Power, Politics and Empowerment

Week 81

Learning Objectives

Define power and influence Identify and discuss the five bases of

organisation power Identify the relationship between information and

power Identify the four contingencies of power Discuss the advantages role of organisational

politics Interpersonal influence and politics Ethics, power, and politics Empowerment

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The concept of power

Power Involves a relationship between two people Represents the capability to get someone to do

something

Power and influence Power is the potential to influence Influence is power in action

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Definitions

Power...Power... the capacity to influence the behaviour of

others Authority...Authority...

the right to influence another person Influence...Influence...

the process by which people ... persuade others to follow their advice, suggestions, or orders

4

Definitions

Politics...Politics... the management of influence to obtain ends not

sanctioned by the organisation or to obtain sanctioned ends through non-sanctioned influence means

5

Dependence in the Power Relationship

While power requires dependence, it is really more accurate to say that the parties are interdependent. One party may be more dependent than the other

But the relationship exists only when both parties have something of value to the other which results in:

Counterpower the capacity of a person, team or organisation to keep

a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship

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A Model of Power and Influence

Sources of Power...

provide power...

that when activated...

becomes influence...

that gets someone todo something the way you want it done

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Dependence in the Power Relationship cont’d..

PersonPersonAA

PersonB’s goals

PersonPersonBB

Person B’s Person B’s counterpower counterpower over Person Aover Person A

Person A’s Person A’s power over power over Person BPerson B

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Model of power in organisations

PowerPowerover othersover others

Contingenciesof power

SourcesSourcesof powerof power

Legitimate

Reward

Coercive

Expert

Referent

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CoerciveCoercive

Linked to ability to punish

ExpertExpert

Linked to expertise

ReferentReferent

Linked to admiration

French & Raven’s power bases

LegitimateLegitimate

Linked to position

RewardReward

Linked to ability to reward

10

Structural sources of power

Extent to which individuals or subunits affect decision making determines amount of power acquired

Extent to which individuals or subunits affect decision making determines amount of power acquired

Possession of relevant and important information needed to make decisions determines amount of power acquired

Possession of relevant and important information needed to make decisions determines amount of power acquired

Open access to resources determines amount of power acquired

Open access to resources determines amount of power acquired

ResourcesDecisionMaking

Information

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Information and power

Control over information flow based on legitimate power relates to formal communication network common in centralised structures (wheel pattern)

Coping with uncertainty those who know how to cope with organisational

uncertainties gain power prevention forecasting absorption

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Contingencies of power

Contingenciesof power

PowerPowerover othersover others

SourcesSourcesof powerof power

SubstitutabilityCentralityDiscretionVisibility

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IncreasingIncreasingnon-substitutabilitynon-substitutability

ControllingControllingtaskstasks

ControllingControllingknowledgeknowledge

DifferentiationDifferentiation

ControllingControllinglabourlabour

Increasing non-substitutability

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A strategic contingency model of subunit power

Coping with uncertainty

Contingency Examples Preventing market share decline by

product development Providing future-based predictions

that are accurate Absorbing problems from other units

Power acquired by subunit and power

differentials

Substitutability

Centrality

Being in an urgent or immediacy position

Located at center of work flow

Possessing needed skills or expertise Possessing only talents that are

available to complete job15

Practical Steps to Managing with Power (Pfeffer, 1992)

Decide what your goals are Diagnose patterns of dependence

&independence What are their points of view likely to be? What are their power bases? What are your bases of power & influence?

16

Practical Steps to Managing with Power (Pfeffer, 1992)

Which strategies & tactics for exercising power are likely to be effective?

Based on the above, choose a course of action to get something DONE.....

17

Tactics for increasing the power base

Enter areas of high uncertainty

Create dependencies

Provide resources

Satisfy strategic contingencies18

Strategies for increasing power

Position-based

Person-centred

exchange pressure legitimating

rational persuasion personal appeals inspirational appeals consultation

19

Politics

Political behavior in organisations are those activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organisation but that influence or attempt to influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages with the organisation.

20

Politically-oriented behaviour

Outside legitimate, recognised power system

Designed to benefit an individual or subunit, often at organisation’s expense

Intentional and designed to acquire/maintain power

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Types ofTypes oforganisationalorganisational

politicspolitics

ManagingManagingimpressionsimpressions

Attacking andAttacking andblamingblaming

CreatingCreatingobligationsobligations

CultivatingCultivatingnetworksnetworks

Types of organisational politics

ControllingControllinginformationinformation

FormingFormingcoalitionscoalitions

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ConditionsConditionssupportingsupporting

organisational organisational politicspolitics

ScarceScarceresourcesresources

Complex andComplex andambiguousambiguousdecisionsdecisions

PersonalPersonalcharacteristicscharacteristics

Tolerance ofTolerance ofpoliticspolitics

Conditions for organisational politics

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The Inevitability of Office Politics

Organisational philosophy. Resource scarcity and a competitive work

environment. Subjective performance standards, unclear job

definitions and desire to goof off. Imitating power holders and win-lose

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The Inevitability of Office Politics

Power cravings and Machiavellian tendencies of people.

Emotional insecurity of people and beliefs in external forces.

Hunger for acceptance and self-interest.

25

Machiavelli (15th century)

“Everyone knows how praiseworthy it is for a ruler to keep his word, and to live with integrity, and not be cunning: nevertheless experience shows that in our times, princes have cared little about good faith, and used cunning to confuse the minds of men, have achieved great things: so that in the end they have outstripped those who founded themselves on honesty.”

26

Domains of political activity

Structural change

Interdepartmental coordination

Management succession

Resource Allocation

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Political strategies for increasing power

Control lines of communicationBuild coalitionsUse outside expertsExpand networksControl decision premisesImage building

28

Politics...

Does the exercise of power in:

• Decision making• Agenda setting• The shaping of “felt” needs

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Politics...

result in:• Comprehension or Confusion/Distraction?• Trust based on False Assurance?• Consent based on Illegitimacy?• Knowledge based on Misrepresentation?

30

Political Games...& the ETHICAL use of power

Does the behaviour respect the rights of all parties?

• the criterion of individual rights Does the behaviour treat all parties

equitable and fairly?• the criterion of distributive justice

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Political Games...& the ETHICAL use of power

Does the behaviour produce a good outcome for people both inside and outside the organisation?

• the criterion of utilitarian outcomes

32

Controlling political behaviour

Peer pressurePeer pressureagainst politicsagainst politics

RemoveRemovepolitical normspolitical norms

Free flowingFree flowinginformationinformation

Manage changeManage changeeffectivelyeffectively

ProvideProvidesufficientsufficientresourcesresources

IntroduceIntroduceclear rulesclear rules

HireHirelow-politicslow-politicsemployeesemployees

IncreaseIncreaseopportunitiesopportunitiesfor dialoguefor dialogue

33

What is empowerment?

A process enhancing feelings of self-efficacy among organizational members through: Identification of conditions that foster

powerlessness Their removal by both formal organizational

practices and informal techniques of providing efficacy information

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Empowerment

“Empowerment is the creation of conditions within organisations that result in the ability of individuals to contribute their maximum potential energy, creativity, quality efforts and effectiveness to achieving the mission and strategy of the organisation”

Covey, 1992

35

The process of empowerment

Identify existing conditions that lead to feelings of powerlessness

Implement empowerment strategies

Remove conditions leading to powerlessness

Feelings of empowerment and strengthening of effort-performance expectations

Empowerment feelings are translated into behaviors

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