 Change Management BUS 442M The Politics of Change Ch. 5

Learning objectives  Explain what is meant by organizational politics  Distinguish between different sources of power and ways of using power to influence change  Define and discuss the links between power, politics and conflict  Identify different ways of resolving conflict & the situations they can be applied to.

Organizational Politics Definition of politics Politics is the act of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them Definition of power  … power influences who gets what, how and when  The potential or actual ability to influence others in a desired action.

Source of Power  Positional power Power of a person’s formal position, & it is the most obvious source of power. i.e. power of boss  Expert power Drives from a person skills or knowledge. i.e. we credit doctors with expert power when we see them in surgery  Referent power Power driving from charisma. i.e. the ability to attract others. This type of power can cut across hierarchy

Source of Power  Reward power The ability to give some sort of reward. i.e. salary, promotion, time off or access to resources  Coercive power The power of forcing someone to do something that they would not want to do it. It s negative and based on the use of punishment

Power source and change  Resource power: is the power associated with being able to distribute or withhold valued rewards  Invisible power: control over resources such as budget, promotions, or the power to hold information  Controlling decisions: the right to make certain decisions & is usually visible & unquestioned because of the position

Power source and change  Expert or knowledge power Accepting the judgments of people who have particular knowledge, understanding or skills  Symbolic power Widespread in political systems such as states of “great leaders”. i.e. Is the power to manipulate & use symbols to create organizational environment and the beliefs of others to suit one own purpose.  Individual power Is derives from personal characteristics & is potentially available to anyone given its non-dependence on position

The politics of powerlessness 1) Gender & powerlessness  Perceptions of social roles that men & women should perform although social attitudes are changing to lesson these distinction  Placement of women in non strategic roles, so its harder to progress to the top & exclusion of networks that needed for career advancement  Child-bearing 7 child care, that limit the amount of time available for work.

The politics of powerlessness 2) National culture & powerlessness  National cultural differences influence many aspect of organizational life, however, practices in one culture cannot be transferred into another culture. For example: Motivation & leadership style that can be effective in western culture may not be effective in other countries

The politics of powerlessness  National culture & powerlessness According to Hofstede’s (1981) work about cultural differences,  In High power distance society managers tend to make most decisions  In low power distance people who refer to others tend to make decisions are considered as lacking ambition & not ready to take responsibilities For example: power in western society based on individual power, whereas in East Asian society, power linked to the power of the group

The politics of powerlessness 3) Position & powerlessness Kanter (1979) identified 3 lines of organisational power, which related to resources & position power:  Lines of supply  Lines of information  Lines of support Also, there is a power that comes from connections with other part of the organizations system For example: power comes when one has relatively close contact with sponsors (high level people)

Politics, Power & Conflict  Politics has always been described as the use of power  Political behaviors is observed in activities that are not part of someone’s formal organizational role.  Political behavior is to be expected, with its associated tendency to generate both competition & cooperation (of which conflict is a part)  to ignore the role of conflict as positive or negative force in the context of organization & change is to ignore the realities of human nature and to get more understanding of the source of conflict

Conflict in organizations  The definition of conflict Is a process that begins when an individual or group perceives differences and opposition between him/herself & another individual or group about interests, beliefs or values that matter to him or her.  Conflict can be considered as something that disrupts that normal stability within an organization

The layers of organizational conflict  Misunderstanding: getting the wrong end of stick  Differences of values: let to the most serious disagreements, which can be based on ethical considerations  Differences of viewpoint: when different parties may share the same value but have different views  Differences of interest: is the competition between individual about status, resources & advancement  Interpersonal differences: is when some people find it difficult to work with others, which called personality clashes

The layers of organizational conflict  Interdependence: different organizational group depend upon each other such as (marketing & sales) departments, and the direction of dependences is related to power balances between groupings.  Organizational structure: conflict is likely because of the power imbalances that presented in hierarchical structures.  Rules & Regulations: conflict is more likely to be less in highly formalized situations & in situations of over- regulation, people can become frustrated and see rules as an expression of low trust by management

The layers of organizational conflict  Limited resources: in time when resources are available the level of conflict is reduced.  Cultural differences: conflict can arise from misunderstanding or through inappropriate behavior when working across national cultures.  Environmental change: Shifts in demand, increased competition, government integration, new technology and changing social values are possible cause of conflict

Power, conflict & change  Power, politics & conflict are indisputable aspects of social systems and organizational change.  Without the influence of (power) their would be no cooperation& no society  At the same time power, conflict & politics can have negative effects.  Therefore, organizational change management are advised to use power & conflict constructively as possible.

The two faces of power  Positive face: Derives from more socialized need to initiate, influence, lead & recognizes other people’s needs to achieve their own goals as well as those of the organization Positive power seek to empower not only the self but also others.  Negative face: Is about domination & control of others, socialized need to have a dominance over submissive others.

Covert political action  Covert political action Is a phrase used to describe actions of the most extreme kind witnessed during episodes of change  Why dose covert political actions occurs? Morrill et al (2003) gives the following reasons

Reasons for covert political action  Declining control: if control held by organizations or groups falls below a threshold level, then action is taken to restore control to an acceptable level  Identity: people who identify with& who try to influence powerful groups are less likely to engage in covert action.  Social networks: the extent for social networks in an organization influences the extent of covert action since an individual is less likely to take action against a target is a friend is concerned to the target, so the more extensive networks are, the less the climate for covert action  Organization structure: how will they allow employee voice (speaking out). If people feel unable to say what they want, they are feeling there greater chance of covert action

The positive use of conflict & power  Robbins (2005) defines four types of conflict, which are Functional & dysfunctional, constructive & destructive conflict  The mechanism operating for managing conflict & power

Action on power, conflict & change  There are four action steps proposed by Nadler (1988) 1) To ensure& develop the support of key power groups 2) Using leaders behaviors to generate energy in support of change 3) Using symbols & languages to create energy 4) The need to build in stability, this is the use of power to ensure things remains the same.

Assessing power  This is to show the importance of power & conflict as elements in the politics of change.  Managers can assess how power is distributed & the way in which it will be used & possible consequences and actual conflict  The following table represent one way of analyzing the potential for action of individual & groups according to their power to block change & their motivation to do so

Assessing power  First Step: analyzing the potential for action, with or against change by identifying who holds sufficient power to assist change or block it.  The second Step: Is to compare the power of any individual or group to block change with their desire or motivation to do so

Assessing power