Compliance

Compliance is the ongoing action of complying with directives or rules of a higher authority, intended to improve organizational effectiveness. Compliance approaches can range from a suggested change in behavior (individuals), or in operations (organizations); or compliance can be a direct request for change that if not followed, will result in punitive action. Etzioni (1975, 1997) developed compliance theory in the corporate world. He classified organizations by the type of power management they could employ to direct the behavior of their employees to comply with management's wishes. Etzioni identified three types of organizational power: coercive, utilitarian, and normative; and he attempted to relate power to compliance from employees based on three types of employee involvement: alienative, calculative, and moral. He discussed the various hypothetical combinations that could exist in organizations. He concluded compliance depended on the level of organizational power and the readiness of employees to comply.