Power and Politics

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Chapter 8

• Power and Politics

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Chapter Outline

• A Definition of Power
• Contrasting Leadership and Power
• Bases of Power
• Dependency The Key to Power
• Identifying Where the Power Is
• Power Tactics
• Empowerment Giving Power to Employees
• Power in Groups Coalitions
• The Abuse of Power Sexual Harassment in the
  Workplace
• Politics Power in Action

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Power and Politics

• What is power? How does one get it?
• What does it mean to empower employees?
• How can we be effective at office politics?

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Power and Politics

• Power A capacity that A has to influence the
  behaviour of B so that B acts in accordance with
  As wishes
• Politics Behaviour to influence, or attempt to
  influence the distribution of advantages and
  disadvantages within the organization.

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Leadership and Power
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Exhibit 8-1Measuring Bases of Power

• The person can make things difficult for people,
  and you want to avoid getting him or her angry.
  coercive power
• The person is able to give special benefits or
  rewards to people, and you find it advantageous
  to trade favors with him or her. reward power
• The person has the right, considering his or her
  position and your job responsibilities, to expect
  you to comply with legitimate requests.
  legitimate power
• The person has the experience and knowledge to
  earn your respect, and you defer to his or her
  judgment in some matters. expert power
• You like the person and enjoy doing things for
  him or her. referent power

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Bases of Power

• Coercive Power
• Power that is based on fear.
• Reward Power
• Compliance achieved based on the ability to
  distribute rewards that others view as valuable.
• Legitimate Power
• The power a person receives as a result of his or
  her position in the formal hierarchy of an
  organization.
• Expert Power
• Influence based on special skills or knowledge.
• Referent Power
• Influence based on possession by an individual or
  desirable resources or personal traits.

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Evaluating the Bases of Power

• Coercive power tends to result in negative
  performance responses from individuals, decreases
  satisfaction, increases mistrust, and creates
  fear.
• Legitimate power does not have a negative effect,
  but does not generally stimulate employees to
  improve their attitudes or performance, and it
  does not generally result in increased
  commitment.
• Reward power may improve performance in a variety
  of situations if the rewards are consistent with
  what the individuals want as rewards.
• Expert power relies on trust that all relevant
  information is given out honestly and completely.
  

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Leaders Use of Power

• The least effective power bases--coercive,
  legitimate, and reward -- are the ones most
  likely to be used by managers, perhaps because
  they are the 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
• Non-substitutability the resource cannot be
  substituted with something else

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Exhibit 8-3Popularity of Power Tactics From
Most to Least Popular
When Managers Influenced Superiors
When Managers Influenced Subordinates
Reason Coalition Friendliness Bargaining Assertive
ness Higher authority
Reason Assertiveness Friendliness Coalition Bargai
ning Higher authority Sanctions
Most Popular
Least Popular
The dimension of sanctions is omitted in the
scale that measures upward influence.
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Empowerment Giving Power to Employees

• Disagreement over definition of empowerment
• empowerment as delegating decision making within
  a set of clear boundaries.
• empowerment as a process of risk taking and
  personal growth.

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Exhibit 8-4 Employee Empowerment Grid
Point D Mission Defining
Point E Self- Management
Point C Participatory Empowerment
Decision-Making Authority Over Job Context
Point A No Discretion
Point B Task Setting
Decision-Making Authority Over Job Content
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Exhibit 8-5 Characteristics of Empowered People
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Coalitions

• Two or more individuals who combine their power
  to push for or support their demands
• Predictions
• Coalitions seek to maximize their size
• Coalitions more likely to be created when there
  is greater task and resource dependence
• Coalitions more likely when tasks are routine

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Sexual Harassment

• The Supreme Court of Canada defines sexual
  harassment 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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Political Behaviour

• Those activities that are not required as part of
  ones formal role in the organization, but that
  influence, or attempt to influence, the
  distribution of advantages and disadvantages
  within the organization.
• Legitimate normal everyday behaviour
• Illegitimate extreme political behaviours that
  violate the implied rules of the game

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Why Do We Get Politics?

• Organizations are made up of groups and
  individuals who have differing values, goals and
  interests
• Resources in organizations are limited
• Performance outcomes are not completely clear and
  objective

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Exhibit 8-6 How Political Is Your Workplace?
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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.

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Exhibit 8-7Factors Influencing Political
Behaviour
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What Individual Factors Contribute to Politics?

• High self-monitors
• Internal locus of control
• High mach
• Organizational investment
• Perceived job alternatives
• Expectations of success

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What Organizational Factors Contribute to
Politics?

• Reallocation of rewards
• Promotion opportunities
• Low trust
• Role ambiguity
• Unclear performance evaluation system
• Zero-sum reward practices
• Democratic decision-making
• High performance pressure
• Self-serving senior managers

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Making Office Politics Work

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

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Exhibit 8-8 Impression Management (IM) Techniques

• Conformity
• Agreeing with someone elses opinion in order to
  gain his or her approval.
• Excuses
• Explanations of a predicament-creating event
  aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the
  predicament.
• Apologies
• Admitting responsibility for an undesirable event
  and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for
  the action.
• Acclamations
• Explanation of favorable events to maximize the
  desirable implications for oneself.
• Flattery
• Complimenting others about their virtues in an
  effort to make oneself appear perceptive and
  likable.
• Favours
• Doing something nice for someone to gain that
  persons approval.
• Association
• Enhancing or protecting ones image by managing
  information about people and things with which
  one is associated.

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Exhibit 8-9Is A Political Action Ethical?
Unethical
Ethical
Yes
Yes
Question 3 Is the political activity fair and
equitable?
Question 1 Is the political action motivated by
self-serving interests to the exclusion of the
organiza-tions goals?
No
No
Question 2 Does the political action respect the
rights of the individuals affected?
Yes
Unethical
No
Unethical
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Summary and Implications

• Power is a two-way street.
• Few employees relish being powerless in their
  jobs and organization.
• People respond differently to various power
  bases.
• Employees working under coercive managers are
  unlikely to be committed,
• and more likely to resist the manager.
• Expert power is the most strongly and
  consistently related to effective employee
  performance.
• The power of the boss may also play a role in
  determining job satisfaction.
• The effective manager accepts the political
  nature of organizations.
• The more political that employees perceive an
  organization, the lower their satisfaction.
• Regardless of level in the organization, some
  people are more politically astute than others.
• The politically naive and inept tend to feel
  continually powerless.