61: Power & Influence in Organizations — Dan Brass
With Special Guest Sarah Otner
What is power and influence? Although power appears as a multilevel concept, the early organizational literature tended to view it as wielded by people–measured as skills, traits, or competencies. This would change in the 1980s, in large part to a classic empirical study providing evidence that one’s position within an organizational structure was more likely to translate into one’s source of power. Dan Brass’ article, “Being in the Right Place: A Structural Analysis of Individual Influence in an Organization” from Administrative Science Quarterly is the subject of this episode.
Brass studied the relative positions of 140 non-supervisory members of a newspaper publishing company. His mixed-methods approach included a number of variables such as criticality, transaction alternatives, and centrality (access and control) in the social networks of the organization. The results showed that connections in workflow, communication, and friendship networks resulted in greater perceptions of influence by others. Such individuals were also more likely to be promoted within the organization. Workers in some specialized or boundary-spanning positions were well-postured to gain influence by maintaining broader social networks than one’s duties would normally require.
The impact of the article is still significant today, as the structural perspective on individual influence is now generally accepted. It also kickstarted a long and industrious career for Brass who has written extensively on social network(ing), power, and influence to the present day.
Joining us in the studio for this episode is Sarah Otner, a junior research fellow at the Imperial College in London. Giving credit where due, it was Sarah’s suggestion that we cover this theme as it has greatly influenced her work. After this episode, we believe you too will be convinced that this article is deserving of being called a “classic.”
Part 1. On Power, Influence, and Networks (and the Growth of ASQ)
Part 2. In What Way Were Brass’ Findings Surprising?
Read With Us:
Brass, D. J. (1984). Being in the right place: A structural analysis of individual influence in an organization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 518-539.
To Know More:
Betancourt, N., Kovacs, B., & Otner, S. (2018). The perception of status: How we infer the status of others from their social relationships. Network Science, 6(3), 319-347.
Borgatti, S. P., & Foster, P. C. (2003). The network paradigm in organizational research: A review and typology. Journal of Management, 29(6), 991-1013.
Brass, D. J., Galaskiewicz, J., Greve, H. R., & Tsai, W. (2004). Taking stock of networks and organizations: A multilevel perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 47(6), 795-817.
Burt, R. S. (2009). Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Harvard University Press.
Friedkin, N. E. (2006). A structural theory of social influence (Vol. 13). Cambridge University Press.
Ibarra, H. (1993). Network centrality, power, and innovation involvement: Determinants of technical and administrative roles. Academy of Management Journal, 36(3), 471-501.
Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of Management Review, 18(1), 56-87.
Kleinbaum, A. M. (2012). Organizational misfits and the origins of brokerage in intrafirm networks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 57(3), 407-452.
Krackhardt, D. (1990). Assessing the political landscape: Structure, cognition, and power in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 342-369.
Magee, J. C., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Social Hierarchy: The self‐reinforcing nature of power and status. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 351-398.
Kilduff, M., & Brass, D. J. (2010). Organizational social network research: Core ideas and key debates. Academy of Management Annals, 4(1), 317-357.
Otner, S. M. (2018). Near-winners in status competitions: Neglected sources of dynamism in the Matthew Effect. Journal of Management Inquiry, 27(4), 374-377.
62: Consumerism & Meaning at Work — WALL-E
As we demonstrated in previous episodes about “Twelve Angry Men” and “Modern Times,” movies can be effective tools for discussing concepts, ideas, and experiences about organizations and management. Add to this the ‘instant’ classic film WALL-E, released in 2008 by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. WALL-E is the story of a robot who at one time was part of a massive clean-up effort on Earth while all the humans left to live on cruise ships in space. But the effort failed centuries earlier, and now WALL-E continued his duties all alone — accompanied only by a cockroach. When a probe returns to Earth searching for renewed signs of life, WALL-E follows the probe back to the lead cruise ship and learns how much the humans have devolved over the centuries. The story is about awakening, about recognizing how one is bounded and shut off from a wider world. The film was hailed as one of the best of the 2000s.
In this episode, we talk about the setting and the story for clues about organizational behavior and management. (Spoiler alert!) Through flashback images and other evidence, we learn of the backstory about how one corporation called “BuyNLarge” — came to dominate both public and private sectors of society, providing everything for the humans, and doing so in an indulgent fashion. Eventually, the humans kept buying and consuming until the garbage overtook everything. But on the cruise ship (Axiom), the vision of BuyNLarge is realized as the humans do indeed live in a paradise where they can buy and consume just about anything they want. Meanwhile, BuyNLarge’s CEO Shelby Forthright is portrayed only minimally, yet is a central figure in the film. His decision making centuries earlier set in motion the chain of events that led to the Axiom remaining in space far longer than originally planned. Organizational behavior, leadership, change, culture, automation and artificial intelligence — we discuss these topics and more! Listen in as Tom, Pedro, Maikel, and Ralph have a fun conversation discussing this wonderful film!
Part 1. Talking About Organizational Behavior and Leadership Through Film
Part 2. What We Can Learn from Dystopian Fiction?
Watch With Us:
WALL-E (film). (2008). Director: Andrew Stanton. Pixar Animation Studios.
Related Episodes of the Talking About Organizations Podcast:
Episode 1: Principles of Scientific Management – F.W. Taylor’s One Best Way
Episode 3: Theory of Human Motivation – Abraham Maslow
Episode 6: Bureaucracy – Max Weber
Episode 13: Banana Time – Donald Roy
Episode 20: High Reliability in Practice – USN Rear Admiral Tom Mercer
To Know More:
Anteby, Michel. (2003) “The Moralities’ of Poaching: Manufacturing Personal Artifacts on the Factory Floor.” Ethnography, 4(2): 217-239.
Faraj, Samer, Stella Pachidi, and Karla Sayegh. (2018). “Working and organizing in the age of the learning algorithm.” Information and Organization, 28(1): 62-70.
Mintzberg, Henry. (1980). “Structure in 5’s: A Synthesis of the Research on Organization Design.” Management science 26(3): 322-341.
List of Movies Relevant for Management — https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LeoMovieList&src=typd&f=live
Featured Image Credit: Lenin Estrada via Pexels.com, Creative Commons License 0