Learning Outcomes © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 11 Power and Political Behavior 1 Describe the concept of power. 2 Identify forms

© 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Lea

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esChapter 11

Power and Political Behavior

1 Describe the concept of power.

2 Identify forms and sources of power in organizations.

3 Describe the role of ethics in using power.

4 Identify symbols of power and powerlessness in

organizations.

5 Define organizational politics and understand the role

of political skill and major influence tactics.

6 Identify ways to manage political behavior in

organizations.


Learning Outcome

Describe the concept of power.

1


Concepts of PowerPower – the ability to influence another person

Influence – the process of affecting the thoughts, behavior, and feelings of another person

Authority – the right to influence another person


Zone of Indifference

the range in which attempts to influence a person

will be perceived as legitimate and will be acted

on without a great deal of thought

Zone of Indifference

Z o n e o f I n d i f f e r e n c e

Managers strive to expand the zone of indifference


Prompted by the Denver Broncos' crackdown on season ticket resales in 2007, Senator Lois Tochtrop is attempting to pass a bill granting more resale rights to ticketholders.

Ticket owners and Broncos executives dispute whether the team has the authority to control the price and avenues through which fans may legitimately resell their tickets.

Broncos execs claim that they are attempting to stop ticket-scalping as a business for profit, but others question whether the Broncos' policies have the fans best interests at heart.

Beyond the Book:Football Tickets and Power Disputes


Learning Outcome

Identify forms and sources of power in organizations.

2


Sources of Organizational Power:

Reward Power – agent’s ability to control the rewards that the target wants

Coercive Power – agent’s ability to cause an unpleasant experience for a target

Legitimate Power – agent and target agree that agent has influential rights, based on position and mutual agreement

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Sources of Organizational Power

Referent Power – based on interpersonal attraction

Expert Power – agent has knowledge target needs

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Which Power Is Most Effective?

Expert Power!

• Strong relationship to performance & satisfaction• Transfers vital skills, abilities, and knowledge within the

organization• Employees internalize what they observe & learn from

managers they consider “experts”



• Control of critical resources

• Control of strategic contingencies – activities that other groups need to complete their tasks

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• Ways groups hold power over other groups– Ability to cope with uncertainty– High degree of centrality -

functionality central to organization’s success

– Nonsubstitutability - group’s activities are indispensable

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Information Power

access to and control over important information• Formal/informal position in communication network• Interpreting

information when passing it on (the spin)


Learning Outcome

Describe the role of ethics in using power.

3


[Criteria for Using Power Ethically]

Does the behavior produce a good outcome for people both inside and outside the organization?

Does the behavior respect the rights of all parties?

Does the behavior treat all parties equitably and fairly?


[Two Faces of Power]

Personal Power used for personal gain

Social Power used to create motivation used to accomplish

group goals


Early in 2008, Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona resigned from office to concentrate on fighting corruption charges leveled against him.

According to federal accusations, Carona brokered his power for gifts and kickbacks.

Guilty or innocent, Corona’s case serves as a reminder of the two faces of power and the dangers of personal power.

Beyond the Book:O.C. Sheriff on Trial


Successful Power Users

• Have high need for social power• Approach relationships with a communal

orientation• Focus on needs and interests of others

belief in justice altruism

belief in the authoritysystem

preference for work and discipline


Power Analysis: A Broader View

Organizational Power

Coercive Power – influence through threat of punishment, fear, or intimidation

Utilitarian Power – influence through rewards and benefits

Normative Power – influence through knowledge of belonging, doing the right thing


Power Analysis: A Broader View

Organizational MembershipAlienative Membership – members feel hostile, negative, do not want to be there

Calculative Membership – members weigh benefits and limitations of belonging

Moral Membership – members have positive organizational feelings; will deny own needs


Learning Outcome

Identify symbols of power and powerlessness in organizations.

4


Type of Membership

Type of Power

Alienative Calculative Moral

Normative

Utilitarian

Coercive

SOURCE: Adapted from Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations (Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964), 59-61. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Beyond the Book:Etzioni’s Power Analysis


Kanter’s Symbols of Power

• Intercede for someone in trouble

• Obtain placements for favored employees

• Exceed budget limitations

• Procure above-average raises for employees

• Place items on meeting agendas

• Access to early information

• Have top managers seek out their opinion

Kanter’s Symbols of Powerlessness

Key to overcoming powerlessness: share power and delegate decision making

First-line Supervisors• overly close supervision• inflexible adherence to rules• do job rather than train

Staff Professionals• resistance to change• turf protection

Top Executives• budget cuts• punishing behaviors• top-down communications

Managers• assign external attribution - blame others or environment


Korda’s Power Symbols

Power – there are more people who inconvenience themselves on your behalf than there are people on whose behalf you would inconvenience yourself

Status – a person’s relative standing in a group based on prestige and deference


Korda’s Power Symbols

TimeFurnishings

Size of desk

Rectangular table

Locked file cabinet

Access

Who has access to you?

To whom do you have access?


Learning Outcome

Define organizational politics and understand the role of political skill and major influence tactics.

5


Organizational Politics

the use of power and influence in

organizations


Political Behavior

actions not officially sanctioned by an

organization that are taken to influence

others in order to meet one’s personal

goals


Conditions Encouraging Political Activity

• Unclear goals

• Autocratic decision making

• Ambiguous lines of authority

• Scarce resources

• Uncertainty


Effective Political Characteristics

What characteristics do effective political actors

possess?


1. Which characteristics do you possess? Which do you need to work on? Ask a friend what characteristics you possess.2. On the basis of the table, are you an effective political actor? Explain.3. Can we assume that all of these characteristics are worth having?

Personal Characteristics of Effective Political Actors:

Articulate Sensitive Socially adeptCompetent Popular ExtravertedSelf-confident Aggressive AmbitiousDevious “Organization man or woman”Highly intelligent Logical

Beyond the Book:Evaluate Your Political Potential


Influence Tactics

Upward Influence: the boss

Downward Influence: an employee

Lateral Influence: a coworker

Consultation

Inspirational appeals

Rational persuasion

Ingratiation

Coalition

Exchange tactics

Upward appeals

Pressure


CONSULTATION

This new attendance plan is controversial. How can we make it more acceptable?

The person seeks your participation in making a decision or planning how to implement a proposed strategy, policy, or change.

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RATIONAL PERSUASION

This new procedure will save us over $150,000.

The person uses logical arguments and factual evidence to persuade you that a proposal or request is viable and likely to result in the attainment of task objectives.

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INSPIRATIONAL APPEALS

Getting that account will be tough, but I know you can do it.

The person makes an emotional request or proposal that arouses enthusiasm by appealing to your values and ideals, or by increasing your confidence that you can do it.

INFLU

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INGRATIATION

Only you can do this job right!

The person seeks to get you in a good mood or to think favorably of him or her before asking you to do something.

Information on slides 23-27 from the first two columns from G. Yuki and C. M. Falbe. “Influence Tactics and Objectives in Upward, Downward, and Lateral Influence Attempts.” Journal of Applied Psychology 75 (1990): 132-140. Copyright © 1990 by the American Psychological Association.Reprinted with permission.

INFLU

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Y


Learning Outcome

Identify ways to manage political behavior in organizations.

6


[Managing Political Behavior]

• Maintain open communication• Clarify performance

expectations• Use participative management• Encourage cooperation among

work groups• Manage scarce resources well• Provide a supportive

organizational climate

Managing Up: The Boss

Understand Your Boss and Her Context

Her goals and objectives

The pressures on her

Her strengths, weaknesses, blind spots

Her preferred work style

Assess Yourself and Your Needs

Your own strengths and weaknesses

Your personal style Your predisposition

toward dependence on authority figures


Develop and Maintain a Relationship that Fits both your needs and styles Is characterized by mutual

expectations Keeps your boss informed Is based on dependability and honesty Selectively uses your boss’s time and

resources

Managing Up

SOURCE: Information on slides 29-30 adapted and reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. From J. J. Gabarro and J. P. Kotter, “Managing Your Boss,” Harvard Business Review (January-February 1980): 92-100. Copyright© 1980 by the Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved.

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Empowerment

Empowerment: sharing power in such a

way that individuals learn to believe in their ability

to do the job!


Empowerment’s Four Dimensions

Meaning – fit between the work role and the employee’s values and beliefs

Self-determination – having control over the way one does one’s work

Impact – belief that one’s job makes a difference within the organization

Competence – belief that one has the ability to do the job well

E2s


[Guidelines for Empowering]

• Express confidence in employees

• Set high performance expectations

• Create opportunities for participative decision making

• Remove bureaucratic constraints that stifle autonomy

• Set inspirational and meaningful goals

Employee Empowerment Grid

Point DMission Defining

ImplementFollow-up

Alt. Choice

Alt. Eval

Alt. Dev

Problem Id.

Problem Id. Alt. EvalAlt. DevAlt.

ChoiceImplementFollow-up

Decision-Making Authority over Job Content

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Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations, 1964, pp.... 59-61. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Point ESelf-management

Point CParticipatory

Empowerment

Point BTask Setting

Point ANo Discretion


Empowered, self-directing scientists at Merck & Company have pursued research on new drugs, attempting to advance the pharmaceutical field—

How much empowerment is too much? How do you strike a balance between directed leadership and allowing for individual initiative?

but their studies have failed to produce results, costing Merck considerable time and money.

Beyond the Book:Over-Empowerment?


Finkelstein: Why Executives Fail

• See themselves and their companies as

dominant, without peers

• Have all the answers

• Eliminate those not 100% behind them

• Rely on what worked in the past

• No clear boundaries between personal

interests and corporate interests


Using Power Effectively

• Use power in ethical ways• Understand and use all of the various

types of power and influence• Seek out jobs that allow you to

develop your power skills• Use power tempered by maturity and

self-control• Accept that influencing people is an

important part of the management job

Documents

Learning Outcomes © 2009 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Chapter 11 Power and Political Behavior 1 Describe the concept of power. 2 Identify forms