2BA3 Power and Influence Week 9 Dr. Teal McAteer DeGroote School of Business McMaster University

What is Power? The capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence

Types of Individual Power Legitimate Power Power derived from a person’s position or job in an organization Reward Power Power derived from the ability to provide positive outcomes and prevent negative outcome Coercive Power - Power derived from the use of punishment and threat

Types of Individual Power Information/ Task Interdependence Power Power derived from the data or knowledge that you hold Power derived because one depends on another to complete a task/job Referent Power Power derived from being well liked by others Expert Power Power derived from having special information or expertise that is valued by an organization

How do people obtain power? (Kanter 1977; Pfeffer, 1992) Doing the right things Extraordinary Activities (non-routine positions) Visible Activities Relevant Activities Cultivating the right people Develop informal relationships with the right people (outsiders, subordinates, peers, superiors)

Empowerment Giving people the authority, opportunity, and motivation to take initiative and solve organizational problems Giving people the freedom and ability to make decisions and commitments Puts power where it is needed to make it effective People who are empowered have a strong sense of self-efficacy

Degrees of Empowerment No Discretion (routine, repetitive, tasks assigned, operate according to rules rather than initiative) Participatory Empowerment (autonomous work groups, given some authority) Self-Management (full decision-making power, mg’t has faith in employees carrying out organizational missions and goals)

Characteristics of Empowered People Self-determination (free to choose how to work; not micro-managed) Sense of meaning (their work is important to them; they care about what they are doing) Sense of competence (confident about their ability to do their work well; know they can perform) Sense of impact (believe they can have influence on their work unit; others listen to their ideas)

Influence Tactics Tactics that are used to convert power into actual influence over others (Yukl & Falbe, 1990) Examples? Assertiveness – ordering, nagging, setting deadlines Ingratiation – using flattery and acting friendly Exchange – doing favours or offering to trade favours Upward Appeals– making formal or informal appeals to superiors for intervention (also inspirational appeals and personal appeals) Coalition Formation – seeking united support from other organizational members Rational Persuasion – using facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation of ideas

What determines which influence tactics you would use? Type of power (e.g. coercive – assertiveness) Whom you are trying to influence (e.g. subordinates – assertiveness)

Who wants power? Those high on McClelland’s Need for Power (N-Pow) McClelland argues that the most effective managers (“Institutional Managers”): Have high N-Pow Use their power to achieve organizational goals Adopt a participative or “coaching” leadership style Are relatively unconcerned with how much others like them Comparison to “Personal Power Managers” and “Affiliative Power Managers”

An Alternative View: How do subunits obtain power? Subunit Power – the degree of power held by various organizational subunits, such as departments Scarcity of resources Uncertainty Centrality Substitutability