Authority Figure
Authority is the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed. As an authority figure, one is required to provide necessary leadership and support to their subordinates to improve their effectiveness and performance.
I am a middle child. This means that I have been brought up in a family setting where a certain chain of command is followed. The parents are the key authority figure in the family and in their absence, the first born takes over. As a middle child I also have the role of being in authority over my younger siblings.
I relate well with persons of authority, I do not have fear of losing control and influence or being outperformed by them and my fellow subordinates. I am content playing second fiddle in a team setting. I work well in a structured environment that has well defined roles and responsibilities. I am familiar with a setting that observes power distance and follow the chain of command. I am dissatisfied when persons of authority show preference and do not treat all their subordinates equally.
I am easy to work with and flexible. As a team leader, I tend to make a lot of compromises to ensure that all the members are satisfied and motivated. This makes me indecisive at times. I am not a self-starter and may require the occasional push from others to get the ball rolling. I am good at settling disputes within the team and the team works better when I am around; I am the glue of the group. I ensure that routine is established, everyone knows their roles and responsibilities and that this detailed structure is followed.
In my opinion, birth order plays an underlying role in the way that a child will react to authority. There are many other factors including: sex, environment, background and culture that play a supporting role. One is able to observe similar patterns and behavior among persons of the same birth order.
For instance, a first-born is viewed as the one chosen to carry the family legacy; they are eager to please persons of authority, achievement-oriented, very ambitious and love to be in control. An only child tends quietly go about accomplishing their tasks and raking up achievements. The last-born is the creative one, able to initiate ideas and people. Last-born tend to be impatient and poor decision makers as they have grown up with the responsibility of decision-making falling on their parents and older siblings.
There are various strengths and weakness characteristic of a middle-child. They have grown up dominated by their older siblings and have lead and controlled their younger siblings. This means that are more aware of role of responsibilities and consequences power in a formal setting such as they family. This is an important trait of a good leader or person of authority. Example of famous middle-child leaders are: John F. Kennedy, Warren Buffet, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, Dalai Lama and William Gates. The middle-child’s value orientation is collectivist and relationship oriented. They put other people first, work well in teams and are motivated by achieving collective goals.
It is important for one to know what characteristics are related to their birth order. They can focus on their natural strengths and work hard to improve their weaknesses in order to make an effective and efficient person of authority in all aspects of their life.
An organization’s culture is the result of customs, traditions and past ways of doing things that has proved successful. This culture is created through a three step process that begins at the point of hire and culminates in the employees’ initializing and displaying behaviour consistent to this culture. However, for the culture to keep alive, it is important to focus on how employees learn about the culture. There are four ways through which employees learn about the organizational culture: stories, rituals, material symbols and language.
Stories include tales about the organization’s founders, rags-to-riches successes, rule breaking, mistakes of past employees, workforce reduction and relocation and how to cope. These stories relate the present occurrences with past events and try to explain why certain practices are carried out and why others are not carried out.
Rituals are sequences of activities which are repeated. These activities express and reinforce the key values of the organization. Chapter 16 illustrates the use of corporate chants in FORTUNE 500 companies such as Walmat, IBM, Ericsson, Novell, Deutsche Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers. These chants bond the workers and reinforce their founder’s beliefs.
Material symbols comprise of physical attributes in the workplace. These attributes are symbols of the culture of the organization. Having communal workspaces, shared cubicles and common areas displays a culture of openness, equality, flexibility creativity and innovation. Symbols that indicate a conservative and authoritarian culture include executive perks, elegant furnishing, executive vehicle fleet, large offices and chauffeur-driven cars.
Language is used to transmit culture to employees. Jargon and acronyms related to the business make up a significant part of the work place communication. Most of these words are unique to each workplace and give a common denominator and sense of belonging to the workers.
