Organization and Management Essay

Power and control are aspects which are common in many institutions. Organizations on the other hand are social institutions which operate to serve specific functions in society as well as their own development or growth and this makes it different from other entities such as the family (Eddy, 1983). Most organization’s concern is to expand in order to exceed other existing natural units as well as enhancing their performance through effective control (Bakke, 2005). As a result, these organizations require a formal and institutionalized distribution of penalties and rewards so that regulations, norms and orders that exist in these organizations are complied with. This also calls for control of participants so that these norms and regulations can effectively be carried out. In addition, different allocation of assignments of organizational tasks to various parties is required so that rewards on performance are granted to various deserving individuals and those who do not deserve these rewards on the other hand, are punished. This paper will focus on how power and control and operate at Engineering Product and the various possible implications that could occur on the part of employers and employees at Engineering Product. Power may also be viewed as a form of influence that an individual or organization may posses and the way that it is exerted on individuals and institutions in order to bring about desired results. These results could be positive or negative depending on the nature of power that an organization has. Power relates to the capacity of attaining the desired needs or wants as well as the stated objectives from organizations or individuals and in certain instances force may be applied. In addition, exercise of power may occur among individuals which could end up shaping or influencing the wants of an individual (Fairholm, 1993). It is evident that power and control exists at Engineering Product, a British Engineering firm. The firm has existed for a while how and since its restructuring in 1980’s it now posses three areas of business namely defense, automotive components and individual services. The restructuring also saw the expansion of the firm into other overseas business environments and as a result, the firm has majority of its employees working abroad with very few remaining in Britain. In other words, Engineering Product has managed to have its stronghold in international business by succeeding in the same. Its workforce is widely spread in Western Europe as well as North America. Majority of the workforce is seen in the automobile section of the firm which employs about 60% of the total workforce. This division is also involved with various multinational companies that produce cars. However its concentration is less in the UK than in any other country and this means that less sales are made from the division that exists in Britain since it has a small proportion of workforce employed in the division. Larger proportion of sales as well as the workforce is found in continental Europe which consists of France, Germany and Spain. Automotive division has mostly been shaped by the demands that are created by its customers and this has also affected the way it carries out its operations and management in the international business as well as its workforce. These customers have also standardized their means of working practices and production by means of carrying out â€Å"best practices† in various sites, hence forcing management to produce similar products for instance cars that are similar to others internationally. There are various forms of power that exist in organizations namely coercive power, normative power, utilitarian power, referent power, expert power, reward power among others. Coercive power involves forcing other people to comply with one’s rules and regulations. It also relates to the capacity at which an individual or organization is able to issue punishments to those individuals or employees who fail to follow demands or requests that are proposed (Sims, 2002). Kipnis notes that coercive power is mainly exercised by individuals who rely on their verbal facility, physical strength or in other circumstances being able to withhold emotional support from other people or grant it. As a result, an individual is provided with the probable means to issues such as bully, physical harm, or lack of love among others. In organizations, the most common forms of coercive power include the ability to demote, fire or transfer subordinates. As a result of coercive power, a dyfunctioning process in groups has been evident and these processes include reciprocal conflict and anger, reactions, self-blame, rejection and dislike, revolutionary coalitions just to mention (Streatfield, 2001). The most common outcome of coercive power on the past of employees is resistance. Reward power on the other hand concerns employee rewards based on their performances and de-motivation occurs in cases whereby deserving employees are not rewarded (Houser & Domokos, 2004). Engineering Product firm has acquired most of its power and control through the integration efforts that it has managed to create in the global business and this international integration has its origin from the demands that the Engineering Product’s customers present. The central task of integration mostly lies with the HQ of the firm’s division. The firm has also carried out its integration processes by creating various management structures mostly at the international level and this is mostly done with the aim of bringing together all the managers who work in various groups and branches as well as enabling effective information exchange that may exist between them. Therefore, it is the division at the HQ that exercises the central power as regards the various activities that exist at Engineering Product. Senior directors from the manufacturing sector at the Engineering products are brought together through ‘manufacturing councils’ that are operated by the division. This is carried out in order for these directors to be able to monitor and examine the various processes which might have been adopted in each of the existing plants. Moreover, the international college of Engineering which is based in Germany enables engineers to learn and develop on the new methods of manufacturing. International integration has also been enhanced by Engineering Product through the creation of cadre that involves international managers who are charged with the responsibility of carrying out various assignments in other countries besides their own. As a result, internal consultants have been established and they consist of managers responsible in the pioneering of new practices and these managers also have the permission to roam between plants as they attempt to adopt the practice. The firm also has a HR which has established a system that is able drive together various managers based at different sites in order to discuss and share common initiatives termed as ‘best practice’. As a result regular meetings are conducted by the HR specialists as they discuss the various implications that integration has on the personnel practice. In the past, the meetings have resulted in bringing about problem-solving techniques as means of establishing standardized results. The division of HQ ensures that plant managers are involved in sharing of the best practice by carrying out an operation in orders concerned with internal competition. The other form of power and control can be named in this case since the orders from customers are mainly placed at the division’s HQ and not the other plants. Again, it is the HQ that decides what orders should be received by what plants. As a result, the HQ has a little bit more leverage over the other actors that exist at the various plant levels and this means that these plants have to be dependent on HQ. Decisions that concern outsourcing are made at the division at HQ and it is them who decide what factors should supply their products to the various orders that are made by customers. Local customers on the other hand are supplied by local companies found in the various local markets. Concerning the various implications on employees and managers, the move that was established regarding standardization of production led to the generation of various opinions between plant managers and HQ focusing on the resulting in merits that may exist in a particular initiative for instance, performance-related pay (PRP) which has been established successfully in various plant divisions by the HQ. However, as per discussions from the meetings, it was found out that performance of the work force vary from one plant to another. However, he opted to use sanctions as a means of imposing it ma through in order to bring about equal performance. The internal integration of Engineering Product is mostly as a result of the powers that the firm gives to HQ as well as internal competition. Plant managers are at an obligation to comply with any wishes that may be established by HQ, such wishes may involve the means of labour management as well as nature of processes in production. Engineering products’ HR function has also been able to play both strategic and administrative roles hence increasing the level of profile function. In addition, the HR function has also been able to create several structures that enhance contact between plant managers who are based at various plant divisions. However, tension was encountered by the central function of HR concerned the creation of a balance between variation found in plants in order to reflect local factors as well as standardization of practices. As seen from the scenario, he was ready to impose sanctions so that standardization of products is enhanced across borders. The differences in the various practices existed mainly because of the various changes that occurred in the nature of institutions, law and the national cultures and this can viewed under the way the performance – related pay was conducted as well as employee representation. Another impact is that as a result of the central power that HQ posses, American plants do not have any formal structures since the law does not allow management to recognize various unions and the unions on the other have do not have powers since they are not influential as regards the recognition of management (Sinsson, Edwards & Ferner, 1993). Managers on the other hand experience positive impacts as a result of international integration since the hierarchy in management is widespread and not limited to one particular country. Senior positions are filled on merit and little importance is placed on nationality. Consequently mangers are faced with a lot of opportunities a head of them both domestically and internationally hence allowing managers to become geographically mobile. However, this effect may view differently since some managers may not find it suitable to perform assignments abroad (Miner, 2002). On the other hand, the autonomy of managers is greatly reduced since they are forced to company with the established rules and regulations of HQ and this could end up to resistance from these managers. The policy-making bodies at Engineering Product help in the formulation of policies by various plant managers. International integration has also impacted on employees shown by the increased competition among plants hence the HQ is able to establish comparisons in relation to performance. As a result, employees bargaining power is reduced in each plant hence creating resistance to change among unions and employees. Another implication is in relation to the way these employees are exposed to various working practices found in different countries. In conclusion, it is ended that the power and control that Engineering Product has is that of coercive power because the firm forces its wishes on various plants and people even though it has managed to establish a successful international integration.