Macht,Management und Verhaltensbiologie Grundzüge eines verhaltensorientierten Managements

Collective action is not conceivable without the exercising of power. Therefore, the issue of power is a central one with regard to the behaviour of individuals. There are four strategic alternatives for handling power — direct and indirect physical power strategies and political strategies in the form of altruistic and Machiavellian approaches. Protagonists primarily have two objectives in relation to power — to achieve power with the aim of occupying as high a rung in the hierarchical structure as possible and to administer or exercise power by leading social groups. Commensurate with the two different objectives, there are various optimal behavioural alternatives, i.e. the strategy mix differs according to the given objective. Leaders seem to be neurobiologically predisposed to handle power. This makes it easier for them to achieve power. However, it is probably more difficult for them to modify or adapt their behaviour when exercising their power. This leads to deficiencies in leadership and compromises the leader’s position. In organisations with a stable environment, groups have some limited scope for balancing out leadership deficiencies.