Agenda

Questions? Power

LECTURE 11:

Bases of Power Dependency Empowerment Abuse of Power Power in Action

Politics

POWER & POLITICS

Zorana Svedic

BUS 272 Behaviour in Organizations

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OBJECTIVES
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Powerful People in the World

By the end of todays class, you should be able to

Evaluate how much power someone has, the source of their power and how effective their power is at influencing others. Determine why we use empowerment and when its less useful Identify types of political activities
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Power
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Power and Dependence

Bs relationship to A when A possesses something that B needs
Person Bs dependency on Person A

Person A

Dependency

Person As control of resource valued by Person B

Person B

Power
Capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B so that B acts in accordance with As wishes
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Resource desired by Person B

Person As power over Person B

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Sources of Power (1)

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Sources of Power (2)

Coercive Power

Reward Power

Referent Power
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Expert Power

Legitimate Power

Information Power
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Influence Tactics
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Consequences of Influence Tactics

people oppose the behaviour desired by the influencer motivated by external sources (rewards) to implement request identify with and highly motivated to implement request

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Rational persuasion Inspirational appeals Consultation Ingratiation Personal appeals Exchange Coalitions Pressure Legitimacy
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Resistance

Compliance

Commitment

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Responses to Power
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Your Power will Increase if

Commitment

Resistance Coercive Reward Legitimate Expert Referent

Compliance

You control things viewed as important Your resources are perceived as scarce Your resources have few or no substitutes

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Empowerment
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Stages of Empowerment
SelfManagement Participatory Empowerment No Discretion

What is it?

The freedom and the ability of employees to make decisions and commitments Increases job satisfaction, efficiency and productivity

Why do it?

Any drawbacks?
Some people dont want to be empowered! Depends on personality and needs Can increase stress

Decision Making Authority Increases

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How to Empower Employees

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The Abuse of Power

There must be a clear definition of the values and mission of the company Company must help employees acquire the relevant skills Employees need to be supported in their decision making, and not criticized when they try to do something extraordinary Employees need to be recognized for their efforts

Workplace Bullying

Bullying can happen across levels of the organization, or among co-workers Unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature in the workplace that negatively affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for the employee

Sexual Harassment

Unwanted physical touching Recurring requests for dates when the person is uninterested Coercive threats that a person will lose her or his job if she or he refuses a sexual proposition Misinterpretations between being friendly and harassment
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Political Behavior
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Attempting to influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within an organization Behaviours that others perceive as self-serving tactics for personal gain at the expense of other people and possibly the organization Office politics permeate organizational life!

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Types of Political Activity

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Decisions Influenced by Politics

Impression management Attacking or blaming others Withholding or distorting information Building support for ideas Praising others Building coalitions Associating with influential people Creating obligations
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Management promotions and transfers Entry level hiring Pay Annual Budgets Allocation of facilities, equipment, offices Delegation of authority among managers

Interdepartmental coordination Specification of personnel policies Penalties for disciplinary infractions Performance appraisals Grievances and complaints

Source: Gandz and Murray, 1980

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Conditions for Organizational Politics

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Personal Characteristics and Org. Politics

Who is more likely to engage in politics?

Scarce Resources
Reallocation of resources Promotion opportunities

High need for power Machiavellian personality High self-monitors Internal locus of control

Complex and Ambiguous rules

Role ambiguity Unclear performance evaluation

Tolerated/Fostered by Company
Competitive reward system and high performance pressures Self-serving senior managers

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Controlling Political Behavior

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Summary

Ensure sufficient resources Keep employees informed Empower employees Minimize uncertainty during organizational change Foster norms to reject adverse self-serving political behavior Be a good role model
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Power and politics are a normal part of organizational life There are six bases for power: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, referent, and information To maximize your power, you will want to increase others dependence on you Empowerment refers to the freedom and the ability of employees to make decisions and commitments People who engage in harassment in the workplace are typically abusing their power position Power depends on the situation and is more important where ambiguity and scarce resources exist
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Next Week
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Thank you!

To Do List
Quiz 12 Chapter 10

Have a safe & pleasant week

Readings
Chapter 10 Organizational Culture

Assignment
Group Presentations II in tutorial

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