The Political Frame

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The Political Frame
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Molieres The Misanthrope

• It is hard to dislike politics without also
  disliking people. Like it or not, political
  dynamics are inevitable under conditions most
  managers face every day
• Ambiguity
• Diversity
• Scarcity

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Five Propositions

• Organizations are coalitions of various
  individuals and interest groups.
• Enduring differences among coalition members in
  values, beliefs, information, interests, and
  perceptions of reality.
• Scarce resources enduring differences give
  conflict a central role make power the most
  important resource.
• Goals decisions emerge from bargaining,
  negotiation, jockeying for position.

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Concept of Power

• Power - the ability to influence another person
• Influence - the process of affecting the
  thoughts, behavior, feelings of another person
• Authority - the right to influence another person

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Sources of Organizational Power Interpersonal

• Reward Power - agents ability to control the
  rewards that the target wants
• Coercive Power - agents 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
• Referent Power-based on interpersonal attraction
• Expert Power - agent has knowledge target needs

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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?

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Successful Power Users

• Have high need for social power low need for
  affiliation
• Have these power-oriented characteristics

preference for work discipline altruism
belief in the authority system belief in justice
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Sources of Organizational Power Intergroup

• Control of critical resources
• Control of strategic contingencies - activities
  that other groups need to complete their tasks
• Ways groups hold power over other groups
• Ability to reduce uncertainty
• High centrality - functionality central to
  organizations success
• Nonsubstitutability - groups activities are
  difficult to replace

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Influence Tactics
Upward Influence the boss
Lateral Influence a coworker
Downward Influence an employee
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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

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Managing Up The Boss

• Make sure you understand your boss and his/her
  context including
• Goals and objectives
• Pressures
• Strengths, weaknesses, blind spots
• Preferred work style

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Managing Up The Boss

• Assess yourself and your needs, including
• Strengths, weaknesses, blind spots
• Personal style
• Relation to authority figures

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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 self-control
• Accept that influencing people is an important
  part of the management job

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Nature of Organizational Conflict

• Conflict - any situation in which incompatible
  goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to
  disagreement or opposition between two or more
  parties
• Functional conflict - a healthy, constructive
  disagreement between two or more people
• Dysfunctional conflict - an unhealthy,
  destructive disagreement between two or more
  people

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Conflict

• Substantive and Emotional Conflict
• substantive conflict conflict that occurs in the
  form of a fundamental disagreement over ends or
  goals to be pursued and the means for their
  accomplishment
• Emotional Conflict conflict that involves
  interpersonal difficulties that arise over
  feeling of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear,
  resentment, and the like

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Conflict Intensity

• Overt efforts to destroy other party.
• Aggressive physical attacks.
• Threats and ultimatums.
• Overt questioning or challenging of others.
• Minor disagreements or misunderstandings.

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Types of Interdependence
Pooled
Sequential
Reciprocal
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Relationship between Substantive Conflict and
Effectiveness
High
moderate levels of conflict are constructive
Performance
too little or too much conflict is destructive
Low
Low
High
Intensity of Conflict
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• Conflict Management Approaches
• Indirect Conflict Management Approaches
• appeal to common goals
• hierarchical referral
• organizational redesign
• scripts and myths
• Direct Conflict Management Approaches
• win-lose conflict
• win-win conflict
• lose-lose conflict (avoidance, accommodation/smoot
  hing, compromise)

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Consequences of Conflict
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Causes of Conflict in Organizations
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Forms of Conflict in Organizations

• Interorganizational conflict - conflict that
  occurs between two or more organizations
• Intergroup conflict - conflict that occurs
  between groups or teams in an organization
• Interpersonal conflict - conflict that occurs
  between two or more individuals

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Forms of Conflict in Organizations

• Intrapersonal conflict - conflict that occurs
  within an individual
• Interrole conflict - a persons experience of
  conflict among the multiple roles in his/her life

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Forms of Conflict in Organizations

• Intrarole conflict - conflict that occurs within
  a single role, such as when a person receives
  conflicting messages from role senders about how
  to perform a certain role
• Person-role conflict - conflict that occurs when
  an individual is expected to perform behaviors in
  a certain role that conflict with his/her
  personal values

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Defense Mechanisms

• Aggressive Mechanisms.
• Fixation - an aggressive mechanism in which an
  individual keeps up a dysfunctional behavior that
  obviously will not solve the conflict.
• Displacement - An aggressive mechanism in which
  an individual directs his/her anger toward
  someone who is not the source of the conflict.
• Negativism - an aggressive mechanism in which a
  person responds with pessimism to any attempt at
  solving a problem.

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Defense Mechanisms

• Compromise Mechanisms
• Compensation - a compromise mechanism in which an
  individual attempts to make up for a negative
  situation by devoting himself/herself to another
  pursuit with increased vigor
• Identification - a compromise mechanism whereby
  an individual patterns his or her behavior after
  anothers
• Rationalization - a compromise mechanism
  characterized by trying to justify ones behavior
  by constructing bogus reasons for it

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Defense Mechanisms

• Withdrawal Mechanisms
• Flight/withdrawal - a withdrawal mechanism that
  entails physically escaping a conflict (flight)
  or psychologically escaping (withdrawal)
• Conversion - a withdrawal mechanism in which
  emotional conflicts are expressed in physical
  symptoms
• Fantasy - a withdrawal mechanism that provides an
  escape from a conflict through daydreaming

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Managing Intrapersonal Conflict

• Person-role conflicts

• Intrarole or interrole conflicts

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Win-Lose versus Win-Win Strategies
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Ineffective Techniques forDealing with Conflict

• Nonaction - doing nothing in hopes that a
  conflict will disappear
• Secrecy - attempting to hide a conflict or an
  issue that has the potential to create conflict
• Administrative orbiting - delaying action on a
  conflict by buying time
• Due process nonaction - a procedure set up to
  address conflicts that is so costly,
  time-consuming, or personally risky that no one
  will use it
• Character assassination - an attempt to label or
  discredit an opponent

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Effective Techniques forDealing with Conflict
Subordinate Goals
Confronting Negotiating
Expanding Resources
X
Conflict
Changing Structure
Changing Personnel
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Dimensions of Conflict-Handling Intentions
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Conflict Management Styles

• Avoiding - deliberate decision to take no action
  on a conflict or to stay out of a conflict
• Accommodating - concern that the other partys
  goals be met but relatively unconcerned with
  getting own way
• Competing - satisfying own interests willing to
  do so at other partys expense
• Compromising - each party gives up something to
  reach a solution
• Collaborating - arriving at a solution agreeable
  to all through open thorough discussion

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Avoidance Is Appropriate When...

• You have no chance of satisfying your concerns
• let people cool down

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Accommodation Is Appropriate When ...

• You realize you are wrong
• Issue is much more important to other party
• To build up credit for later negotiations
• To preserve harmony

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Competition Is Appropriate When...

• No long term relationship
• To protect yourself against untrustworthy parties
  
• Unpopular courses of action need implementation
• Issues are vital to your welfare

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Collaboration Is Appropriate When ...

• Both parties concerns are too important to be
  compromised
• To gain commitment
• Time is not an issue

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Compromising Is Appropriate When ...

• Goals are less important to you than
  collaboration
• Mutually exclusive goals
• To achieve temporary settlements
• Under intense time pressure

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Summary and Implications for Managers

• Conflict can be either constructive or
  destructive to the functioning of a group.
• An optimal level of conflict
• prevents stagnation.
• stimulates creativity.
• releases tension.
• and initiates the seeds for change.

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Summary and Implications for Managers

• Inadequate or excessive levels of conflict can
  hinder group effectiveness.
• Dont assume there's one conflict-handling
  intention that is always best.
• Use competition when quick, decisive action is
  vital.
• Use collaboration to find an integrative
  solution.
• Use avoidance when an issue is trivial.
• Use accommodation when you find youre wrong.
• Use compromise when goals are important.

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Skills of the Manager as Politician

• Agenda Setting
• Mapping the Political Terrain
• Networking Building Coalitions

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Negotiation

• Negotiation - a joint process of finding a
  mutually acceptable solution to a complex
  conflict
• Useful under these conditions
• Two or more parties
• Conflict of interest between the parties
• Parties are willing to negotiate
• Parties prefer to work together rather than to
  fight openly, give in, break off contact, or take
  the dispute to a higher authority

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Negotiation

• An exchange relationship between two parties
  where it is determined what will be exchanged and
  the rate of exchange.
• NET OUTCOMES Benefits minus costs (hassles,
  stress and what you have to give up).
• ASPIRATIONS What each party reasonable expects
  to get out of the negotiation.
• BEST ALTERNATIVE TO A NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT
  (BATNA) If you walked away from the
  negotiation, the worst that could happen to you.

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The Negotiation Process

• __ Sellers BATNA
• __ Sellers Net Outcomes
• __ Sellers Comparison Level (Aspiration)
• __ Buyers Net Outcomes
• __ Buyers Comparison Level (Aspiration)
• __ Buyers BATNA

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Seller

• Aspiration To make a sale of 1.50 per unit
• Comparison Level She can sell to another client
  for 1.00 per unit

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Buyer

• Aspiration To pay .80 per unit
• BATNA She can buy them from another seller at
  1.60 per unit.

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The Negotiation Process

• __ Buyers BATNA (1.60)
• __ Sellers Net Outcomes
• __ Sellers Comparison Level/Aspiration (1.50)
• __ Buyers Net Outcomes
• __ Buyers Comparison Level/Aspiration (.80)
• __ Sellers BATNA (1.00)

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Will we Negotiate?

• The bargaining range will fall between the
  salespersons and the purchasers limits. In
  this case there is overlap. If there is no
  overlap, then the negotiation will not be
  successfully concluded.
• How do you know when you start if there is any
  overlap?

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Agreement

• Where our net outcomes meet.
• BATNA Affects comparison level, limits.

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Distributive Bargaining

• Fixed Pie Mentality
• We normally frame as Distributive, leads to
  bargaining over issues.
• We like to cut to the chase
• We like to ignore the interpersonal

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Maximizing Joint Outcomes

• Instead of bargaining over each individual issue,
  try to bargain in packages
• Each issue does not carry the same level of
  importance to all
• Give concessions of things that are not important
  to you, but are important to the other

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Joint Outcomes

• We almost never get maximized joint outcomes by
  bargaining sequentially (now this issue, now that
  issue)
• Its hard to calculate the importance of issues
  for ourselves, and others
• When we view the other as the opponent all of
  a sudden every issue seems important
• So, we are not honest about our issues

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Linking Issues

• Find ways to link issues (whats important to me
  with whats not important to me but IS important
  to the opponent)

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Is the Process Complex?

• People tend to see negotiation as complex, and
  see it as undefined CHAOS
• We try to package simply
• Or tend to separate each issue

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The Best Way to Negotiate

• Cognitively figure out packages (Planning)
• Come up with 4-5 items that I give that the other
  wants
• And where the other gives that I want
• Get some momentum by getting some up front
  agreements
• Try not to maximize EACH ISSUE but maximize the
  ENTIRE PACKAGE

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Planning

• Yes, negotiation requires planning and patience
• Know issues to keep in mind
• Know the levels of each issue
• Know the value of each issue
• Get the other guy to agree on issues (find a way
  of thinking about same issues)

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Reactance

• The other guy knows you are trying to move
  him/her and may balk
• How about reciprocity?

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Dos and Donts

• Do develop more than 1 alternative, actually
  enough so you are ambivalent to current
  alternative
• Do negotiate over as little as possible
• Dont negotiate with friends

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2 Negotiating Approaches
Distributive Bargaining - the goals of the
parties are in conflict, each party seeks to
maximize its resources
Integrative Negotiation - focuses on the
merits of the issues seeks a win-win solution
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What Makes Integrative Negotiation Different?

• A focus on Commonalities (Frames)
• An attempt to address needs and interests (Covey)
• Commitment to meeting the needs of all parties
• Exchange of information and ideas
• Invention of options for mutual gain
• Objective criteria for standards of performance

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Issues in Negotiation

• Personality Traits
• Gender Differences
• Cultural Differences
• Third-Party Negotiations
• Mediators
• Arbitrators
• Conciliators
• Consultants

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What is Ethical? (Lax Sebenius, 1986)

• Are you following rules that are understood and
  accepted?
• Are you comfortable discussing and defending your
  action?
• Would you want someone to do it to you?
• What if everyone acted that way?
• Are there alternatives that rest on firmer
  ethical ground?

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Organizations as Arenas

• Arenas house contests
• As such, the help determine
• What game will be played
• Who will be on the field
• What interests will be pursued

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What is often ignored

• Lowerarchy
• Groups in lower positions devise a host of
  creative and maddening ways to resist, divert,
  undermine, ignore, or overthrow change efforts.

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Organizations As Political Agents

• Organizations are tools for achieving the
  purposes of those who control them.
• They exist, compete, and coevolve in business or
  political ecosystems.
• Relationships are fiercely competitive, sometimes
  collaborative and interdependent.