Goals, power and control

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Goals, power and control

• Tirsdag 15. november 2005
• Forelesning 4

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Core question

• How do organizations define goals, make decisions
  about action, and control their achievement?

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Outline

• Goal setting in organizations
• Decision-making in organizations
• Control systems

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• The functions of goals
• Cognitive (provide criteria for selecting action)
• Cathectic (provide motivation and identification
• Symbolic (provide proper signals to the
  environment)
• Justification (provide reasons for previous
  actions)
• Evaluation (provide standards for evaluating
  action)

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• Strategies
• Chandler the determination of the basic
  long-range goals and objectives of an enterprise,
  and the adoption of courses of action and the
  allocation of resources necessary for carrying
  out these goals.
• Goals
• Allocation of resources
• Action

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• Mintzbergs typology of strategies
• Intended strategies (plans)
• Emergent strategies (unplanned action)
• Realized strategies (actual action)

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• Porters three generic strategies
• Overall cost leadership
• Differentiation
• Focus
• Miles and Snows three firm-types
• Prospectors
• Defenders
• Analyzers

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• The Dominant Coalition
• Organizations consist of different coalitions
  (groups with similar interests)
• Coalitions struggle for control over the
  organization
• The Dominant Coalition comprise those coalitions
  whose interests must be taken into account in
  order to define acceptable courses of action
• Organizational goals will be set by negotiations
  between the members of the Dominant Coalition

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1. Goal setting in organizations

• Factors affecting the size and composition of the
  Dominant Coalition
• Owners and managers
• Labor
• Boundary roles
• External actors

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2. Decision-making in organizations

• Rational decision-making
• Strategies / goals
• Problem
• Possible solutions
• Preferences
• Decision
• Action

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2. Decision-making in organizations

• Organized anarchies
• Garbage can decision-making
• Problems
• Solutions
• Participants
• Choice opportunities

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3. Control systems

• How do organizations make sure that energy is
  directed towards accomplishing goals?
• Power
• Authority
• Structural control
• Culture

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3. Control systems

• Power (Scotts version)
• Potential for influence
• Resource dependency
• Informal groups
• Based on characteristics of individuals
• Formal organizations
• Power based on position
• Rational vs natural perspectives

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3. Control systems

• Authority
• Legitimate power
• Endorsed authority
• Authorized authority

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3. Control systems

• Structural control
• Technical and bureaucratic mechanisms
• Internal rules
• Process control
• Routines
• Standard operating procedures

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3. Control systems

• Culture
• Common norms and beliefs
• General missions
• Guidelines for action
• Can manipulation of corporate cultures be
  utilized for achieving desired ends?