Power, Politics, and Empowerment

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Power, Politics, and Empowerment

• Jim Shaw

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Chapter Outline

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

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Power and Politics

• When you think of the word POWER what comes
  immediately to mind?
• Think of someone that you believe has power.
  What gives them that power?

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The only power that we have over someone . Is
the power that they give us P.D. James
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Power

• Power
• A capacity that A has to influence the
  behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with
  As wishes

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Measuring 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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Bases of Power
Position Power

• Access to information
• Impact of tasks
• Amount of discretion
• Visibility in organization
• Relevance of tasks

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Bases of Power
Personal Power

• Knowledge and experience
• Desirable characteristics
• Higher effort
• Legitimate behavior (consistent with organization
  values)

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How Power is Used
Coercion recognizing a vulnerability on which
to play based on fear RESULT Temporary
Control Utility based on a sense or
reciprocity, or mutual benefit based
exchange RESULT - REACTIVE Principle Centred
building commitment - based on trust, respect and
honour RESULT - PROACTIVE
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Leaders Use of Power

• Challenge
• Based on your experiences with Supervisors, what
  is the basis of power most likely to be used ?
• Why?

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Popularity 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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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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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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Empowerment Power is not a weapon that we use
by design or indiscriminately to achieve the
results we need. Power is a tool we pass on to
those who work on our behalf. The overall
performance of the organization is dependent on
the power of the people who are collectively
building the future of the organization. (Shaw
, Leader Resources, 1998)
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Characteristics of Empowered People
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Political behavior

• 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 behavior
• Illegitimate extreme political behaviors 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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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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Factors Influencing Political behavior
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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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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.