One Minute Memo

• Culture and Control at KP

• Danger of inequitable rewarding of behavior?
• How to build incentives to get out of danger?
• Should perf. appraisals mirror desired culture and
controls?
• Cultural diversity and organizational behavior?
• Successful culture changes?
• Injuries from prison study?
• Asch findings: less than 25% stick to their guns
• Has the Internet boom/bust caused more thought about
downside of growth?
• Formalize participation?
Managing with Power and Politics
 Open Systems Model

Transformation Outputs
Inputs
Processes
Interactions
of: Individual
Environment behavior
• Structure
Strategy Group
• Culture behavior
Resources • Tasks
Organizational
• Individuals
functioning

Feedback
Managing with Power and Politics
“Power is America’s last dirty word...
People who have it deny it; people
who want it do not want to appear
hungry for it; and people who engage
in it do so secretly.”

Managing with Power and Politics

“Politics is basically a negative
process. If I told you that you were a
very political person, you would take
it either as an insult or at best as a
mixed blessing.”

Managing with Power and Politics

 What is Power?
The ability of one person to affect the
behavior of someone else in a desired way

Managing with Power and Politics

 Organizational Politics
Activities taken within organizations to
acquire, develop, and use power and other
resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes
in a situation where there is uncertainty or a
lack of consensus

Managing with Power and Politics

 Rational vs. Political Models of
Organization
Organizational
Rational Model Political Model
Characteristic
Goals, preference Consistent across Inconsistent, pluralistic within the
participants organization
Power and control Centralized Decentralized, shifting coalitions
and interest groups
Decision process Orderly, logical, rational Disorderly, characterized by push
and pull of interests

Rules and norms Norm of optimizing Free play of market forces; conflict
is legitimate and expected
Information Extensive, systematic, Ambiguous; information used and
accurate withheld strategically
Beliefs about cause- Known, at least to a Disagreements about causes and
effect relationships probability estimate effects
Decisions Based on outcome- Result of bargaining and interplay
maximizing choice among interests
Efficiency and
Ideology effectiveness Struggle, conflict, winners and losers
Managing with Power and Politics
 Strategic Contingencies That
Influence Horizontal Power Among
Departments
Dependency

Financial Resources

Centrality Department Power

Nonsubstitutability

Coping with
Uncertainty

Managing with Power and Politics

 Power and Political Tactics in
Organizations
Tactics for Increasing the Power
Base
1. Enter areas of high uncertainty
2. Create dependencies
3. Provide resources
4. Satisfy strategic contingencies
Political Tactics for
Using Power
1. Build coalitions
2. Expand networks
3. Control decision premises
4. Enhance legitimacy and expertise
5. Make preferences explicit, but
keep power implicit
Managing with Power and Politics
Determinants of Position Power
CHARACTERISTIC DESCRIPTION

Criticality Impact on tasks performed in a work flow

Flexibility Amount of discretion vested in a position

Visibility Degree to which task performance is seen

by influential people in the organization

Relevance Alignment of assigned tasks and

organizational priorities

Managing with Power and Politics

 Model of Power and Influence
Sources
SourcesofofPersonal
PersonalPower
Power Sources
SourcesofofPosition
PositionPower
Power
• •Expertise
Expertise • •Criticality
Criticality
• •Reputation
Reputation • •Flexibility
Flexibility
• •Personal
Personalcharacteristics
characteristics • •Visibility
Visibility
• •Network connections
Network connections • •Relevance
• •Information Relevance
Information
POWER
POWEROFOFAN
AN
INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL

Selection
Selectionofofproper
proper
strategy to
strategy to Assertive
Assertiveresponses
responses
influence
influenceothers
others totoinappropriate
inappropriate
influence
influence
attempts
attemptsbyby
others
others
Increasing
Increasing
authority
authorityvia
via
upward influence
upward influence

INFLUENCE
INFLUENCEOVER
OVER
OTHERS
OTHERS
Managing with Power and Politics
 Factors Influencing Political Behavior
Individual factors
Personality
Organizational investment
 Perceived job alternatives
 Expectations of success
Favorable
Political behavior outcome
 Rewards
Low High  Averted
Organizational factors
 Uncertainty punishments
Scarce resources
Interdependence
 Low trust
Ambiguity
 Unclear evaluation system
 Zero-sum reward practices
 Participative decision
making
 High performance pressures
 Self-serving senior managers
Managing with Power and Politics
 Turning Barriers into Points of
Leverage
Barriers Leverage
Corporate cutting funds  MDC Focus: increase ROA

Does not fit USMG “charity

starts at home” mission  Freedom to define mission

Clendenin is low in Serving others and

hierarchy  controlling others

MDC staffed with misfits  High commitment to

Clendenin
Managing with Power and Politics
 All Organizations are Social
Networks
Social Network = A set of nodes (e.g., persons,
organizations) linked by a set of
social relationships (e.g.,
friendship, transfer of funds,
etc.)
Underlying Assumption: The actions of actors
in organizations can be
explained in terms of their
position in the social
network. Managing with Power and Politics
 Effects of “Networking”
• Career over time
• Pay
• Promotions
• Adaptation to new situations
• Effectiveness
• Health
• Happiness
• Organizational effects
Managing with Power and Politics
 Departments, units and external ties
can be depicted as a social network:
Boundary of Firm
Alliance with
sub-contractors
Sales and
Customer Service

Alliance with
major supplier
Alliance with
a major customer

Manufacturing

Other alliance
(e.g. R & D)

Engineering
Product development
(Cross functional team)
Managing with Power and Politics
The Structure of Social Networks

Network How close an actor is to the other

Centrality actors in the network.

The proportion of ties that are

Density Density = 0.5 (3/6)
actually present in the network.

The lack of a relationship Sales

Structural
between two contacts who are
Hole Marketing Production
tied to a third actor. Mgr.

Ties that duplicate to the same

A
sources of information and
Redundancy
resources. Tie A is redundant Mgr.
B
with Tie B.

Managing with Power and Politics

Prototypical Examples: Clique Network vs.
Entrepreneurial Network
Clique Network
 Ties sustain one another  Actors equally central
 High density
Manager  Creates social support  No structural holes

 Minimal access to new  High redundancy

information

Entrepreneurial Network
 Ties sustained by  Manager is mostly central
manager  Low density

Manager  Manager adds value as  Many structural holes

essential bridge
 Access to diverse  Little or no redundancy
information

Managing with Power and Politics

 Strong and Weak Ties
• Stratified

• Jumping networks

• Strength of weak ties

• Underutilized strategy

Managing with Power and Politics

 Influence Tactics
 Reason: use of facts, data, or logic
 Values: appeal to personal or general principles
 Emotion: appeal to target’s feelings
 Bargaining: exchange of resources or favors
 Ingratiation: humbleness, flattery or friendliness
 Coercion: forceful demands or threats
 Sanctions: use of rewards or punishment
 Coalition: getting support from others
 Higher authority: getting support from superiors

Managing with Power and Politics

 Ways to Create Power
 Develop and nurture a network of connections,
especially with powerful allies
 Manage your public image
 Understand how power is distributed and executed
within the organization
 Choose appropriate tactics of influence
 Build coalitions
 Know how to “sell” important issues

Managing with Power and Politics

 Effective Organizational Politicians
 Understand how power is distributed and how
politics operate within their organization
 Understand the priorities & perspectives of different
parties and adapt their behavior accordingly
 Consciously work on maintaining a positive image
 Use a wide range of power bases and influence
tactics, and know when to use which ones
 Have a clear set of ethical standards to guide their
political behavior

Managing with Power and Politics

“To say a leader is preoccupied with
power is like saying that a tennis player is
preoccupied with making shots his
opponent cannot return. Of course
leaders are preoccupied with power! The
significant questions are: What means do
they use to gain it? How do they exercise
it? To what ends do they exercise it?”
John Gardner
On Leadership, 1990

Managing with Power and Politics

 Factors Contributing to a
Sense of Powerlessness
Organization Level Factors
 Significant organizational changes that are not explained
 Control by rules
 High level of centralization
 Restricted access to networks and opportunities

Managerial Level Factors

 Authoritarian Leadership Style
 Lack of explanation of rationale for action

Job Level Factors

 Lack of role clarity
 Lack of training
 Limited ability to participate in decisions
Managing with Power and Politics
People low in power may tend to:
 Behave in more authoritarian ways
 Place more restrictions on those working for
them
 Hold back talented employees (presumably
because they are threatened)
 Be less well-liked by employees and bosses
 Use more coercive power
(Kanter, 1977)
 Foster lower group morale
Managing with Power and Politics
 Take Home Points
• Understand organizational barriers and how
to overcome them

• The importance of leverage and networks in

power relations

• Influence strategies

Managing with Power and Politics

 For Saturday
• Two readings

• Slade and The Team that Wasn’t

Managing with Power and Politics

 One Minute Memo
• What were the main points you got out of
class today?

• What did you find unclear or difficult to

understand?

• Any comments or suggestions about the

material, the class, the instructor, others?

Managing with Power and Politics

Usage of Power Tactics: From Most to Least
Popular
When Managers When Managers
Influenced Influenced
Superiors* Subordinates

Most Popular
Reason Reason
Coalition Assertiveness
Friendliness Friendliness
Bargaining Coalition
Assertiveness Bargaining
Higher authority Higher authority
Sanctions
Least Popular

* Sanctions is omitted in the scale that measures upward influence.

Managing with Power and Politics

 Dirty Politics:
In the Eyes of the Beholder
“Dirty Politics” “Effective Management”
 “Kissing up”  Positive reinforcement
 Apple-polishing  Demonstrating loyalty
 Coopting  Negotiating
 Coalition building  Facilitating teamwork
 Scheming  Planning ahead
 Covering your rear  Documenting
 Creating conflict  Encouraging change
 Blaming others  Fixing responsibility

Managing with Power and Politics

 Impression Management Tactics
Tactics Description Example
Behavioral matching The target of perception matches A subordinate tries to imitate her
his or her behavior to that of the boss's behavior by being modest
perceiver. and soft-spoken because her boss
is modest and soft-spoken.
Self-promotion The target tries to present herself A worker reminds his boss about
or himself in as positive a light as his past accomplishments and
possible associates with coworkers who
are evaluated highly
Conforming to situational The target follows agreed-upon A worker stays late every night
norms rules for behavior in the even if she has completed all of
organization. her assignments because staying
late is one of the norms of her
organization.
Appreciating or flattering The target compliments the A coworker compliments a
others perceiver. This tactic works best manager on his excellent
when flattery is not extreme and handling of a troublesome
when it involves a dimension employee.
important to the perceiver.
Being consistent The target's beliefs and behaviors A subordinate whose views on
are consistent. There is diversity are well known flatters
agreement between the target's her boss for her handling of a
verbal and nonverbal behaviors. conflict between two coworkers of
different racial backgrounds.
When speaking to her boss, the
target looks her boss straight in
the eye and has a sincere
expression on her face.
Managing with Power and Politics
 Comparisons Among Influence Strategies
(Retribution)

INFLUENCE WHEN TO USE IT POSSIBLE POSSIBLE POSSIBLE

STRATEGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES COMPLAINTS
Retribution  Unequal power, in  Quick, direct  Stifles commitment,  Violation of
influencer's favor action creativity rights
 Commitment and  Insecurity of boss  Ethical
quality not  Engenders violations
important resentment
 Tight time  Must increase
constraints seriousness of threats
 Serious violation to maintain pressure
 Issue not important
to target
 If issue is
important,
retribution not
likely
 Specific,
unambiguous
request
 Resistance to
request is likely

Managing with Power and Politics

 Examples of Influence Strategies
(Retribution)

RETRIBUTION (COERCION AND INTIMIDATION)

General form: “If you don’t do X, you will regret it!”

Threat: “If you do not comply, I will punish you.”
Social pressure: “Others in your group have agreed; what’s your decision?”
Had enough? “I will stop nagging you if you comply.”
Perceived scarcity
and time pressure: “If you don’t act now, you’ll lose this opportunity/cause
problems for others.”
Avoid causing pain
to others: “If you don’t agree, other will be hurt/disadvantaged.”

Managing with Power and Politics

 Comparisons Among Influence Strategies
(Reciprocity)

INFLUENCE WHEN TO USE IT POSSIBLE POSSIBLE POSSIBLE

STRATEGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES COMPLAINTS
Reciprocity  Parties mutually  Low incidence  Engenders  Unfairness,
dependent of resentment instrumental view of dashed
 Each party has  Justification for work (expectation of expectations,
resources valued by request specific rewards for manipulation
other required specific rewards for
 Adequate time for specific actions)
negotiating  Encourages people to
 Established feel that the terms of
exchange norms assignments are open
exist for negotiation
 Parties viewed as
trustworthy
 Commitment to
broad goals and
values not critical
 Needs are specific
and short-term

Managing with Power and Politics

 Examples of Influence Strategies
(Reciprocity)

RECIPROCITY (EXCHANGE AND INTEGRATION)

General form: “If you don’t do X, you will receive Y!”

Promise: “If you comply, I will reward you.”
Esteem: “People you value will think better (worse) of you if you do
(do not) comply.”
Pregiving: “I will do something you like for you; then will you do this
for me?”
Obligation: “You owe me compliance because of past favors.”
(“Even though I implied there would be no future obligation.”)
Reciprocal “I have lowered my initial offer/price, and now I expect you
compromise: to reciprocate”
(no matter how unreasonable my initial position was).
Escalation of
commitment: “I’m only interested in a small commitment.” (“But I’ll be
back later for more.”)

Managing with Power and Politics

 Comparisons Among Influence Strategies
(Reason)

INFLUENCE WHEN TO USE IT POSSIBLE POSSIBLE POSSIBLE

STRATEGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES COMPLAINTS
Reason  Adequate time for  Need for  Considerable time  Difference of
extensive discussion surveillance required to build opinions,
 Common enhanced trust (time increases conflicting
goals/values as number of people perceptions of
 Parties share increases) priorities
mutual  Requires common
respect/credibility goals and values
 Parties share
ongoing
relationship

Managing with Power and Politics

 Examples of Influence Strategies
(Reason)

REASON (PERSUASION BASED ON FACTS, NEEDS, OR PERSONAL VALUES)

General form: “I want you to do X, because it’s consistent with/good for/

necessary to . . .”
Evidence: “These facts/experts’ opinions demonstrate the merits of my
position/request.”
Need: “This is what I need; will you help out?”
Goal attainment: “Compliance will enable you you reach a personally
important objective.”
Value congruence: “This action is consistent with your commitment to X.”
Ability: “This endeavor would be enhanced if we could count on your
ability/experience.”
Loyalty: “Because we are friends/minorities, will you do this?”
Altruism: “The group needs your support, so do it for the good of us all.”

Managing with Power and Politics