Power and Politics

Power and politics often have negative connotations because people associate them with attempts to use organizational resources for personal advantage and to achieve personal goals at the expense of other goals.

Power, formal authority, and obedience.

The Milgram experiments. Designed to determine the extent to which people obey the commands of an authority figure, even under the belief of life-threatening conditions. The results indicated that the majority of the experimental subjects would obey the commands of the authority figure. Raised concerns about compliance and obedience.

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 15

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 the zone of indifference

Zone of Indifference

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

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

Sources of Power Expert Power Referent Power Legitimate Power Reward Power Coercive Power

Consequences of Power

Commitment

Compliance

Resistance

(Continued)

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

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?

Personal Power used for personal gain

Social Power used to create motivation used to accomplish group goals

 Have

high need for social power Approach relationships with a communal orientation Focus on needs and interests of others
belief in the authority system
belief in justice

preference for work & discipline

altruism

 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

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

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

Type of Membership
Alienative Calculative Moral

Type of Power

Coercive
Utilitarian Normative
SOURCE: Adapted from Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations (Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964), 59-61

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 the agenda at meetings Access to early information

Having top managers seek out their opinion

Top Executives
budget cuts punishing behaviors top-down communications

Staff Professionals
resistance to change turf protection

Managers
assign external attribution blame others or environment

First-line Supervisors
overly close supervision inflexible adherence to rules do job rather than train

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 ones personal goals

(Continued)

(Continued)

(Continued)

Specific

Political Strategies for Power Acquisition (continued)

Make a Quick Showing Collect and Use IOUs Attacking and Blaming Others Progress One Step at a Time

(Continued)

Specific

Political Strategies for Power Acquisition (continued)

Wait for a Crisis Take Counsel with Caution Be Aware of Resource Dependence

Final Word on Power and Politicsauthenticity

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

Develop and Maintain a Relationship that

Fits both your needs and styles Is characterized by mutual expectations Keeps your boss informed Is based on dependability and honesty Selectively uses your bosss time and

resources
SOURCE: Information on slides 21-22 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.

11

Recognize that power and politics influence all behavior in organizations and that it is necessary to develop the skills to be able to understand and manage them. Analyze the sources of power in the function, division, and organization in which you work to identify powerful people and the organizations power structure.

To influence organizational decision making and your chances of promotion, try to develop a personal power base to increase your visibility and individual power.

Questions