Power, Politics and conflicts

Work and Organizational Behaviour - Lecture 14: Power, politics and conflicts

Power, Politics and Conflict

Chapter 14

Introduction

This lecture will:• Introduce the topic of power in organizations• Explain key debates on power in the OB field• Convey an understanding of systems of power, authority, influence

and hegemony• Outline a range of theories on power, including those of Mann,

Gramsci and Foucault

• Positive or negative connotation?

„Power is [the] last dirty word. It is easier to talk about money – as much easier to talk about sex – than it is to talk about power.”

/Kanter/

„In a course that I teach on the nature of organizational politics I usually begin by warning my students that by the second or third week there is a danger that they will be looking for hidden motives everywhere, even wondering whether a colleague’s innocent offer to buy the coffee is a really a political act. Although at first my warning is seen as a joke, by week two or three its gravity and significance hit home. Under the influence of a political mode of understanding , everything becomes political.”/Morgan/

Origin of the word

• Power (Eng.)• Pouvoir (French)• Potestas (Lat.)

can, has ability, to be able to

What is Power? (1)There a many definitions of power

• Firstly we have ‘common sense’ views of power – that it is a kind of energy, like electricity– This view of power is very persistent in the literature

• However, Dahl defines power in interpersonal terms– 'A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something

that B would otherwise not do..‘ (Dahl, 1957)

• Power is clearly related to authority and influence (French and Raven)

• Power can also be viewed as diffuse (not a simple unitary entity which a state or organization possesses) (Mann, 1986)

What is power?

• The ability (capacity) to influence other people’s behaviour, even against their expressed (or implicit) will.

• It is just a potential. (Powerful person does not necessarily use power.)

• It is possible only in case of dependency.• How we can recognize power?

• From its consequences!

Power holder and follower

• We need two people for a power relationship

• To understand power we need to explain both

• Why do people obey/follow?• What makes the holder of the

power?

Why people obey? Dependence

The more A depends on B, the more power B has over A

• When do we depend?• If somebody controls something

(goods) that are important for us

Dependence• Importance

• Scarcity• Non-substitutability• Uncertainty

• Real or attributed (perception)

Sources of power (French and Raven 1959)

• Reward power• Coercive power• Legitimate power• Referent power• Expert power

Politics

• Using power to influence decisions

• Influence distribution of advantages and disadvantages

Means of politics• Controlling decision criteria• Controlling the agenda• Outside experts (e.g. consultants)• Coalition (alliances of those with similar

interests)• Cooptation (neutral interest)• Committees (confronting interests, legitimate

decisions)

Power in groups: coalitions

• If you cannot reach your goal alone, organize a coalition!

• Informal group bound together by the active pursuit of a single issue.

• Increase the power of individual.

• To influence alone might be risky, costly, or even impossible.

• Coalition maximize its size.

Theories of Power (2):Weber and Lukes

• A contrasting theory is that of Weber, who outlines three types of authority: charismatic, traditional and rational– This theory is reflected in the work of Wrong (see next slide)

• Lukes relates power to the ‘bringing about of consequences’– An acceptance of the legitimacy of power entails the creation

of authority

– In cases of conflict of interest in power relations, Lukes argues that power rather than influence is the operative force

Theories of Power: Foucault

• Foucault wrote widely on the micro-politics of power:– He looks at the relationship of the individual

and society and the tensions revealed– His writing was concerned with the repressive

and subtle nature of the creation of power relations in society (Foucault, 1980)

Jeremy Bentham: Panopticon

Foucault: Discipline and Punish

Conflict

Attitudes toward conflict

• Positive attitude: focuses on constructive aspects of conflict

• Negative attitude: focuses on destructive aspects

• Balanced attitude:sometimes conflict is constructive and sometimes it is destructive

Positive and negative effects of conflict

• Interferes with communication.• Interferes with cooperation and

coordination.• Diverts energies from major

tasks or goals.• Leads groups to stereotype

each other.• Leads to an increase in

politics.• Reduces the organization’s

capacity to compete in the marketplace.

• Brings important problems out into the open.

• Encourages consideration of new approaches and ideas; encourages innovation and change.

• Increases loyalty and performance within each of the groups in conflict.

Levels of conflict

• Intergroup• Intragroup• Interpersonal

• Intrapersonal

Intrapersonal conflict

• Intrapersonal conflict occurs within an individual and usually involves some form of goal, cognitive, or affective conflict

• Intrapersonal conflict is triggered when a person’s behavior results in outcomes that are mutually exclusive

Intragroup and intergroup conflict

• Intragroup conflict involves disputes among some or all of the group’s members, which often affect the group’s processes and effectiveness

• Intergroup conflict refers to opposition, disagreements, and disputes between groups or teams:– Vertical conflict

– Horizontal conflict

– Line-staff conflict

– Diversity based conflict

Interpersonal conflict handling styles

• The function of two variables: concern for self and concern for others

• Each variable can be dichotomized:

– Concern for self: assertive – unassertive– Concern for others: cooperative – uncooperative

• People have a natural tendency toward one or two of the conflict handling styles.

• However, everyone is capable of using each style as the context and people change

Interpersonal Conflict Handling Styles

• Avoiding style– Unassertive and uncooperative

• Forcing style– Assertive and uncooperative

• Accommodating style– Unassertive and cooperative

• Collaborating style– Assertive and cooperative

• Compromising style– Intermediate level of assertive and cooperative behaviours

Interpersonal conflict handling styles

Concern for Self

Concern for others

AVOIDING ACCOMODATING

FORCING COLLABORATING

COMPROMISING

When Should the Avoiding Style BeUsed to Handle Interpersonal Conflicts?

• The issue is of minor or passing importance

• Insufficient information to effectively deal with the conflict

• Low power relative to the other party

• Others can more effectively resolve the conflict

When Should the Forcing Style BeUsed to Handle Interpersonal Conflicts?

• Emergencies requiring quick action

• Unpopular actions must be taken for long-term organizational

effectiveness and survival

• Self-protective action needed

When Should the Accommodating Style BeUsed to Handle Interpersonal Conflicts?

• Need to defuse a potentially explosive emotional conflict

situation

• Short-run need to keep harmony and avoid disruption

• Conflict is primarily personality based and cannot be

easily resolved

When Should the Collaborating Style BeUsed to Handle Interpersonal Conflicts?

• Sufficient required interdependence of conflicting parties

• Sufficient parity in power of conflicting parties.

• Potential for long-run mutual benefits

• Sufficient organizational support to take the time and

energy for collaboration

When Should the Compromising Style BeUsed to Handle Interpersonal Conflicts?

• Agreement enables each party to be better off, or at least not worse

off, than without an agreement

• Achieving a total win-win agreement is not possible

• Conflicting goals block agreement on one person’s proposal

Effectiveness of the interpersonal conflict handling styles

• Successful people and high-performing organizations tend to use collaboration

• Collaboration is associated with the constructive use of conflict, positive feelings from others, and favorable evaluations of performance and abilities

• Forcing and avoiding tend to be associated with a less constructive use of conflict, negative feelings from others, and unfavorable evaluations of performance and abilities

• Accommodation and compromise have mixed effects in terms of feelings from others and evaluations of performance and abilities

• Compromising generally produces positive feelings from others

Introduction

This lecture will:

- Explain how the concept of equity affects organizations- Give an overview of equitable/inequitable practice- Discuss aspects of gender, race/ethnicity, disability and class

across major English-speaking countries

- Outline areas of current and future investigation in these areas

Equity and Justice in Work Organizations

• The area of organizational justice is an important aspect for the development of a theory of equity in the context of OB

• Legislation can relate to:– Pay and employment

– Human Rights (including disability, sexual orientation, political/religious beliefs)

• Research in the area of justice covers three lines of enquiry:– Distributive

– Procedural

– Interactional

What is Justice?

• Justice is viewed as 'socially constructed'

• It includes objective and subjective dimensions

• Justice results in positive benefits:

– Higher job satisfaction and greater commitment

– Positive manager evaluations– Employee citizenship– Reduction in absentees, conflict and sabotage

Tensions in the Workplace

• Tensions can be horizontal or vertical:– Horizontal tensions relate to group/organizational

contexts– Vertical tensions relate to capital/labour relations

• Vertical tensions relate to appropriation, which relates to private capital accumulation

– They are unique to life under capitalism

Gender Overview

• Women have made up 50% of the workforce in capitalist countries since 1980, but wage differentials have changed little

• Women in managerial positions suffer from the effects of so-called glass ceilings or from sticky floors

• Gender harassment is a feature of workplace discrimination

Race and Ethnicity• UK ethno-racial minorities are under-represented in higher roles and

over-represented at lower levels• Differences can exist as to employment within racial groups on other

criteria such as age/disability etc• Culture is as important as racial background in assessing the inequities• The research of Robinson has showed the value of English language

education in promoting mobility• The situation varies between different regions and different

races/ethnicities• Perceptions of the situation also vary - eg different ethno-racial groups

experience work differently (Moodod) – and this can be linked to other factors such as desire for social mobility, schooling etc

• Recent case study by Brief, Dietz, Cohen, Pugh & Vaslow stresses the significance of training relative to applications in black applicants

Disability• Definitions of disability vary between countries but can be

defined in terms of five sub-groupings: Sensory / Physical / Mental and psychiatric / Intellectual and developmental / Learning difficulties.– In the UK the Disability Act handles these areas

• Stereotyping and discrimination often mean that disabled people have difficulty:– Finding work– Applying their skills and talents – Retaining work

• Disability is increasingly seen as a problem that individuals face in society rather than one that they have.

Social Class

• Class involves hierarchy and the features of power and control of resources associated with managerial and other elites

• However, 'class' is a difficult concept to define…– Classification can involve culture/status – including socio-economic

(wealth) or professional status (job)– Views of class categorization vary; theories include Marx’s, Weber’s and

those from Cultural Studies– It is felt, however, that class differences are rooted in economic and

employment differences– Class is not always apparent; it can be low or high profile...

Unions• Unions express the institutional interests of subordinate groups

and pursue their interests• They resolve ‘vertical’ tensions but leave aside the team-based

‘horizontal’ tensions• They can alleviate the difficulties of minorities and increase pay

etc.– This is particularly the case in France/Germany and Scandinavia– In contrast, recent trends in the US/UK have reduced the

efficiency/influence of the unions

• Mainstream economic theory (as presented in the Reagan/Thatcher years) exacerbated the anti-union aspect of the 'market‘ in the US/UK– However.. Our view is that good economic and employment needs

healthy unions

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