Power, Politics and Empowerment Week 8 1

Learning Objectives Define power and influence Identify and discuss the five bases of organisation power Identify the relationship between information and power Identify the four contingencies of power Discuss the advantages role of organisational politics Interpersonal influence and politics Ethics, power, and politics Empowerment 2

The concept of power Power Involves a relationship between two people Represents the capability to get someone to do something Power and influence Power is the potential to influence Influence is power in action 3

Definitions Power... Power... the capacity to influence the behaviour of others Authority... Authority... the right to influence another person Influence... Influence... the process by which people... persuade others to follow their advice, suggestions, or orders 4

Definitions Politics... Politics... the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organisation or to obtain sanctioned ends through non-sanctioned influence means 5

Dependence in the Power Relationship While power requires dependence, it is really more accurate to say that the parties are interdependent. One party may be more dependent than the other But the relationship exists only when both parties have something of value to the other which results in: Counterpower the capacity of a person, team or organisation to keep a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship 6

A Model of Power and Influence Sources of Power... provide power... that when activated... becomes influence... that gets someone to do something the way you want it done 7

Dependence in the Power Relationship cont’d.. PersonA Person B’s goals PersonB Person B’s counterpower over Person A Person A’s power over Person B 8

Model of power in organisations Power over others Contingencies of power Sources Legitimate Reward Coercive Expert Referent 9

Coercive Linked to ability to punish Expert Linked to expertise Referent Linked to admiration French & Raven’s power bases Legitimate Linked to position Reward Linked to ability to reward 10

Structural sources of power Extent to which individuals or subunits affect decision making determines amount of power acquired Possession of relevant and important information needed to make decisions determines amount of power acquired Open access to resources determines amount of power acquired Resources Decision Making Information 11

Information and power Control over information flow based on legitimate power relates to formal communication network common in centralised structures (wheel pattern) Coping with uncertainty those who know how to cope with organisational uncertainties gain power prevention forecasting absorption 12

Contingencies of power Contingencies of power Power over others Sources of power Substitutability Centrality Discretion Visibility 13

Increasingnon-substitutability Controllingtasks Controllingknowledge Differentiation Controllinglabour Increasing non-substitutability 14

A strategic contingency model of subunit power Coping with uncertainty Contingency Examples l Preventing market share decline by product development l Providing future-based predictions that are accurate l Absorbing problems from other units Power acquired by subunit and power differentials Substitutability Centrality l Being in an urgent or immediacy position l Located at center of work flow l Possessing needed skills or expertise l Possessing only talents that are available to complete job 15

Practical Steps to Managing with Power (Pfeffer, 1992) 4 Decide what your goals are 4 Diagnose patterns of dependence &independence 4 What are their points of view likely to be? 4 What are their power bases? 4 What are your bases of power & influence? 16

Practical Steps to Managing with Power (Pfeffer, 1992) 4 Which strategies & tactics for exercising power are likely to be effective? 4 Based on the above, choose a course of action to get something DONE

Tactics for increasing the power base Enter areas of high uncertainty Create dependencies Provide resources Satisfy strategic contingencies 18

Strategies for increasing power Position-based Person-centred exchange pressure legitimating rational persuasion personal appeals inspirational appeals consultation 19

Politics Political behavior in organisations are those activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organisation but that influence or attempt to influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages with the organisation. 20

Politically-oriented behaviour Outside legitimate, recognised power system Designed to benefit an individual or subunit, often at organisation’s expense Intentional and designed to acquire/maintain power 21

Types of organisationalpolitics Managingimpressions Attacking and blaming Creatingobligations Cultivatingnetworks Types of organisational politics Controllinginformation Forming coalitions 22

Conditionssupportingorganisationalpolitics Scarceresources Complex and ambiguousdecisions Personalcharacteristics Tolerance of politics Conditions for organisational politics 23

The Inevitability of Office Politics Organisational philosophy. Resource scarcity and a competitive work environment. Subjective performance standards, unclear job definitions and desire to goof off. Imitating power holders and win-lose 24

The Inevitability of Office Politics Power cravings and Machiavellian tendencies of people. Emotional insecurity of people and beliefs in external forces. Hunger for acceptance and self-interest. 25

Machiavelli (15th century) “Everyone knows how praiseworthy it is for a ruler to keep his word, and to live with integrity, and not be cunning: nevertheless experience shows that in our times, princes have cared little about good faith, and used cunning to confuse the minds of men, have achieved great things: so that in the end they have outstripped those who founded themselves on honesty.” 26

Domains of political activity Structural change Interdepartmental coordination Management succession Resource Allocation 27

Political strategies for increasing power Control lines of communication Build coalitions Use outside experts Expand networks Control decision premises Image building 28

Politics... Does the exercise of power in: Decision making Agenda setting The shaping of “felt” needs 29

Politics... result in: Comprehension or Confusion/Distraction? Trust based on False Assurance? Consent based on Illegitimacy? Knowledge based on Misrepresentation? 30

Political Games...& the ETHICAL use of power 4 Does the behaviour respect the rights of all parties? the criterion of individual rights 4 Does the behaviour treat all parties equitable and fairly? the criterion of distributive justice 31

Political Games...& the ETHICAL use of power 4 Does the behaviour produce a good outcome for people both inside and outside the organisation? the criterion of utilitarian outcomes 32

Controlling political behaviour Peer pressure against politics Remove political norms Free flowing information Manage change effectively Providesufficientresources Introduce clear rules Hirelow-politicsemployees Increaseopportunities for dialogue 33

What is empowerment? A process enhancing feelings of self- efficacy among organizational members through: Identification of conditions that foster powerlessness Their removal by both formal organizational practices and informal techniques of providing efficacy information 34

Empowerment “Empowerment is the creation of conditions within organisations that result in the ability of individuals to contribute their maximum potential energy, creativity, quality efforts and effectiveness to achieving the mission and strategy of the organisation” Covey,

The process of empowerment Identify existing conditions that lead to feelings of powerlessness Implement empowerment strategies Remove conditions leading to powerlessness Feelings of empowerment and strengthening of effort-performance expectations Empowerment feelings are translated into behaviors