Superior – Subordinate Influence in Organizations
Present a "best practices" approach toward superior-subordinate influence in organizations for the field you hope to
be involved in upon graduation, or the field that you are currently working within. Which persuasion practices are
the most effective and why? Substantively respond to at least two of your classmates' primary postings.
An organization is made up of employees who have specialized in different departments but
work together to achieve the organizational goals. Power hierarchy is exhibited, with the
subordinate at the bottom and the managers at the top (Morang, 2000).The superior-subordinate
interactions occur downwards through; giving instructions, assigning duties, giving directions
and confirmations to the reports and audit accounts submitted by the juniors. On the other hand,
upwards interaction occurs through asking for directions, seeking for clarifications and
submitting assigned work. These interactions can either be constructive or destructive. A
destructive interaction is characterized by manipulation, rigidity, intimidation and
irresponsibility. Therefore it requires the effort of both parties to ensure that the working
environment is conducive to both of them (Ferris, 2012).
I would like to venture into the accessible automobile industry when I graduate. I have a
passion for helping the disabled, providing adequate transportation for those in need and my
ability to work under minimal supervision will help me succeed at my workplace. My best
practice approach towards superior subordinate-relationships is the Value-Added-RelationshipManagement. This approach basically emphasizes on positive interactions that improve the
working relations between the manager and the subordinates while filtering out the negative
aspects of this interaction. The manager is generally depicted as the in-charge of the operations
of the company while the employees are the implementing parties of the organizational policies
and objectives. One pillar of this approach is performance appraisal. This tends to motivate both
the superiors and the subordinates to put in extra effort so as to emerge outstanding in their
respective departments. The automobile industry employees people as: engineers, sales agents,
painters, assemblers, guards, drivers and cleaners. Most companies normally reward their
outstanding employees at the end of the trading period. In the automobile industry, this can be
through promotion, winning cars and spare parts. Other prizes can be clothing and household
goods with the company logo.
Bargaining power and etiquette: The subordinates operate under the manager. Sometimes
the resources of the company are often limited, yet it is the manager who sanctions their use. It
must therefore be upon the eloquence prowess of the subordinate, to request authorization for
use of the resource from the superior. For example, fuel is a limited resource in the motor
industry. A sales agent who requests the manager to be accorded fuel so that he can travel to
distant customers will be definitely attended to faster than the other employee who needs fuel
just to go get a spare part during motor vehicle assembly from a walking distance shop. This
shows that the fuel though a limited resource, will be granted to critical needs of the organization
first. The manager will explain this to the other subordinate in an amicable manner thereby
diverting the possible conflict in the organization (Morang, 2000).
Creation of a hospitable environment in the workplace can serve to ease the relation
between superiors and subordinates as it avails further avenues for interaction between them.
This can be through organizing sporting events to keep fit, mid-break work chats and availability
of senior employees to their juniors for consultations in the offices. The managers should be able
to understand their employees better (Ferris, 2012). Sometimes employees can make mistakes
and receive repercussions from their managers. These mistakes can be caused by psychological
problems, stress and emergencies which reduces the performing powers of such employees. A
manager who gives an employee a second chance in the organization will have motivated the
employee to perform better than the one who fires employees at the first mistake. Managers
should embrace dialogue and avoid authoritative administration in all workplaces.
Communication is a key factor for successful superior-subordinate interactions. It helps
both parties assess their progress in line with the organization’s goals and objectives.
Communication can occur between co-workers or between junior and senior employees. This
will enable understanding of the weakness and strengths of both parties hence they will
accommodate each other during interactions. Irrespective of the position in an organization, all
employees have unique personal behaviors. They exhibit a wide range of characters; tempers,
impatience, forgetfulness, introverts and others like to appear in the limelight by seeking
attention everywhere they go. Through communicating, value added relationship management
help the employees to learn from the positives of their colleagues while moderating the extremes
from them. The employees can open up and seeks for guidance on how to operate new
equipment in the organization, ask for standard procedure of executing instructions and how to
find their way within the organization. They are able to fully understand each other’s
expectations thereby harmonizing interactions between them (Ferris, 2012).
References
Ferris, G. (2012). Promotion systems in organizations, London, Macmillan publishers
Morang, D. (2000). Language and power: An empirical analysis of superiorsubordinate communication. Journal of Organizational behavior, 21, 277-293