...Journal of Business Ethics (2008) 77:431–449 DOI 10.1007/s10551-007-9358-8 Ó Springer 2007 The Dark Side of Authority: Antecedents, Mechanisms, and Outcomes of Organizational Corruption Ruth V. Aguilera Abhijeet K. Vadera ABSTRACT. Corruption poisons corporations in America and around the world, and has devastating consequences for the entire social fabric. In this article, we focus on organizational corruption, described as the abuse of authority for personal benefit, and draw on Weber’s three ideal-types of legitimate authority to develop a theoretical model to better understand the antecedents of different types of organizational corruption. Specifically, we examine the types of business misconduct that organizational leaders are likely to engage in, contingent on their legitimate authority, motives, and justifications. We conclude by suggesting managerial implications of our theoretical model and propose directions for future research. KEY WORDS: authority, bureaucracy, corruption, opportunity, motivation, justification, types of organizational corruption, weber, white-collar crime The issue of corruption has been gaining increasing importance in today’s world. The World Bank has singled out corruption as the largest obstacle to economic and social development, and in our search of the word ‘corruption’ in article headings in The Wall Street Journal in 2004, the word appeared 496 times. Much evidence also suggests that corruption is as ancient as disloyalty and...
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...most evident form of legitimacy accorded to those in higher positions in this instance is the Rational-legal authority, which as Weber mentions, has come to constitute the concept of hierarchical relations, and can be applied to the administration of an organization. This authority which has a basis in legality, and and inclination for the formality of rules and policies is fully applicable to this corporate entity as the structure enables for an anonymous, definite relation between the dominators and the dominated. Weber puts forth that obedience is determined by fear or hope—fear of the vengeance of the power-holder, and hope for reward. In the business organization, individual players at the bottom of the pyramid definitely demonstrate this attitude in regards to the relation between them and their superiors. A typical worker in the capitalist economy seeks to move upwards, and therefore must do a good job, and adhere to the rules established by their superiors in order to be favored for promotion. This demonstrates the above duality of fear and hopes; fear to get fired, or retrograded, and hope for advancement, higher pay, etc… The superiors (CEO, and board executives) have authority due to the power they exert on said individual players, as their employee’s futures lie metaphorically within their hands. The employees will take this attitude only in the case that there is a rational component to the composition of the structure, which is based on capability and expertise, giving...
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...According to Weber, authority is power accepted as legitimate by those subjected to it. These three forms of authority are said to appear in a "hierarchical development order". States progress from charismatic authority, to traditional authority, and finally reach the state of rational-legal authority which is characteristic of a modern liberal democracy. However in this paper, we will try to agree with Max Weber’s statement that, legal – rational authority is the most rational type of authority, while giving reasons to our argument. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state (in the form of Members of Parliament, Judges, Police Officers, etc.) or by academic knowledge of an area (someone can be an authority on a subject). The word "Authority" with capital "A”, refers to the governing body upon which such authority (with lower case "a") is vested ( Arendt, 1961: 53). However, authority is often used interchangeably in governments with the term "power". However, their meanings differ. Authority refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise power (Spencer, 1970: 258). For example, while a mob has the power to punish a criminal, for example by lynching, people who believe in the rule of law consider that only a court of law to have the authority to order capital punishment. Max Weber, in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination that have sometimes been rendered...
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...Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 2. BUREAUCRACY AND RATIONAL-LEGAL AUTHORITY......................... 2 3. CORNERSTONES OF BUREAUCRACY ......................................................... 4 4. DYSFUNCTIONS OF BUREAUCRACY ........................................................... 5 5. RELEVANCE FOR COTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS .......................... 6 6. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 7 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 9 Executive Summary The label “Bureaucracy” today is not quite what any organization wants to have written on their flags. Everyone has their own experiences and feelings associated with this term and in most cases it has a negative connotation. A quick view through current media will confirm this. However bureaucracy, as conceived by Max Weber originally, was regarded as progress and something that can improve efficiency and stability within an organization. Organizations can draw upon the pioneering work of Max Weber even today. While displaying certain dysfunctions that are directly linked to strict bureaucracies...
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...Rastafari This page intentionally left blank Rastafari From Outcasts to Culture Bearers Ennis Barrington Edmonds 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Copyright © 2003 by Ennis Barrington Edmonds The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Edmonds...
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...The History of Managerial Thought and Practice The Origins of Managerial Thought The topic of how to manage organizations did not receive systematic and wide-scale attention until virtually the start of the twentieth century. As we will see in the next few pages, a scattering of writers and recorded examples from a small number of organization in different places in the civilized world did leave their mark on management thought and practice before the beginning of the twentieth century. Pre-Industrial Revolution Influance As the feature “Even Ancient Civilizations Faced Managerial Challenges” shows, as far back as roughly 1000 B.C., preceptive officials in China were writing about how to manage and control organized human activity. Five hundred or so years later, in approximately the fourth century B.C., an illustrious Chinese military leader of the time, Sun Tzu, wrote about his views of principles of leadership (for example, the need for the leader to promote until within an organization), ideas that many consider are still relevant to today’s organization Other civilizations, such as those of ancient Egypt and, later, Rome, were able to organize large numbers of people to carry out coordinated activities that required a form of what today we would call “management” In the late middle ages, city-states in Europe such as Venice and Florence were managing certain activities with procedures that today we would consider “modern”. For example, Venice had a large shipyard...
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...organization, The Second Mile. The Second Mile was a charity designed to help disadvantage boys from dysfunctional and broken homes but instead Sandusky had other plans. How rare and valuable can good leadership be in a Beuarcracy? Why didn’t leadership at Penn State take action for Sandusky’s behaviors? Using Max Weber’s Beauracracy Theory in this paper I will discuss organization behavior and what could have or should have been done to avoid the situation. How rare and valuable can leadership be in a Beuaracracy? Based off of Max Weber, he believed that a B was a type of administrative structure developed through rational-legal authority. Weber felt that the most important problem was not inefficiency or mismanagement but the increased power of, officials. (quote) His main view of a B was the system based on discipline. A Buearactic organization can be considered rational and that leads to efficiency. Efficiency in an organization comes through rationality and predictability of behavior. (quote) In a higher B such as a form of government everyone knows the consequences for his or her actions, which actually becomes action that is undertaken. Although B is good to have, there are also advantages and disadvantages within an...
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... The word Authority is derived from the Latin word “auctoritas” meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' connotes power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area (someone can be an authority on a subject) Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Authority sometimes refers to;- 1) The Institutionalized and legal power inherent in a particular job, function, or position that is meant to enable its holder to successfully carry out his or her responsibilities. 2) An agency or body created by a government to perform a specific function, such as environment management, power generation, or tax collection is an authority. 3) Judgment of a court or judicial opinion quoted in support of a legal argument. In management field, the concept authority can be defined as:- 1. The right to guide and direct the actions of others and to secure from them responses which are appropriate to the attainment of the goals of the organisation. It is the right to utilise organisational resources and to make decision. In the words of Simon “Authority may be defined as the power to make decisions which guide the actions of others” (Gupta 2009) 2. The power that is delegated formally which includes a right to...
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...three types of legitimate domination (Herrschaft in German, which generally means 'domination' or 'rule'), that have sometimes been rendered in English translation as types of authority, because domination isn't seen as a political concept in the first place.[citation needed] Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Weber divided legitimate authority into three types: * The first type discussed by Weber is Rational-legal authority. It is that form of authority which depends for its legitimacy on formal rules and established laws of the state, which are usually written down and are often very complex. The power of the rational legal authority is mentioned in the constitution. Modern societies depend on legal-rational authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority, which is prevalent all over the world. * The second type of authority is Traditional authority, which derives from long-established customs, habits and social structures. When power passes from one generation to another, then it is known as traditional authority. The right of hereditary monarchs to rule furnishes an obvious example. The Tudor dynasty in England and the ruling families of Mewar, in Rajasthan (India) are some examples of traditional authority. * The third form of authority is Charismatic...
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...The Concept of Power The concept of power is present within various realms of all organizations. Power, however, is not something that should necessarily be looked at negatively. There are justifiable types of power that may be important to criminal justice organizations. The main role of power in criminal justice administration should be to gain compliance from subordinates of all types, and turn that power over time into acceptable forms of authority (Stojkovic et al., 2008). It is for this reason that power is an important attribute in criminal justice agencies. It is important as a criminal justice manager, and agency as a whole, to have legitimate power. Power that is not coercive and works for the good of the organization is beneficial in gathering information, resources, and compliance. Legitimate, expert, and referent power can be effective in the attainment of goals (Stojkovic et al., 2008). Legitimate power operates on the assumption that those in traditional authority positions are the power holder and wield their authority over the power recipient because their internalized norms justify the amount of compliance needed (Stojkovic et al., 2008). Legitimate power is most useful within criminal justice agencies because it takes into account the culture, and social structure, and operates within a hierarchy to promote successful delegation of duties. While political power does have some benefits within a criminal justice agency, it is easily corruptible and...
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...5 mark questions practice What is politics? Politics, in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Although politics is also an academic subject (sometimes indicated by the use of ‘Politics’ with a capital P), it is then clearly the study of this activity. Politics is thus inextricably linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation. On the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs and opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live. On the other hand, people recognize that, in order to influence these rules or ensure that they are upheld, they must work with others – hence Hannah Arendt’s definition of political power as ‘acting in concert’. This is why the heart of politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution, in which rival views or competing interests are reconciled with one another. However, politics in this broad sense is better thought of as a search for conflict resolution than as its achievement, as not all conflicts are, or can be, resolved. What is the difference between power and authority? Power is the ability of an individual or institution to force people to do things, whether they wish to or not. There are various forms of power, the strongest of which is coercion – the use of physical force. The most extreme cases of coercion are seen under totalitarian regimes, where execution, torture...
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...The aim of this dissertation is to highlight how, according to Max Weber, legal rational authority is the most rational type of authority. In this understanding, key concepts to the task at hand will be defined and discussed; after which a brief background of Weber and the three types of authority will be given. The essay will then proceed to show how legal rational authority is the most rational type of authority by highlighting its advantages and disadvantages then comparing it with the other forms of authority and then a fitting conclusion will be given at the end. The term legal is defined as means based on or required by law, the term rational means based on or in accordance with reason or logic and the term Authority refers to the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience (Collins, 2011). Thus Max Weber defined legal rational authority as the type of authority which rests on the grounds of a belief in legality of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue command (Basu, 1994). Legal rational authority is the type of authority that rests on legally established impersonal order, rule of law and not humans (LeMay, 2002). Legal rational authority has also been defined as authorities found in organizations were rules are applied judicially and in accordance with ascertainable principles valid for all members in the organization (Prasad, 1991). Weber (1864-1920) was a German sociologist, who laid emphasis on the three...
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...SOC 370 December 4th, 2014 Sociology of Race Relations With Police Officers The United States prides itself on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As a country, all men are created equal and have the same opportunities. However, to this day, that is not the case. For decades and arguably centuries, African Americans and other minorities have continued to fight this ongoing battle against racism and prejudice. This struggle is also very prevalent in police and judicial affairs. With the recent racial tension going on in the United States, it is important to understand why African Americans are still feeling this way in order to find ways in which to eliminate police brutality. Using Weber’s theory of authority, one can apply his ideology to the recent events in race relations and police officers in order to understand the ongoing tension and divulging into the reasoning behind people’s reactions to these events, emphasizing the issue is centralized around power and authority. There are everyday events that occur that highlight the ongoing racial tension between African Americans and police officers, showing that discrimination and racism is not dead here in the United States. For example, take the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. There is major controversy in the telling of the Michael Brown shooting. Michael Brown was shot and killed on August 9th by Officer Darren Wilson (Clarke). Brown was unarmed when the incident happened and the witnesses’...
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... Weber’s name synonymous with bureaucracy Whether we live under most totalitarian despotism or under most liberal democracy, we are governed to considerable extent by some form of Bcy… De Gourney coined the term in 1745… Initially it meant Government by Officials… Marx’s critique of Bcy precedes Weber’s formulation… Bata K Dey views on Bcy… Structural, Behavioural, Purposive aspects Structural-> Value Neutral… Phenomenon associated with any large scale orgn Behavioural-> showing some functional and pathological symptoms Purposive-> Orgn that maximizes efficiency Rise of Bureaucracy Max Weber 1. Creation of Money Economy… System of rewarding Bcrats by land etc tended to turn Bcy feudal and led to its disintegration…. Money Economy permits payment of secure regular salaries 2. Emergence of Capitalist Economy… Created needs that only Bcratic. orgn. Could satisfy… Capitalism requires abd encourages government based on Bcratic. Orgn. Also not only govt. but pvt. Enterprise also started following Bcratic principles to enhance rationality… 3. Trend towards rationality in Western Countries… Protestantism, Devt. Of Science and Technology, Capitalism etc. 4. Democracy… Elimination of traditional rule of nobles and feudal elements and encouraging education and appointment to office on basis of Knowledge 5. Growth in Population… Larger orgn. Tend to assume Bcratic. Forms 6. Govt becam Complex… Like constructing waterways, provision of social services etc. 7. Modern forms of...
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...The decision-making technique must give direction toward the goals with the most probability for success. There are restrictions to resources. With the resources available, the costs, and people involved, the decision-making process must positively affect those involved not only for the decision-making process but to implement the changes made. Applying the Decision-Making Technique Innovative Services is determined to help Kava. To establish a greater presence in Kava, Innovative Services would benefit by using the rational decision-making technique. The greater presence could come in different forms. It is up to Innovative Services to determine what is good for the company and for Kava. Each technique has techniques to use. When using the rational techniques: 1. Goals and objectives are known in advance 2. The best alternative is chosen 3. Information on consequences is known 4. No uncertainty (Rational Decision Making, n.d) Using the rational model will allow the leaders and residents along with the organizations of the Kava community to collaborate...
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