Chapter 10 - Ethical Power and Politics

Copyright 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

How Power, Politics, and Ethics Affect Behavior, Human Relations, and PerformancePower is needed to reach objectives in all organizations, and affects performance.Managers who abuse power tend to have difficulties in working with others and can markedly impair an organizations morale and performance.10-*

People who use organizational politics tend to use different behavior than those who do not use politics.People who are ethical behave differently than those who are not ethical.People using unethical politics tend to lie, cheat, and break the rules.How Power, Politics, and Ethics Affect Behavior, Human Relations, and Performance10-*

PowerPower A persons ability to influence others to do something they would not otherwise do.Power is needed to reach objectives in all organizations, and affects performance.To be effective in an organization, you must understand how power is used.Two sources of power are position power and personal power.

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PowerPosition power - Derived from top-level management and is delegated down the chain of command.Personal powerDerived from the follower.Everyone has it to varying degrees.It is largely attributed to ones personality and interpersonal skills.10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Coercive PowerInvolves threats and / or punishment to influence compliance. Is appropriate to use in maintaining discipline when enforcing rules.Connection PowerBased on the users relationship with influential people. To increase your connection power, expand your network of contacts with important managers who have power.Reward PowerBased on the users ability to influence others with something of value to them.Legitimate PowerBased on the users position power. The use of legitimate power is appropriate when asking people to do something that is within the scope of their jobs.

Bases of Power10-*

Referent PowerBased on the users personal power. The use of referent power is particularly appropriate for people with weak, or no, position power. To gain referent power, develop your relationship with others; stand up for them.Information PowerBased on the users information being desired by others.Expert PowerBased on the users skill and knowledge. Expert power is essential to people who have to work with people from other departments and organizations. To become an expert, take all the training and educational programs your organization provides.

Bases of Power10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Bases of Power10-*

Influencing tacticsYour power is your ability to influence others, but you need to have persuasion skillsTo help persuade people, you can use influencing tactics that focus primarily on personal power.To influence someone, you have to understand the persons values, attitudes, beliefs, and motivation.10-*

Reading people is a key interpersonal skill; it has four parts:Put yourself in the place of the person you want to persuade.Get the other persons expectations right.Incorporate the information about the other persons expectations into your persuasive presentation.Keep the focus on the other persons expectations when trying to persuade.

Influencing tactics10-*

Influencing tacticsFive influencing tactics areIngratiationRational persuasionInspirational appealPersonal appealLegitimization

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IngratiationYou are friendly and give praise to get the person in a good mood before making your request.Works best as a long-term influencing strategy to improve relationships.Must be sincere to be effective.10-*

IngratiationGuidelines for using ingratiationBe sensitive to the followers moods.Compliment the followers past related achievements.State why the follower was selected for the task.Acknowledge inconvenience posed by your request.10-*

Rational PersuasionIncludes logical arguments with factual evidence to persuade the person that the behavior will result in meeting the objective.It works well when you share the same objective and create a true winwin situation.

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Rational PersuasionGuidelines for using rational persuasionExplain the reason your objective needs to be met.Explain how the other person will benefit by meeting your objective.Provide evidence that your objective can be met.Explain how potential problems and concerns will be handled.Explain why your proposal is better than competing ones.10-*

Inspirational AppealAttempts to arouse follower enthusiasm through internalization to meet the objective.Works well with people whose behavior is more influenced by emotions than by logical thinking.10-*

Inspirational AppealGuidelines for using inspirational appealDevelop emotions and enthusiasm based on the followers values. Link the appeal to the persons self-concept.Link the request to a clear, appealing vision.Be positive and optimistic.Use nonverbal communication to bring emotions to the verbal message.10-*

Personal AppealYou request the person to meet your objective based on loyalty and friendship.Important when you have weak power.More commonly used with peers and outsiders than with subordinates or bosses.

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Personal AppealGuidelines for using personal appealBegin by stating that you need a favor and why it is important.Appeal to your friendship.Tell the person that you are counting on him or her.10-*

LegitimizationYou rely on organizational authority that a reasonable request is being made and that the person should meet your objective.Is used when you dont have position power.Is used when you have legitimate authority or the right to make a particular type of request.10-*

LegitimizationGuidelines for using legitimizationRefer to organizational policies, procedures, rules, and other documentation.Refer to written documents.Refer to precedent.

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Organizational PoliticsPolitics The process of gaining and using power.Political behavior is used to develop relationships that are necessary to get the job done.The three primary political behaviors commonly used in organizations are: networking, reciprocity, and coalition building.10-*

Organizational PoliticsNetworkingDeveloping relationship alliances with key people for the purpose of politicking.ReciprocityCreating obligations and debts, developing alliances, and using them to accomplish objectives.Coalition BuildingA network of alliances that help you achieve a specific objective.10-*

Business Ethics and EtiquetteType I ethics refers to behavior that is considered wrong by authorities, yet is not accepted by others as unethical.Type II ethics refers to behavior that is considered wrong by authorities and the individual, yet is conducted anyway.10-*

Ethical and Unethical PoliticsEthical politics includes behavior that benefits both the individual and the organization.Unethical politics includes behavior that benefits the individual and hurts the organization.10-*

Codes of EthicsA code of ethics establishes guidelines that clearly describe ethical and unethical behavior.To be ethically successful, Unethical behavior should not be justified.Audit the ethical behavior of employees and confront and discipline who are unethical.Top managers should lead by ethical example.10-*

EtiquetteThe socially accepted standard of right and wrong behavior.Is very important to career success.Organizations do not have any formal training in etiquette.10-*

Etiquette Skills10-*

Vertical PoliticsRelations with your bossYour relationship with your boss will affect your job satisfaction and can mean the difference between success or failure on the job.Common expectations of bosses include loyalty, cooperation, initiative, information, and openness to criticism.10-*

Vertical PoliticsRegaining Your Bosss TrustApologize immediately, face-to-face, speaking slowly to sound truly remorseful.Accept responsibility for what you did or said.Empathize with the discomfort you caused.Offer a credible explanation for the deed.Vow not to repeat the mistake again, stating your plan to prevent it, or ask your boss for suggestions on avoiding it again.10-*

Vertical PoliticsRelations with subordinatesDevelop manageremployee relationsBe friendly with employees while still being effective managers. The open-door policy The practice of being available to employees.10-*

Horizontal PoliticsRelations with peersTo be successful, you must cooperate, compete with, and sometimes even criticize your peers.Relations with members of other departmentsDevelop good human relations through being cooperative and following the guidelines set by the organization.10-*

Do Power, Politics, and Etiquette Apply Globally?Power is perceived and exercised differently around the globe.Power distance A method of understanding global differences.Centers on the extent to which employees feel comfortable interacting across hierarchical levels.Reflects expectations of centralized or decentralized decision making.10-*

Do Power, Politics, and Etiquette Apply Globally?In high power distance cultures:Using strong power and politics is acceptable because leaders are expected to behave differently from people in low ranks and differences in rank are more apparent. In low power distance culturesUsing strong power and politics is not acceptable, because power is expected to be shared with employees through empowerment.10-*

Do Power, Politics, and Etiquette Apply Globally?Power and politics in the e-organization are different from those in traditional organizations.E-orgs lend themselves to less power distances, since direct observation of employees by managers is less frequent and is from a distance.Proper business etiquette in one culture may not be appropriate in another.10-*