Chap 010

Power and Politics

10Chapter

Learning Objectives

Understand: the difference between power and authority

Describe: the five interpersonal power bases.

Discuss: how subunits within an organization acquire and use power.

Identify: impression management tactics.

Identify: the reasons why perceived authority can influence a person’s behavior.

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Personal Power of Great Leaders

Great leaders make things happen by utilizing four types of personal power:

Communicating their visions to others

Overcoming resistance to change

Mobilizing resources in the required direction

Managing their own ambitions so they don’t lose perspective in the process of leading

The Personal Power of Great Leaders

Power is a pervasive part of organizational life, and getting things done requires it.

A person’s success or failure at using or reacting to power is largely determined by:

Understanding power

Knowing how and when to use it

Being able to anticipate its effects

Power and Authority

Power: The ability to get others to do what one wants them

to do. Involves a relationship between two or more people. Cannot be forced on people.

Power sharing requires time to implement.

Power and Authority

Authority is the formal power a person holds because of his or her position in the organizational hierarchy.

Authority has the following characteristics:

It is vested in a person’s position.

It is accepted by subordinates.

It is used vertically (from the top down) in an organization.

The Bases of Power

Interpersonal

Structural

Situational

Interpersonal Power

Legitimate Power: A person’s ability to influence others by being in a more powerful position.

Reward Power: A person’s ability to reward the behavior of others.

Coercive Power: Capability to punish non-complianceof followers.

Expert Power: The power to influence others basedon special expertise.

Referent Power: Power based on charisma.

McClelland’s Need for Power (nPow)

Need for power is a desire to have an impact on others.

This impact may be shown by: Strong action, by giving help or advice, or by controlling

someone. Action that produces emotion in others. A concern for reputation.

Structural and Situational Power

Organizational structure creates formal power and authority by specifying certain individuals to perform specific jobs and make certain decisions.

Other forms of structural power exist because of: Resources Decision-making power Information power

Resource Power

Resource power occurs when individuals have an open channel to resources (money, workers, technology, materials, and customers).

In organizations, resources are allocated downward.

To ensure compliance with goals, top-level managers allocate resources on the basis of performance and compliance.

Limited resources and labor cause a dependency relationship.

To improve performance, lower-level managers must be given adequate power and resources to control their destinies.

Decision-Making Power

The degree to which individuals or subunits can affect decision making determines their level of power.

A person or subunit with decision making power can influence: How the decision-making process occurs. What alternatives are considered. When a decision is made.

Information Power

Having access to relevant and important information gives power. Information is the basis for making effective decisions. Those who possess the information needed for making

decisions have power.

A person’s power may be weakened by sharing too much information.

Upward Flow of Power

A person exerting power upward has personal power, but no authority.

Manipulative Persuasion

A person’s direct attempt to disguise the true persuasion objective.

The hidden agenda ploy.

Manipulation

The form of influence in which both the objective and the attempt are concealed.

Powerlessness

Position Symptoms Sources

First-line supervisors

Supervise too closely Fail to train

subordinates Not sufficiently

oriented to the management team

Inclined to do thejob themselves.

Routine, rule-mindedjobs.

Limited lines ofcommunication.

Limited advancementopportunities forthemselves and theirsubordinates.

Powerlessness

Position Symptoms Sources

Staff professionals

Create islands and set themselves upas experts.

Use professionalstandards as basisfor judging work thatdistinguishes themfrom others.

Resist change andbecome conservativerisk-takers.

Routine tasks are onlyadjuncts to real line job.

Blocked careeradvancement.

Replaced by outsideconsultants for non-routine work.

Powerlessness

Position Symptoms Sources

Top-level managers

Have short-termhorizon.

Emphasize top-down communicationsystems.

Reward followerswho think like themanager; do notwelcome bearers ofbad news.

Uncontrollable lines ofsupply.

Limited or blocked lines of information aboutlower manageriallevels.

Diminished lines of support because ofchallenges tolegitimacy.

Interdepartmental Power

Strategic contingency: an event or activity that is extremely important to accomplishing organizational goals.

Strategic contingency theory focuses on subunit power.

The power differential between subunits is influenced by the: Ability to cope with uncertainty Centrality of the subunit Substitutability of the subunit

Interdepartmental Power

Coping withuncertainty

Centrality

Substitutability

Power acquiredby subunit and power

differentials

Preventing market share decline by product development

Providing accurate future-based predictions

Absorbing problems from other units

Being in an urgent or immediacy position

Located at center of work flow

Possessing needed skills or expertise

Possessing only talents that are available to complete job

Coping With Uncertainty

There are three types of coping with uncertainty activities:

Prevention

Information

Absorption

Centrality

Subunits most central to the flow of work acquire power.

A subunit in a position to affect other subunits has some degree of centrality and, therefore, power.

A subunit also possesses power if its activities have a more immediate impact than that of other subunits.

This leads to two centrality propositions: The higher the pervasiveness of the work flow of a

subunit, the greater is its power within the organization. The higher the immediacy of the work flows of a subunit,

the greater is its power within the organization.

Substitutability

Substitutability refers to other subunits’ ability to perform activities of a particular subunit.

The lower the substitutability of the activities of a subunit, the greater is its power within the organization.

A subunit can increase its power by assuming responsibility for activities critical to the organization.

Obedience to Authority

Exercising power in an authoritative way isn’t the only way power can be exerted.

Power is often exerted by individuals who have only minimum or no actual power.

An individual may be able to significantly influence others simply because he or she is perceived to have power.

Political Strategies and Tactics

Individuals and subunits continually engage in political behavior. That is, behavior that is: Outside the legitimate, recognized power system. Designed to benefit an individual or subunit, often at the

expense of the organization. Intentional and designed to acquire and maintain power.

As a result of political behavior, the formal power that exists in an organization is often sidetracked.

Political Strategies and Tactics

Common ways to influence other subunits include:

Rule evasion—evading the organization’s formal procedures.

Personal-political—using friendships to facilitate or inhibit processes and procedures.

Educational—attempting to persuade others to think like a particular subunit.

Organizational—attempting to change the formal or informal interaction patterns between subunits.

Impression Management

Impression management—behaviors individuals use to preserve their self-image and/or influence the ways in which others perceive them.

Individuals attempt to control information about themselves so as to create a favorable impression with important others in the workplace.

Impression Management Tactics

Self-Presentation Smiling Making eye contact Positive tone of voice Appropriate dress High level of energy

Other-Enhancement Doing favors for others Using flattery Showing interest in

others Being an active listener Agreeing with others’

opinions

Political Games

Insurgency: played to resist authority.

Counter-insurgency: fighting back when faced with insurgency.

Sponsorship: attaching oneself to someone with power.

Coalition-building: forming an alliance with other subunits.

Line versus staff: this game pits line authority to make decisions against staff advisors’ expertise.

Whistle-blowing: action taken to bring about organizational change.

Ethics, Power, and Politics

Managers confront ethical dilemmas in their jobs because they frequently use power and politics to accomplish their goals.

Each manager, therefore, has an ethical responsibility.

Ethics, Power, and Politics

A manager’s behavior must satisfy certain criteria to be considered ethical:

Utilitarian Outcomes

Individual Rights

Distributive Justice

Ethics, Power, and Politics

Utilitarian Outcomes

The manager’s behavior results in the optimal satisfaction of people both inside and outside the organization.

It results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Ethics, Power, and Politics

Individual Rights

The manager’s behavior respects the rights of all affected parties.

It respects the basic human rights of: Free consent Free speech Freedom of conscience Privacy Due process

Ethics, Power, and Politics

Distributive Justice

The manager’s behavior respects the rules of justice.

It treats people equitable and fairly, not arbitrarily.