Authority in Business

Authority is an essential part of any business or organization. Without proper authority and power, no organization can survive and succeed. When an employer gives an order, they are exerting authority. In that moment, an employer is telling their employee that they must do the specific thing. This relationship between employer and employee is incredibly complicated and continues to be a mystery today. The process of giving an order is no exception. Follett identified the need to reconcile the inherent conflict in an individual between resisting taking orders, which arises from the natural animosity felt towards the boss, and the requirement to follow orders as part of a desire to keep one’s job.

In this essay, Follett discusses the roles of both the employer and the employee. Specifically, she discusses the giving of orders and how the way an order is given can have an effect on how the task is performed and how the person who receives the order feels about getting this request. Follett believes that an order should not be given and demanded with unquestionable obedience is not a good business practice. She states that ordering people to do things does not necessarily mean that the job will be done well. While, this practice worked in the past, this classic method of just giving an order is no longer effective.

Instead of this classic method, Follett suggests that the attitude of the employee, previous behavior, the education and training, the circumstances of the work situation all need to be evaluated before giving out these orders. Both the employer and the employee need to study the situation and discover the law of the situation. Follett states that the employer must “devise methods by which we can best discover the order integral to a particular situation.” (43) To accomplish this task, an employer should have a face-to-face conversation with the employee in which they analyze the situation and both agree to take orders from the situation.

Follett discusses how it is important for the employer to approach task giving in this more complex way as people often have difficulty adapting and changing. Therefore, when people are given tasks that are outside the ordinary for them, it can be difficult for them to approach it in the right manner. Every person has individual beliefs, experiences, prejudices, and desires that may hold them back from changing. Therefore in order to change these processes and beliefs, a person’s habit patterns must be altered. Follett discusses the three things that must be done in order to change the habit patterns of the employees. These three things are: (1) build up the desired attitudes, (2)