Power and Politics

Presented to:

Dr. Maha Hafez

Presented by:

Asmaa Osman

Nevien Ahmed

Wael Refaat

Chapter Learning Objectives

• After studying this chapter, you should be able to:– Define power, and contrast leadership and power.– Contrast the five bases of power.– Identify nine power or influence tactics and their

contingencies.– Distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate political

behavior.– Identify the causes and consequences of political

behavior.– Apply impression management techniques.– Determine whether a political action is ethical.– Show the influence of culture on the uses and

perceptions of politics.

Power and Politics

• Why they are described as the last dirty words? People who have power deny it. People who want it try to not look like they are seeking it. And those who are good at getting it are secretive about how they

do so.

• Is power always bad? No. it is a matter of using it productively in order to be effective

manager.

A Definition of Power

• Power– The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B

so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes– Exists as a potential or fully actualized influence over a

dependent relationship.

• Potential: need not be actualized to be effective. You may have power but not impose it.

• Dependency: Alternatives. Weight of alternatives.

power

potential dependency

Contrasting Leadership and Power

Description Power Leadership

Goal compatibility Merely dependency Min appeal to those who are being led.

Direction of influence Lateral and upward influence pattern.

Downward influence on one’s followers.

Gaining compliance Dependent on tactics Dependent on styleThe exerciser Individual or groups Individual

Leaders achieve goals and power is a means of facilitating their achievement

Bases of Power• Coercive

• Remove something of positive value or inflict something of negative value

• Reward• give something of positive value or remove something of

negative value• Legitimate

• It represents the formal authority to control and use organizational resources

Formal

• Expert• As a result of expertise , special skill or knowledge.

• Referent• Develops out of admiration and the desire to be like the

person. Charisma.Personal

Bases of Power

• Formal Power– Established by an individual’s position in an organization

• Coercive Power» A power base dependent on fear of negative results

• Reward Power» Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others

view as valuable

• Legitimate Power» The formal authority to control and use resources based on a person’s

position in the formal hierarchy

Personal Power - Power that comes from an individual’s unique characteristics –

these are the most effective

which bases of power are most effective

Base of power Type Employee satisfaction , commitment & performance

Personal Expert and referent Positively related

Formal Reward and legitimate unrelated

Formal Coercive Backfire in negatively related

Expert Power Influence based on special skills or knowledge

Referent PowerInfluence based on possession by an individual of desirable resources or personal traits

Dependency: The Key To Power

• The General Dependency Postulate– The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the

power A has over B– Dependency is inversely proportional to the alternative sources

of the supply– Possession/control of scarce organizational (information,

prestige,…)resources that others need makes a manager powerful

– Access to optional resources (e.g., multiple suppliers) reduces the power you place in the hand of others.

•Importance

•Scarcity•Non

substitutability

Dependency

Dependency: The Key To Power

• Importance Control things that perceived as being important

Matsushita

Heavily tech oriented

Engineers are powerful group

P & G

Brand oriented. Marketing is the name of the game

Marketers are powerful group

Dependency: The Key To Power

• Scarcity“In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is King” Explain the illogical behaviour of the low ranking members to gain power over the

high ranking members such as;– Destroying the manual that describe how a job done.– Refusing to train people or show exactly what they do.– Creating specialized language that inhibit others from– understanding their job.

Non substitutabilityThe fewer viable substitutes for a resource the more power the

control over the source provides.

Power Tactics

• Power Tactics– Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific

actions

– Nine influence tactics:• Legitimacy• Rational persuasion*• Inspirational appeals*• Consultation*• Exchange• Personal appeals• Ingratiation using friendly behavior prior to making a request

• Pressure *• Coalitions

Preferred Power Tactics by Influence Direction

Upward Influence Downward Influence Lateral Influence

Rational persuasion Rational persuasion Rational persuasion

Inspirational appeals Consultation

Pressure Ingratiation

Consultation Exchange

Ingratiation Legitimacy

Exchange Personal appeals

Legitimacy Coalitions

You can increase the chance of success by using more than one tactic at the same time or sequentially

Factors Influencing Power Tactics

• Factors that defining which tactics are considered appropriate:– Sequencing of tactics

– Political skill of the user– the ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance their own objectives

– The culture of the organization• Some culture encourage the use of participation and consultation, some

encourage reason, and still others rely on pressure.• So the organization itself will influence which power tactics is viewed as

acceptable.

Softer•Less risk and cost

Moderate Harder•Greater risk and cost

Politics: Power in Action

• Organizational Politics : The use of power to affect decision making in an organization or on members behavior

• Political Behavior– Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in

the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization, the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making

Political Behavior

Legitimate

(normal)complaining, bypassing,

obstructing

Illegitimate

(play hardball)

violates the implied rules of the game: sabotage,

whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest

The Reality of Politics

– Limited resources lead to competition and political behaviors

– Gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being at the expense of others

– The “ facts’ don’t speak for themselves, politics flourish.

– People within the organization will use whatever influence they can to taints the facts to support their goals and interest.

The Reality of Politics

Politics in the eye of the behavior

“Political” label “Effective Management” label

Blaming others Fixing responsibilities

Arrogant Confident

Apple polishing Demonstrating Loyalty

Covering your rear Documenting decisions

Creating conflict Encouraging change and innovation

Kissing up Developing working relationships

A behavior that one person labels as “ organizational politics” can be characterized as instance “ effective management”

Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior

• Factors Contributing to Political BehaviorPower leads to “ the tendency to view other people only in terms of qualities that serve one’s personal goals and interests, while failing to consider those features of others that define their humanity”

Individual factors

Organizational factors

Political Behavior

• Rewards• Averted Punishment

Individual factors

Self monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social conformity and is more skilled in political behavior

Internal locus control believe that they can control the environment and are more prone to take proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations to their favor

Machiavellian personality use politics as a means to further self interest

Perceived alternatives and expectations of success will influence the degree to which he will pursue illegitimate means of political actions

Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior (cont.)

Organizational factors

Reallocation of resources when an organization resources are declining, changing politicking is more likely to surface

Promotion the opportunity for promotions encourages people to compete and to try to influence the decision outcome

Low trust the less trust , the higher the level of political behavior of the illegitimate kind

Role Ambiguity the greater the role ambiguity, the more one can engage in political activity with little chance of it being visible

Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior (cont.)

How do people respond to organizational politics

• Employee Responses to Organizational Politics– Most employees have low to modest willingness to play politics

and have the following reactions to politics

Organizational politics may threaten employees

Decreased job satisfaction

Increased anxiety and stress

Increased turnover

Reduced performance

Defensive Behaviors

• Defensive behaviors ; reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame & change

• Employees who perceive politics as a threat have defensive reactions

Avoiding Action

Avoiding Blame

Avoiding Change

• Over-conforming• buck-passing• playing dumb• stalling

• Bluffing• playing safe• Justifying• scapegoating

• Prevention• self-protection

Impression Management (IM)

• The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them

• IM Techniques– Conformity– Excuses– Apologies– Self-Promotion– Flattery– Favors– Association

IM Effectiveness

• Job Interview Success – IM does work and most people use it– Self-promotion techniques are important– Ingratiation is of secondary importance

• Performance Evaluations– Ingratiation is positively related to ratings– Self-promotion tends to backfire

The Ethics of Behaving Politically

• There are no clear-cut ways to differentiate ethical from unethical politicking

• Three questions help:

1. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?

2. How Does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm done by the action?

The Ethics of Behaving Politically

3. Does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice?

• Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are often argued in ways to make unethical practices seem ethical.

Global Implications

Culture might enter any of the topics we’ve covered to this point.

1. Does culture influence political perception?

2. Does culture affect the power of influence tactics people prefer to use?

3. Does culture influence the effectiveness of different tactics?

Global Implications

• Politics Perceptions– Negative consequences to the perception of

politics seem to be fairly widespread

• Preference for Power Tactics– The choice of effective tactics is heavily

dependent on the culture of the country in which they are to be used

• Effectiveness of Power Tactics– There is much less evidence as to whether these

tactics work better in some culture than in others

Summary and Managerial Implications

• Increase your power by having others depend on you more “Power is a two-way street”.

• People respond differently to various power bases.

• Expert and referent power are far more effective than is coercion.

– Greater employee motivation, performance, commitment, and satisfaction

– Personal power basis, not organizational

Summary and Managerial Implications

• The power of the manager may also play a role in determining job satisfaction.

• The effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations.

• The more political that employees perceive an organization, the lower their satisfaction.

Conclusion

• Managers need to use power effectively.

• Closely related to power is politics. Politics relates to the ways people gain and use power in organizations.

• Political activities in an organization are inevitable and managers should manage them carefully.

• Power and politics are present in all organizations.

• Power is the ability to influence people and events.

THANK YOU