Page 38 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Notes
(vi) Monthly Payment
11. Productivity Performance & Reward System – A Shop floor Experience

(i) Part 2-Collective Performance
(ii) Spares & Accessories Turnover Ratio
(iii) Spares & Accessories in 000/Vehicles sold

12. Productivity Performance & Reward System – A Shop floor Experience
2.7 Power Continuum

Figure 2.4: Power Continuum

800-pound Consensus
Gorilla power acceptance

Enlightened Consensus
Despotism Input

Pure Genuine
Dictatorship Consensus

Sugar-coated Arbitrated
dictatorship decision-
making
Advisory Consensus
commission understanding
dictatorship

At one end of the Power Continuum is what I call a pure dictatorship. At the other end is genuine
consensus. Between these two extremes are numerous variations on the themes of autocracy and
democracy.
In a pure dictatorship, one person or one group has, either individually or collectively, absolute
power in the realm of which they’re in charge to say, do and accomplish what they want. The
opinions and inputs of anyone else are unnecessary in the decision-making process. We’re
familiar with dictatorships in the context of governments; they can also operate within any
organization where one person or group has unlimited power. The president of a company may
wield absolute authority. Also, in a family, the father or mother may easily assume the role of
dictator, handing down decisions and rules that, if opposed or broken, incur heavy consequences.
One step down from pure dictatorship is what I refer to as a sugar-coated dictatorship. This is
simply a dictatorship in disguise. There may be a puppet like legislature or a puppet council of
advisors. But one person, group or ideology still makes all the decisions.
After the sugarcoated dictatorship comes enlightened despotism. In this type of decision-making
environment, the dictator is assumed, like god, to be benevolent in his/her authority. The
enlightened despot theoretically has the desire or intention of doing good for others. Yet,
according to the structure of the organization, he or she still makes the decisions as to what is
actually good for other people.

Next we have the advisory commission dictatorship. This differs from the sugar-coated
dictatorship in that it’s not a case of window dressing. There is actually some built-in mechanism
that provides for a group of people other than the top authority figure to have some public input
into the decision-making process. The President’s Advisory Commission on AIDS, for instance,

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