Chapter 10 Power, Politics and

Authority

Chapter Index

S. No

Reference

No

Particulars

Slide

From-To

1 Learning Objectives 3

2 Topic 1 Concept of Power 4

3 Topic 2 Concept of Organisational Politics 5-8

4 Topic 3 Morale 9-14

5 Topic 4 Concept of Authority 15-17

Learning Objectives

Define power

Explain the concept of organisational politics

Discuss how to build good morale

Discuss the concept of authority

Explain the centralisation and decentralisation of authority

Concept of Power

Power is the ability of individuals or groups to induce or influence the beliefs or

actions of other people or groups. It can be present in any relationship.

Attributes of a manager that make him/her powerful, include:

Interpersonal and

analytical skills

Strong professional

reputation

Favourable relationships

with team

Control over tangible &

intangible resources

Obligation towards his

duties

The perceived dependence

of a manager

Personal Attributes Professional Attributes

Concept of Organisational Politics

Organizational politics can be described as the activities one engage in, which are

not included in the job profile of the individual or in job description given by the

organization.

Features of Organisational politics are listed as follows:

Features of Organisational

politics

Non-official base Self-serving Intentional Irrational

Reasons for Political Behaviour

Politics is important for the success and growth of any organisation, if handled

properly else it may harm the organisation.

Below figure enumerates the reasons for political behaviour:

Performance Evaluation

Stress to Perform Well

Desire to Get Good Rewards

Narrow Opportunities

Lack of Trust

Role Ambiguity

Resources

Individual Factors

Political Strategies

Some commonly employed political strategies are as follows:

Forming alliances Selective use of information

Compromise and Persuasion Escapism

Networking Image building

Managing Political Behaviour

Below are the measures that help in managing political behaviour:

Defining job duties clearly

Demonstrating proper behaviour

Promoting understanding

Allocating resources judicially

Morale

The term morale is a state of mind that describes an individual’s perception about

the group, society, association, or an organisation.

William Spriegel defined morale as the cooperative attitude or mental health of a

number of people who are related to each other on some basis.

Guion defines morale as the degree to which an individual’s needs are satisfied

and the degree to which the individual derives satisfaction from his total situation.

Fundamentals of Building Good Morale

Good employee morale is the mental attitude of an individual or the group, which

enables the employees to achieve or realise maximum satisfaction from their work.

The fundamentals of morale are explained with the help of below figure:

Fundamentals of Good Morale

Reward Distribution

Satisfaction with

Supervisors

Satisfaction with

Co-workers

Intrinsic Job Satisfaction

Factors Affecting an Employee’s Morale

Factors Affecting Morale

Work setting or environment

Leadership

Organisational goals

Behaviour of co-workers

Nature of job or work

Indicators of Low Morale

Indicators of Low Morale

Accidents

Fatigue

Employee Unrest

Absenteeism

Tardiness

High employee turnover

Increased grievances

Steps to Improve Morale of an Employee

Sharing profit Managing workforce

Implementing HR techniques

Fair and equitable

remuneration

Honest management techniques

Reduce absenteeism

Maintaining the records regularly

Handling grievance effectively

Periodic reviews and KPA reports

Encouraging participative

decision-making

Bonuses, awards, and

compensatory leaves

Creation of worker’s club

Relationship Between Morale and Productivity

High moral-high

productivity

Low moral-high

productivity

High morale-low

productivity

Low morale-low

productivity

Concept of Authority

In an organisation, authority refers to a power or right of an individual to take

decisions by making efficient utilisation of resources. Authority can be of three types,

as shown in below figure:

Authority Types

Line Authority

Staff authority

Functional authority

Centralisation of Authority

In a centralised organisation, substantial authority and accountability remain at the

top of the hierarchy.

Some advantages of centralisation of authority are:

Speeds up decision making

Facilitates clear decision making

Some disadvantages of centralisation of authority are:

Dependency of employees on managers

Delays completion of tasks

Decreases motivation of employees

Decentralisation of Authority

In a decentralised organisation, the authority to make decisions goes in the hands of a

large number of individuals within an organisation.

Some advantages of decentralisation of authority are:

Increases morale and self-confidence of employees

Job satisfaction and motivation of employees

Effective and quick decision making

Some disadvantages of decentralisation of authority are:

Loses the top level control of the organisation

Lack of coordination and leadership from the top level