Power and Organizational Politics

Politics

• Politics refers to the use of power and authority to influence organizational outcomes.

DefinitionsDefinitions

Power-- the capacity to ensure the outcomes one wishes and to prevent those one does not wish.

Influence-- the capacity to affect others.

Authority-- the capacity to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions.

Historical Views of Politics

• Maciavelli (early 1500s) “The Prince”

• Assume that people are “ungrateful, fickle, and deceitful”

• The purpose of political leadership is to secure and maintain power

• A good leader is independent and dominates people

Historical Views of Politics

• Maciavelli (early 1500s) “The Prince”

• The End Justifies the Means

• The leader can be ruthless if necessary

• Machiavellian means “characterized by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith”

Historical Views of Politics

• Weber’s forms of power– Charismatic– Traditional– Legal-Rational

• The Iron Cage of Rationality– Compulsion of Fairness

Changing Perspectives on Workers and Organizations

• A social-psychological view of power– Power is not necessarily open coercion,

influence, or control

• Power is the perception of others that the power wielder could exercise coercion, influence, or control if he or she chose to do so– How much power you have is based on how

much power think you have! Power must be granted

Questioning Power and Authority

• 1960s Radicals

• Organizational politics is outmoded and unproductive– Traditionally executive power is based on the

idea of ownership

• 1990s the idea of Servant Leadership and Empowerment

Questioning Power and Authority

• Power is the opposite of dependency– Organizations seek to minimize dependency by

• Seeking prestige

• Engaging in cooperative strategies

• Contracting

• Co-opting

Recognizing Organizational Politics

• Use of power increases when structure is decentralized, resources are scarce, there is disagreement on goals, and there is uncertainty about technologies

• In other words:– When resources are limited, goals and

processes are unclear, Power Politics are very likely

Recognizing Organizational Politics

• Three Faces of Power– First Face: Overt Coercion– Second Face: Exclusionary Actions – avoid

challenges– Third Face: Hegemonic control – convince me

that what you want is what I want

Balancing Power

• Four styles to balance or equalize power– 1 decrease needs or demands– 2 increase alternative sources of getting what

you want– 3 increase others needs or demands for us– 4 decrease other people’s alternative sources

(special expertise)• Options 1 and 2 create psychological distance

• 3 and 4 result in a stronger work commitment

Structural Aspects of Power

• Opportunity

• Mobility

• Perceived political power

• Dependency

• Influence

• Rewards

• Numerical Representation

Power Politics

• Positive or Destructive Force?– Power politics help organizations to adapt and interact

with the environment appropriately

– Managers are dependent upon workers • Workers have limited time, energy, and talent

• Power is needed to manage these

• Some use power for personal and not organizational goals

– How to handle power• Limit access to decision makers

• Alter decision criteria to performance

• Offer financial incentives to discourage political activity

Empowerment

• Empowerment is the development of personal power of those in the organization to achieve their goals

• Power is traditionally seen as a relational construct (delegation or sharing power)

• Power as a motivational construct – creating motivation and feeling of personal efficacy

Empowerment

Conditions of moving from Powerlessness to Empowerment

1. Conditions leading to feelings of powerlessness

2. Strategies to increase personal efficacy (participative management)

3. Feedback4. Reinforcement of empowerment5. Persistence of new behavior

Empowerment

• Empowerment cannot be granted but has to be taken by the individual

• The conditions for empowerment can be fostered

Ways of Acting

1. Consider all your sources of power2. Make yourself indispensable3. Take charge of your own empowerment4. Use power constructively and effectively5. Devote energy to clarifying goals6. Support and foster empowerment of others7. Be aware and think about how political

issues8. Be nice