What is loyalty ?Is it a virtue?What does it mean to be loyal to an organization?Does it mean being loyal to the ideas of the organization's founders?"In trying to think more thoroughly about loyalty,I turned for inspiration to Amazon.com, the online book seller.I found 250 books on loyalty.More than 200 were about keeping consumers and employees loyal."Brand loyalty" was by far the most frequent use of the term.About 20 books were about "loyalty oaths" during the McCarthy era.Several others were concerned with "my loyalty is my honour",the slogan of Hitler's SS.Only a couple had any relevance to loyalty as a complex moral virtue(Fletcher) ." writes C. Fred Alford.
The term loyalty is old fashioned and carries the hint of fascism.The term has been trivialized as brand loyalty .The Nazis committed numerous crimes under the banner of loyalty .Loyalty is a virtue but can be misused.Loyalty is strictly an organizational resource.
Albert O Hirschman (born 1915)is a Professor of Social Science , Emeritus at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton.His book "Exit , Voice and Loyalty . . Responses to decline in firms, organizations and states" was published in 1970 and is 162 pages long.It is provocative , perceptive, fascinating ,powerful , original and multidisciplinary.
What do policy makers do when the organization they belong to declines and becomes slack due to strife , corruption , boredom or any other factor?It may be a firm(economic organization) , a non governmental organization , a political party or a government.The mechanisms of recuperation or restoration to health of such organizations use loyalty , exit , voice and strategic and tactical efforts.
Hirschman has given an interesting theory of loyalty. Breeding ground for loyalist behaviour is in general difficulties in recognising change.There are obstacles to the perception of change.Loyalty is different from faith .Loyalist behaviour retain an enormous dose of reasoned calculations.
Loyalty raises the cost of exit.It holds exit at bay and activates voice.As a result of loyalty, members may be locked into their organizations a little longer .Exit then becomes equated with disloyalty.But loyalty often represses voice alongside exit.Loyalty breeds self deception and alters beliefs and attitudes .In this sense , the behaviour of a loyalist goes against the theory of cognitive dissonance.Intolerable deterioration finally does lead to exit of the loyalists.
There are two different varieties of loyalty:
1.Loyalty with no thought of exit .This is unconscious loyalist behaviour(ULB)2.Loyalty when a member thinks about exit and is liable to use the threat of exit for the purpose of changing the practices of the organization.
Exit option is a characteristic of normal competition .But when loyalty is present , it is often seen as disgraceful ,desertion , defection or even treason .Is the option of exit always available?What if the price of exit is high , or deliberately kept high by the organization?The longer one fails to exit , more difficult the decision to exit.Failure to exit becomes spinelessness.Exit is also seen as opportunism."Opportunism is often rationalised as public spirited;even better, it can masquerade as secret martyrdom"(Hirschman).By exiting , one renders one's arguments unanswerable.The remarkable influence wielded by martyr can be understood in these terms.
Upward social mobility is also an exit.Evolutionary individualism and social Darwinism indicate towards this( flight) pattern of upward mobility.This implies plucking many of the most promising members from the group (like Blacks in the US)while failing to alter the lot of the group.People who oppose evolutionary individualism argue that without collective thrust or group process , no worthwhile upliftment of the group is possible .Group process castigates a supreme value , ie , success via exit of the promising individual.
"Brain drain" is also a kind of exit. This also applies to emigrants who leave their country and migrate to a foreign country for a better job or opportunity .In leaving his country , the emigrant makes a difficult decision and usually pays a high price in severing many strong , affective ties.The story about two immigrants from Germany meeting for the first time after many years in New York .One asks the other.:"Are you happy here?"Reply:"I am happy , but happy I am not".(Hirschman)
Voice is to change practices , policies and outcome.Voice can be individual or through collective petition .We find ways to exert influence through voice towards recovery of organization .Voice can be from within as also from without.Voice is in a much more commanding position in less developing countries .In advanced countries, dissatisfaction is more likely to take the form of silent exit.Voice option is observed more frequently among organizations than among business firms.Voice appeals to higher authorities to replace existing management . Voice against exploitation and profiteering had a history in consumer movement .Ralph Nader was a pioneer of such movements.
Voice is an art of constantly evolving in new directions while exit is clear cut either or decision .There is a scope for development of the art of voice .The presence of the exit alternative can tend to atrophy the development of the art of voice.What should be the effective volume of voice?We need to minimise discontent and hostility.Some organizations resort to expulsion to restrict resort to voice by members.But this is totally unproductive.Some organizations have official or domesticated dissenters .This also is not very useful.
There is a symbiosis between exit and voice.Both are feedback mechanisms as well as mechanisms for recuperation.Ways of facilitating voice can be to reduce the cost of exit or reduce the opportunities for exit, or increase the rewards of voice .We should improve the design of institutions that need both exit and voice to be maintained in good health .Ordinarily , when the dominant mode plainly reveals its inadequacy , will the other mode eventually be injected once again .
Loyalty is a virtue , but not an unqualified virtue .If practiced in organizations with fascist elements , it can lead to large scale abuses.In my experience , I have observed that in India , both in private sector as well as public sector, there is widespread practice and expectation of loyalty by organizations from members as well as from employees . In return ,organizations sometimes treat employees as well as members with filial attachment and care .As a result , while in the advanced western countries like the U.S. , the relationships between the organizations and members as well as employees is purely contractual , it is not so in India .Indian organizations have these relationships where expectations of loyalty and loyal behaviour is high , treatment to employees and members has more human touch , more informality, higher motivation and higher emotional intelligence .But it also has serious downside and vunerability in terms of abuse of human rights and exploitation .While I hesitate to recommend a total elimination of expectations and practice of loyalty and loyal behaviour from the organizations in India( which in any case cannot be done easily , being a part of Indian culture and tradition ) , there is a need to put institutional checks and limits on such expectations so that large scale organizational loyalty may not result in blind self deception in the name of loyalty , leading to abuses and exploitation .
The term loyalty is old fashioned and carries the hint of fascism.The term has been trivialized as brand loyalty .The Nazis committed numerous crimes under the banner of loyalty .Loyalty is a virtue but can be misused.Loyalty is strictly an organizational resource.
Albert O Hirschman (born 1915)is a Professor of Social Science , Emeritus at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton.His book "Exit , Voice and Loyalty . . Responses to decline in firms, organizations and states" was published in 1970 and is 162 pages long.It is provocative , perceptive, fascinating ,powerful , original and multidisciplinary.
What do policy makers do when the organization they belong to declines and becomes slack due to strife , corruption , boredom or any other factor?It may be a firm(economic organization) , a non governmental organization , a political party or a government.The mechanisms of recuperation or restoration to health of such organizations use loyalty , exit , voice and strategic and tactical efforts.
Hirschman has given an interesting theory of loyalty. Breeding ground for loyalist behaviour is in general difficulties in recognising change.There are obstacles to the perception of change.Loyalty is different from faith .Loyalist behaviour retain an enormous dose of reasoned calculations.
Loyalty raises the cost of exit.It holds exit at bay and activates voice.As a result of loyalty, members may be locked into their organizations a little longer .Exit then becomes equated with disloyalty.But loyalty often represses voice alongside exit.Loyalty breeds self deception and alters beliefs and attitudes .In this sense , the behaviour of a loyalist goes against the theory of cognitive dissonance.Intolerable deterioration finally does lead to exit of the loyalists.
There are two different varieties of loyalty:
1.Loyalty with no thought of exit .This is unconscious loyalist behaviour(ULB)2.Loyalty when a member thinks about exit and is liable to use the threat of exit for the purpose of changing the practices of the organization.
Exit option is a characteristic of normal competition .But when loyalty is present , it is often seen as disgraceful ,desertion , defection or even treason .Is the option of exit always available?What if the price of exit is high , or deliberately kept high by the organization?The longer one fails to exit , more difficult the decision to exit.Failure to exit becomes spinelessness.Exit is also seen as opportunism."Opportunism is often rationalised as public spirited;even better, it can masquerade as secret martyrdom"(Hirschman).By exiting , one renders one's arguments unanswerable.The remarkable influence wielded by martyr can be understood in these terms.
Upward social mobility is also an exit.Evolutionary individualism and social Darwinism indicate towards this( flight) pattern of upward mobility.This implies plucking many of the most promising members from the group (like Blacks in the US)while failing to alter the lot of the group.People who oppose evolutionary individualism argue that without collective thrust or group process , no worthwhile upliftment of the group is possible .Group process castigates a supreme value , ie , success via exit of the promising individual.
"Brain drain" is also a kind of exit. This also applies to emigrants who leave their country and migrate to a foreign country for a better job or opportunity .In leaving his country , the emigrant makes a difficult decision and usually pays a high price in severing many strong , affective ties.The story about two immigrants from Germany meeting for the first time after many years in New York .One asks the other.:"Are you happy here?"Reply:"I am happy , but happy I am not".(Hirschman)
Voice is to change practices , policies and outcome.Voice can be individual or through collective petition .We find ways to exert influence through voice towards recovery of organization .Voice can be from within as also from without.Voice is in a much more commanding position in less developing countries .In advanced countries, dissatisfaction is more likely to take the form of silent exit.Voice option is observed more frequently among organizations than among business firms.Voice appeals to higher authorities to replace existing management . Voice against exploitation and profiteering had a history in consumer movement .Ralph Nader was a pioneer of such movements.
Voice is an art of constantly evolving in new directions while exit is clear cut either or decision .There is a scope for development of the art of voice .The presence of the exit alternative can tend to atrophy the development of the art of voice.What should be the effective volume of voice?We need to minimise discontent and hostility.Some organizations resort to expulsion to restrict resort to voice by members.But this is totally unproductive.Some organizations have official or domesticated dissenters .This also is not very useful.
There is a symbiosis between exit and voice.Both are feedback mechanisms as well as mechanisms for recuperation.Ways of facilitating voice can be to reduce the cost of exit or reduce the opportunities for exit, or increase the rewards of voice .We should improve the design of institutions that need both exit and voice to be maintained in good health .Ordinarily , when the dominant mode plainly reveals its inadequacy , will the other mode eventually be injected once again .
Loyalty is a virtue , but not an unqualified virtue .If practiced in organizations with fascist elements , it can lead to large scale abuses.In my experience , I have observed that in India , both in private sector as well as public sector, there is widespread practice and expectation of loyalty by organizations from members as well as from employees . In return ,organizations sometimes treat employees as well as members with filial attachment and care .As a result , while in the advanced western countries like the U.S. , the relationships between the organizations and members as well as employees is purely contractual , it is not so in India .Indian organizations have these relationships where expectations of loyalty and loyal behaviour is high , treatment to employees and members has more human touch , more informality, higher motivation and higher emotional intelligence .But it also has serious downside and vunerability in terms of abuse of human rights and exploitation .While I hesitate to recommend a total elimination of expectations and practice of loyalty and loyal behaviour from the organizations in India( which in any case cannot be done easily , being a part of Indian culture and tradition ) , there is a need to put institutional checks and limits on such expectations so that large scale organizational loyalty may not result in blind self deception in the name of loyalty , leading to abuses and exploitation .
4 comments:
Loyalty was a big issue a century ago in the West, as exemplified by E M Forster's comment that "If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country". But the two World Wars finished off all talk of loyalty. Instead we have the increasingly pervasive "rule of law" implemented on every conceivable level, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to employee contracts that include the concept of "duty of care" and the small print on the back of retail goods that guarantee "statutory consumer rights". I predict that India will go the same way, in time. (In the UK there is a tendency to criticise trends in the USA, only to emulate them a few years later. I believe it is the same for India and the West.)
Roger , thank you for your very enlightening comments .I am curious to think and know what exactly happened between the two World Wars , which resulted in finishing off all talk of loyalty .But perhaps , you are referring to loyalty to persons and countries.To the best of my knowledge , people in the US still talk about loyalty to the principles .If the complete disappearance of complex moral virtues like loyalty is accepted , it raises questions on values like cooperation and other issues connected with emotional intelligence .Secondly , your prediction about India going the same way as the U. S. seems very radical .I am not too sure about it , though I have no evidence to disagree with you .
Thanks once again for very thought provoking comments .I value your comments.
Is it not possible to liberate loyalty from the bondage of organization?
Is there any place of loyalty in the world of consumerism and individualism?
When I compare Lord Ram and Lord Krishna in terms of Loyalty, it appears that Lord Ram was bound by the pledges of loyalty. On the other side, Lord Krishna appears breaker of loyalty; but in the end, Lord Krishna appears victorious over the virtues of Loyalty.
Every organization , especially in India , expects loyalty from its members and employees.The space for loyalty to organizations is consistently getting reduced as consumerism rises.I am not really in a position to comment on Lord Krishna or Lord Ram, because of religious and devotional aspects involved.
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