07 langton fob 3ce ch07

Chapter 7, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition 7-1Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada

Chapter 7

Power and Politics


Chapter Outline

• A Definition of Power• Bases of Power• Dependency: The Key to Power• Influence Tactics• Empowerment: Giving Power to Employees• The Abuse of Power: Harassment in the

Workplace• Politics: Power in Action


Power and Politics

1. What is power? 2. How does one get power?3. How does dependency affect power?4. What tactics can be used to increase power?5. What does it mean to be empowered?6. How are power and harassment related?7. Why do people engage in politics?


Power and Politics

• Power– A capacity that A has to influence the behaviour

of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.

• Dependency– B’s relationship to A when A possesses

something that B needs.


Exhibit 7-1Measuring Bases of Power

1. Coercive Power– The person can make things difficult for people, and you want

to avoid getting him or her angry. • Power that is based on fear.

2. Reward Power– The person is able to give special benefits or rewards to

people, and you find it advantageous to trade favours with him or her.

3. Legitimate Power– The person has the right, considering his or her position and

your job responsibilities, to expect you to comply with legitimate requests. (continued)


Exhibit 7-1Measuring Bases of Power

4. Expert Power– The person has the experience and knowledge to earn

your respect and you defer to his or her judgment in some matters.

5. Referent Power– You like the person and enjoy doing things for him or

her.

6. Information Power– The person has data or knowledge that you need.

Source: Adapted from G. Yuki and C. M. Falbe, “Importance of Different Power Sources in Downward and Lateral Relations,” Journal of Applied Psychology, June 1991, p. 417. With permission.


Evaluating the Bases of Power

People will respond in one of three ways:1. Commitment – The person is enthusiastic about

the request and carries the task out.

2. Compliance – The person goes along with the request grudgingly, putting in minimal effort.

3. Resistance – The person is opposed to the request and tries to avoid it.


Exhibit 7-3Continuum of Responses to Power

Coercive

Bases ofLeaderPower

Reward

Legitimate

Expert

Referent

Most likely employee response

Resistance Compliance Commitment

Source: R. M. Steers and J. S. Black, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), p. 487. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.


Dependency: Key to Power

• Importance– The things you control must be important.

• Scarcity– A resource must be perceived as scarce.

• Nonsubstitutability– The resource cannot be substituted with

something else.


Increasing Dependency

• To increase the dependency of others on you, – You must control things viewed as important.

– The resources must be viewed as scarce.

– The resource must have few or no substitutes (nonsubstitutability).


Influence Tactics

• Rational persuasion• Inspirational appeals• Consultation• Ingratiation• Personal appeals• Exchange• Coalition tactics• Pressure • Legitimating tactics


Empowerment: Giving Power to Employees

• The freedom and the ability of employees to make decisions and commitments.

• Managers disagree over definition of empowerment.– Empowerment as delegating decision making within

a set of clear boundaries

versus

– Empowerment as “a process of risk taking and personal growth”


Conditions for True Empowerment

• 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.


Exhibit 7-4 Characteristics of Empowered People

• Sense of self-determination – Employees are free to choose how to do their work; they are not

micromanaged.• Sense of meaning

– Employees feel that their work is important to them; they care about what they are doing.

• Sense of competence – Employees are confident about their ability to do their work well; they

know they can perform.• Sense of impact

– Employees believe they can have influence on their work unit; others listen to their ideas.

Source: R. E. Quinn and G. M. Spreitzer, “The Road to Empowerment: Seven Questions Every Leader Should Consider,” Organizational Dynamics, Autumn 1997, p. 41.


The Abuse of Power: Workplace Bullying

• Bullying can happen across levels of the organization, or among co-workers.

• Recent research found that– 40 percent of the respondents noted that they had

experienced one or more forms of bullying weekly in the past six months.

– 10 percent experienced bullying at a much greater level: five or more incidents a week.


The Abuse of Power: Sexual Harassment

• The Supreme Court of Canada defines sexual harassment as – 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.


Examples of Sexual Harassment

• There is disagreement as to what specifically constitutes sexual harassment.

• Includes– Unwanted physical touching.

– Recurring requests for dates when it is made clear the person isn’t interested.

– Coercive threats that a person will lose her or his job if she or he refuses a sexual proposition.


Examples of Sexual Harassment

• More subtle forms (harder to interpret):– Unwanted looks or comments

– Off-colour jokes

– Sexual artifacts such as nude calendars in the workplace

– Sexual innuendo

– Misinterpretations of where the line between “being friendly” ends and “harassment” begins


Politics: Power in Action

• Political behaviour is those activities that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.– Legitimate: Normal, everyday behaviour

– Illegitimate: Extreme political behaviours that violate the implied rules of the game


Why Do We Get Politics?

• Organizations are made up of groups and individuals who have differing values, goals, and interests.

• Resources in organizations are limited.

• Performance outcomes are not completely clear and objective.


Exhibit 7-5 A Quick Measure of How Political Your Workplace Is


Types of Political Activity• Attacking or blaming others• Using information• Managing impressions• Building support for ideas• Praising others• Building coalitions• Associating with influential people• Creating obligations


Impression Management

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

• More likely used by high self-monitors than low self-monitors.– High self-monitors try to read the situation.


Making Office Politics Work

• Nobody wins unless everybody wins.

• Don’t just ask for opinions—change them.

• Everyone expects to be paid back.

• Success can create opposition.


Summary and Implications

1. What is power?– The capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B,

so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.

2. How does one get power?– There are six bases for power: coercive, reward,

legitimate, expert, referent, and information.

3. How does dependency affect power?– To maximize your power, you will want to increase

others’ dependence on you.



4. What tactics can be used to increase power?– One study identified nine strategies: rational persuasion,

inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, personal appeals, exchange, coalition tactics, pressure, and legitimating tactics.

5. What does it mean to be empowered?– Empowerment refers to the freedom and the ability of

employees to make decisions and commitments.



6. How are power and harassment related?– People who engage in harassment in the workplace are

typically abusing their power position.

7. Why do people engage in politics?– People use politics to influence others to help them

achieve their personal objectives.


OB at Work


For Review

1. What is power? How do you get it?2. Contrast the bases of power with influence tactics. 3. What are some of the key contingency variables that

determine which tactic a power holder is likely to use?4. Which of the six power bases lie with the individual?

Which are derived from the organization?5. State the general dependency postulate. What does it

mean?6. What creates dependency? Give an applied example.


For Review

7. Identify the range of empowerment that might be available to employees.

8. Define sexual harassment. Who is most likely to harass an employee: a boss, a co-worker, or a subordinate? Explain.

9. How are power and politics related?

10. Define political behaviour. Why is politics a fact of life in organizations?


For Critical Thinking1. Based on the information presented in this chapter, what would

you do as a recent graduate entering a new job to maximize your power and accelerate your career progress?

2. “Politics isn’t inherently bad. It’s merely a way to get things accomplished within organizations.” Do you agree or disagree? Defend your position.

3. You are a sales representative for an international software company. After four excellent years, sales in your territory are off 30 percent this year. Describe three impression management techniques you might use to convince your manager that your sales record is better than should be expected under the circumstances.


For Critical Thinking4. “Sexual harassment should not be tolerated at the workplace.”

“Workplace romances are a natural occurrence in organizations.” Are both of these statements true? Can they be reconciled?

5. Which impression management techniques have you used? What ethical implications, if any, are there in using impression management?


Breakout Group Exercises

• Form small groups to discuss the following topics:1. Describe an incident in which you tried to use political

behaviour in order to get something you wanted. What tactics did you use?

2. In thinking about the incident described above, were your tactics effective? Why?

3. Describe an incident in which you saw someone engaging in politics. What was your reaction to observing the political behaviour? Under what circumstances do you think political behaviour is appropriate?


Working With Others Exercise Understanding Bases of Power

Instructions for Role Play• Working in your group, read the instructions

for the assignment.

• You have 10 minutes to develop a 3-minute role play, using the source of power assigned to your group.

• You MUST stick to the time limit.


Role Play Scenario

• You are the leader of a group that is trying to develop a website for a new client. One of your group members, who was assigned the task of researching and analyzing the websites of your client’s competition, has failed twice to bring the analysis to scheduled meetings, even though the member knew the assignment was due. Consequently, your group is falling behind in getting the website developed. As leader of the group, you have decided to speak with this team member, and use your specific brand of power to influence the individual’s behaviour.


Sources of Power• COERCIVE: Depends on fear. It is the ability to punish or withhold

privileges.• REWARD: Based on one's control over things that others desire such as

vacations, raises, promotions, and office locations.• LEGITIMATE: Person holding power has right to it because of position or

role. Thus the person has a formal right to direct others in certain matters and the subordinates have a duty to obey those directions.

• EXPERT: The perception by others that one has superior judgment or knowledge on some topics, often specialized in nature. Unlike information power, this power base does not involve sharing of the facts or reasoning behind a decision.

• REFERENT: Develops out of subordinates' admiration for leader and his/her desire to model behaviour and attitudes after that person. The person builds feelings of support, liking, admiration, and respect with subordinates.


Mean Responses to Type of Influence

Q#1

Comply

Q#2

Temp. vs. Long

Q#3

Resistant vs. Acceptant

Q#4

Worse vs. Better

Coercive 4 3.1 2.1 1.6

Reward 3.9 3.6 4.2 4.2

Legitimate 3.3 2.1 2.4 1.2

Expert 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.6

Referent 2.9 2.2 3.4 4.6


Discussion Questions1. Which kind of influence is most likely to

immediately result in the desired behaviour?2. Which will have the most long-lasting effects?3. What effect will using a particular base of

power have on the ongoing relationship?4. Which form of power will others find most

acceptable? least acceptable? Why?5. Are there some situations where a particular

type of influence strategy might be more effective than others?

Source: This Working with Others exercise was inspired by one found in Judith R. Gordon, Organizational Behavior, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992), pp. 499-502.


Purpose of Exercise• Observe different types of power, and see how they

affect you.

• Develop an understanding for which types of power are more likely to achieve positive (or negative) effects.– Which gets the desired behaviour?

– Which has most long lasting effect?

– How does it affect relationship?

– Which is most acceptable?


Concepts to Skills: Politicking1. Frame arguments in terms of organizational goals.

2. Develop the right image.

3. Gain control of organizational resources.

4. Make yourself appear indispensable.

5. Be visible.

6. Develop powerful allies.

7. Avoid “tainted” members.

8. Support your manager.

07 langton fob 3ce ch07

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