Rational Versus Political Models of Organisations
Rational Model / Political ModelThe goals of an organisation seem obvious. Commercial organisations seek to make a profit; trade unions to protect their members’ interests; schools educate their pupils; hospitals try to cure their patients, and so on. / An organisational goal can get distorted: for example, when technological leadership takes precedence over profitability. Union leaders can lose touch with their members; and schools can acquire latent functions like keeping youngsters off the labour market.
Within the company, the goals and preferences are consistent among different departments, units and members. / The idea of a single, agreed organisational goal is a fiction. Different parties have their own set of interests and priorities which change, and which may be placed ahead of those of the company as a whole.
Even in an organisation’s goals get distorted, the means for achieving them remain clear and rational. The organisational structure provides a rational way of achieving ends. Most firms have an organisational chart showing who is responsible for what. / Max Weber’s seemingly rational organisation has many dysfunctions (for example, goals are displaced, cliques develop, and units compete with each other). The formal structure (chart and rules) only ever gives a partial guide to factors like leadership style, employee morale or informal group behaviour.
Information available in the company is extensive, systematic and accurate. / Ambiguous information has to be used and is withheld strategically.
Even if both aims and means get distorted, employees behave rationally when dealing with work tasks and each other. / Corporations have cultures which can distort what goes on. Culture becomes unconsciously and uncritically adopted.
Even if corporate culture can distort reality, communication can overcome this by showing clearly what is really happening. / Good communication involves more than consulting or telling people. It comes from shared goals and values. Where consensus on these is absent, communication cannot fill the gap.
Improved top-down managerial decision-making can overcome the problems listed by making choices that maximise benefits. / Perhaps the real problem is too much management control, producing low levels of employee involvement and commitment. Decisions can be the outcome of bargaining and interplays between competing interests.
Based on Michael Joseph, “Sociology for Business”, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1989, pp 108-9; and Jeffrey Pfeffer, “Power in Organizations”, HarperCollins, London, 1981, p 31 as referenced in: Buchanan, D & Huczynski, A, “Organizational Behaviour – An Introductory Text”, Prentice Hall / Financial Times 5th Ed (2004), p 844
Continued
Goals, preference / Consistent across participants / Inconsistent, pluralistic within the organisation
Power and control / Centralised / Decentralised, shifting coalitions and interest groups
Decision process / Orderly, logical, rational / Disorderly, characterised by push and pull of interests
Rules and norms / Norm of optimisation / Free play of market forces; conflict is legitimate and expected
Information / Extensive, systematic, accurate / Ambiguous, information used and withheld strategically
Beliefs about cause-effect relationships / Known, at least to a probability estimate / Disagreements about causes and effects
Decisions / Based on outcome-maximising choice / Result of bargaining and interplay among interests
Ideology / Efficiency and effectiveness / Struggle, conflict, winners and losers
From: Huczynski, Andrzej, “Influencing within Organisations”, Routledge, 2004, Page 321 based on the work of Pfeffer, 1981