Power Influence

Power and Political Behavior Learning Objectives• Define power, and contrast leadership and power. • Contrast the five bases of power. • Identify 9 power or influence tactics and their contingencies. • Show the connection between sexual harassment and the abuse of power. • Distinguish between legitimate & illegitimate political behavior. • Identify the causes and consequences of political behavior. • Apply impression management techniques. • Determine whether a political action is ethical. • Show the influence of culture on the uses & perception of politics.

Concept of Power Power - the potential/ability to influence another person or group. Function of dependence Influence - the process/exercise of power to change/affect the thoughts, behavior, and feelings of another person Authority - the right to influence another person

Define power and contrast leadership and power Contrasting Leadership and Power  

Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals. Leaders achieve goals, and power is a means of facilitating their achievement.

Differences between Leadership and Power: 



Goal compatibility  Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. The direction of influence  Leadership focuses on the downward influence on one’s followers.

Concept of Power Zone of Indifference - the range in which attempts to influence a person will be perceived as legitimate & will be acted on without a great deal of thought Zone of Indifference

Managers strive to expand employee’s zone of indifference Zone of Indifference

Bases/ Sources of Organizational Power: Formal & Personal 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 Referent Power - based on interpersonal attraction; charismatic Expert Power - agent has knowledge target needs

Which Power is Most Effective?

Expert Power! 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 access to and control over important information Formal/informal position in communication network Interpreting information when passing it on (the spin) Can flow upward, downward, and laterally Information Power -

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?

Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation

Two Faces of Power Personal Power power used for personal gain

Social Power – power used to create motivation or to accomplish group goals

Characteristics of 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 Altruism Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation

Preference for work & discipline Belief in justice

Power Analysis: A Broader View Organizational Power

Types of Membership

Coercive Power - influence through threat of punishment, Alienative Membership fear, or intimidation - members feel hostile, negative, Utilitarian Power do not want to be there influence through rewards and Calculative benefits Membership - members Normative Power weigh benefits and limitations of influence through using belonging knowledge of member’s desire for belonging; letting members know Moral Membership they are expected to do the “right” members have positive thing organizational feelings; will deny own needs

Etzioni’s Power Analysis Type of Membership Type of Power

Alienative

Calculative

Coercive Utilitarian Normative

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.

Moral

Kanter’s Symbols of Power  Ability

to intercede for someone in trouble  Ability to get placements for favored employees  Exceeding budget limitations  Procuring above-average raises for employees  Getting items on meeting agendas  Access to early information  Having top managers seek out their opinion

Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation

Kanter’s Symbols of Powerlessness Top Executives • Budget cuts • Punishing behaviors • Top-down communications

Staff Professionals • Resistance to change • Turf protection

Managers

First-line Supervisors

• Assign external attribution • Blame others • Blame environment

• Overly close supervision • Inflexible adherence to rules • Do job rather than train

Key to overcoming powerlessness: share power & delegate decision making

Korda’s Power Symbols

Access- Who has access to you?

Time

To whom do you have access? Furnishings Size of desk Rectangular table Locked file cabinet

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

Photos courtesy of Clips Online ©2008 Microsoft Corporation

Dependency: The Key to Power The General Dependency Postulate 

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



Possession/control of scarce organizational resources that others need makes a manager powerful



Access to optional resources (e.g., multiple suppliers) reduces the resource holder’s power

Dependency increases when resources are: 

Important



Scarce



Nonsubstitutable

Power Tactics Power Tactics 



Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions Nine influence tactics:         

Legitimacy Rational persuasion* Inspirational appeals* Consultation* Exchange Personal appeals Ingratiation Pressure Coalitions

* Most effective (Pressure is the least effective)

Preferred Power Tactics by Influence Direction

Upward Influence

Downward Influence

Lateral Influence

Rational persuasion

Rational persuasion

Rational persuasion

Inspirational appeals

Consultation

Pressure

Ingratiation

Consultation

Exchange

Ingratiation

Legitimacy

Exchange

Personal appeals

Legitimacy

Coalitions EEXXHHIIBBIITT13-2 13-2

Factors Influencing Power Tactics Choice and effectiveness of

influence tactics are moderated by: 

Sequencing of tactics 

 

Softer to harder tactics work best

Political skill of the user The culture of the organization 

Culture affects user’s choice of tactic

Politics: Power in Action  Political Behavior 

Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization

Legitimate Political Behavior  Normal everyday politics - complaining, bypassing, obstructing  Illegitimate Political Behavior  Extreme political behavior that violates the implied rules of the game: sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest 

The Reality of Politics  Politics is a natural result of resource scarcity

Limited resources lead to competition and political behaviors  Judgments on quality of resource distribution differ markedly based on the observer’s perception  “Blaming others” or “fixing responsibility”  “Covering your rear” or “documenting decisions”  “Perfectionist” or “attentive to detail”  Most decisions are made under ambiguous conditions  Lack of an objective standard encourages political maneuvering of subjective reality 

Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior Factors that Influence Political Behavior

EEXXHHIIBBIITT13-3 13-3

Employee Responses to Organizational Politics Most employees have low to modest willingness to play

politics and have the following reactions to politics:

EEXXHHIIBBIITT13-4 13-4

Defensive Behaviors Employees who perceive politics as a threat have

defensive reactions May be helpful in the short run, dangerous in the long run  Types of defensive behaviors  Avoiding Action  Over-conforming, buck passing, playing dumb, stalling  Avoiding Blame  Bluffing, playing safe, justifying, scapegoating  Avoiding Change  Prevention, self-protection 

Impression Management (IM) The process by which individuals attempt to control

the impression others form of them IM Techniques       

Conformity Excuses Apologies Self-Promotion Flattery Favors Enhancement

Source: Based on B. R. Schlenker, Impression Management (Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1980); W. L. Gardner and M. J. Martinko, “Impression Management in Organizations,” Journal of Management, June 1988, p. 332; and R. B. Cialdini, “Indirect Tactics of Image Management Beyond Basking,” in R. A. Giacalone and P. Rosenfeld (eds.), Impression Management in the Organization (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989), pp. 45–71.

IM Effectiveness Job Interview Success   

IM does work and most people use it Self-promotion techniques are important Ingratiation is of secondary importance

Performance Evaluations  

Ingratiation is positively related to ratings Self-promotion tends to backfire

The Ethics of Behaving Politically It is difficulty to tell ethical from unethical

politicking Three questions help: 1. 2. 3.

What is the utility of engaging in the behavior? Does the utility balance out any harm done by the action? Does the action conform to standards of equity and justice?

Answers can be skewed toward either viewpoint

Summary and Managerial Implications Increase your power by having others depend on you

more. Expert and referent power are far more effective than is coercion. 



Greater employee motivation, performance, commitment, and satisfaction Personal power basis, not organizational

Effective managers accept the political nature of

organizations. Political astuteness and IM can result in higher evaluations, salary increases, and promotions.