Week 5 discussion

Human Relations in Business

Week 5 Discussion

Learning Objectives Understand the meaning of power

Recognize the positive and negative aspects of power and influence

Recognize the sources of power

Understand and recognize influence tactics and impression management

Learn the definition of a social network and how to analyze your own network

Understand the antecedents and consequences of organizational politics

Understand how ethics affect power

Understand cross-cultural influences on power use

Chapter 13 Power and Politics

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Power

Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others to get what you want.

On November 27, 2007, Fortune named Steve Jobs the most powerful person in business.

Positive and Negative Consequences of Power

Conformity refers to people’s tendencies to behave consistently with social norms.

The Milgram Study The Asch Study The Zimbardo Study

Milgram

This is an illustration of the setup of a Milgram experiment. The experimenter (E) convinces the subject ("Teacher" T) to give what are believed to be painful electric shocks to another subject, who is actually an actor ("Learner" L). Many subjects continued to give shocks despite pleas of mercy from the actors.

Photo Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milgram_Experiment_v2.png

Asch

This is a sample item from the Asch study. Participants were asked one by one to say which of the lines on the right matched the line on the focal line on the left. While A is an exact match, many participants conformed when others unanimously chose B or C.

Focal Line A B C

• 24 volunteers participated• 18 randomly assigned role of prison guard• Remaining 6 were picked up by actual police officers and

taken to a prison created in the basement of Stanford psychology building

• Guards were instructed to keep order but received no training

• Prisoners began to feel depressed and helpless• Guards began to be aggressive and abusive• Original experiment was scheduled to last 2 weeks –

ended in 6 days

Zimbardo

• Thinking about the Milgram and Zimbardo studies, do you think you would behave the same or differently in those situations? Explain.

Discussion

Power

The Relationship Between Dependency and Power

Dependency

Scarcity

Importance

Substitutability

Bases of Power

•Power that comes from a role or position

Legitimate

•The ability to grant a reward

Reward Power

•The ability to take something away or punish someone for noncompliance

Coercive Power

•Knowledge and skills

Expert Power

•Special access to specific information

Information Power

•Stems from personal characteristics of the person

Referent Power

Elected 44th US President

Military Commander-in-Chief

Cabinet position appointments

Briefed on national security issues

Individuals differ on these as he received 52% of the popular vote

Bases of Power: Barack Obama

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_barack_obamaThis file is licensed under Creative Commons

Attribution 2.0 License.

Legitimate

Reward Power

Coercive Power

Expert Power

Information Power

Referent Power

People who are considered to be skilled influencers share the following attributes:

How often do you engage in them? 0 = never 1= sometimes 2 = always

_____ present information that can be checked for accuracy_____ provide a consistent message that does not change from situation

to situation_____ display authority and enthusiasm (often described as charisma)_____ offer something in return for compliance_____ act likable_____ show empathy through listening_____ show you are aware of circumstances, others, and yourself_____ plan ahead

If you scored 0-6: You do not engage in much effective influencing behaviorIf you scored 7-12: You engage in some influencing behaviorIf you scored 13-16:You have a great deal of influence potential

OB Toolbox: Self-Assessment – Do You Have the Characteristics of a Powerful Influencer?

Responses to Influence Tactics

Resistance

• Occurs then the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt.

Compliance

• Occurs when the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do.

Commitment

• Occurs when the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it as well.

The Most Commonly Used Influence Tactics

Frequency of Use Resistance Compliance Commitment

Rational persuasion

54% 47% 30% 23%

Legitimating 13% 44% 56% 0%

Personal appeals

7% 25% 33% 42%

Exchange 7% 24% 41% 35%

Ingratiation 6% 41% 28% 31%

Pressure 6% 56% 41% 3%

Coalitions 3% 53% 44% 3%

Inspirational appeals

2% 0% 10% 90%

Consultation 2% 18% 27% 55%

Impression Management

Impression management includes how a person dresses, how they stand, and the way they behave at work.


Impression Management

Nonverbal

•Includes clothing, body language, and demeanor

Verbal

•Includes tone of voice, rate of speech, what you choose to say, and how you say it

Behavioral

•Includes how you perform on the job and how you interact with others

Direction of Influence

Upward influence is the ability to influence those in positions higher than yours.

Downward influence is the ability to influence those in positions lower than yours.

Effective peer influence occurs when individuals are not destructively competitive.

Political Skill

93% of managers surveyed reported that workplace politics

exits in their organization

70% felt that in order to be successful, a person had to

engage in politics

Research from HR magazine found that managers waste 20% of their time managing

politics

Political skill refers to a person’s interpersonal style, including their ability to relate well to others, self-monitor, alter their reactions depending on the situation, and inspire confidence and trust.

Antecedents of Political Behavior

Individual•Political skill• Internal locus of control• Investment in the organization

•Expectations of success

Organizational• Scarcity of resources• Role ambiguity• Performance evaluations• Promotions• Democratic decision making

Political behavior

Social Networks

A social network is a map or the relationships between individuals. A social network analysis (SNA) is a systematic effort to examine the structure of social relationships in a group.© 2010 Jupiterimages

Corporation

Network Ties and Key Network Roles

• Those linked to the greatest number of people

Central Connectors

• People who connect one network to another

Boundary Spanners

• People with special expertise that can be drawn upon even though they often work independently of the group

Peripheral Specialists

Network Ties and Key Network Roles

Group 1 Group 2

Central connector Boundary Spanner Peripheral Specialist

Strong and Weak TiesStrong Ties• Ties that often indicate

emotional support, not just informational support between people

Weak Ties• Ties characterized by less

frequent interaction and often do not have as much emotional attachment, they are also easier to maintain so people can have more of them

Building Your Own Network

Doing social things such as playing golf or tennis outside of work is one way to help build your social network.

© 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation © 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation

Power Around the Globe: Power Distance

High• Brazil• Hong Kong• Arab Nations• The Philippines• Venezuela• Spain

Low• Australia• The Netherlands• Sweden

Power distance refers to how concentrated power is and how hierarchical a given system might be.

Chapter 14 Organizational Structure and Change


Learning Objectives

Define organizational structure

Identify the basic elements of structure

Explain the difference between mechanistic and organic structures and describe factors shaping an organization’s structure

Describe matrix, boundaryless, and learning organizations.

Understand how structure affect ethics

Understand cross-cultural influences on structure and change

Building Blocks of Structure

Centralization

Formalization

Hierarchical Levels Departmentalization

Organizational Structure

Centralization

Decentralized companies give more

authority to lower level employees, resulting in

a sense of empowerment

The degree to which decision making authority is concentrated at higher levels in an organization

Establishing Balance

Centralized

Can lead to inefficiencies in

decision making in an uncertain or highly competitive market

In a stable environment, can

lead to more efficient operations

Decentralized

Decisions can be made more quickly

Can provide greater levels of procedural

fairness to employees

Formalization is the extent to which an organization’s policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are

written and explicitly articulated

Written Rules

Explicit Regulations

Formalization

Hierarchical Levels

•Several layers of management between frontline employees and the top level

•Fewer employees report to each manager

•Greater opportunities for managers to supervise and monitor employee activities

Tall

•Few management layers

•Larger number of employees reporting to each manager

•Can lead to greater levels of freedom for each employee

Flat

Advantages of Flat Organizations

Companies such as IKEA, the Swedish furniture manufacturer and retailer, are successfully using flat structures within stores to build an employee attitude of job involvement and ownership

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Ikea_almhult.jpg

Departmentalization

Organizations using functional structures group jobs based on similarity in functions– Marketing– Management– Finance– Accounting– Human Resources– Information

Technology

In organizations using divisional structures, departments represent the unique products, services, customers, or geographic locations the company is serving– Each unique product or

service the company is producing will have its own department

Contemporary Forms of

Organizational Structures

Matrix Organizations balance a traditional functional structure

with a product structure

Boundaryless Organizations eliminate traditional barriers

between departments and the external environment

Learning Organizations actively seeks to acquire knowledge and change behavior as a result of the newly acquired knowledge

Nike successfully utilizes the

matrix organization

Provides quick responses to technical problems and customer demands

Increases the frequency of informal and formal communication within the organization

May increase communication and cooperation among departments

Structures are created in response to uncertainty and dynamism of the environment

Advantages of Matrix

Product 1 Manager

Product 2 Manager

Product 3 Manager

In a Matrix Structure each person reports to a department manager as well as a project or product

manager

CEO

Business Analyst Manager

Business Analyst

Business Analyst

Business Analyst

Development Manager

Developer

Developer

Developer

Quality Assurance Manager

Tester

Tester

Tester

Disadvantages of the Matrix Organization

Can create role ambiguity and role conflict

Potential for interpersonal conflict with team members as well as with leaders

More effort is required to coordinate work flow

Two managers per individual can result in power struggles

Boundaryless Organizations

Modular Organization – where all nonessential

functions are outsourced

• Toyota manages relationships with hundreds of suppliers

Strategic Alliances - two or more companies combine

their efforts to create a partnership that is beneficial

for both parties

• Starbucks achieved distribution success of Frappuccino by partnering with Pepsi

Learning Organizations

Experimenting Learning new things

Reflecting on new knowledge

Forms of Organizational Change

company structure

strategy

policiesprocedures

technology

culture

Growth Drives Change

Started in a garage, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. merged with Redhook Ale Brewery in 2007 to form the 11th largest brewery in

the US by 2008

Owned and granted permission by Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.

Resistance to change takes many forms

Active Resistance

Passive Resistance Compliance Enthusiastic

Support

Why people resist

change

Disrupted Habits

Personality

Feelings of Uncertainty

Fear of FailurePersonal Impact of Change

Prevalence of Change

Perceived Loss of Power

Fear of failure! Fear of failure is a common reason employees resist change


Lewin’s Three-Step Model of

Planned Change

• Ensures that employees are ready for change

Unfreeze

• Execute the intended change

Change• Ensures that

the change becomes permanent

Refreeze

What can organizations do before change occurs to prepare employees?

Communicate a Plan for Change

Develop a Sense of Urgency

Build a Coalition

Provide Support

Allow Employees to Participate

Executing and Facilitating Change

Continue to provide support

Create small wins

Eliminate obstacles

Refreezing and Making Change Part of the Culture

Reward change adoptionPublicly recognize those who are giving support

to the change effort

Publicize success

Share concrete results with employees

Discussion• How would you deal with employees who are

resisting change because their habits are threatened? How would you deal with them if they are resisting because of a fear of failure?

Chapter 15 Organizational Culture


Learning Objectives

Describe organizational culture and why it is important for an organization

Understand the dimensions that make up a company’s culture

Assess whether a culture is weak or strong

Understand factors that create culture

Understand how to change culture

Understand how organizational culture and ethics relate

Understand cross-cultural differences in organizational culture

What is Organizational Culture?

A system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior

The culture of the organization is closely linked

to organizational

design

Why Does Organizational Culture Matter?

An organization’s culture may be one of its strongest assets or

its biggest liability

Organizational culture is an effective control mechanism dictating employee

behavior

Culture, or shared values within the

organization, may be related to increased

performance

Organizations which have a rare and hard to imitate culture may enjoy a competitive

advantage

Three Levels of Organizational Culture

Assumptions

Values

Artifacts

Basic assumptions lie below awareness. Assumptions are taken for granted, and reflect beliefs about

human nature and reality

At the second level, values exist. Values are shared principles,

standards, and goals

Artifacts are on the surface, or are visible, tangible aspects of

organizational culture

• Share examples of artifacts you have noticed at different organizations.

Discussion

Which values characterize an organization’s culture?

Dimensions of Culture

Organizational Culture Profile

(OCP)

Organization Culture Profile

Innovative

Aggressive

Outcome Oriented

StablePeople Oriented

Team Oriented

Detail Oriented

Innovative Cultures

W. L. Gore

Genentech

Google

Flexible

Adaptable Experiment

with new ideas

Bill Gates co-founder of Microsoft

Microsoft has been described as having an aggressive culture

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bill_Gates_in_Poland_cropped.jpg

Outcome-oriented cultures

• A culture that emphasizes achievement, results, and action as important values

Stable Cultures

• Companies that are stable are predictable, rule-oriented, and bureaucratic

People-oriented cultures

• These organizations value fairness, supportiveness, and respecting individual rights

Southwest has a team-oriented culture

Team-oriented cultures are collaborative and emphasize cooperation among employees


Detail-oriented culture

A culture that is characterized in

the OCP framework as emphasizing precision and

paying attention to details


STRENGTH OF CULTURE

Walt Disney created a strong culture which survives today

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Walt_disney_portrait.jpg

Challenges of a Strong Culture

Difficult to change

Can be a liability during a merger as each separate culture must

merge together

Do Organizations Have a Single Culture?

Subculture – set of values unique to a limited cross-section of the organization

Counterculture – shared values and beliefs that are in direct opposition to the values of the broader organizational culture

Culture MaintenanceCulture Creation

Creating and Maintaining Organizational Culture

Founder values and preferences

Industry demands

Early values, goals,

assumptions

Attraction-selection-attrition

New employee onboarding

Leadership

Reward systems

Organizational Culture

Founder Values and Preference

The social activism of Ben

and Jerry’s was instilled in the company because founders strongly believed in these issues

Social activism helped distinguish Ben and Jerry’s from larger corporate brands

The values were retained as part of the corporate culture and taught to new members as the right way to do business

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:BenJerry-UnitedSquare.jpg

How are Cultures Maintained?

attraction

selection

attrition

onboarding

Learning Culture Through Onboarding

The process through which new employees

learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to

function effectively within an organization

Onboarding Methods

Use of formal orientation programs

Mentoring by supervisors and coworkers

Role modeling by visible leaders

Rewards Influence Culture

The types of behaviors that are

rewarded or ignored set the

tone for the culture

Behaviors?

Results? Performance?

Seniority?

Signs of Culture

Visual elements of culture

Rituals

Mission Statement

Stories

Physical Layout

Rules & Policies

Tradition is important at Mary Kay Cosmetics

Pink Cadillacs are given to top sales performers at large annual events.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MK_Cadillacs.jpg

• Do you think it is a good idea for companies to emphasize person-organization fit when hiring new employees? What advantages and disadvantages do you see when hiring people who fit with company values?

Discussion

How Do Cultures Change?

1. Create a sense of urgency

2. Change leaders and other key

players

3. Role model4. Train

5. Change the reward system

6. Create new

stories and symbols