People in Power Make Better Liars

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Management

People in Power Make Better Liars

Through the use of the structural frame in the analysis of this article, we would start with Max Weber’s bureaucracy model. The article indicates that Mr. Skilling, who was the former Enron CEO, had several counts of fraud, insider trading, conspiracy, and lying. Besides, his criminal activities led to the company’s collapse. However, Skilling’s lawyers were of the opinion that their client’s conduct was not illegal, even though it was wrong to some extent. The lawyers also indicated that Skilling’s conduct did not arise from his personal interests.

         Max Weber’s bureaucracy model implies that organizations have graded authority, and their offices are hierarchical. This form of organization indicates that some offices have individuals who are powerful compared to others. Similarly, the former Enron CEO had such a capacity in his organization as the most powerful person. Administrative regulations govern the jurisdictional areas in these organizations. Therefore, Skilling likely misused his power to lie to the company’s shareholders. Although Skilling’s position as the CEO would have been as a result of his expertise in the area of management, his dishonesty indicated that he was not competent enough. Consequently, Skilling was demoted and arrested.

On the other hand, according to Mintzberg’s Five Basic Parts of the Organization, organizations are structured into five fundamental sections depending on the management level. Large organizations should have managers, and these individuals are at the top administrative position. Besides, the number of managers vary depending on the size of the organization. Some of the managers oversee the work done by the subordinates, and they are also supposed to report to other managers.

The first part of an organization, according to Mintzberg, is the strategic apex. Individuals who fall under this group are those that are at the top level in the organization, and they include the managers tasked with being responsible for everything in the organization. The people in this group are also supposed to ensure that the organization achieves its objectives, and they also supervise their subordinates directly. Since the management does not have anyone to check on their actions, they are supposed to have integrity.

Clearly, the lack of integrity by the management in the strategic apex may make the organization fail to achieve its objectives. The actions of the management at the strategic apex affects the actions of the second section in the organization, and this is the Middle Line. This section is comprised of a set of managers such as line managers and unit managers and they oversee the activities of the employees also referred to as operators. Also, the Technostructure component of the organization is affected by the actions of the strategic apex managers because they perform their duties based on the instructions they receive.