Silent Power in HRD - Article Example

Human Resource Critique Affiliation: Shaping Self- Disciplined Workers: A study of Silent Power in HRD Summary The article discusses two main sources of power which have for a long time been examined only on the surface level. The in depth meaning is only addressed when problems arise in the human resource department particularly the training and development function. One of the sources of power is the individual power which is portrayed through control and domination by the individual holding the power. This is not realized to have any effect until the control by the individual slips away and problems appear. The other source of power is the participatory power which is believed to be democratic with the management sharing decisions with subordinates. This however is only at the surface level and this also realized when there are changes in the surface structures. Examination of case studies will provide the aspects of power and the power theory which is present in the workplaces. In order to find out more about the theories of power and their influences on the human resource department, the author proposes carrying out research through the interview, participant observations and even analysis of the different documents related to power on all the staff (Carter, Howell & Schied, 1999). Evidence The article explains through a case study the issues that present the power relation and especially that which is said to be democratic in the workplace. According to the case study, the management which claimed that it was participatory showed its true colors which was purely based on control and forceful instilment of its values and changes into the employees if they tend to question them. This is a highly unacceptable form of management and power distribution in any organization as it puts down the workers and reduces their efforts towards participation in any changes in the office (Burns, 2012). It is obvious from the case study and the analysis that the employee in discussion Stewart’s input in the company had been great and so had been his roles even though the well went unnoticed and unappreciated by the management. He was however a threat and hence the reason the training was planned which was simply a way to remind the employees their place is to act on orders without questioning them. If the employee’s voice is curtailed and threatened by the management that claims shared decision making, then problems in leadership and motivation as well as productivity and an increase in turnover rate are bound to follow (Knippenberg & Hogg, 2004). Position The position and actions taken by the management towards one of their most hardworking employee Stewart was unfair and purely unprofessional not to mention undiplomatic and in violation of the democratic leadership of the organization. I do not agree with their threats to even terminate his work if he did not stop questioning the management simply accepting the changes they wanted to incorporate. If the employees in a relationship are to be productive and corporate fully with the management as well as adopt changes without question, the management has to stop using force and involve the staff in the decision making (Bell, 2011). They also have to seek better ways to approach them and not use threats as they simply lead to negative repercussions of reduced productivity, lack of motivation and even employees having a go slow in the workplace. Participatory power which is on the topic of research indicates that the theories of power are not are straight forward as they seem. They address only the surface issues but when the power structure is being threatened, things change and the democracy is set aside and in comes the autocratic leadership of control. Recommendations The most evident issues of concerns raised by this article involve power relationships and especially the use of participatory power at all times no matter the challenges facing the management. The other issue of concern is about the relationship between the management and employees and the approach the management uses to address concerns of these employees. When moving forward in future in DAPI, I have learnt that it is important to establish a strong relationship between management and employees which would create a good rapport with the employees (Frey & Osterloh, 2014). This would ensure that even when it comes to correcting the employees when they are wrong or when trying to create changes, minimal or no resistance would be exhibited like the one being experienced in the case study. It is also important to appreciate the work one by employees by giving awards, promotions and even salary and benefits increase. This together with involvement during important decision making would further cement the relationship and reduce the frictions between employees and employers. As an employer, the above mentioned will also ensure that ethics are maintained and rights from unlawful termination will not be exercised. Marketing God: A Critical inquiry into Spirituality in the Workplace Summary The article discusses how the issues of religion and spiritually have nowadays been incorporated into the market place as well as in the human resources development and organizational learning. What this has done is to make people misuse the aspect of spirituality and tried to make it shape their behavior rather than using it to connect to the religious scholars and make critical theological analysis. There are business leaders who are trying to incorporate the theological perspectives into the work place using the assumption that spirituality is related to the soul and the soul is what makes businesses go well as it has to do with grounding. Further, the authors discuss the issues of definition of spirituality and how it is used in its different forms. Other discussed include what encoding of the socio-political nature is present in spirituality. The other issues addressed are the role of spirituality in the workplace and this is handled by researchers. What is established in all these is that spiritual guidance and support in a business and in one of the aspects of human resource development is that individuals with good spiritual guidance and grounding tend to do well economically (Milacci & Howell, 2002). Evidence The evidence in the article cements the importance of spirituality in the business with most emphasis lying on the issue of soul. The evidence believes in the soul being sent to make clarifications of beliefs and personal values to be greater than they currently were. In the analysis done, the focus of spirituality and matters of the soul which represents the business aspect of things focuses not only the individual but corporations as well. The evidence provided about spirituality in the workplace is not based fully on the spiritual aspect of religion in as far as God and the high power is concerned. It is purely about an ideology about the spirit linked to the business aspect hence leading to vague information and a lack of string evidence. The evidence also needs to try and bring out even a little bit of ethics in about using spirituality in business while the true aspect of spirituality is not even defined or stated. What this does is simply lead to assumptions being made which in turn affect the credibility of the information from the article (Neal, 2012). Position Spirituality according to the definition by (McGrath, 2013) has to incorporate issues of God and superhuman being with supernatural powers and not entirely about the soul. The fact that the article has focused on the soul but still indicates it is about spirituality is all wrong and can lead to misunderstanding of the article and its purpose. Based on the definition however provided about the soul and how it is related to the business, I agree with the author that all businesses need a little soul if it is to sustain its activities in future as well as to expand and develop. Business do not always succeed simply because they follow a business model faithfully as there are unforeseen circumstances not accounted for in the business model (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2014). A leap of faith in addition to believing in an invisible power taking control of the business and the market is needed as well. The irony of the article is that businesses are all about capitalism be it in leadership or sharing of profits and this is something that is not encourage in the religious books and in some religions. Religion encourages upholding the ethics of being truthful and fair at all times and assisting those without but this clearly does not take place in the business world and especially when competition is involved. Recommendations I agree with the author and his analysis of the spirituality and religion only in as far as the definition of soul and its ideology of sustainability and dealing with invisibility is concerned but nothing more. Any other explanation provided by the author and especially in the so called evidence part is subjected to individual opinion. The fact that the author did not provide a definition of what spirituality really is in the context of the paper makes the term and all discussed about it vague. It is the lack of proper definition or use of the term religion and spirituality that the issues of irony as mentioned above come in. This not only has negative effects in terms of ethics but it also reduces the credibility of the article with all the information provided. A lot of assumptions which should not be present are left for the reader to make and this is not advisable as it beats the whole purpose of the article in the first place (Hill & Dik, 2012). The Problem of Power Summary The article discusses the concept of power in relation to education and how people are yet to figure out what power is and it’s in depth intricacies without all using the same working definition. When people think about power, people do not focus on how it works but simply what it is. This eventually brings about the problems majorly seen associated with power. Further, the author explains how as the years advance, so does the mystery of power in the social settings particularly extends. The author’s aim to discover about the workings of power and he does this through first restating and critiquing past researchers but using the effective parts to build on his ideology. He also employs the traditions of theorizing power which are behaviorists, decentered, communicative as well as realist. The conclusion from this research is that in order to understand fully about power, there is need for more awareness and means to do so to the people and also a need to deal with the theory-practice gap surrounding the concept. The author is also unable to tackle the question of power but manages to set a stage for an encounter which further research can also address (Wilson & Nesbit, 2005). Evidence The evidence the authors chose to work with especially the theory on adult education is none of the most controversial but yet brings out powerful questions about power and this questions some of the traditional standings beliefs which the authors wants to eliminate from being used (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). In dealing with such a theory, it might take longer to come up with the perfect definition and understanding of the workings of power but smooth precedence is set for further research on the issue. The other evidence employed is the use of the three traditional interpretations of agentic, structuralist as well and social process. This was meant to handle the one view about power being interpreted as a coercive force which is only a shallow, one-sided view of power and not necessarily true at all times. The evidences used by the authors and where they based their focus in trying to deal with the age-old issue of power are few and a bit narrow. This may be the reason they did not also come up with a definitive answer (Kasworm, Rose & Ross-Gordon, 2010). Position I agree partly with the authors on the traditional theories on power not really addressing everything about it and which is the most important aspect which means carrying out an in depth analysis on the concept. I also agree that it will take a few consecutive researches after this article’s research before the concept can be fully defined by the authors who at this juncture are on the right course. What I disagree with is the approach the article’s authors took to address the question. Using only two main theories to address the problem of this magnitude is simply not enough. More stronger theories should have been used to make the research analysis and maybe the author would have dug deeper and got really close to ending this mystery and answer the question deeply and not shallowly as it is currently being defined and used (Paul, Wirtz & Fortmann, 2004). Recommendations In making recommendations, there is need for use of much more power theories of the past in order to convince the readers and analysts that there exists a problem with them and the issues that will need to be addressed in each. This will provide a better perspective of what is being tackled and pointers on how to do it will be available to not only the authors but the readers as well. In future, a continuation of this concept’s definition based on the pointers made by the article should incorporate more background research. This translates to more evidence and in deed less doubt being put on the credibility of the sources used which might compromise the new research. (Cervero & Wilson, 2001) states that dealing with power is complicate and this is true in all sense as even its research is a clear indication of that and much more. With all these in mind, it is only fair to say that the people who will continue with this research should really utilize this article’s findings as it is useful and the analysis is on point which means it is reliable as a source of reference. Reference Bell, C. (2011). Participative Leadership and Organisational Commitment. London: LAP Lamber Acad Publication. Burns, J. (2012). Leadership. Massachusetts: Open Road Media. Caffarella, R. & Daffron, S. (2013). Planning Programs for Adult Learners: A Practical Guide. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Carter, V., Howell, S. & Schied, F. (1999). Shaping Self-Disciplined Workers: A Study of Silent Power in HRD. New Jersey: Wiley. Cervero, R. & Wilson, A. (2001). Power in Practice: Adult Education and the Struggle for Knowledge and Power in Society. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Frey, B. & Osterloh, M. (2014). Successful Management by Motivation. London: Springer My Copy UK. Giacalone, R. & Jurkiewicz, C. (2014). Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance. New Jersey: Taylor & Francis. Hill, P. & Dik, B. (2012). Psychology of Religion and Workplace Spirituality. New York: IAP. Kasworm, C., Rose, A. & Ross-Gordon, J. (2010). Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. New York: SAGE Publications. Knippenberg, D. & Hogg, M. (2004). Leadership and Power: Identity Processes in Groups and Organizations. New York: SAGE. McGrath, A. (2013). Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. New Jersey: Wiley. Milacci, F. & Howell, S. (2002). Marketing God: A Critical Inquiry into Spirituality in the Workplace. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Neal, J. (2012). Handbook of Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace: Emerging Research and Practice. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. Paul, T., Wirtz, J. & Fortmann, M. (2004). Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century. California: Stanford University Press. Wilson, A. & Nesbit, T. (2005). The Problem of Power. 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