In the previous section we saw that it is important for an organization both to establish the
desired norms, values and responsibilities and to effectively communicate these so that
directors, managers and employees know what is expected. This communication not only
occurs in writing, but also in action and in the set-up of the work environment.
People read the norms applicable to them from the behavior of others, especially their role
models. Within organizations these are line managers, higher management and directors.
Role-modeling is therefore the second factor which affects behavior in organizations.This was
touched on in chapter 14.
The following six chapters discuss experiments which illustrate the meaning of role-modeling.
Chapter 17 shows what ethical leadership involves and how powerful role-modeling can
be. It is not only down to the behavior employees see in their leaders, but also to what the
management task them to do. Chapter 18 examines obedience and the risks attached to it.
Having shown that role-modeling depends on how the management see themselves, chapter
19 then examines the effect of this on those being managed. On the one hand managers
should give a good example; on the other hand they are in a position in which they are more
likely to abuse their authority. In chapters 20 and 21 we see where this can lead. The inal
chapter of this section shows that model behavior can also lead to the opposite behavior in
others.
