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POWER & (DIS)ORGANIZATION

6 important questions on POWER & (DIS)ORGANIZATION

What are the 4 faces of power and explain them (Fleming).

1. Coercion (reduce uncertainty)
--> direct exercise of power to achieve things (do this, or else..)
2. Manipulation (implicit shaping of issues considered important or relevant --> agenda setting (rules)
3. Domination (establish influence through te construction of ideological values that become hegemonic)
4. Subjectification (normalizes a particular way of being in that social order (through micro practitioners)

What are the 4 sites of power (Fleming)?

1. In (--> struggles within its formal boundaries to influence, maintain or change hierarchy)
2. Through (--> to reach a certain goal)
3. Over (--> one another) (f.e. boycotting)
4. Against (--> use extra organizational spaces)

Explain coercion (episodic/overt).

This is power in decision making.
Weber: power is a capacity/ability (f.e.: leave the room)
Measure it by outcomes of the decisions
In this case: there is always resistance (power is always part of a social relationship --> about a balance (or disbalance)
The focus is on behaviour. Division of labour is never neutral.

Explain manipulation (episodic/covert).

Power is the creation of values. Preventing an issue from being raised (unobservable power). F.e.: cover-up culture (=no one stands up and admits there was a mistake --> VW; whistle-blowers); agenda-setting networks (old boys network --> power of the network that acts).

Explain domination (systemic/latent).

Power is a potentiality. In non-conflict situations. Everyday life and things we take for granted (routines, the force of habit) --> hegemonic power (preferences can be shaped trough dominant values) (cultural hegemony: following social conventions).
--> shaping values, norms and ideologies; language and narratives
--> dimensions are faces of power --> boundaries aren't clear --> but analytical/ideological value

Explain subjectification (systemic/manifest).

Foucault. Role of elite and hegemonic power. Question of transformation of individuals into subjects with appropriate motives and desires, through:
- Normalization (socialized members because they internalize norms (also happening in 3!)
- Discipline (system of productive social control --> sitting in this classroom)
f.e.: panoptican design (watchtower --> metaphor for the power relations in society)

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Org. Sciences

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