The Principles of Organizational Behavior

Research into organizational behavior recently took me to political science and in particular Montesquieu’s 1748 discourse on the “The Spirit of the Laws”. His comparison of monarchies, despotisms and republics branches into sociology and might be considered one of the first inter-cultural reviews of political science (analyzing why post-revolutionary Britain was not a republican democracy and comparing it with the “absolute” monarchy of France.) Not only still pertinent for the comprehension of modern government, his work also offers a potentially interesting insight into organizational behavior in the modern corporate world.

 

Here’s a summary of Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws” and how it applies to modern-day organizations (“et alors”).

 

The Principles of Organizational Behavior

 

Over and beyond the way of organizing a state, Montesquieu asserted that what was important was the “spirit” of the laws: the principles that motivate members of that state to behave as they do. Relating one to each type of state, the principles are as follows:

 

Monarchies

 

The principle is the “love of honor”. Besides wishing to attain greater rank and privilege, the monarchy would be supported by everyone wishing to be “honorable”.

 

Despotisms

 

The principle is the “fear of the ruler”. If there are no fixed laws that constrain the authority of the ruler, then the “monarch” is actually a “despot” who rules by fear.

 

Republican Democracy

 

The principle is the “love of virtue”. Citizens would make the state run smoothly by being willing to forego self-interest in the pursuit of the common or collective interest.

 

Et alors

 

Such an analysis of the motivators behind citizen behavior could also be equally applied to employee behavior in (usually large) organizations. The obvious link is with a strong corporate hierarchy. When there are few if not any checks and balances on the execution of authority, there might be a sense of fear amongst the staff and then the corporate “monarchy” might actually become “despotism”. Such a “culture of fear” can become pervasive, e.g. fear of losing the job or status; fear of being chastised / humiliated; and generally a fear of failure. As such, how would the “principle” of despotism be good for the business?

 

An alternative to despotism is monarchy. In a corporate context however, it might not be the best organizational “principle” to have everyone being motivated by attaining greater rank and privileges! Such an organization would be a collection of individuals spending most of their time competing with each other rather than collectively competing externally to improve the business. In addition, the concept of “honor” might be culturally specific thereby inhibiting multiculturalism in global organizations. As such, how would the “principle” of monarchism be good for the business?

 

The only category remaining is “republic democracy” – a term which appears almost anathema to corporate organization; however here the key is that the “love of virtue” principle is expressed by the “demos” (the people; whereas the “republic” could still be a corporate monarchy or aristocracy…). Can this happen in corporations? Well yes, if people are inspired and motivated to unite behind a common cause; and for this, the organization would require a leader to powerfully visualize it and acquire a collective followership! As such, just how good would the “principle” of republic democracy be for the business?