Human Resource Management Lecture-37

Summary of Lecture-36

Conflict

Transitions in Conflict Thought

Traditional View Human Relations View Interactionist View

Sources of Conflict

Types of Conflict

Negotiation Skills

Today’s Topics

Power & Political Behavior

Power What is it? Do you have any? Do you want some? How can you get some?

Concept of Power

Power - the ability to influence another person Influence - the process of affecting the thoughts, behavior, & feelings of another person Authority - the right to influence another person

Sources of Organizational Power

Coercive Exists when one person believes another person can and will provide or withhold punishment

Reward Exists when one person believes another person can and will provide or withhold rewards

Legitimate Exists when one person believes that another person has the right to influence him or her (authority)

Expert Exists when one person believes another person has desired expertise and is willing to share or withhold it

Positional Power Power flows down the organization through delegation

Personal Power

 Information power Power that comes from access to and control over information  Expert power Influence based on special skills or knowledge

The ability to influence others and maintain control over your own fate Interpersonal Power

Dependency: The Key To Power

Principles of Power

 Power is perceived  Power is relative  Power bases must be coordinated  Power is a double-edged sword (used and abused)

Organizational Power Management

Select charismatic individual Select & train for desired expertise Assign to position of authority Provide resources to manage Empower to punish others Empower to reward others

Personal Power Management

Be a nice person Acquire and make expertise known Acquire and make resources known

Use & make authority known Show ability to provide or with-hold rewards Show ability to provide or with-hold punishment

Using Power Ethically

 Does the behavior produce a good outcome for people both inside and outside the organization?  Does the behavior respect the rights of all parties?  Does the behavior treat all parties equitably and fairly?

Two Faces of Power Personal Power – used for personal gain Social Power – used to create motivation – used to accomplish group goals

Unit of Analysis Influence Power Control

Power Tactics

Power tactics Ways in which individuals translates power bases into specific actions

Organizational Politics

Organizational politics refer to activities that people perform to acquire, enhance, and use power and other resources to obtain their preferred outcomes in a situation where there is uncertainty or disagreement.

The use of power in nonprescribed ways (means) and/or for nonprescribed purposes (ends) I’ll support your bill if you support mine

Political behavior Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization

Political Behavior in Organizations

Organizational Politics - the use of power and influence in organizations Political Behavior - actions not officially sanctioned by an organization that are taken to influence others in order to meet one’s personal goals

Organizational Factors that Contribute to Political Behavior

 Low trust  Democratic decision making  High performance pressures  Scarcity of resources  Role ambiguity  Self-serving senior managers  Unclear evaluation systems  Zero-sum allocations

Influence Tactics

 Consultation  Rational persuasion  Inspirational appeals  Upward appeals  Coalition tactics  Exchange tactics  Pressure Upward Influence the boss Downward Influence an employee Lateral Influence a coworker

Power Influence Political process Characteristics of political processes

The Dark Side of Organizational Politics

Organizational politics Deception Lying Intimidation

Ethical Guidelines for Political Behavior

Question 1 Is the action motivated by self-serving interests which exclude the goals of the organization? Question 2 Does the political action respect individual rights? Question 3 Is the political activity fair and equitable? Yes No Yes No Yes No Unethical Ethical

Employee Responses to Organizational Politics

 Decreased job satisfaction  Increased anxiety  Increased turnover  Reduced performance

Managing Political Behavior

 Maintain open communication  Clarify performance expectations  Use participative management  Encourage cooperation among work groups  Manage scarce resources well  Provide a supportive organizational climate

Enough for today...

Summary

Power & Political Behavior

Power - the ability to influence another person Influence - the process of affecting the thoughts, behavior, & feelings of another person Authority - the right to influence another person

Sources of Organizational Power

Organizational Power Management

Using Power Ethically

Power Tactics

Organizational Politics

Next….

Employee Rights & Discipline

Human Resource Management Lecture-37