Link: http://www.traveller.com.au/how-the-qantas-crisis-unfolded-1mpv6

THE MEANING OF POWER

Power is the capacity of a person, team or organisation to influence others

• Potential, not actual use

• People have power they don’t use and they may not know they possess it

• A perception

POWER AND DEPENDENCE

Resource desired by Person B

Person B’s countervailing

power over Person A

Person A Person A’s control of

resource valued by Person B

Person B

Person A’s power over Person B

MODEL OF POWER IN ORGANISATIONS

SOURCES OF POWER• Agreement that people in certain roles can

request certain behaviours of others

• Based on job descriptions and mutual

agreement

• Legitimate power range (zone of indifference)

varies across national and organisational

cultures

Legitimate

SOURCES OF POWER CONTINUED

• Ability to control the allocation of rewards

valued by others and to remove negative

sanctions

• Operates upward as well as downward

Legitimate

Reward

SOURCES OF POWER CONTINUED

• Ability to apply punishment

• Exists upward as well as downward

• Peer pressure is a form of coercive power

Legitimate

Reward

Coercive

SOURCES OF POWER CONTINUED

• The capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that they value

• More employee expert power over companies in knowledge economy

Legitimate

Reward

Coercive

Expert

SOURCES OF POWER CONTINUED

• Occurs when others identify with, like or otherwise respect the person

• Associated with charismatic leadership

Legitimate

Referent

Reward

Coercive

Expert

CONTINGENCIES OF POWER

INCREASING NON-SUBSTITUTABILITY

• Few or no alternatives to the resource

• Increase non-substitutability by controlling the resource• Exclusive right to perform medical procedures

• Control over skilled labour

• Exclusive knowledge to repair equipment

• Differentiate resource from others

CENTRALITY

• Degree and nature of interdependence between powerholder and others

• Centrality is a function of:• How many others are affected by you

• How quickly others are affected by you

DISCRETION AND VISIBILITY• Discretion

• The freedom to exercise judgment

• Rules limit discretion, limit power

• Also a perception—acting as if you have discretion

• Visibility• Symbols communicate your power source(s)

• Educational diplomas

• Clothing, etc. (stethoscope around neck)

• Salience

• Location—others are more aware of your presence

INFLUENCING OTHERS

• Influence—any behaviour that attempts to alter someone’s attitudes or behaviour

• Applies one or more power bases

• Process through which people achieve organisational objectives

• Operates up, down and across the organisational hierarchy

Assertiveness • Actively applying legitimate and coercive power (‘vocal authority’)

• Reminding, confronting, checking, threatening

Silent authority

• Following requests without overt influence• Based on legitimate power, role modelling• Common in high power distance cultures

TYPES OF INFLUENCE

TYPES OF INFLUENCE CONTINUED

Coalition formation

• Group forms to gain more power than individuals alone

1. Pools resources/power 2. Legitimises the issue3. Power through social identity

Information • Manipulating others’ access to information • Withholding, filtering, re-arranging

information• Reduces uncertainty

TYPES OF INFLUENCE CONTINUED

Upward appeal

• Appealing to higher authority• Includes appealing to firm’s goals• Alliance or perceived alliance with higher

status person

Persuasion • Logic, facts, emotional appeals• Depends on persuader, message content,

message medium, audience

TYPES OF INFLUENCE CONTINUED

Exchange • Promising or reminding of past benefits in exchange for compliance

• Includes negotiation and networking

Ingratiation/ impression

management

• Increase liking by, or perceived similarity to, the target person

CONSEQUENCES OF INFLUENCE TACTICS

people oppose the behaviour desired by the influencer

motivated by external sources (rewards) to implement request

identify with and highly motivated to implement request

Resistance Compliance Commitment

MINIMISING POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR

• Introduce clear rules for scarce resources

• Effective organisational change practices

• Suppress norms that support or tolerate self-serving behaviour

• Leaders role model organisational citizenship

• Give employees more control over their work

• Keep employees informed