

The size of the group is an important aspect to determine the functioning and performing of its members. It is measured by the number of full-time members who are involved in achieving set goals. Group sizes are of types and they are:-

(a) Small groups

(b) Large group

What is a Group?

A group is:

• �two or more people who share a common definition and evaluation of themselves and behave in accordance with such a definition�

(Vaughan & Hogg, 2002, p. 200)

• a collection of people who interact with one another, accept rights and obligations as members and who share a common identity.

Criteria for a group include:

• formal social structure

• face-to-face interaction

• 2 or more persons

• common fate

• common goals

• interdependence

• self-definition as group members

• recognition by others

Societies can be seen as large groups consisting of a myriad of sub-groups.

Stages of group formation

Bruce Tuckman's 1965 Forming Storming Norming Performing team-development model

Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes leadership style. Beginning with a directing style, moving through coaching, then participating, finishing delegating and almost detached. At this point the team may produce a successor leader and the previous leader can move on to develop a new team. This progression of team behaviour and leadership style can be seen clearly in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum - the authority and freedom extended by the leader to the team increases while the control of the leader reduces. In Tuckman's Forming Storming Norming Performing model, Hersey's and Blanchard's Situational Leadership® model and in Tannenbaum and Schmidt's Continuum, we see the same effect, represented in three ways.

forming - stage 1

High dependence on leader for guidance and direction. Little agreement on team aims other than received from leader. Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear. Leader must be prepared to answer lots of questions about the team's purpose, objectives and external relationships. Processes are often ignored. Members test tolerance of system and leader. Leader directs (similar to Situational Leadership® 'Telling' mode).

storming - stage 2

Decisions don't come easily within group. Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who might receive challenges from team members. Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist. Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles. The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted

by relationships and emotional issues. Compromises may be required to enable progress. Leader coaches (similar to Situational Leadership® 'Selling' mode).

norming - stage 3

Agreement and consensus is largely forms among team, who respond well to facilitation by leader. Roles and responsibilities are clear and accepted. Big decisions are made by group agreement. Smaller decisions may be delegated to individuals or small teams within group. Commitment and unity is strong. The team may engage in fun and social activities. The team discusses and develops its processes and working style. There is general respect for the leader and some of leadership is more shared by the team. Leader facilitates and enables (similar to the Situational Leadership® 'Participating' mode).

performing - stage 4

The team is more strategically aware; the team knows clearly why it is doing what it is doing. The team has a shared vision and is able to stand on its own feet with no interference or participation from the leader. There is a focus on over-achieving goals, and the team makes most of the decisions against criteria agreed with the leader. The team has a high degree of autonomy. Disagreements occur but now they are resolved within the team positively and necessary changes to processes and structure are made by the team. The team is able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. team members look after each other. The team requires delegated tasks and projects from the leader. The team does not need to be instructed or assisted. Team members might ask for assistance from the leader with personal and interpersonal development. Leader delegates and oversees (similar to the Situational Leadership® 'Delegating' mode).

adjourning - stage 5

Tuckman's fifth stage, Adjourning, is the break-up of the group, hopefully when the task is completed successfully, its purpose fulfilled; everyone can move on to new things, feeling good about what's been achieved. From an organizational perspective, recognition of and sensitivity to people's vulnerabilities in Tuckman's fifth stage is helpful, particularly if members of the group have been closely bonded and feel a sense of insecurity or threat from this change. Feelings of insecurity would be natural for people with high 'steadiness' attributes (as regards the 'four temperaments' or DISC model) and with strong routine and empathy style (as regards the Benziger thinking styles model, right and left basal brain dominance).

Leadership Qualities

Leadership is nothing but the quality which makes a person stands out different from other ordinary employees. It is associated with such a person who has aggressiveness in speech and action, love for the employees, and who can handle pressure under different circumstances and a person who is always ready to fight for the rights of employee. A leader is useless without followers. It is the followers who make a person as a leader and if required overthrow him.

Leaders play a critical role during change implementation, the period from the announcement of change through the installation of the change. During this middle period the organization is the most unstable, characterized by confusion, fear, loss of direction, reduced productivity, and lack of clarity about direction and mandate. It can be a period of emotionalism, with employees grieving for what is lost, and initially unable to look to the future.

In addition to forecast and amiability, the characteristics that leader must have are ability to recognize employees' talents, the know-how to make teams work and an open mind.

Leadership does vary to some extent as per the positions i.e. it may be slight different for manager and different for a union leader but the basic qualities of leadership does not change.

1. Good communication skill

Communication is the key to be a great leader. The reason for this is simple: if he possesses the other nine leadership qualities but if he fails to communicate well, he will never be great leader.

What he can do is communicate with others in the organization about what IT can do to move the company forward. In other words, good communication is the key for developing good business relationships. If he can’t establish a good business working relationship, he is not going to be that leader, that team player. He will not be able to communicate how IT can add long-term value to the company. The modern leaders must therefore be equipped with good communication skill and use new ways to do effective communication.

2. Honesty

The most valuable asset of a leader is honesty. He must be honest with both his employees and the management committee. Another part of his features is integrity. Once a leader compromises his or her integrity, it is lost. That is perhaps the reason integrity is considered the most admirable trait. The leaders therefore must keep it "above all else."

3. Visionary outlook

Leadership qualities are different for different position. For a CIO he must be thinking for stabilizing the current business and always looking for future scope of expansion. He has to be able to look beyond

where we are today, know where the business is going, and be able to use that vision to move the company forward. Being able to do this is a rare skill indeed.

4. Selecting a good team

A good CIO although he possesses sound technical skills he assures that the team he selects is efficient enough to back up any skill he lacks. Choosing the best people for such team is a skill. A CIO after all is a human being and does not have answer for everything. But by working together he creates an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect; the team then always find the best solution.

5.Action speaks louder than words

Managers must be able to put aside their concerns to listen to (and appear to listen to) those around them. As a result, they come know what is going on, and know what is both said, and said between the lines. They have the knack of appearing to know what people need even if those needs are not expressed directly. However, knowing what is going on, and identifying the needs of those around them is not sufficient. The responsive manager also acts upon that knowledge, attempting to help fulfill the needs of employees, superiors, etc. Responsive managers wield influence to solve problems for those around them, often before even being asked.

6. Ability to motivate people around

A good leader must always keep motivating his team mates for good work and should maintain healthy environment. He must give first priority to safety of workers and see that they are not exploited by superiors.

7. Consistency

Leadership effectiveness is impossible without consistency. Every leader has an approach that is unique to them. Don't change your personal style radically after all; it got you in a leadership position. Modify the rough spots but take care not to confound your staff by displaying inconsistency. Your expectations, though subject to modification based on ever-changing business needs, should remain as constant as possible. The business world is confusing enough without you adding unwelcome surprises into the mix. Keep things simple and consistent.

8. Ability to stand against critics

As the success rate increases your critics multiply and become louder. Come to peace with the fact that you will always have a camp of people who critique every decision you make. They are generally the ones who are excellent problem-identifiers rather than problem-solvers. Develop your skills of repelling such critics so that they do not diminish your confidence or enthusiasm.

It takes focus and confidence not to be adversely affected by criticism. Strong leaders learn the art of listening to critics, but ultimately making decisions for the good of the department, not to simply please the critics. The following quote sums it up nicely: "Some of the most talented people are terrible leaders because they have a crippling need to be loved by everyone." As rightly stated by James Schorr.

Self-Leader ship

Self-leadership has been more broadly defined as "the process" of influencing oneself to establish the self-direction and self-motivation needed to perform. 2 Research across a variety of settings, from the educational domain to the airline industry, has shown that the practice of effective self-leadership by employees can lead to a plethora of benefits including improved job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and mental performance. 3 Self-Leadership involves "leading oneself" via the utilization of both behavioral and mental techniques. Behavioral self-leadership techniques involve self-observation, self-goal-setting, management of antecedents to behavior (e.g., cues), modification of consequents to behavior (e.g., self-reinforcement, self-punishment), and the finding of natural rewards in tasks performed. Mental self-leadership techniques involve examination and alteration of self-dialogue, beliefs and assumptions, mental imagery, and thought patterns (habits in one’s thinking). An in-depth discussion of these techniques, is provided in our soon to be released book, "Mastering Self-Leadership: Empowering Yourself For Personal Excellence, (2nd Edition)" (Prentice-Hall, Forthcoming).

It is important to note that effective self-leadership is not founded on narcissistic or "blindly" independent employee behaviors with total disregard to the work group or organization. Rather, effective self-leadership involves a coordinated effort between the employee and the group and/or organization as a whole.4 Implicit in this view is a potential trade-off or balance between the self-leadership of an individual employee and the self-leadership of the work group and/or organization as a collective. This suggests that effective self-leadership involves achieving an equilibrium between focusing on the cohesiveness of a work group and/or organization and focusing on the value and identity of each individual employee. Thus, self-leadership does not require entirely autonomous behavior without regard to the team or organization. Nor does it require that the identity and value of each individual employee be entirely put aside in favor of the work group or organization. Rather, an effective self-leadership perspective would encourage individuals to find their own personal identity and mode of contribution as part of establishment of a group or organization that produces synergistic performance.

In sum, self-leadership provides considerable promise for taking the pursuit of employee effectiveness to the next level. Indeed, effectively self-led employees, both behaviorally and cognitively, may offer the best blueprint for achieving employee and organizational effectiveness in the 21st century.

Personal Leadership can be viewed as the ability to lead yourself and others; it’s the ability to define what you want from life and how you intend to get it.

The Essence of Personal Leadership means;

• Taking action

• Living each day to the fullest

• Knowing what success looks like to you

• Knowing what your goals are

And most importantly knowing that you’re going to achieve those goals regardless of what other people say, think, or do.

Personal Leadership also means ACCOUNTABILITY, it means that YOU

• Will use the talents that are unique to you

• Will develop them to reach your goals

• Realize that you have the potential to achieve all that you desire

In addition Personal Leadership means that you have determined the course of your future; that you are the master of your life that you alone define what you want your future to be.

When you have made these decisions, you possess and exhibit Personal Leadership.

• Problems become challenges

• Failure becomes a setbacks and more importantly a learning experiences

• Each day of your life becomes exciting, challenging, and rewarding

• Success becomes a way of living

You possess the kind of self-confidence that insures the successful outcome of any goal you set for yourself.

12 Rules for Self-Leadership:

1. Set goals for your life; not just for your job. What we think of as “meaning of life” goals affect your lifestyle outside of work too, and you get whole-life context, not just work-life, each feeding off the other.

2. Practice discretion constantly, and lead with the example of how your own good behavior does get great results. Otherwise, why should anyone follow you when you lead?

3. Take initiative. Volunteer to be first. Be daring, bold, brave and fearless, willing to fall down, fail, and get up again for another round. Starting with vulnerability has this amazing way of making us stronger when all is done.

4. Be humble and give away the credit. Going before others is only part of leading; you have to go with them too. Therefore, they’ve got to want you around!

5. Learn to love ideas and experiments. Turn them into pilot programs that preface impulsive decisions. Everything was impossible until the first person did it.

6. Live in wonder. Wonder why, and prize “Why not?” as your favorite question. Be insatiably curious, and question everything.

7. There are some things you don’t take liberty with no matter how innovative you are when you lead. For instance, to have integrity means to tell the truth. To be ethical is to do the right thing. These are not fuzzy concepts.

8. Believe that beauty exists in everything and in everyone, and then go about finding it. You’ll be amazed how little you have to invent and much is waiting to be displayed.

9. Actively reject pessimism and be an optimist. Say you have zero tolerance for negativity and self-fulfilling prophecies of doubt, and mean it.

10. Champion change. As the saying goes, those who do what they’ve always done, will get what they’ve always gotten. The only things they do get more of are apathy, complacency, and boredom.

11. Be a lifelong learner, and be a fanatic about it. Surround yourself with mentors and people smarter than you. Seek to be continually inspired by something, learning what your triggers are.

12. Care for and about people. Compassion and empathy become you, and keep you ever-connected to your humanity. People will choose you to lead them.

Leadership Styles

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership styles. The three major styles of leadership are (U.S. Army Handbook, 1973):

o Authoritarian or autocratic

o Participative or democratic

o Delegative or Free Reign

Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style.

Authoritarian (autocratic)

I want both of you to. . .

This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.

Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style called “bossing people around.” It has no place in a leader's repertoire.

The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style.

Participative (democratic)

Let's work together to solve this. . .

This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect.

This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything — this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit — it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.

Delegative (free reign)

You two take care of the problem while I go. . .

In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.

This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely!

NOTE: This is also known as laissez faire (or lais•ser faire), which is the noninterference in the affairs of others. [French : laissez, second person pl. imperative of laisser, to let, allow + faire, to do.]

Forces

A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include:

o Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee.

o Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team.

o Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything and the employee needs to take ownership of her job! In addition, this allows you to be at other places, doing other things.

o Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative).

Forces that influence the style to be used included:

o How much time is available.

o Are relationships based on respect and trust or on disrespect?

o Who has the information — you, your employees, or both?

o How well your employees are trained and how well you know the task.

o Internal conflicts.

o Stress levels.

o Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple?

o Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans.

Positive and Negative Approaches

There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employers emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leader's repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit.

Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimanding employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by frightening everyone into higher levels of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity.

Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders.

Use of Consideration and Structure

Two other approaches that leaders use are:

Consideration (employee orientation) — leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support.

Structure (task orientation) — leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce.

There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job

Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured.

Power

Kenneth E. Boulding, Three Faces of Power, (Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, 1989).

Boulding describes the nature of power as a social structure. He describes the objects and pathologies of power. Boulding begins with the simple definition of power as the ability to get what one wants. From there he breaks the notion of power down into three general categories, based on the consequences of the exercise of power. Destructive power is the power to destroy. Threats are a typical exercise of destructive power, and the military is an example of an institution organized around destructive power. Productive power is the power to make and create. Exchange and trade are typical productive behaviors, and economics is an organized form of productive power. Integrative power is the power to create relationships and bring people together. Relationships of love and respect rest on integrative power, and social groups use integrative power to gain members and maintain their loyalty. Boulding cautions that each type of power has positive and negative uses. For instance, destructive power is used positively when a doctor destroys a tumor. He also observes that while one type of power may predominate in some behaviors or organizations, generally there are elements of each type present.

Boulding addresses the distribution of power by examining the social structures of power. He argues that power in groups tends to be hierarchical. Due to human limitations on the ability to communicate, decision-making roles develop. Instructions flow down the hierarchy, while information flows up. Within a hierarchical structure, power is limited by available knowledge. Boulding also argues that "hierarchical power cannot survive unless it can be legitimated. Authority in some sense is always granted from below."[p. 44] Examples of structures of power include the institution of property, and the nation-state. Power structures generally rest on a complex mix of the three types of power. Boulding says that the role of integrative power in maintaining structures is both the most important, and the least recognized or understood.

Boulding considers three classes of objects of power: material objects, non-human animals and other living creatures, and persons. The exercise of power over humans is greatly complicated by persons' independent wills. Generally the choice of which type of power to use will depend in part on the nature of the object. You cannot bribe a tree to fall; only destructive power will do. Occasionally power will be exercised for its own sake, without any object. Sometimes the object of an exercise of one type of power is to increase other one's ability to exercise other types of power.

The old saying that "power corrupts" recognizes the potential for some exercises of power to become pathological. Boulding notes however that it is not merely power which may be corrupting, but also influence, and even powerlessness. Boulding argues that the primary source of pathology is an unrealistic image of one's power, and suggests possible causes of such unrealistic images. Each type of power has its own pathological forms. An example of pathology is the use of national power simply to maintain a state's position in the international "pecking order." Civil wars have a high potential to become pathological. Pathological concentrations of power can develop when power attracts more power, or when "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." Conflicts, which are always at root about distributions of power, can become pathological when third-parties who do not bear the costs of the conflict benefit from it.

Personal Power

The next four chapters examine the destructive, economic and integrative types of personal power. Personal power refers to the power wielded by an individual. Generally destructive power is the easiest form of power for an individual to use. Because it is the easiest to use, people often exercise destructive power to counter their feelings of powerless. Defensive power can be used in self-defense, or it can be used to threaten others. Defensive power plays a role in maintaining an integrated society. The threat of social exclusion helps keep people obedient to social norms. Personal destructive power plays a large role in certain political systems, such as dictatorships. Just as tyrants rule by physical threat, some religious leaders may control their adherents by the use of spiritual threats. The greatest exercise of personal destructive power is when one person has the power to declare war. One of the dangers of destructive power is that when individuals (or organizations) have specialized in destructive power, they often feels compelled to use that power, lest it erode from disuse. People will create opportunities, or "pick a fight," in order to use their destructive abilities.

Personal economic power is most easily measured by the amount of money an individual controls, although there are factors which complicate this measurement. One is the difficulty in distinguishing clearly between the economic power of an individual and a household. Another is the distinction between income, wealth, and consumption. One element of economic power which cannot be easily measured by money is the value of a person's physical and mental abilities. Personal economic power will depend in part upon the inheritance practices in the larger society, and partly upon an individual's skill and luck in increasing their original stake. There seems to be a limit to the ability of economic power to improve an individual's quality of life, that is, there seems to be a point at which further riches will not substantially improve an individual's life.

Boulding says that integrative power is both the most difficult to define and yet potentially the most significant form of power. For example, both destructive and economic power must be legitimate to be fully effective, and legitimacy is an aspect of integrative power. Jesus, Muhammad and the Buddha are exemplars of integrative power; none of the three had great destructive or economic power. The most basic form of integrative power is love, in the widest sense. And love is most powerful when it is reciprocated. Boulding sees respect as another example of integrative power at work. Respect is then closely related to legitimacy. The creation and maintenance of individuals' identities depends on the

integrative system in a society. Individuals gain their particular identities by gaining the respect and acknowledgment of others. Personal integrative power relies on the complex social network of integrative power, which in turn depends on a network of communication and learning. The degree of integrative power possible is higher in societies in which learning is open-ended. Boulding discusses the paradoxical integrative power of the weak. An individuals' weakness and neediness creates a demand on the stronger to help and support the weak. Having a network of friends tends to both increase personal integrative power, and to lead to further friendships, and so further gains in integrative power.

Boulding concludes this section with a discussion of the dynamics of the three types of personal power over the course of an individual's life.

Organizational Power

The next set of chapters examines destructive, economic and integrative power in organizations. Destructive power plays two main roles in society. Destruction may be the first stage in a productive process, such as clearing land for farming. Or destructive power may by used to make and carry out threats. The military is a prime example of an organization of destructive power for this second role. Boulding notes that while destructive power is needed to make threats, threats are most effective when they are made in an integrative context which legitimates the demand for submission. Integrative power also plays a crucial role in maintaining the sense of community and commitment needed to mobilize armies and motivate soldiers.

Boulding questions the view that destructive power can be used defensively, as deterrence, to maintain peace. He argues that such strategies have resulted in an escalating spiral of threats and counter-threats. As with personal destructive power, the existence of organized destructive power encourages it use. Creating and maintaining organizations of destruction has a high cultural and economic cost. Drawing on historical cases, Boulding argues many nations have had periods of cultural and economic development after being defeated in war, thus questioning the benefit of maintaining a strong military for defense. While military organizations point out their beneficial economic side-effects, such as employment or technical developments, Boulding points out that economic benefits would almost certainly be greater had the resources devoted to the military been directed directly toward economic development. Boulding also suggests that, very often, "an increase in military power diminishes the personal power of private citizens."[p. 154]

Economic power is a factor in all organizations, because all organizations need resources to exist. Governments, for example, consume labor and generate revenues by taxation. However economic power is central to business and corporate organizations, which use this power to generate profits. Boulding reviews, in general terms, several economic theories of the origins of profit, and the relation between profits, interest, and unemployment. He concludes that "economic power in organizations is strangely fragile, unpredictable, and to a surprising extent in the control of quite unconscious processes in society, over which no single person or group has any real control or power."[p. 163] There are a few general guidelines for increasing an organization's economic power. Companies can sell more stock. They can save. They can grow and innovate. Business monopolies increase economic power, but can be

difficult to maintain. Boulding also considers the economic power of the household organization, and of the family.

Since all organizations have some economic component, Boulding describes integrative organizations as those whose primary purpose is not the pursuit of profit. "A major source of the integrative power of a community or organization is the degree to which the personal identity of the members involved is bound up with their perception of the identity of the community or organization as a whole."[p. 173] Integrative power generally plays a large role in maintaining religious organizations, for example. When coupled with the diversity of human organizations, strong identification with groups can lead to conflicts. Sometimes threat power is used to enforce identification with the group. These threats can range from police action, to divine retribution, and it is this combination of integrative and threat power which accounts for the enduring influence of nations and religions. In participatory political systems, however, promises tend to be more effective than threats alone. Boulding also argues that integrative power, in the form of an expanded sense of community, is the key to creating and expanding peace.

The dynamics of power over the life of an organization are complex and variable. Boulding offers some general observations on the shifts in power in nation states, business organizations, integrative organizations, political parties and social groups.

Power in Evolution

The final chapters discuss the role of power in biological evolution and in social evolution. Boulding concludes this work with a discussion of how a better understanding of power can help shape a better future. Boulding identifies three types of evolution: physical and chemical, biological, and social. He notes that power in broadest sense is simply the potential for change. In this sense, power is clearly involved in all three types of evolution. The development of life was also a great increase in power, since living organisms are able to change in response to their environment, and even to change their environment.

Boulding argues that much of biological evolution is cooperative, in the sense that species are mutually dependent. Even predator and prey species are mutually dependent for their survival. And while biological evolution involves destruction, the use of threats in biological evolution is virtually nonexistent. Boulding identifies cooperation as an unconscious form of integrative power. In social cooperation the use of integrative power becomes conscious.

Boulding goes on to consider the role of power in past human social evolution. He argues that "the increase in the productive and integrative powers of the human race have been much more significant than the increase in its destructive powers, at least up to the present century."[p. 226] Threats played very little role in humanity's early development. Threats played a larger role after the development of agriculture. Organized warfare came into existence relatively recently, with the rise of civilization. And Boulding argues that, despite historians' fascination with war and strife, "at least 90 percent of human activity even in the age of civilization was peaceful--plowing, sowing, and reaping, cooking, weaving, and building, making pottery and tools, eating, feasting, singing, worshiping, dancing, having and raising children, and so on."[p. 223]

Given this analysis of past human development, Boulding asks what present uses of power would allow humanity to avoid nuclear annihilation or environmental disaster, and lead to a better future. Although the problem is a complex one, Boulding identifies some of the factors which must be considered in forming an answer. Key to finding a better future, he concludes, is a better understanding of the types, uses and dynamics of power.

There are some five properties of social groups: status, norms, role, socialization and power. Such powers include the following: reward power, coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, and referent power. In addition to social group situations, these powers are used by advertisers to influence consumers.

Five Group Powers

Reward Power : The perception that you will be rewarded by a group or other environmental influence for certain behavior. The more valuable the reward the greater the power. Rewards can include intangible things such as praise or honors as well as money, goods and services.

Advertisers frequently use reward power to influence consumers by implying love , happiness, popularity, and success will be yours for using their product. Rewards are used in direct selling of products by companies such as Amway, Magic Chef and Tupperware. Their sales people hold sales rallies and receive large rewards, swimming pools and motor homes, for promoting their products.

Coercive Power : This power influences behavior with fear or the withholding of rewards. This is seldom physical punishment, but subtle psychological detriment or loss of reward.

Coercion is intended to frighten or scare the consumer by showing the unfortunate results that can occur if the item is not purchased, such as being shunned for bad breath or dandruff. However, if it is demonstrated that buying the product will make the problem go away, it is reward power. Coercion is unpleasant. People don't like viewing disagreeable things and will turn-off. Coercive ads that do not alienate the consumer are difficult to design, but good ones are very successful. Remember the egg frying in a pan and the caption, "Your Brain On Drugs" .

Legitimate Power : Group members' perception that the group has the legitimate right to influence them. Expressions such as "should", "ought to", "must", give legitimacy to expected behavior from a group such as family/parents, teachers, or religious organizations.

Advertisers appeal to the consumers moral values such as ads by charities, non-profit organizations, alumni associations, Salvation Army and Save the Children. Advertisers also use the organizations that represent authority and knowledge to validate products such as AMA for medicines, AAA for car service, or ADA for diets.

Expert Power : People accept the influence of individuals who are known experts recognized for their expertise. Teachers are subject experts and their students accept their instruction.

Salespeople frequently demonstrate their knowledge of the products they sell to customers. The power is strongest if the expert is not paid to promote the product, but is unbiased. Fictious experts are effective in spite of being supported by the producer, such as Mr. Clean, Betty Crocker, etc. This is related to Ads that provide evidence of tests and lists of ingredients, and performance data which use "information" as expert power.

Referent Power : An individual's identification with a group grows as s/he associates more with that group. The stronger the relationship the greater the influence of the group and certain members of the group on the individual. If the individual maintains the identification with the group, the greater its referent power.

Advertisements show ordinary people, like you and me, using the same product brand as popular role models or heroes. Movie and sports stars are frequently used for their referent power. Status symbols are often recommended by celebrities.

The power to empower

Power is a significant component of organizational life. Its acquisition, use, and abuse occupy a great deal of time among people working together.

The ongoing legal battle between healthcare management and labor unions over proposed National Labor Relations Board rules, for instance, is essentially a struggle over the power to control working conditions, wages, benefits, and more.

Many managers do not view themselves in terms of their power. For them, power carries a negative connotation. All managers, however, posses some degree of power by virtue of the positions they hold in their organizations. What they do with this hierarchical form of power will make the difference between successful and unsuccessful managers in the 1990s.

Healthcare managers who use their power to dominate and control people will fail. Those who use their power to empower others will achieve success personally and help their institutions to survive and thrive.

Successful managers empower their employees in a number of ways. At a minimum, empowering managers do the following:

Trust people. Empowering employees requires a fundamental belief that people want to do the right thing on the job. Strong managers believe that people are not lazy and constantly looking for ways to take advantage of management. In short, managers must trust people to empower them.

Let go. Most managers were promoted because of their abilities and effort as line employees. Letting go of the tasks and activities that made them successful requires additional effort. But that is precisely what must be done to empower others.

A manager must give others the opportunity to be successful. This requires more than simply following the rules of delegation. Letting go requires a commitment to another's success.

Accept mistakes. It has become a cliche to say that employees must be allowed to make mistakes and that they learn from those errors. Managers who empower others take the fear out of the workplace by not punishing employees who take risks and make mistakes.

The healthcare industry needs innovations and solutions from its workers. Mistakes are a natural by-product of innovative, changing organizations.

Avoid dependency. Management's job is to assist or serve those doing the work, facilitating their success. Empowering managers take care not to cross the line with their assistance and unwittingly make employees dependent on them. Responding to requests for help rather than imposing help is a good rule to follow.

Talk straight. Empowering others demands honest communication. Frequent and frank discussions about employee performance are critical to the employee's development.

To gloss over performance problems or fail to praise effective performance ultimately demotivates and debilitates employees. Empowering managers seize opportunities to engage in performance related conversations with employees.

Become vulnerable. Managers who use their power to empower others accept that their success largely depends on those who report to them. They learn to live with the uncertainty and anxiety coming with vulnerable situations.

In becoming vulnerable, managers transfer or share power with their employees. This is the ultimate expression of true participative management and empowerment.

Power is a dirty word to many. Nevertheless, it is integral to management and the sociology of organizations.

Power can be used in negative and positive ways. Using it to empower others is most effective for the organization, management, and employees. Interestingly, managers who use their power to empower others usually become more powerful in the process and end up emerging as leaders in their organizations. And organizations led by empowering managers are more apt to meet with success in the 1990s.