2167 power and politics

8/4/2019 2167 Power and Politics

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Business Decision MakingADMN 2167

Professor: Bob Carpenter

Many of the slides in this presentation are from Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour, FourthCanadian Edition . Copyright 2007 Pearson Education Canada.


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Power and Politics


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Outline A Definition of Power Bases of Power

Dependency: The Key to Power Influence Tactics Empowerment: Giving Power to Employees

The Abuse of Power: Harassment in theWorkplace Politics: Power in Action


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Power, Influence and Politics

Power - the ability of one party to change or controlthe behaviour, attitudes, opinions, objectives,

needs or values of another party.Influence - the process of actually exercising this

power by affecting the thoughts, behaviour, &feelings of others.

Political Behaviour influence attempts that are for personal gain and are not officially sanctioned byan organization.


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Symbols of Power

1. Ability to intercede for someone in trouble2. Ability to get placements for favoured employees3. Exceeding budget limitation4. Procuring above-average raises for employees5. Getting items on the agenda at meetings

6. Access to early information7. Having top managers seek out their opinion.

R.Kantner, Power Failure in Management Circuits HBR July -Aug 1979


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Bases of Power

1. Coercive Power The person can make things difficult for people, and you want

to avoid getting him or her angry. Power that is based on fear.

2. Reward Power The person is able to give special benefits or rewards to

people, and you find it advantageous to trade favours withhim or her.

3. Legitimate Power The person has the right, considering his or her position and

your job responsibilities, to expect you to comply withlegitimate requests.

(continued)


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Measuring Bases of Power

4. Expert Power The person has the experience and knowledge to earn

your respect and you defer to his or her judgment insome matters.

5. Referent Power You like the person and enjoy doing things for him or

her.6. Information Power

The person has data or knowledge that you need.Source: Adapted from G. Yuki an d C. M. Falbe, Importance of Different Power Sources in Downward and Lateral Relations, Journal of Applied Psychology , June 1991, p.417. With permission.


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Evaluating the Bases of Power

People will respond in one of three ways:1. Commitment The person is enthusiastic about

the request and carries the task out.2. Compliance The person goes along with the

request grudgingly, putting in minimal effort.

3. Resistance The person is opposed to therequest and tries to avoid it.


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Dependancy

The party exposed to power must bedependant.

The powerful party controls something that isdesired.

There often exists a counter-power. e.g. a

powerful manager who controls rewards may be dependant on the employee to achievehis/her goals.


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Continuum of Responses to Power

Source: R. M. Steers and J. S. Black, Organizational Behavior , 5th ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), p. 487. Reprinted by permission of Pearson

Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Coercive

Bases ofLeaderPower

Reward

Legitimate

Expert

Referent

Most likely employee response

Resistance Compliance Commitment

Coercive

Bases ofLeaderPower

Reward

Legitimate

Expert

Referent

Most likely employee response

Resistance Compliance Commitment


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Leaders Use of Power

The least effective power bases are the onesmost likely to be used by managers. Coercive, legitimate, and reward Easiest to implement

Effective leaders use referent and/or expert power.


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Dependency: Key to Power

Importance The things you control must be important.

Scarcity A resource must be perceived as scarce.

Nonsubstitutability

The resource cannot be substituted withsomething else.


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Increasing Dependency

To increase the dependency of others on you,you need to Control things viewed as important. The resources must be viewed as scarce. The resource must have few or no substitutes

(nonsubstitutability).


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Influence Tactics

Rational persuasion Inspirational appeals

Consultation Ingratiation Personal appeals Exchange

Coalition tactics Pressure Legitimating tactics


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Exercise

Form groups Develop a role play where group leader uses

one of Coercive Reward

Legitimate Expert referent


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Role Play Scenario

You are the leader of a group that is trying to develop awebsite for a new client. One of your group members, who

was assigned the task of researching and analyzing thewebsites of your clients competition, has failed twice tobring the analysis to scheduled meetings, even though themember knew the assignment was due. Consequently,your group is falling behind in getting the website

developed. As leader of the group, you have decided tospeak with this team member, and use your specific brandof power to influence the individuals behaviour.


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Instructions for Role Play

Working in your group, read the instructionsfor the assignment. You have 10 minutes to develop a 3-minute

role play, using the source of power assignedto your group.

You MUST stick to the time limit.


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Observations

Observe different types of power, and see how theyaffect you.

Develop an understanding for which types of power are more likely to achieve positive (or negative)effects. Which gets the desired behaviour? Which has most long lasting effect? How does it affect relationship? Which is most acceptable?


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Sources of Power COERCIVE: Depends on fear. It is the ability to punish or withhold

privileges. REWARD: Based on one's control over things that others desire such as

vacations, raises, promotions, and office locations. LEGITIMATE: Person holding power has right to it because of position or

role. Thus the person has a formal right to direct others in certain mattersand the subordinates have a duty to obey those directions.

EXPERT: The perception by others that one has superior judgment orknowledge on some topics, often specialized in nature. Unlike informationpower, this power base does not involve sharing of the facts or reasoningbehind a decision.

REFERENT: Develops out of subordinates' admiration for leader and his/herdesire to model behaviour and attitudes after that person. The person buildsfeelings of support, liking, admiration, and respect with subordinates.

INFORMATION: Youve got it and they need it


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Employee Empowerment


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Empowerment: Giving Power to Employees

The freedom and the ability of employeesto make decisions and commitments.


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Degrees of Empowerment

Job content Tasks and procedures necessary for carrying out

a particular job.

Job context Reason for the job and the setting in which it is

done. Includes organizations structure, culture, and reward

systems.


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Characteristics of Empowered People

Sense of self-determination Employees are free to choose how to do their work; they are not

micromanaged.

Sense of meaning Employees feel that their work is important to them; they care about

what they are doing. Sense of competence

Employees are confident about their ability to do their work well; they

know they can perform. Sense of impact

Employees believe they can have influence on their work unit; otherslisten to their ideas.

Source: R. E. Quinn and G. M. Spreitzer, The Road to Empowerment: Seven Questions Every Leader Should Consider, Organizational Dynamics, Autumn 1997, p. 41.


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More or less stress

What are the effects of empowerment on stress


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Stages of Empowerment

No Discretion The employee is assigned the task, given no

discretion, and most likely monitored by asupervisor.

Typical assembly-line job highly routine and repetitive. Can lead to lowered satisfaction and productivity.


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Participatory Empowerment Autonomous work groups that are given some

decision-making authority over both job contentand job context.

Some evidence of higher job satisfaction and productivityin such groups.


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Self-Management Employees have total decision-making power for

both job content and job context. Generally reserved for those in top management, although it

is also sometimes granted to high-level salespeople. Very rewarding to those who hold it.


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The Abuse of Power: Workplace Bullying

Bullying can happen across levels of theorganization, or among co-workers.

Recent research found that: 40 percent of the respondents noted that they had

experienced one or more forms of bullying

weekly in the past six months. 10 percent experienced bullying at a much

greater level: five or more incidents a week.


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The Abuse of Power: Sexual Harassment

The Supreme Court of Canada defines sexualharassment as Unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature in the

workplace that negatively affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related

consequences for the employee.


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Examples of Sexual Harassment

There is disagreement as to what specificallyconstitutes sexual harassment.

Includes Unwanted physical touching. Recurring requests for dates when it is made

clear the person isnt interested. Coercive threats that a person will lose her or his

job if she or he refuses a sexual proposition.


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Examples of Sexual Harassment

More subtle forms (harder to interpret): Unwanted looks or comments

Off-colour jokes Sexual artifacts such as nude calendars in the

workplace

Sexual innuendo Misinterpretations of where the line between

being friendly ends and harassment begins


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Damned if you do etc:

Frans legal situation Frans political dilemma Frans ethical problem What should she do?


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Politics


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Why Do We Get Politics?

Organizations are made up of groups andindividuals who have differing values, goalsand interests.

Resources in organizations are limited. Performance outcomes are not completely

clear and objective.


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Politics: Power in Action

Political behaviour is those activities thatinfluence, or attempt to influence, the

distribution of advantages and disadvantageswithin the organization. Legitimate: Normal, everyday behaviour. Illegitimate: Extreme political behaviours that

violate the implied rules of the game.


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Types of Political Activity

Attacking or blaming others Using information Managing impressions Building support for ideas Praising others Building coalitions Associating with influential people Creating obligations


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Support of Political Behaviour

Support Political Behaviour

Fewer advancementopportunities

Unclear goals Autocratic decision making Ambiguous authority Scarce resources Uncertainty Leaders high on

Machiavellianism (highMachs)

Minimize PoliticalBehaviour

Transparent promotion and

reward policies Avoid hiring high Machs Open communication &

Supportive organizationclimate

Clear resource allocation policies Punish organizational

politicians


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Impression Management

The process by which individuals attempt tocontrol the impression others form of them.

More likely used by high self-monitors thanlow self-monitors. High self-monitors try to read the situation.


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Making Office Politics Work

Nobody wins unless everybody wins. Dont just ask for opinions change them. Everyone expects to be paid back. Success can create opposition.


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Summary and Implications

1. What is power? The capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B,

so that B acts in accordance with As wishes. 2. How does one get power?

There are six bases for power: coercive, reward,legitimate, expert, referent, and information.

3. How does dependency affect power? To maximize your power, you will want to increase

others dependence on you.


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Summary and Implications

4. What tactics can be used to exercise influence? One study identified nine strategies: rational persuasion,

inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personalappeals, exchange, coalition tactics, pressure, andlegitimating tactics.

5. What does it mean to be empowered?

Empowerment refers to the freedom and the ability of employees to make decisions and commitments.


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2167 power and politics

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