Role of Technology and Globalization, Lecture 9

Modern life needs large scale organization and bureaucratic system.

Role of technology:

- technology and organization is mutually enhancing;
- technology as a contingency factor:

• Formalization, depends on industry, whether it is manufacture or service sector, they found if it is manufacture, technology formalization is not emphasized, but in service sectors, need to be more formalization. That is due to in manufacture sector, dealing with machinery involved, standardization is automatically; while service section needs to standardize in order to use technology efficiently


• Centralization, depends on size of organization. Middle or small size organization, where one or two managers can process, technology can be centralized; large organizations, technology is routine and formalized.


• Complexity, technology is routine then can be used in large organization.

Hence, technology does not play determine role.

Bureaucratic capitalism depends on large scale organisation

Bureaucratic organisation
capitalism context

Four types of Economic sphere bureaucratic organisation which our life evolve around:-

1. Finance capital, deal with financial capital, trans-national boundary


2. Science and educational complex, university and research institution


3. Mass media, entertainment become lucrative business


4. Production and distribution of goods and services

Harrison Bennett "Lean and Mean"

In economic sphere, we are bombarded with expert opinion about how these and other big firms have lost their competitive edge because of organisational rigidities and obsolete technological capabilites; Are small firms the engines of economic growth?

Harrison thinks it is not the case.

Evidence:
- small firms are systematically technologically backward comparing to large firms, small firms are unwilling to invest in technology because it will be more risky.
- large firms can produce for both mass and niche markets,the argument that the proliferation of niche markets is inexorably driving a small firms renaissance reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of contemporary markets.
- The role of small firms are playing is typically that of follower, not leader. Small firms won't last, and end up to be brought over by large firms.

While it may be enhancing the agility and profitability of individual firms, the search fro flexibility- by the managers of both big and small firms- is also leading to practices that undermining the employment security and incomes of a growing fraction of the population, exacerbating inequality and contributing to the underlying sense of futility in politics.

Concentration without centralisation of large firms' playing in global capitalism

- concentrated economic power is changing the shape of production, by creating all manner of networks, alliance, financial and technology deals, with one another, with governments at all lever; and with small firms who act as their suppliers and subcontractors.
- decentralization of production, but power, finance, distribution and control remain concentrated among the big firms

Between big and small firm:

- emergence of "lean and flexible production"
- polarization of jobs. Management in big firms first defines the job into two types:

• permanent (core) jobs
• contingent (periphery) jobs on demand based

and the "core" is cut to the bone, along with minimization of inventory holding, that is why flexible practice is also called "lean" production.
- outsourcing certain contingent jobs to create flexibility
- division of labour is changing to polarization of jobs; outsourcing jobs/employments are physically pushed to contingent jobs. The growing inequality of two different types of jobs.
- Thus the inequality between large and small firms:

• workers in large firms earn higher wages
• employee of big firms enjoy better benefits and greater job security
• small firm more likely to be granted exemption from environment and health and safety regulation under government economic policy, that leads to workers in small firms are more venerable to be exposed in unhealthy and unsafe working environment; workers in small firms are more likely to quit.

Structure of flexible production


Such explicit reinforcement or creation of sectors of low wage, "contingent" workers, frequently housed within small business suppliers and subcontractors. These generally big firm-led core-ring production network is almost surely adding to the national and international problem of "working poverty" in which people work for a living but do not earn a living wage. As result, the core employees become increasingly segregated from outside peripheral employees- a gap that is measurably reflected in the by now widely acknowledged phenomenon of growing earnings inequality. That is "dark side" of flexible production.

By examining subcontracting practicing in Italy:

- First tier firms: perform R&D, design, high level manufacture function;
- lower tier firms: very small, highly specialized, wage way below national average
- Home worker: lowest tier

Dark side of flexible production:
- flexibility depends on the perpetuation of contingent work
- network forms of industrial organisation strengthen trend toward income polarization.
- resulting hourglass distribution of income, where there are lot of rich and the poor, and few middle incomers

Globalization dominance by large scale organisation, the more the economic is globalized, the more necessary it is accessible only to companies with a global reach.

Social division and stratification

Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.

Five principles of stratification:
1. It is characteristic of society not a reflection of individual difference. Thy system creates and sustains it.
2. It persists over generations, inequality stays from generation to generation, thought some individuals do experience social mobility- change in one’s position in a social hierarchy.
3. It is universal but variable from society to society
4. It involves not only inequality but benefits also. It defines ideology and hegemony
5. It creates shared identities within certain social category; Marx’s class consciousness came to place.
Karl Marx who argued that private ownership of productive property was the basis of social classes, a classless society will eliminate all the class antagonism and class conflicts.

Why did societies persist without distributing their resources equally? One of key reason is that they are built on ideology. The role of ideology is stratification’s staying power.

The ideology is cultural beliefs that serve to legitimate key interests and hence justify social stratification, e.g., the rich are clever while the poor are lazy. This is one of ideologies that bolster the dominance of wealthy elites and suggest that the poor deserve their plight.

Karl Marx argued that in capitalism society wealth and power eventually be channeled to the hands of a few. The right to own property as a bedrock principle is the engine for all inequality. The law of inheritance, which is tied to the kinship, provides the funnel money and privileges from one generation to another. He concluded that the ideas as well as resources are controlled by society elite which help to explain why established hierarchies are so difficult to change.

Both Marx and Plato recognized that ideology is evolving from a cultural pattern over a long period of time. People may question the rightness of their own positions, but they unlikely to challenge the system itself.

Theoretic Framework to explain the existence of stratification:

1. Stratification as functional theory

Social stratification plays a vital role in the operation of all societies. Davis and Moore explained that, as society becomes more and more complex, the role and division of labour become more sophisticated too. The greater the functional importance of a position, the more rewards a society will attach to it. This strategy pays off. Since rewarding important work with income, prestige, power and leisure encourage people to do these things. In effect, by distributing resources unequally, a society motives each person to aspire to the most significant work possible, and to work better and harder and longer.
The overall effect of a social system of unequal rewards which is what social stratification amounts to is a more productive society.

Critiques on this theory:

David and Moore could not explain why these systems can be so different, how to attach the reward to position fairly, can we even measure functional importance? E.g. surgeons vs. nurse; movie or pop stars?

Furthermore, this theory exaggerates social stratification’s role in developing personal talent
1) Our society does reward individual achievement, but we also allow families to transfer wealth and power from generation to generation.
2) For women, ethnic groups the disable and other with limited opportunities, stratification still raise barriers to personal accomplishment, social stratification functions to develop some people’s ability to the fullest, while barring others from even reaching their potential
3) By contending that social stratification benefits all society, the David and Moore’s thesis ignores how social inequality promotes conflicts, sometimes, even outright revolution.

2. Stratification as conflicts (Marxist)

Conflicts analysis argues that, rather than benefit society as whole, social stratification provides major advantages to some people at the expense of others.

Marx identified two major social classes corresponding to the two basic relationships to the means of production. Individuals either 1) own productive property or 2) labour for other. In medieval Europe, the nobility and the church owned the productive land, peasant toiled as farmers. In industrial class system, the capitalist (or bourgeoisie) own and operate factories which utilize the labour of workers (the proletariat).

Marx noted great difference in wealth and power arising from the industrial-capitalist productive system which he contended, made class conflicts inevitable. In time oppression and misery would drive the working class to organize and ultimately, to overthrow capitalism. The class consciousness would emerge in the process of oppression and exploitation.

3. Max Weber

He agreed that social stratification sparks social conflicts, but different form Marx, he viewed that Marx’s two polarized class structure to explain social stratification was too simply. Instead, he was of the view that social stratification is complex interplay of three distinct dimensions: class, statue and power.

Class is economic inequality
Statue measures social prestige.
Power is dimension of social hierarchy.
The soci-economic status hierarchy (SES) refers to a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality. Marx believes that economic position decides one’s social prestige and power, Weber, on the other hand, thinks, economic position can only be one of factors contributes one’s social status and position. He recognizes that stratification in industrial societies has characteristically low statue consistency. An individual might have high standing on one dimension of inequality but a low position on another.

Marx views inequality in terms of two clearly defined classes, Weber sees more factors influencing stratification in industrial society. His key contribution on this area is that have identified the multi-dimensional social ranking.

Besides above, Weber also has historical observation that social inequality presented different patterns in the evolution of human society.

Agricultural society emphasizes status on social prestige in the form of honor conforming to cultural norms corresponding to their rank;
Industrial capitalist society emphasizes the economic material difference in the population. That is economic dimension of class.
Bureaucratic state, the expansion of government, with the proliferation of other large scale organization, brings power to the fore in the stratification system. Power is the centre of organization and the elites members of such societies are most highly ranked officials rather than the rich.

These historical observations underline the final disagreement between Marx and Weber. Marx believes that social stratification can be eliminated by abolishing private ownership; Weber doubted that overthrowing capitalism would significantly diminish social stratification in modern societies. Weber reasoned, the significance of power based on organizational position could only increase, and a socialist revolution might well increase social inequality by expanding government and concentrating power in the hands of political elite.

Reading on "The class structure of the advanced society"

By Anthony Giddens

Some sociologists tried to improve Marx’s class theory. They argued that Marx treated “class” as a purely economic phenomenon and regarded class conflicts as the “inevitable” outcome of clashes of material interests. He failed to realize that the divisions of economic interest which create classes do not necessarily correspond to sentiments of communal identity which constitute differential “statue”. Thus, statue is a separate dimension of stratification from class, and two may vary independently. Third dimension is “power”, which Weber recognized as an independently variable factor in stratification, but which Marx treated as directly contingent upon class interests.

This article is to re-examine above arguments and provides a clearer understanding of Weber’s class, status and power concepts.

Weber at least had two principal respects different from Marx’s abstract model of classes:
1. The differentiation of class from statue and party,
2. Pluralistic conception of classes.

Weber defines classes based on two criteria: 1) the property that is usable for return; 2) the services that can be offered on market.

Weber’s pluralistic classes:

o Ownership of property class- Positively privileged classes
o Acquisition class -Middle classes- those who have no property but have marketable skills, in relation to the types and degree of monopolization of marketable skills which they posses. In modern capitalism society, education qualification and monopolization of trade skills by manual worker are important marketable assets.
o Negative privileged classes -those who possess neither property nor market skills.

Weber emphasis the difference between “class” and “status”. While class is founded upon differentials of economic interests in market relationship, status groups are normally communities; in that sense it forms by social groups rather than by market interests. Class expresses the relationships involved in production; statue groups express those involved in consumption, i.e. lifestyle.

Status affiliations may cut across the relationship generated in market, since membership of a statue group usually carries with it various monopolistic privileges. Nonetheless, class and status tend in closely linked by property: possession of property is both a major determinant of class situation and provides the basis for following a definite lifestyle. Weber points out that class and status represents two possible and competing, modes of group formation in relation to the distribution of power in society. Thus, power is not, for Weber, a third dimension in comparable to the first two. That is to say that power is not to be assimilated to economic domination, like Marx suggested. The political party represents a major focus of social organization relevant to the distribution of power in a society. It is only characteristic of the modern rational state.

Weber raises a new concept “social classes” besides distinguishing the purely economic classes, which is formed of a cluster of class situations which are linked together by virtue of the fact that they involve common mobility chances, either within the career of individuals or across the generations. A social class exists only when these class situations cluster together in such a way as to create a common nexus of social interchange between individuals. In capitalism, Weber defines four main social classes:
1. the manual working class
2. the petty bourgeoisie class
3. property less white-collar workers
4. privileged through property and education

Weber’s viewpoint drastically amends the important elements of Marx’s development of class structure that is the propertyless middle class tend to expand most with the advance of capitalism. Moreover, the social classes do not necessarily constitute communities and they may be fragmented by interest divisions deriving from differentials in market position; finally, the relationship between class structure and political sphere is a contingent one.

Organization and social inequality

HSS205 Lecture on Oct 15 and Oct 22

Using example such as gender, race, and class to reflect the broader society

Social inequality: - different organizational culture emerging out of social interaction, link organization to broader society, reinforces different level of social inequality.

Here we only use Gender inequality in organization as example to elaborate, and discuss the two researcher’s work.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter “Man and women in corporate world”

She argued that number of proposition makes difference of interaction. The issue of social power within minority statue is not exactly in number and not necessarily links with number; however, the number itself is an important factor that does make difference.

She examined one of Industrial Corporation, where there were less 10% female employees, a typical male dominate company. Female employee’s life is very much influenced by the proposition of corporation. Women there were taken as “Token”

Women token have to deal with many issues of male employees do have to deal with. It is stressful, therefore resulting high turnover rate.

Kanter developed “Typology”, where she defines as following:

	Social category A	Social category B
Uniform	100%	0
skewed	Up to 85% dominants	Up to 15% tokens
tilted	Up to 65% majority	Up to 35% minority
Balanced	50%	50%

Tokenism,
1. Visibility, i.e. get attention,
2. Contrast, polarization and exaggeration of differences
3. Assimilation involves use stereotypes about a personal social type.

The performance pressure:

Typically performed their job under public and symbolic conditions, which is different from the rest

1.Publicity,
• upper level women become public creatures, under constant scrutiny
• restricted freedom of action
• play by different set of rules, to maintain the split between public and private self.

2.Symbolic consequences
• women were visible as category members
• their acts had extra symbolic consequences
• representing whole category, not themselves.
• Double standard in measuring performance

3.Tokenism eclipse, not difficult to have presence noticed, but difficult to have performance noticed, comparing to dominants

4.Fear of retaliation
• Important not to make the dominants look bad
• Need to toe fine line but just doing just well enough not too well
• Getting along well with peer group
• Good performer must play down, non aggressive

Tokenism imposes the direct pressure to tokens, while social class impact is not so direct.

Boundary heightening- difference between tokens and dominants be exaggerated:

1.exaggeration of dominant’s culture, tokens serve to underline rather than undermine majority culture, (conforming), when group becomes large, it becomes enough to influence majority culture.
2.reminders of difference: interruptions in the flow of group activities, highlighting the difference
3.informal isolation: when dominants have secrets they are not willing to share; move location of some activities to more private setting
4.loyalty test, whether or not tokens will use knowledge of dominant against them?

Role encapsulation

when tokens have no choice but accepting dominants’ culture. The characteristics of token are:
• represent the social group they are belonging to, not themselves
• always fighting stereotype of what tokens must be like
• any ambiguity reduced to a stereotype
• familiar roles and assumptions can keep token in a bounded place and out of mainstream interaction.

Three different ways of role encapsulation

1.Status levelling: misperceived roles, for example, female professionals are taken as receptionist; mistaken identity, assuming lower social status, or relationship affiliated to men
2.women’s slot: special positions for tokens, females minister is liking to assign to MOE, MOH or MHF etc.
3.Stereotyped informed roles, mothers, seductress, pet, iron maiden
Tokens’ response to rule encapsulation, is easier to accept a stereotype than to fight it, thus reinforce the stereotyping.

Kanter argued, tokenism is a self-perpetuating system, unless external pressure for change to break cycles created by the social composition of group; more token in group will transform token into minority.

Taylor Cox Jr. “Managing Diversity”

Diversity is variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting. It is double edged sword, may increase productivity, efficiency or impose great challenge to company.

In the global era, the challenge of company facing:

More jobs to chase after a few skilful people and increasing diversity of people with skills to do the job, not to care about other social characteristics, that leads the diversified workforce.

Social and cultural identity:- refers to the person affiliation with certain groups, which have significant influence on people’s major life experiences.

Market and employment system:- includes wide variety of groups, and wide geographical scope.

Facing opportunity and challenge, there is the need of managing diversity, to understand the effects of diversity and implement behaviour, work practice and policies that response to the problem in effective ways.

Problems and challenge of diversity in organization:-

1.diversity as potential performance barrier,
•lack of effective communication leads to increased conflicts
•low level of social attraction, social cohesion, low level of social commitment
•high cost from identify harassment and discrimination behaviour, social and legal cost
2.diversity as value added activities, proper training, can increase creativity and innovation, if organization has dealt with work tension caused by diversity , the diversity group can increase its performance by 10% comparing homogeneous group


Then why past effects have failed?

1.Misdiagnosis problem, the problem is not that there are few people of certain social cultural identity group; or people are less sensitive. The root cause of failure is organization culture works against diversity in work force. The organization culture is so unhealthy that tokens are leaving.

2.Wrong approach, problem diagnosis is limited to “insufficient number” of tokens, therefore the solutions are often sought by changing composition via recruitment. But bring more minority groups is not enough, due to interdependence of system, changing in one element requires adjustment in all other elements in the system to function effectively; further more, change culture, is necessary, otherwise, will result sub-optimization or outright failure.

3.Misunderstanding of learning curve- how fast do the development of organization and its members adjust the changing environment? There were a lot of wishful thinking, management or leaders often assume that learning curve is steep, i.e. fast learner, while in reality, it is fat, i.e. slow learner. That results dysfunctional behaviour on the part of leaders.

(note: social inequality can be seen in other ways, like racial, class and religious. The studies we discuss here is very specifically address to corporation world, In Kanter's case, tokenism addressing the extreme small group of minority, which is not so common as social develops. However, the other form social inequalities, like racism has long term historical, socially constructed and institutionalized. Till today, the efforts and realities are still shocking)

Organisational culture

Week 9 HSS 205 Organisational Culture

What are we looking at: - idiosyncrasies
How things are done here,
Focus on the material, not ideational, what is actually being done?

Culture manifestations:

Culture forms: (all of these give the information what employees and employers are thinking and doing)

1. Rituals:- are carefully planned activities that are executed and existing within a social context, There is well defined roles; have the beginning and the end; most importantly, they are repeated.
Such as celebration, and sanctification of the mundane, things we do regularly and routinely, give everyday activity special meaning.
Characteristics of rituals are: - they can be minor but repeated and dramatic.

2. Organizations stories: anecdotes about the organisations

Two types:
1). Narrative what exactly happen. E.g. IBM chairman cannot access an area because he didn’t have the badge,
2). Interpretation, what people think. Everyone should follow the security procedure, even a chairman.

3. Jargon: the special language that only cultural insider seems to understand. Eg. Acronyms.

Two types:
1). Technical: task oriented, emotionally neutral
2). Emotional: concern about feeling, e.g. Silicon Valley, cut-throat industry; “Hamster on the bleeding edge” means a matter of life and death.
Top management as “Uncle Benny” implies the same sect of familiarities.

Function of jargon: standard of large high-tech corporation. MCQ test are ministered to employees after two and eight weeks. Test covered technical and emotional jargon. Technical jargons are easier to learn than emotional ones.
Results: new employees become familiar in cultural manifestations in a predictable order.

General knowledge and culture learned much more slowly than jargon, jargon provides linguistic foundations for others.

Metaphors, source of jargon relies on metaphors, eg. In mergers and acquisition, aggressive take over is often referred as “sharks” predatory expects; “Jaws” refers “extreme” and “Shark repellent” to “strategies employed to ward of take-overs”
Violent Metaphors are using movie language to tap emotional aspects of life in particular kinds of organisations, allude to emotions that may be socially acceptable to express more directly.

4. Humour: tend not to be funny to outsiders, and tends to take the form of ethic jokes and sexual innuendo, attack minorities.
Organisational content
Jokes used to distinguish insiders and outsiders.

5. Physical arrangements
Architecture, interior deco and dress norms, powerful because they are easy to see. Eg, “GM architecture, the building, … the most impressive structure in the midtown of Detroit.”

Office decors standardized, dress norms can be casual, need not be always formal.

Diversity: allowed executives to change decors according to personal taste and personal style within reasonable limits.

Cultured signals: physical arrangements can be used to signal what kind of cultural changes may take place, can also signify dissents among the rank.

Roles of uniformity, depersonalizing social relations with organisations, impersonality is also important. Like bureaucracy.


Formal and Informal Practises

Formal practices have easily controlled by management. There are four types:

1. Structure
2. Task and tech
3. Rules and procedures
4. Financial controls

Informal practices: evolve through interaction, they are not written down, like notices or employee’s handbooks etc.

Example of decision making involves lot parts of formal practices:

In university, for example, there are four types of decision making:
1. Informal discussion among key members of the departments, meeting for verification only (rectify) New professors don’t know how the discussion are being made.
2. Already consensus, meeting, as official consensus, discussion takes place outside the meeting.
3. Discussion and decision happens at the meeting, typically what you would expect.
4. Head of department makes the decision and the decision is announced at the meeting.

Note that:
Organisation vs. social culture
Rise of certain argument and style of management, Japanese management style

Management styles are different from organizations culture
Also, knowing about Singapore culture does not mean Knowing organisation culture. In NTU, vs. Shenton Way’s office

What forms organisation culture?
What function organisation culture fill? to build shared meaning, to socialize employees into members of the organisations

Emotional Labour

Three elements of emotional life:

1. Emotion work- The act of trying to change in degree or quality of an emotion or feelings, eg, we don' feel to show certain emotion or feeling, but we know we should or we are expected to show, we make a conscious effort to show it out to fulfill the social share rules or expectation.

It is an effort, not outcome, it may or may not work. It is characterised by active verb, it cannot just put on a show, it may lead to own guilt, expectation.

2. Feeling Rules - Social guidelines that direct how we want to and try to feel, it is set of socially shared rules, which are latent, we learn indirectly, and it is based on social exchange.

Evidence of rules- we talk about our feeling of those of others as if rights and duties apply directly to them. eg, "We have right to be angry.."(rights) or "We should feel more grateful.."(duties)

3. Social Exchange -Feeling rules set out what is owed in gestures of exchange between people, it is a way of paying respects, it provides a baseline for exchange.

Different situations call for different emotions, feel must be showed.
eg, How do we show gratitude? by

• facial expression


• choices of words


• Tone of voice

How do we show emotions we don't feel?

• surface acting, to portrait surfacing feeling


• Deep acting, call on own memories in order to bring out emotion

Emotional offerings, pretending to feel when we want to be polite and pretending is a statement of deference to others "an offering"

Display and emotion work:

It is not matter of chance. The inappropriate emotion my be seen as nonpayment or mis-payment. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain reciprocity to give and take and emotional gift exchange.
- Psychological bowing as a means of expressing deeper and more pervasive bonds.
There is also statue dimension, within the same status, the give and take tends to be even, within the different status, the lower party tends to give more emotion exchange to the higher party.

When this private emotion work become a public act, emotion works become emotion labour. such a job requires emotion labour as part of job requirement, more in service sectors. eg airline,
Emotion labour- refers to rules how to feel and how to express feeling are set by management, emotion work be part of job. Workers have weaker rights to courtesy than customers. Training, plays an important part of emotional labour.

It is when private capacities for empathy and warmth are put to corporate use. It is seen as one of most popular corporate strategy esp in service sectors, however, the individuals who are performing this emotional labour are subject to certain impacts:

How does a person relate to his/her feeling in this situation?
problems arises when there is a need to separate display from feeling, emotional dissonance;
problems arises when there is no or little reciprocity, then work is managing an estrangement between self and feeling, and inner self and displayed self;
problem arises when there is abuse of emotional labour.

Person who requires in emotional labour do experience above problems, therefore:

Emotional labour and the redefining self. How can I feel identified with my work role and with the company without being fused with them?, Risk of identity conflicting. Workers need to develop the ability o "depersonalize" situation, "split personality"

How can I use my capacities when I am disconnected from those I am acting for? Problem of feeling like a fake.

How can I maintain my self-esteem without becoming cynical? Job as creation of an illusion, go into robot, emotional labour poses a challenge to a person's sense of self.

When feeling are successful commercialisation the worker does not fell fake;
When commercialization of feeling fails then the problems develop, the worker tends to redraw.

To sum up:

The emotional demands of organisation increase as the service quality demands are higher;
Emotional labour, when jobs require that do emotional works
Impact of emotional labour on one's self.

Reading "Bureaucracy and legitimate authority"

By Max Weber

Three types of Authority:-

Type of authority	Authority Ground	Obedience Character
Legal Authority	Rational Ground	Owed to legally established impersonal order, by virtue of formal legality of their command and within the scope of authority of the office
Traditional Authority	Traditional Ground	Owed to person by traditional sanctioned position of authority, it is a matter of personal loyalty,within the area of accustomed obligations
Charismatic Authority	Charismatic Ground	based on personal trust in his revelation, his heroism or his exemplary quality, within the scope of the individual belief in his charisma

Bureaucracy structure has the following characters:-

• its authority is dominated by the principle of appointment, not elected, appointment is by free contract


• Technical qualification which are formalized and impersonalized by roles and procedures.


• Rational and supreme to other forms of organization, in precision, in stability, in the stringency of its discipline and in its reliability

Social consequence:

• levelling in the interest of broadest possible base of recruitment in technical competence


• Plutocracy


• formalistic impersonality

The greatly levelling of status, creating favourable situation for development of bureaucracy by eliminating the office-holder who rules by status and privilege other than technical ability

Reading "Client contact and emotional labour"

By Kathryn Lively

Key points from this research work:-

Emotional labour, refers to the conscious attempts of workers to bring aspects of their emotional display, or their emotional reactions, in line with corporately mandated emotion or display rules to created feeling states in others (Hochschild, 1983)

The purpose of this study is to examine and determine the difference of the emotional labour performed by paralegals working in small consume-oriented law firm vs. large commercial-oriented law firms.

Conclusion:-

1. The paralegals in consumer-oriented firms have greater levels of involvement and authority, higher emotional labour and the interpersonal relationship than those from commercial-oriented law firms;


2. Though as matter of facts, the paralegals from consumer-oriented firms have less prestigious, lower salaries. But they enjoy the great substantive involvement in controlling clients, have the ability to both undermine and strengthen manager's attempts at regulation of employee's lever or productivity, quality of service, behaviour, emotional display etc.


3. In consume-oriented law firms, paralegals seems to performed less emotional labour in the courser of their interaction with their own attorneys, than their counterparts.


4. The leveling of status difference among workers and management and condition under which lower status workers and management may be released by their obligation to provide bosses with showers of deference, in otherwise hierarchically ordered setting.
   
   

Therefore, the difference in the emotional labour in office, in countermanding request, and commercial-oriented paralegals is not really matter of more or less but a matter of who and why.

Deference- by Edward Shils

Reading summery:

Deference Acts of appreciation of derogation, both positive or high deference and negative or low deference to derogation.

Bases of deference- evoked by the perception in the person or classes of persons perceived, of certain characteristics or properties of their roles or actions. Which is called "deference entitlement", there are not temperamental qualities, thought that may be "deference relevant". Each of deference entitlement has property of charismatic significance. e.g. occupational rule, as one of the most significant entitlement to deference.

Deference Behavior. Deference towards another person is an attitude which is manifested in behavior.

Status, though has other sociological means, is referring to deference position here. Status is not a substantial property of the person arising automatically from the possession of certain entitlements, but an element in a relationship between the person deferred and the deferent person.

Deference action has always been a part of other actions, it seldom appears as deference action alone, but an important part of interaction. It is in attenuated, pervasive and intangible form mingling with all sorts of relationship through tone of speech, demeanour, precedence, frequency and mode of contradiction.

The distribution of deference

Deference is related to objective concept of social stratification.
The attempt study to establish a composite index has proven to be unsatisfactory.
The status index is however amalgamated with objective and subject concept of social and stratification. Status means a total status included both deference entitlement and position constructed by an external observer.

Deference system, territorially dispersed into the local system which are more differentiated to those who participate in them than in the national system.
In local system, deference is more frequently and continuously, while national level differences are less frequently, and less continuously, though it had been more integrated and Incorporated with local systems.

Individuals whose preoccupation are mainly with the local deference system, place themselves on macro-social deference map. This self-location and the perception that others are also locating themselves in the precondition of a sense of affinity, among the similar occupation roles, style of life, or elements of these sense of affinity.

Thus, formation of deference-strata is a process of mutual assimilation of local deference into a national deference system.

Face Work and Deference -2

Deference

Has to do social interaction where clear power and hierarchy

1. Is type of status ritual, kind of ceremonial rules
2. part of activities at work such as meeting
3. function as a symbolic means
4. to tell person something about himself
5. positive message that confirm relationship of actor and recipient

Behaviours work of deference
• Must be obtained from others
• Honorific and politely toned
• Actor gives recipient the benefit of doubts
• Attest to ideal guidelines

How does deference been performed?

By showing Avoidance ritual or presentational ritual.

Avoidance ritual:
• Forms of deference which leads the actor to keep at a distance from the recipient
(Commonly, avoidance personal space, personal name, or sensitive topics)

Presentational ritual:
• Actors make specific attestations to recipients about how he regards them by using, salutation, invitation, compliment and minor service.

When expectation is not met:
Supposed recipient fails to receive anticipated act of deference or actor gives deference in bad grace. It is a sign that challenging power.

In summery, face work is very common human behaviour in social interaction, especially in complex social organization, where intensity of social interaction is compulsory and there is a pattern of hierarchy and power to consider.

Face Work and Deference -1

August 27, 2007 Lecture 4 HSS 205

Face work and deference

Face work refers to one tries to comply the implied rules of social conduct especially within social organization where there is clear power or hierarchy structure; it is manifested in the intensive social interaction.

• It is important in complex social organization, where intensive face to face interaction with superiors and subordinates.
• It is important to maintain smooth social interaction for efficiency and rationality, as social lubricant.
• It is required understanding of normative order with shared social values

Face work is an image of self delineated in terms of approved social attributes, manifesting in social interaction and always involves an actor and a recipient.

Emotional component: three possible outcomes of an encounter:
1. Established expected face –few feeling about
2. Better than expected face –likely feeling good
3. Expected face not met—likely feeling hurt

“Face” is located in the flow of events of any particular encounter and is legitimate institutionalized line (acceptable norms)

What is different from “corporate culture”?

To give face is to arrange for another to take a better line that he might otherwise have been able to take.

What can go wrong? When a person finds himself to be in “wrong face” that involves emotional lost, feel ashamed or inferior.

Face saving is to try to preserve image of self or others, when self in negative situation, the effects to change, to save.
Save own face:
• because there is emotional attachment to image of self
• Presumed status of actors gives him power to exert over other participants

Save others face because:
• Actors’ emotional attachment to the image of others
• Actor’s feeling that co-participants have a moral right to this protection
• Actor’s wants to avoid the hostility that may be directed toward him if the others lose face

The corrective process

The interchange = sequence of face – saving practices
1. The challenge, when misconduct is called for attention
2. The offering, to give a chance to correct and r-establish order
3. The acceptance
4. The thanks

However, the challenging refuse to be heeded, there is a danger of further damage the relationship between the actor and recipient.

Deviations from corrective process
1. Challenger can accept this refusal, but costly because he loses face
2. Challenger can resort to violent retaliation
3. Challenger can withdraw from the understanding

All of them cause the damage to the relationship.

Aggressive use of face work refers to one that fully understands the social rules and conducts; he however uses it aggressively for his own advantage.

• When the threat of disruption is purposely introduced.
• Counting on others to perform face work
• Using face work as a contest, or a game

How does it work?

• An audience is necessary, like all the face work, must work on public to have its social effects
• Introduce favorable faces about self
• Mentions negative fact about others, in such way, that they cannot respond effectively to defend themselves

If the aggressive face work fails
If the others are able to successfully deflect, the instigator (aggressor) is disparaged, and must accept he is not superior; the instigator is made to look foolish and therefore, lose face.

(Lesson to learn: do all things with sincere heart and order)

Face work has dramatic consequence within complex social organization, because of the presence of power dimension, often hierarchy structure.

Hallmark of socialization is performance of face work and to help other perform their represents a person’s willingness to abide by the ground rules of social interaction.

Social relationship is established when a person has to trust others to maintain his image and face and the good conducts of others, the face work happens so often in the ordinary social interaction.

How do we behave in social situation?
• The importance of rules to guide behaviour
• Provides a source of regularity in human affair( as a background of operation, where the rules and norm are shared and understood)

Rules of conducts is a guide for action that is recommended because it is suitable or just, there is consequence of breaking a rule of conduct, leave feeling of uneasiness (inside), or negative social sanction, (outside).

There are two types of rules:
1. Obligation – directly affect individuals
2. Expectation- indirectly affect individuals

Two class of rules:
1. Symmetrical, often informal, and within the same rank, or status, with the same level of obligation and expectation.
2. Asymmetrical, often different status, like gender, social status, class etc, which often have different obligation, expectation because of different power and rank in hierarchy.

Ceremonial vs. Substance

Substance rules are significant in their own rights,

Ceremonial rules are guides conduct in secondary matters, conventionalized, learned.

Reading “Power Failure in Management Circuits”

By Rosabeth Moss Kanter

The author rejected individual traits or situational appropriateness as key and finding the sources of leaders’ real power are:
1. access to resource and information
2. ability to act quickly

Power, is ability to mobilized resources (human and materials) to get things down.

Where does power come from?
1. access to resources, information and support necessary to carry out to a task
2. Ability to get cooperation in doing what is necessary.

Power and Hierarchy

August 20 2007 Lecture 3

Hierarchy means of coordinating within an organization
Power: central aspect of social organization but play down

Concept of power is problematic, relative and intangible
Power isn’t everything
Troublesome for socialization of manager and practices of management

What is power?
Simply way to consider between individuals; Persona A acting party, person B the receiving party

Type of Power

- Reward
- Coercive
- Legitimate
- Referent
- Expert – people who have special knowledge, or expects on certain fields become powerful to others.

Characteristic of Power:
o Relationship among social actors within certain relationship
(Note: A social actor refers to organization, sub-units from individuals to sub-units to organization;

A given social actor has more power than some and less than others
(e.g.: sub-unit with NTU, the different school, has different power_
o Multi-dimensional power
Hierarchical power – the power of supervisors, bosses over employees
Structure power- created by the division of labour, e.g. different schools at NTU

Power and authority

Transformation of power into authority, if practice of power be accepted by both parties.

Power that is legitimated in a particular social setting is know as authority
Legitimating of power evolves into authority. which is desired in any social organisation.

Critical role of legitimacy
o Exercise of power has costs
o Exercise of authority is expected and desired in social context
o Exercise of authority may enhance authority; the decision track record will enhance or decrease authority.

(Note: consider the relationship between supervisor and subordinates, structure power, managers depend on lower lever workers to follow their instructions, lower level workers have specialized knowledge and access to information, they can show their power by strike)

From Power to authority
Institutionalization of social control; a social of process of individual as group behaviour regulated, individual’s behaviour is regulated by organizational rules and norm

Add stability to the situation and make the exercise of power easier and more effective.

Decision making process governed by either Rational Choice Model or Politics Model

Rational choice Model,

Assumption that:
o behaviour reflects purpose or intention
o Behaviour is not accidental, random but rationalized after the fact, goal decides behaviour
o Rationality cannot be defined apart from the existence of a set of goals.

Assume that every one in organization shares the same goal.
o A set of decision making alternatives obtained from a search process
o Search continued until a satisfactory alternative found (boundary rationality), a rational choice is made to select a courser of action to maximized achievement of goal.

However, Power and Politics (when goals different)

Organization politics, power as a store of potential influence, politics as the activities that develop power and those that use power.

Politics Model
o Criticism of rational choice model – fail to take into account diversity of interests and goals within organization,
o Politics model see actions as a result of compromise between different interests and goals
o Powers of the various social actors determine the outcome.
(Note: it is not necessary to choose between these two models, better understanding of organization by trying all models)

Common practise in most of organizations
o Rational model, especially issues of non-significant use Standard operation procedure and rules and norm.
o Rules and norms have implication for the distribution of power and authority.

Law of political entropy
-given the opportunity, an organization will tend to seek and maintain a political character.
-once politics are introduced into a situation, it is very difficult to restore rationality.

Why power and politics are down played in organization?
o purpose of discussion,
o Easier to provide explanation for career progress for employees by using rational model
o Easier for public to accept image of rational and efficient organization.

The Division of Labour, HS205 Lecture 2

August 14, 2007 Lecture 2

Adam Smith

Greatest improvement in productivity
Every worker become much more skilful and dexterity in particular task
Time saving from not having to switch one task to another
Easier to mechanize single, simple task

Division of labour in modern factory
Is more complex, diversity ( each component made in different factory)

Beyond factories
Division of labour also in wholesales retails
Network development

Specialization

Division of labour gives rise to very specialized occupation
Occupation becomes the basis of how society organized, compare to pre-modern days, family, clan and kinships become source of identities. Occupation becomes dominant category of how we see the world.

Contemporary society

Dominant form of social interacting is based on division of labour
Public vs. private spheres
- Public sphere defined by division of labour
- Private sphere: interact with family and friends; tends not to be defined by division of labour
- More and more, public sphere starts to encroach private sphere

Up to now

Emerge of division of labour during industrialization
Spread to society at large, change structure of social basis and boundary

Emile Durkheim (1800-
expected increasing division of labour in societies
Tendency to an “over-development” (insignificant of small component, little part one plays) of division of labour

Segmental (traditional society) to modern society

Transition from segmental society to modern society
- Mechanical solidarity to organized solidarity
- Bonded by similarity to interdependent
- Repetition of similar group to system of different organization
- Clan based to each unit has special function
- Family characteristic to individual not own by birth but by competition
- Political characteristic


Development of division of labour leads to :

Organizational structure changes
- organized structure emerged ; segmental structure disappears
- division of labour develops more a certain population density and research
- Once division of labour appear to contribute to regression of segmental structure.

Condensation society (alongside with industrialization)
- Concentration population
- Formation of town and cities: importance of social interests
- Improvement in communication and transportation

Organization and Modernization
Different organization generated:
o Degree of commericalization of social life
o Political incorporating within authoritative and hierarchical form

What happens when over development?
- each part becomes more insignificant
- each component starts to have overlapping interests, e.g., play, movies, concerts are fighting for the same audience
- many social activities available
- potential for social disorganization, people become dispensable, marginal to society, not tied to society

Reading on HS205 week 1

Reading 1:
Marilyn Frampton “Organisation at work” HM 131R68

Industrialization and the Provision of labour

The specialization of labour developed as industrialization advanced and bigger organisations became more and more common in both the manufacturing and service sectors. Serving bigger markets, these organisations employ a larger labour force and utilise the division of labour.

Production process is broken down into a large number of separate tasks and each worker in required to specialise in only one small aspect of the total process.

The benefits for manufactures:
- Employ highly specific equipment
- Employ semi-skilled labour, saving money in training and hiring
- Great expertise in each level and increase productivities
So overall, products more with less costs.

While specialisation and division of labour are essential to the well-beings of all organizations, if they are fulfil their needs more efficiently, it is important to note that an excessive use of these techniques means that each worker may be restricted to a boring and repetitive job which provides very little satisfaction, further more, people need to feel that they are more than just one of the factors of production. Too much specialization can lead to de-skilling.

Social Organization

August 06, 2007 Lecture 1

Social Organization- central to society
E.g. family, school, work place, religious institution etc.

Pre industry era, the main forms of social organization were family, church, with far relationship with the states, or kings, depends on location.

Singapore, for example, had gone through a few stages:
- Temasek, a fishing village, in which social organization were mainly formed with family, friends, or church
- British colony Singapore, social organization increased, the states power was more present, more locals worked for civil services.
- Early immigration, importance of clan association; and extended family
- Modern organization, proliferation in modern society; individual has to be constantly dealt with modern organization.

Formal Organisation:large, secondary groups that are organised to achieve their goal efficiently.


Characteristics of Modern Organization:
- Specialization – special people do specific tasks
- Authorization- give order and obey order
- Hierachization (hierarchy) different level authority
- Credentializaiton (credential) qualification to relate
- Stratification- different people being rewarded differently, more according to position rather than to person
- Centralization- control, allocation and logistics
- Impersonalization- task, authority lines with position rather than person,

Weber’s Iron cage of Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy is an organisational model rationally designed to perform complex tasks efficiently.

Despite our reliance on bureaucracy on managing our daily lives, the problem of bureaucracy, ranging from its tendency to dehumanise and alienate individuals to the threats it poses to personal privacy and political democracy.

1. Bureaucratic alienation, impersonalisation is the very purpose for bureaucratic organisation to foster efficiency simultaneously denies officials and clients the ability to respond to each other's unique, personal needs. That causes alienation


2. Inefficiency and ritualism, the tedious rules and regulations and procedures to the point of thwarting an organisation's goals.


3. Inertia, refers to the tendency of bureaucratic organisations to perpetuate themselves. Occasionally, a formal organisation that meets its goals will simply disband, more commonly, an organisation stays in business by redefining its goals so it can continue to provide a livelihood for its members.


4. Abuse of power: oligarchy, the rule of the many by few. Robert Michel's (1876-1936) reveals that this hierarchical structure concentrates power and endangers democracy.

An institute created for rationality and freed society, now becomes constrains to society.