Chapter 11 Power and Politics

Power

· Capacity to influence the behavior of another so that the other does things they would not otherwise do.

· Assumes

o Potential whether used or not

o Dependency of other on one with power

o Discretion of other party over own behavior (they have a CHOICE)

· Does not assume Goal compatibility, Downward influence alone

Bases of Power

· Coercive

· Reward

· Legitimate

· Expert

· Referent

Coercive:

· Stems from capacity to produce fear

· Repercussions may be SEVERE

§ Workplace violence

§ Other forms of Retaliation

§ Turnover

§ Lowered morale

§ Lowered productivity

Reward

· Ability to determine who will receive particular rewards

· Relationship between rewards and performance should be clear

· Gives manager advantage

Ø Tougher to influence behavior you can’t reward

Legitimate

· Stems from willingness of others to accept direction due to:

Ø Social conditioning (police officer, crossing guard, foreman, mayor)

Ø Formal position power

Expert

· Possessed by those who are perceived as knowledgeable or talented

· May not correspond with level on the organizational chart

Referent

· Possessed by people with attractive personalities or other special qualities

· People want to be like those with referent power

· Vigor and appearance of success play an important role in their power

· People like to identify with qualities of attractive people, who often have HIGHER referent power

Etzioni and Power:

· Coercive power

· Utilitarian power

· Incentives

n Normative power

ä members accept directives because of a sense of affiliation with organization and espoused values

Formal versus informal power

· Legitimate, reward, coercive power bases are more formal in nature

· Have greater impact on immediate behavior

· People with formal power stay in positions longer than those with informal power

Sources of formal / informal power

· Informal power rests in individual’s PERSONAL characteristics

· Formal power rests in POSITION POWER

Dependency Postulate

· The greater B's dependency on A, the greater power A has over B

· B's dependency increases when A controls resources that are:

äimportant to B

äscarce

änonsubstitutable

Power Tactics

· Reason

· Friendliness

· Coalition

· Bargaining

· Assertiveness

· Higher authority

· Sanctions

Kelman:

Reasons why people submit to others’ attempts to influence them:

Compliance

· Can avoid punishment, seek rewards

Identification

· Desire to maintain personally satisfying relationships

Internalization

– Believe behaviors are correct and appropriate

Politics: Power in Action

· Influencing the distribution of advantages and disadvantages

· Not part of formal role

· Legitimate vs.. illegitimate

Individual Factors Contributing to Political Behavior

· High self-monitors

· Internal locus of control

· High N_ach

· High Organizational investment

· Many perceived job alternatives

· High expectations of success

Organizational Factors Contributing to Political Behavior

· Reallocation of resources

· Promotion opportunities

· Low trust

· Role ambiguity

· Unclear performance evaluation system

· Zero sum reward practices

· Democratic decision making

· High performance pressures

· Self-serving senior managers

Political tactics:

· Ingratiation

· Impression Management

· Information Management

· Unusual tactics

· Line positions

· Devious tactics

Impression Management Techniques

· Conformity

· Excuses

· Apologies

· Acclaiming

· Flattery

· Favors

· Association

Politicking

· Frame arguments in terms of organizational goals

· Develop the right image

· Gain control of organizational resources

· Make yourself appear indispensable

· Be visible

· Develop powerful allies

· Avoid “tainted” members

· Support your boss

Why is there so much politics?

· Scarce resources

· Differing goals, values, interests.

· “Facts” used to allocate limited resources are open to interpretation. e.g., What is good performance? What is a good job?

· Ambiguity is the norm in most decision situations... facts are rarely objective.

Before considering options, Evaluate Situation: 3 steps

Step 1: Assess culture.

One quick way to do this is to determine what kind of culture an organization has is to look at the way in which performance is appraised, and rewards are given.

Step 2: Assess power of others.

· Power is differential. People may be powerless in some situations, and very powerful in others.

· Identify issue you want to influence, find out who has authority to affect that issue. Also consider others who have vested interests, e.g., coalitions, and identify adversaries.

· Some resources are very scarce, e.g., access to key information or expert knowledge and possession of special skills.

· Assess your boss’s position with regard to your political issue. Will this person support you?

Step 3: Assess your own power.

· Are you charismatic, allowing you special influence over others?

· Do you have expert power, i.e., power over some specialized information that others need?

What is a Charismatic Leader?

· One who inspires followers to do what they say for the sake of pleasing them.

· E.g. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Lee Iacocca, JFK, even Abe Lincoln.

· Gets people to go beyond what they would normally do in order to be praised.

· Shares a vision of the future with followers.

Guidelines for Action

· Frame argument in terms of organizational goals.

Cover up your self interest!

Develop the “Right” image.

· Dress right

· Cultivate right people

· Work on STYLE and SUBSTANCE!

· Make yourself appear indispensable.

· Be visible.

· Get a mentor.

· Develop powerful allies.

· Avoid “tainted” members.

· Support your boss.

Specific Strategies

· Reasoning: use facts, data to make logical or rational presentation of ideas.

· Friendliness: flattery, goodwill, acting humble, being friendly prior to making request.

· Building coalitions

· Bargaining: Exchange of benefits or favors.

· Use higher authority

· Be assertive: Demand compliance with requests, issue reminders, point out rules.

· Use sanctions: Organizationally-derived rewards and punishments such as preventing or promising salary increase, threatening to give poor performance evaluation.

Defensive Behaviors

· Avoid action

· Avoid blame

· Avoid change

Figure 12-4
Is a political action ethical?

Sexual Harassment

· Unwanted advances

· Requests for sexual favors

· Verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature

Myths about Sexual Harassment: (American Psychological Association (APA))

· Sexual Harassment is rare.

o 40 to 60 % of working women are effected.

· Revolves mostly around flirtation.

o NO… offensive, frightening, insulting behaviors.

· Most claims are false.

o Less than 1% are deemed to be false.

· Hard to find legal protection.

o NO… violation of Title VII of Civil Rights Act

Title VII of Civil Rights Act:

n Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

n Submission to conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment;

n Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or

n Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantial interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Types of Harassment:
Which is most common?

· Gender Harassment:

o Generalized sexist statements and behavior that convey insulting or degrading attitudes about women. E.g. insulting remarks, offensive graffiti, obscene jokes or humor about sex or women.

· Seductive Behavior: Phone calls, letters, etc.

· Sexual Bribery: Promise of reward

· Sexual Coercion: Threat of punishment

· Sexual Imposition: Gross sexual contact