Should the Prospect of More Powerful Organisation Be Feared?

This paper outlines that the prospect of more powerful organizations should be feared. This does not mean that we should seek to get rid of organizations altogether or view organizations as completely bad, but rather look at it from a point of view that the multinational, business organization has become too large to be properly accountable or controllable. I make this argument in three sections. In Section One, I will use the work of Morgan (2006), Bakan (2004) and Weber (1947) to demonstrate the lack of accountability of large multinational organizations and their destructive power. In Section Two, I explore potential reasons why such large organizations may have come to operate in ways that are potentially unaccountable and destructive. Here I use the work of Milgram's (1974) experiments on authority together with Bauman's (1989) extension of these arguments, along with Jackall's (1988) research into the nature of management in corporations, to argue that when an organization is large, it becomes difficult for management to be emotionally involved, more rigid in regulations and less accountable morally. In Section Three, I draw upon the work of Knights and Roberts (1982) to suggest that it is only by fostering relations of inter-dependence, of mutual respect and of human relationships, rather than at-a-distance actions and instrumentality that a more positive and less fear inducing idea of organization may emerge.

Destructive power and lack of accountability of large multinational organizations.

One of the ways destructive power is demonstrated by multinational organization is by domination. As Morgan (2006) demonstrates, organizations are often used as an instrument to dominate others by furthering selfish interests at the expense of others. Morgan (2006) also states that there is an element of domination in each and every organization. Morgan (2006) used an example of the Great Pyramid at Gaza that was built at the expense of early Egyptians who were slaves. These salves had no choice but to respond to authority and carry millions of blocks of stones for the pyramid to be built. However, the pyramid is a symbol of how the lives and arid labor of thousands of people were used to serve and glorify a privileged elite (Morgan 2006).

According to Weber (1947) domination arises when one person or more forces someone to do something by using force or treat. However domination can occur in a subtle way. Weber (1947) states that a ruler or one who is in charge can impose his or her own will on others while thinking they have the right to do so.

Because of the selfish ambitions of organizations, power becomes destructive and therefore there is a lack of accountability of large multinational organizations. Marx (1883) gives detailed attention to child labor, long hours of work and sex trades. He illustrated with an example of children of nine or ten years who were dragged out of bed at two, three, or four in the morning and forced to work until ten, eleven, or twelve at night. Report on clothing industry also shows how girls and women were being worked to death on seventeen hours shifts without breaks.

According to Morgan (2006), many employers take account of work hazard only when the law requires them to. Accidents and occupational health disease continue to take an alarming toll on human life. For example, in the United States, health report shows that every year work related accident and illnesses cost an estimated 56,000 American lives. 'The number of people killed by occupational diseases and accidents each year exceeds the number of American lives lost in the duration of the Vietnam war" (Morgan, 1997: 316). This shows that large organizations want to dominate workers but not take account or responsibility of what is happening around them. As long as the end result is what they wanted then they are happy.

Multinational organizations are larger and more powerful but are not accountable to anyone but themselves. According to Bakan (2004), multinational organizations are widely view as soulless and uncaring, impersonal and amoral. Large corporations are seen as psychopath, who seek to externalize all negative consequences and are devoid of moral restrains and refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions (Bakan 2004).

So far I have demonstrated the destructive power and lack of accountability in large organizations, in the next session I show that there are potential reason why large organizations operate in these ways.

Potential reasons why such large scale organizations may have come to operate in ways that are potentially destructive and unaccountable.

Milgram's (1975) experimenting with authority is an experiment that volunteers were ask to administer what they thought were increasing level of electric shocks to protesting victims. According to Milgram's (1975) experiments, many subjects obeyed the experiment no matter how serious and painful the pleading of the person being shocked, no matter how painful the shocks seemed to be, and no matter how the victim pleads to be out.

The Holocaust is another example that shows how people can just obey authority without much question being asked. It is not only the evil in human beings but also the ability to quickly respond to the faultless and unchallengeable rule of order (Bauman1989). If one take a closer look at the Holocaust, these men were men with wives and children in uniform, obedient and well disciplined who just obeyed what they were told to do, these men were just like any normal human being when they take off their uniforms (Bauman 1989). Bauman stated that the most frightening thing about the Holocaust is not about what was done but rather what we are capable of doing.

The larger the scale of the organization the more impersonal, more bureaucratic, more distanced, and less morally accountable management of the organization becomes.

People in general are often faced with decision-making. Management of organization has become impersonal because of the large scale of organization. "Looking up and looking around" is a term that has been used by Jackall (1988) to describe how managers rely on others, not because they are not experienced in what they do but because of the fear of failure, fear of taking responsibility, fear to be blamed and fear of the wrong decision. The term" Looking up and looking around" used by Jackall (1988) becomes crucial when managers are faced with decision making that involves public exposure, large sum of money, or an important effect on one's organization (Jackall 1988). Management of the organization does not want to get involved when it comes to this decision-making.