Shifting the Balance: Relationship as Power in Organizational Life.

Area of Science:

• Organizational Studies
• Social Sciences
• Management Theory

Background:

• Traditional organizational power studies rely on hierarchical and positivist perspectives.
• Increasing organizational complexity necessitates alternative theoretical frameworks.
• Existing models inadequately represent contemporary organizational experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• Critique the limitations of the positivist view of organizational power.
• Reconceptualize organizational power through the lens of complex responsive process (CRP) analysis.
• Offer a new perspective on understanding and navigating power dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Utilizes narrative inquiry as a methodological approach.
• Employs complex responsive process (CRP) analysis for theoretical framing.
• Applies reflexivity and reflection to organizational power dynamics.

Main Results:

• Demonstrates how narrative inquiry and CRP can illuminate power relations.
• Provides a case example from a nursing faculty meeting in a university setting.
• Highlights the author's personal reflection on power dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Awareness and reflection on power relations using CRP can alter understanding.
• Examining habitual roles in power dynamics can lead to personal transformation.
• Organizational transformation is possible through a deeper comprehension of power.