There are various views on power and decision-making but for the purposes of this research, Kleiner has been selected86. Power in organisations can be categorised in two ways, legitimate power and power through authority. Power through authority is achieved due to the position of the person and it is maintained through the structures, boundaries and rules of the organisation. People that are given legitimate power due to their relationship with their co- workers may accelerate their level in the hierarchy. In instances where legitimate power does not allow for this progress, the individuals with legitimate power may “outrank” the individuals in the hierarchy simply because of the support that they enjoy, i.e. people follow them willingly. This would be the case with labour movement organisations. This scenario suggests that it is possible for people to have authority and no legitimacy and therefore
84
Weick KE, 1995, Sensemaking in Organizations, 55
85
Schein, EH, 1993. How can organisations learn faster? The challenge of entering the green room.1993, 85+
86
Kleiner, A. 2003. Core Groups: A theory of Power and Influence for “learning” organizations
Kleiner provides valuable insight on the argument of power and influence of core groups in organisations. It also reinforces the viewpoints of Daft and Weick, and Kim pertaining to shared models and shared meaning to promote learning.
35
limited influence in the organisation.87 It is this type of influence that plays a role in the development and creation of new and existing shared mental models.
There is a close relationship between leadership and power. A commonly accepted view of leadership suggests that it requires that a common goal exists between leader and subordinate. This would require both parties to work towards the achievement of these goals, including mentoring and development of the subordinate. This can be equated to legitimate power. Authoritative power on the other hand does not require any such relationship as instructions flow from top down and there is little if any participation by the subordinates in setting goals. The distinction between power and leadership is that leadership requires a relationship between the leader and the subordinate whereas the concept of power requires no relationship.88
Power plays a significant role in terms of influence in an organisation. However, the power of an organisation does not necessarily lie in top management. Kleiner asserts that power resides within a core group and for them to be effective in the learning process; the core group must have a shared mental model. The influence and power that the core group has can shift the organisation, thus if their mental model changes, they are able to initiate change through the power and influence they have within the organisation.89 The core group operating, due to their power will have the ability to influence the organisations direction and select a particular development path. This path will have specific learning and information requirements.
The power of the core group also extends to the development and management of an “integrated learning base”90
which is the base that encapsulates the core business of the organisation. Kleiner asserts that each organisation will rise or fall based on the level of the integrated learning base, due to the fact that the core differentiator and knowledge generating ability is based on the tacit knowledge of this core group. Even though explicit codified knowledge does exist, it is insufficient and does not contain the experiential elements that are
87
Kleiner, A. 2003. Core Groups: A theory of Power and Influence for “learning” organizations 675
88
Robbins, SP, 1998, Organisational Behaviour. 397
89
Kleiner, A. 2003. Core Groups: A theory of Power and Influence for “learning” organizations 672
90
Kleiner, A. 2003. Core Groups: A theory of Power and Influence for “learning” organizations
Kleiner makes reference to Professor Alfred D Chandler, author of the Invisible Hand (Chandler, 1977) and Inventing the Electronic Century (Chandler, 2001). Chandler used the term “integrated learning base”.
36
able to carry the organisation through the development and innovation process.91 It is therefore argued that the power of the core group is significant and has the ability to enable or disable learning and change initiatives and value.92
Another view on power and organisational influence is also presented by Voronov and Yorks. They assert that power has two faces, “primary power and secondary power”93. With regard
to primary power, it defines the boundary and is therefore an enabling and limiting factor to our world view. It influences the organisations view of knowledge, how the organisation makes sense of data and information and impacts on the process of analysis. This view again lends itself to the work done by Daft and Weick with regard to interpretation and its role in making sense of data and information. Secondary power is power in the conventional sense, i.e. through the position that is held by the manager94. Since primary power focuses on the establishment boundaries, domain experts would by default be in a position of power due to their knowledge. As secondary power is about predefined boundaries and managers can use this power to exert influence. Primary power can therefore play a crucial role in reducing the amount of secondary power that a manager may have as the domain definition resides in the former.95