Truth in Management and Power Relationships Essay Example for Free

Truth in Management and Power Relationships Essay Throughout history, philosophers have come up with their versions of the actual definition for ‘truth’. The Greek philosopher Aristotle had explained truth as â€Å"To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true† [1]. Aristotle explains that truth can be described as that something that is definite and distinct in its own form, nature or identity. Another Greek sophist and philosopher Protagoras held the view that â€Å"man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not†[2]. According to him, every person’s opinion of truth is based his or her own perception of truth. In the famous Greek poet Homer’s epic Odyssey, there is one instance when the Greek hero Odysseus did not actually reveal the truth when he says â€Å"I will tell you all the truth†[3]. In his epics, there are characters that hold back information or tell lies. In the present day management, we have to be cautious as to how we go about telling the truth to our subordinates or colleagues. There are multiple scenarios that we have to consider before revealing the truth. Sometimes, we may end up in situations whereby we have to cover up the truth to protect our integrity and position in the company or organization. Socrates, an Athenian Greek Philosopher once quoted: â€Å"You, my friend, are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of yourself which you never regard or heed at all? [2]† We can relate to his quote in today’s fast paced times, when in the quest for power, wealth and reputation, we tend to forget our very basic virtues of being righteous and truthful. I can quote an example of my personal experience whilst working in a semiconductor company where my supervisor and colleague were from Philippines. I used to have reservations initially in opening up to my colleagues and then as the months passed, I started confiding with my Filipino colleague regarding a couple of problems I had with the company management style and extremely long working hours. He then later betrayed the faith that I had in him when he passed on all the complaints over to my supervisor behind my back. Since then, the company management started to ignore my inputs and started giving me disapproving eyes at every meeting. The lesson we can learn from that was to ensure that certain truths however cumbersome they may be to carry around, we have to ensure that they stay hidden away due to the competitiveness and lack of trust among employees in today’s management. The Greek philosopher Plato once said â€Å"You should not honor men more than truth[4]† but in today’s world of management, the key areas of output and performance are valued more highly than the truthful principles at work. Power relationships play a very important role in management in the present day. These relationships have taken on a very aggressive dimension nowadays with the current crop of power hungry managers. In my opinion, we need to build such relationships with our colleagues as well as our superiors to firstly sustain ourselves for the long run and then to ensure that we maintain a steady progress throughout our careers. From my personal experience while working with my previous employer, I used to notice that my team consisted of mainly Filipinos, Indians, Malaysians and Chinese. They used to split up into their respective nationality groups and stay together always while doing work and used to provide assistance and useful advice only to their countrymen when in need. Those groups kept trying out negative organizational politics against each other to ensure that none of them could grow in the company so as to attain overall power. The organizational politics at my company even went upto the higher management where in the promotions were dedicated only to their respective countrymen and was not based on ability or performance. The higher management even had absolute control of the human resource (HR) department whereby the hiring of new staff was prioritized based on nationality of the hiring manager or supervisor rather than giving priority to the qualification and experience of the new recruits. Quoting from Plato, â€Å"The measure of a man is what he does with power[4]†, in management terms, his words signify that a true ability of a manager can only be determined by how he utilizes his power effectively in the context of an organizational environment. The Greek Philosopher Socrates had once said: â€Å"Esteemed friend, citizen of Athens, the greatest city in the world, so outstanding in both intelligence and power, arent you ashamed to care so much to make all the money you can, and to advance your reputation and prestigewhile for truth and wisdom and the improvement of your soul you have no care or worry[2]†. This quotation is apt in describing the insatiable need for wealth among the Athenians in those days for gaining reputation and prestige at the cost of their moral values like truth and wisdom. Socrates’ words can even be applied with respect to today’s management style. In the current times, taking into account the fallout from the financial crisis and its impact on the organizations, managers get even more reluctant to follow the truthful ideologies and instead strongly engage in strengthening their power relationships with other hierarchical members within their organizations to establish a strong foothold for themselves in the industry. References: 1. Owens, J., Doctrine of Being in the Aristotelian Metaphysics. 3rd ed1978, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. 2. Spillane, R. , An Eye For An I: Living Philosophy2007, Melbourne: Michelle Anderson Publishing. 3. Thiselton, A. C. , The New international dictionary of New Testament theology, ed. B. Colin. Vol. 3. 1978, Exeter: Paternoster Press. 4. Stavropoulos, S. , The Beginning of All Wisdom: Timeless Advice from the Ancient Greeks. 1st ed2003: Da Capo Press.