Influence Power Politics

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Influence, Power, and

Politics in Organizations

Chapter 12


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Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall 2

Learning Objectives

1. Define the concepts of social influence, power, andorganizational politics.

2. Describe the major varieties of social influence tactics.

3. Identify the major types of individual power inorganizations.

4. Describe the two major approaches to the developmentof subunit power in organizations (the resourcedependency model and the strategic contingencies

model).5. Describe when and where organizational politics occur

and the forms such behavior takes.

6. Identify the major ethical issues surrounding the use ofpolitical behavior in organizations.


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Basic Definitions

Social Inf luence: Attempts to affectanother in a desired fashion, whether ornot these are successful.

Power: The potential to successfullyinfluence another; the capacity to have adesired effect on others.

Organizat ional Pol i t ics: Actions byindividuals that are directed toward thegoal of furthering their own self-interestwithout regard for the well-being of othersor their organization.


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Influence, Power, & Politics


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Social Influence Tactics I

Rational Persuasion: Using logical argumentsand facts to persuade another that a desiredresult will occur.

Inspirat ional Appeal: Arousing enthusiasm byappealing to ones values and beliefs.

Consul tat ion: Asking for participation in decisionmaking or planning a change.

Ingratiation: Getting someone to do what youwant by putting that person in a good mood orgetting him or her to like you.

Exchange: Promising some benefits in exchangefor complying with a request.


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Social Influence Tactics II

Personal Appeal: Appealing to feelings of loyalty

and friendship before making a request.

Coal i t ion Bu i ld ing: Persuading by seeking the

assistance of others or by noting the support of

others.

Legi t imat ing: Pointing out ones authority to

make a request or verifying that it is consistent

with prevailing organizational policies andpractices.

Pressure: Seeking compliance by using

demands, threats, or intimidation.


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Principles of Influence

Friendship/Liking: The more we like other persons or feelfriendship for them, the more likely we are to comply withtheir requests or to accept other forms of influence fromthem.

Commitment/Consistency: Once individuals have adopteda position or committed themselves to a course of action,they experience strong pressure to comply with requeststhat are consistent with these initial commitments.

Scarci ty: Requests that emphasize scarcity or the fact that

some object, opportunity, or outcome will soon no longerbe available, are difficult to resist.

Reciproci ty: Individuals generally experience powerfulpressures to reciprocate benefits they have received fromothers.



Individual Power

Position

Power

Power based

on ones

formalposition in an

organization.

Personal

Power

The power that

one derives

because of his orher individual

qualities or

characteristics.



Position Power

Legit imate Power: The individual power basederived from ones position in an organizationalhierarchy; the accepted authority of ones position.

Reward Power: The individual power base derivedfrom an individuals capacity to administer valuedrewards to others.

Coercive Power: The individual power base derived

from the capacity to administer punishment toothers.

Inform at ion Power: The extent to which asupervisor provides a subordinate with theinformation need to do the job.



Personal Power

Rational Persuasion: Using logical arguments and

factual evidence to convince others that an idea is

acceptable.

Expert Power: The individual power base derived

from an individuals recognized superior skills and

abilities in certain areas.

Referent Power: The individual power base

derived from the degree to which one is liked and

admired by others.

Char isma: An attitude of enthusiasm and optimism

that is contagious; an aura of leadership.



CEO Power Bases



Empowerment

The process in which employees are given

increasing amounts of autonomy and d iscret ion

in connect ion with their wo rk.



Group or Subunit Power

Resource-Dependency Model: Theview that power resides within

subunits that are able to control thegreatest share of valuedorganizational resources.

Strategic Con t ingenc ies Model: Aview explaining power in terms of asubunits capacity to control theactivities of other subunits.



Resource-Dependency Model

In this example, the accou nt ing d epartment wo uld b e considered mo re

pow erful than ei ther the produc t ion department or the marketing

department because i t con trols more impo rtant resou rces.



Strategic Contingencies Model



The Antecedents of Politics

Personal and organizational variables:Political behavior is often influenced by acombination of individual and organizational

factors.Human resource management: Activitiessuch as performance appraisal, personnelselection, and compensation decisions are

likely to engender political behavior.Organizational l i fe span: Political behaviorsare more likely to occur as organizationsmature and begin to decline.



Factors Influencing Politics



Political Tactics

Gaining control over and selective

use of information.

Cultivating a favorable impression.

Building powerful coalitions.

Blaming and attacking others.

Associating with powerful others.

Creating obligations and using

reciprocity.



The Ethics of Politics



Combating Politics


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C i ht 2003 P ti H ll 21

Determining Ethical Action

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Influence Power Politics