Gonjitti Blog
Published on

[Management Behavior] Chapter 7: The role of authority and how to move people well. Persuasion? suggestion? instruction?


Roughly speaking

  1. Chapter 7 of Management Action. What is authority? Even if you're paid, your subordinates don't know if they'll do it properly.
  2. Persuade, suggest or order.
  3. When you exercise authority, you will feel like you have become superior. How to resolve conflicts between side effects and authority.


Chapter 7 of Management Action. About authority. Even if I instruct my subordinates, I don't know if I'll do it properly.


This time, chapter 7. It's about authority. Click here for the table of contents for all articles.


Up until now, discussions were made on the assumption that if the boss instructed his subordinates, his subordinates would do exactly that. However, as you can imagine from your own experience, whether or not you do your job properly depends on your subordinates. If there's something that makes you want to resist, it may not do it right.


Simon calls authority the act of subordinates acting as ordered. To be precise, permissions are defined as follows:


Authority means acceptance of decisions made by subordinates of seniors. Hold down subordinates' ability to criticize and promote coordination in collective organizations. It is often misunderstood, but disciplinary ability and authority are different, which is the act of applying sanctions when subordinates disobed.

A noteworthy statement is that it puts the subordinates' ability to criticize. Authority has the effect of robbing the power to make suggestions to your superiors. People who work for large companies probably feel a bias towards becoming increasingly uncritical about the company's organization. Rather than making suggestions, it works according to authority, that is, if you hold off your own ability to criticize, the movement of collective organizations will be smoother, so large companies tend to have more power. A typical example would be the services of large companies that are not in good condition. Large companies have a decline in organizations' ability to critically criticize services, and poor service critique and critical reading comprehension can cause fatal damage to business ideas. As a result, uncommon services are born. They have an insanely capital power, so they get a sense of traction, but in the end they all disappear after just one time.



Three ways to move people. Persuade, suggest or order.


Even if you try to put down your subordinates' ability to criticize, there are occasionally subordinates who don't do as instructed. The cause is that your loyalty to your boss or organization is reduced, you have a different opinion, or your interest in something else. The superior can apply three patterns of acceptance to his subordinates.


  1. Persuasion. Based on the boss's content, make sure your subordinates are convinced of the options.
  2. Proposal. Have your boss look at the content and have your subordinates make decisions.
  3. Order. Force your subordinate to do the boss's content. They put their subordinates in a state where they have to follow them uncritically.

Which acceptance patterns to apply depends on the style of your superior or organization, or the time-adjusting capacity, but there are risks in particular with 2. proposals and 3. orders.


In the case of proposals, subordinates get carried away and threaten their superior's authority. Alternatively, it could allow immature subordinates to make decisions, leading to them moving away from achieving organizational goals.


In the case of orders, it induces a decline in the ability of subordinates to criticize and lethargy. Alternatively, the self-esteem of subordinates can lead to depression or rebellion, leading to acts of rebellion.


In conclusion, the relationship between boss and subordinates requires the ability to use three candy and sticks to suit the differences, but up until now the discussions have been limited to just two people's relationships. But the organization is complicated. Subordinates may receive instructions from another boss, and groups of experts may appear out of nowhere and destroy their authority. In some cases, contradictory orders can reach subordinates. The reality is complicated. To respond appropriately, let's introduce some possible scenarios.



How to resolve privilege side effects and privilege conflicts


First, let's consider the side effects of exercising authority. Exercising authority will result in the following other than instructions:


  • The person who exercises his authority is heavily responsible, and if he makes a mistake in judgment, he will be subject to social sanctions and disciplinary actions.
  • Increases the authority of the person who exercises as an expert. Being considered to be familiar with the decision, will focus more specialized work on the envoy.
  • Organizational activities are coordinated. Individual decision contradictions can be resolved by using authority.

This is something that everyone who has worked for a large company has experienced. When you accomplish something outrageous, you end up asking this person for everything, and sometimes you get a flat tire. People who make serious mistakes in judgment are demoted, and their subordinates are forced to carry out their work with the deadly appearance of their subordinates. Side effects should be visualized as appropriate, detected ominous odors, and checked the health of the tissue daily.


Next, we will show you how to prevent conflicts in authority.


-As a precaution, ensure that your subordinates receive instructions from only one boss in advance. (It's a bit unrealistic though)

  • Decide the boss to the final decision. If the discussion doesn't go away, that person will decide.
  • Performs authority division. Reduces the probability of inconsistencies. By region, occupation, etc.
  • Rely on a cross-sectional class system. (Like the Army or Navy, no matter where you belong, the captain and the lieutenant are great.)

Contradictions in authority lead to organizational stagnation, so it must be resolved as quickly as possible. Of the four methods above, the third division of authority and the fourth cross-sectional rank system are easy to work well, so if it's too late, it's fine to introduce it. However, when a third division of authority is made, a new question arises regarding jurisdiction over authority, such as who decides the division, so it is necessary to clarify the liability for jurisdiction. If you divide the area as conveniently as you like, you may receive complaints from other area managers. Let's set the final decision at this time.



Aside (Gonjicchi memo)


Notes are written for each chapter using iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. This time it's not an e-book, but it has around 550 pages, making it inconvenient to carry around. If you make a note of it on your tablet, you can do it on your smartphone when you review it later.