Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg
It was the two French sociologists who focused the attention on how power in organisations is experienced beyond hierarchy. They clear up the myth that it is the head of hierarchy who, by means of instruction, gets that which he desires. In particular, it is informal processes which enable one to observe where influence lies, and one the basis of what resource availability, one is able to do that. How, as actor, do you become powerful, in the term used by both men? You become powerful, because others are dependent upon you. Power in organisations also lies in who can offer help to whom, or refuse it. This can be due to special knowledge, shortage of materials, reduced head counts, delay possibilities and much more besides. Understanding organisational dynamics as ‘micro-politics’ of employees who are interlinked in many different ways, is a completely indispensable contribution to understanding how organisations stabilise themselves and how change intentions can fail.