Transcript Chapter 11 Power and Political Behavior Concept of Power Power – the ability to influence another person Influence – the process of affecting.

Chapter 11
Power and Political Behavior
Concept of Power
Power – the ability to influence another person
Influence – the process of affecting the thoughts,
behavior, and feelings of another person
Authority – the right to influence another person
Concept of Power
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Thomson Learning.
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Zone of Indifference – the range in which attempts
to influence a person will be perceived as legitimate
and will be acted on without a great deal of thought
Zone of Indifference
Managers strive to expand
the zone of indifference
Zone of Indifference
Sources of Organizational
Power: Interpersonal
Reward Power – agent’s ability to control the
rewards that the target wants
Coercive Power – agent’s ability to cause an
unpleasant experience for a target
Legitimate Power – agent and target agree that
agent has influential rights, based on position
and mutual agreement
Sources of Organizational
Power: Interpersonal
Referent Power – based on interpersonal attraction
Expert Power – agent has knowledge target needs
Which Power is Most Effective?
Expert Power!
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Strong relationship to performance & satisfaction
Transfers vital skills, abilities, and knowledge within the
organization
Employees internalize what they observe & learn from
managers they consider “experts”
Information Power
Information Power – access to and
control over important information
 Formal/informal position in
communication network
 Interpreting
information when
passing it on
(the spin)
Criteria for Using Power Ethically
Does the behavior produce a good outcome for
people both inside and outside the
organization?
Does the behavior respect the rights of all
parties?
Does the behavior treat all parties equitably
and fairly?
Two Faces of Power
Personal Power
 used for personal gain
Social Power
 used to create motivation
 used to accomplish group
goals
Successful Power Users
Have high need for social power
 Approach relationships with a communal
orientation
 Focus on needs and interests of others

belief in the
authority
system
preference for
work and
discipline
belief in
justice
altruism
Sources of Organizational Power:
Intergroup
 Control of critical resources
 Control of strategic contingencies –
activities that other groups need to
complete their tasks
Sources of Organizational Power:
Intergroup

Ways groups hold power over other groups
 Ability to cope with uncertainty
 High degree of centrality - functionality
central to organization’s success
 Nonsubstitutability - group’s activities are
indispensable
Power Analysis:
A Broader View
Organizational Power
Coercive Power – influence through threat
of punishment, fear, or intimidation
Utilitarian Power – influence through
rewards and benefits
Normative Power – influence through
knowledge of belonging, doing the right
thing
Power Analysis:
A Broader View
Organizational Membership
Alienative Membership – members feel
hostile, negative, do not want to be there
Calculative Membership – members
weigh benefits and limitations of belonging
Moral Membership – members have
positive organizational feelings; will deny
own needs
Etzioni’s Power Analysis
Type of Membership
Alienative
Calculative
Moral
Coercive
Utilitarian
Normative
Type of Power
SOURCE: Adapted from Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations (Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964), 59-61.
Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Kanter’s Symbols of Power
 Intercede
for someone in trouble
 Obtain placements
for favored employees
 Exceed
budget limitations
 Procure
above-average raises for employees
 Place
items on meeting agendas
 Access
 Have
to early information
top managers seek out their opinion
Kanter’s Symbols of Powerlessness
Top Executives
• budget cuts
• punishing behaviors
• top-down communications
Managers
Staff Professionals
• resistance to change
• turf protection
First-line Supervisors
• overly close supervision
• assign external attribution blame others or environment • inflexible adherence to rules
• do job rather than train
Key to overcoming powerlessness:
share power and delegate decision making
Copyright ©2006
by South-Western,
a division of
Thomson Learning.
All rights reserved
Korda’s Power Symbols
Power – there are more people who inconvenience
themselves on your behalf than there are people
on whose behalf you would inconvenience
yourself
Status – a person’s relative standing in a group
based on prestige and deference
Korda’s Power Symbols
Size of desk
Rectangular table
Locked file cabinet
Furnishings
Time
Access
Who has access
to you?
To whom do you
have access?
Political Behavior in Organizations
Organizational Politics – the use of power and
influence in organizations
Political Behavior – actions not officially
sanctioned by an organization that are taken
to influence others in order to meet one’s
personal goals
Conditions Encouraging
Political Activity
 Unclear goals
 Autocratic decision making
 Ambiguous lines of authority
 Scarce resources
 Uncertainty
Effective Political Characteristics
What characteristics do
effective political actors
possess?
Influence Tactics
Consultation
Inspirational appeals
Rational persuasion
Ingratiation
Coalition
Exchange tactics
Upward appeals
Pressure
Copyright ©2006
by South-Western,
a division of
Thomson Learning.
All rights reserved
Upward Influence:
the boss
Lateral
Influence:
a coworker
Downward Influence:
an employee
Influence by Consultation
This new attendance plan is controversial.
How can we make it more acceptable?
The person seeks your participation in making
a decision or planning how to implement a
proposed strategy, policy, or change.
Influence by Rational Persuasion
This new procedure will save us
over $150,000.
The person uses logical arguments and factual
evidence to persuade you that a proposal or
request is viable and likely to result in the
attainment of task objectives.
Influence by Inspirational Appeals
Getting that account will be
tough, but I know you can do it.
The person makes an emotional request or
proposal that arouses enthusiasm by appealing
to your values and ideals, or by increasing your
confidence that you can do it.
Influence by Ingratiation
Only you can do this job right!
The person seeks to get you in a good mood or
to think favorably of him or her before asking
you to do something.
Information on slides 23-27 from the first two columns from G. Yuki and C. M. Falbe. “Influence Tactics and Objectives in Upward, Downward, and
Lateral Influence Attempts.” Journal of Applied Psychology 75 (1990): 132-140. Copyright © 1990 by the American Psychological Association.
Reprinted with permission.
Managing Political Behavior
 Maintain open communication
 Clarify performance expectations
 Use participative management
 Encourage cooperation among work
groups
 Manage scarce resources well
 Provide a supportive organizational
climate
Copyright ©2006
by South-Western,
a division of
Thomson Learning.
All rights reserved
Managing Up: The Boss
Understand Your Boss
and Her Context
 Her goals and
objectives
 The pressures on her
 Her strengths,
weaknesses, blind
spots
 Her preferred work
style
Assess Yourself
and Your Needs
 Your own strengths and
weaknesses
 Your personal style
 Your predisposition
toward dependence on
authority figures
Managing Up: The Boss
Develop and Maintain a Relationship that
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Fits both your needs and styles
Is characterized by mutual expectations
Keeps your boss informed
Is based on dependability and honesty
Selectively uses your boss’s time and
resources
SOURCE: Information on slides 29-30 adapted and reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. From J. J. Gabarro and J. P.
Kotter, “Managing Your Boss,” Harvard Business Review (January-February 1980): 92-100. Copyright© 1980 by the Harvard Business
School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved.
Sharing Power: Empowerment
Empowerment:
sharing power in such a
way that individuals learn
to believe in their ability
to do the job!
Empowerment’s Four Dimensions
Competence –
belief that one has
the ability to do the
job well
Meaning –
fit between the work
role and the
employee’s values
and beliefs
E2s
Self-determination –
having control over
the way one does
one’s work
Impact – belief that
one’s job makes a
difference within the
organization
Guidelines for Empowering

Express confidence in employees

Set high performance expectations
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Create opportunities for participative decision
making
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Remove bureaucratic constraints that stifle
autonomy

Set inspirational and meaningful goals
Decision-Making Authority over Job Context
Employee Empowerment Grid
Implement
Follow-up
Point D
Mission Defining
Point E
Self-management
Alt. Choice
Point C
Participatory
Empowerment
Alt. Eval
Alt. Dev
Problem Id.
Point A
No Discretion
Problem Id.
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Thomson Learning.
All rights reserved
Alt. Dev
Point B
Task Setting
Alt. Eval
Alt.
Implement
Choice Follow-up
Decision-Making Authority over Job Content
Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations, 1964, pp.... 59-61. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Finkelstein:
Why Executives Fail

See themselves and their companies as
dominant, without peers
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Have all the answers
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Eliminate those not 100% behind them
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Rely on what worked in the past
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No clear boundaries between personal
interests and corporate interests
Using Power Effectively
Use power in ethical ways
 Understand and use all of the various
types of power and influence
 Seek out jobs that allow you to develop
your power skills
 Use power tempered by maturity and selfcontrol
 Accept that influencing people is an
important part of the management job
