Three Types or Bases of Authority

Task 1: Weber has identified three types or bases of authority and these are the traditional, charismatic and rational-legal forms of authority.  The traditional authority is given by the followers to the ruler based on cultural or societal norms and their belief on the legitimacy of such a status through tradition. Often, rule or authority is passed to a successor and are generally patriarchal.  Examples of these include hierarchical authorities in churches and the presence of kings, queens, and sultans in countries. Charismatic authority is appropriated to an individual based on devotion; the individual has exuded an archetypal form of character or exemplary values that deserve a following; the vision and mission of this authority inspires followers. Examples of charismatic authority include Mahatma Gandhi who changed the history of India through passive resistance; Saddam Hussein who encouraged multitudes to follow his teachings to the death; and Margaret Thatcher who underscored the wit and irrationality of women in leadership. Rational-legal authority is based on the sensible and formal belief in the content of rules and the legal authority of those elevated to such positions. Examples of rational-legal authority include the bureaucratic leaders of politics, and officers in the armed forces who have been raised above ranks (Yukl, 2008; Daft, 2010).  Organizations usually have a combination of these authoritative traits; however, these traits could not be used in conjunction with each other at any single time. A charismatic leader would oftentimes overstep boundaries of a rational –legal authority; and rational-legal authority may have tasks that could not be addressed by traditional or charismatic leadership. In situational leadership, a single person, though can exude these different authoritative styles, and elicit a hybrid of these during specific situations. Emperor Hirohito of Japan can be an example of a leader that has these traits; he is the successor of the emperor Taisho, was promoted as an army leader, and was bold enough to push for World War II (Kuhlmann, 2010).

Task 2:  In the setting of production, employees would most likely accept change if such a change would facilitate their work processes; on the other hand, such changes are difficult to implement. It is therefore necessary to formulate a management plan that can guide employees through such a change process. The process and results of such a change should consider the benefits not only for the organization but the employees as well. This then raises the consideration for long-term benefits for the entire organization instead of focus on the short-term gains. This means that employees should be consulted, and their suggestions gathered and validated in the improvement of processes; especially in the formulation of organizational goals, missions and visions. The security of their jobs should be upheld, and the move to improve their skills should be undertaken to make them feel more valuable than just ‘robots’ in an assembly line. Motivational factors that not only include higher salaries should be included in the platform of organizational change. Initially, costs would be high; but the end-results of coordination, loyalty, and better organizational performance should be seen in the long run (Our People: Asia Pacific, 2010; Moog Annual Report, 2009). Just like in any organization, any activity’s outcomes can be seen through revenue. Though the business has been affected by the economic calamity, it still boasts of $1,849M net sales and $85.1M net incomes (Moog Annual Report, 2009).

Task 3: From an economic point of view, there are four principles included in individual decision-making: people make trade-offs, choosing one will mean giving up another, rational individuals consider the margin, and that people respond to incentive. However, effectively managing economics, although being one key contributor to an organization’s success, is not the only consideration in ensuring its sustained and continued life. An economically rational alternative would always relate to gaining the most profit out of the least costs; however, with the growing acceptance sustainable business practices, profits are better gained from more costs. One such example in the event of a growing ageing population and increased retirement age is the organization’s initiative to facilitate skills training for the older employees. Training new skills to an older group is more expensive than hiring younger and adept individuals; however, ensuring that the current workforce is updated on skills and are re-hirable in the event of downsizing provides intangible rewards to both the company and the employee. This is seen through higher job security and more skills in the employee, and affective loyalty, financial, and intangible returns to the firm. There is a shift in how organizations should do business, greater good includes society, environment and the organization; meaning, returns whether intangible or tangible are now weighed considerably in measuring organizational success (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2002).

Task 4: Students will have greater power in the private university; they are granted more power with the concept that they have to be satisfied with the purchases of services paid by them. On the other hand, this is an example of market distortion on education: free education compared to paid education (Hooker, 2004). In a balanced market, there should be equal power from the students of a public and private school institution. Public schools are funded by taxes which have been paid by the citizens’ workforce; this has led to increased spending on education which eventually has tried to push out private institutions. This has therefore provided the opportunity for private institutions to enhance the quality of the products and services being delivered – through better learning environments, equipment, classrooms, linkages as well as better employment opportunities after graduation. For educators in both environments, there would be the action needed to address the quantity of students provided to them. Public school teachers, with more students, would require higher pay and more benefits; however, their output, measured by the learning gained by the large number of students in a class may be low. Private school teachers on the other hand would be arbitrary on pay; better performance results measured by quality education can be rewarded with higher salaries; or, the rewards may not be monetary but intrinsic – such as the recognition of effectively teaching a batch of students. Moreover, they have more time to spare and less stress to deal with, considering the lesser student population. The public school will have the power to reject students whereas the private school will have to accept and include all students. This now presents a shift in social and cultural dimensions of the educational system as well (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2002).

Task 5: Corporate fraud, abuse and monopoly have been present in any economy for quite some time; starting with health cures that are misleading which include spiritual cures, bloodletting, and miracle cures (Jensen, 2010). This has expanded into different aspects through time such as deceptive sales of property and agricultural products, to fraudulent exploitations between corporate organizations and the government. The presence of the Internet and other innovations in communications, media and technology have resulted to increased transparency in business dealings, making public and private organizations more policed by a greater public. In a way, new media has made cheating substantially less. Claiming that this new media has provided great opportunities for fraudulent business to rise in number; however, with the growing knowledge and communication between users, consumers are being more informed of what is valid and fraudulent. The presence of new media has contributed to the decrease of fraudulent activities in businesses, especially in the framework of a highly connected network between agencies, consumers, stakeholders and economies. Additionally, consumers are being more aware of their rights and have been actively participating in reporting and sharing information about fraudulent and misleading activities through new media tools such as blogs, microblogs and social networking sites (Hennig-Thurau, et al., 2010).