Understanding Organizational Power through the Critical Theory - Essay Example

According to the critical theory, hierarchical structures in corporate organizations evolve and develop as tools that control the employees and amass capital through the means of surplus value (Thompson, 2009). The critical theory also seeks to address the fact that the present human relations developments are not going to achieve a lot of success because they do not confront the essentially exploitative way in which some authoritarian organizations treat their employees. The critical theory also seeks to prove that only democratic processes as well as continuous incidences of reflexive questioning will ensure that negative practices do not become a common practice.

Explain how certain organizations develop a very authoritarian hierarchical culture

Organizations that use the hierarchical structure can direct and organize the activities of thousands of workers who manufacture and then trade different goods and services in different geographical locations. A critical theorist's assessment of hierarchical structures within organizations will be based on critique. The critical theory considers aspects such as class distinctions as well as the division of labor are a function that begins with human action and seeks to improve the traditions of the positivist approach where management is concerned. For instance, a critical point of view perceives work to be the problem while the positivist view holds that workers are the problem. Moreover, critical theorists are not interested in removing the entire system but in improving it by raising awareness of existing problems.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, almost all organizations have used hierarchical structures to organize their personnel as well as different functions such as staffing, planning, measuring, and staffing. A hierarchy is descriptive of a rank ordering of workers along socially significant dimensions. The employees of a company can be grouped in terms of their authority within the organization, or their ability to affect others. According to the critical theory, sometimes hierarchical structures are supported by workers because they feel that that is what will sustain the organization (Scott and Davis, 2007). Moreover, critical theorists have also observed that hierarchical structures can coerce lower-ranking workers into accepting the authoritarian system. When utilizing hierarchical mechanisms, organizations usually make use of job specialization to divide workers into groups.

This allows for jobs to be broken down into simple tasks that can be effectively supervised. In hierarchical organizational structures, an employee enjoys more authoritative power as he or she advances toward the pinnacle. In many cases, steeper hierarchies can result in corruptive practices enacted by the management as executives in such companies tend to be divorced from all experiences of the junior ranking workers. According to the critical theory, complex or large-scale organizations can cause managers to experience conflicts and tensions which will then be quelled by a show of power. This will negatively affect the workers; resulting in poor performance which will then affect company productivity. The critical theory essentially views outsized modern corporations which employ authoritarianism as establishments through which the elite can preserve their privileged positions.

Another problem with hierarchical structures in corporate organizations has to do with the challenge of implementing authoritarianism in modern corporate management. Modern organizations have to ensure that they are always ready to respond to changes brought about due to competition on the global business front. Hierarchical organizational structures do not support sudden change but tend to support systems that disregard any new opportunities that call for transformation because the new suggestions are not aligned with the main objectives of authoritarianism which include preservation and optimization of the status quo. An opportunity to implement the use of tablet computers, for instance, will be viewed as a distraction and not a chance to catch up with competitors by an organization that manufactures PCs which wants to realize definite figures in its quarter's earnings. Read More