1. Chapter 12 Power and Politics
Essentials of
Organizational Behavior, 11/e
Global Edition
Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge
Chapter 12
Power and Politics

2. After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Define power and contrast leadership and power.
Contrast the five bases of power.
Identify nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies.
Identify the causes and consequences of political behavior.
Apply impression management techniques.
Show the influence of culture on the uses and perceptions of politics.

3. Power
The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes
Two facets:
Potential: power does not need to be actualized to be effective
Dependency: based on the available alternatives and their desirability
Power refers to the capacity one person has over the other person to get them to do what they want. Inherent in this definition is the idea of dependency. The stronger the relationship or the dependency that one person has when the other possesses something they want or requires, the greater the dependency on that person.

4. Contrasting Leadership and Power
Differences
Leadership
Power
Goal Compatibility
Requires goal congruence
Only needs dependence
Direction of Influence
Focuses on downward influence
Concerned with influence in all directions
Research Emphasis
Emphasizes leadership style
Broader topic: focuses on tactics used by individuals and groups
Leadership and power are two different concepts and need to be defined separately. Leadership is focusing on goal achievement along with their followers. Power is used as a way to accomplish the goal and often followers are also means to accomplish the goal. Leadership will focus on using their leadership downward to influence others to help them achieve their tasks. Whereas power uses influence to gain something upward or laterally.

5. Due organizational position:
Formal Bases of Power
Due organizational position:
Coercive Power
Complies from fear of the negative results
Reward Power
Complies due to desire for positive benefits
Legitimate Power
From the formal authority to control and use organizational resources
There are two main bases of power, formal and personal. Formal power is defined more by the position a person will hold in the organization. A person with formal power can utilize different power bases to accomplish their tasks. The first is coercive power where employees fear negative consequences if they don’t do what they are told. Reward power is the ability to distribute rewards that others see as valuable and they will thereby accomplish the goals or tasks to get the reward. The last base is legitimate power where the formal authority to control and use resources is then based on the person’s position in the formal hierarchy.

6. Personal Bases of Power
Stems from an individual’s unique characteristics:
Expert
Influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge
Referent
Based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits - charisma
The second major form of power is personal power which comes through the individual’s personality and characteristics. This is often more effective than formal power. Personal power can be based on expert power, the individuals special skills or knowledge or referent power, as well as their influence based of the personal traits or resources they can offer to others.

7. Effective Power Bases
Expert and referent power are positively related to performance and commitment
Reward and legitimate power are unrelated to organizational outcomes
Coercive power is negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment
Expert and referent power tend to be more effective when goals are related to performance and commitment. However, reward and legitimate power do not seem related to organizational outcomes.
We have seen that coercive power tends to be negatively related to work outcomes such as employee satisfaction and commitment.

8. Power Tactics
Used to translate power bases into specific actions that influence others
More immediate than power bases
Can result in the accumulation of a power base
There are a number of power tactics an individual can use or ways in which they can make the power base work for them by moving people into specific actions. Tactics are more immediate than power bases and can result in the build up of a power base.

9. Nine Influence Tactics
Legitimacy: Relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules. Rational persuasion: Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the request is reasonable. Inspirational appeals: Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations. Consultation: Increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done. Exchange: Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. Personal appeals: Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. Ingratiation: Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request. Pressure: Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. Coalitions: Enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.
This slide exhibits 9 major power or influence tactics. They are legitimacy, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalitions.
Legitimacy. Relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules.
Relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules.
Rational Persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the request is reasonable.
Inspirational Appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations.
Consultation. Increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done.
Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request.
Personal Appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty.
Ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request.
Pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats.
Coalitions. Enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.

10. Influence Tactic Effectiveness
Most effective:
Rational Persuasion
Inspirational Appeals
Consultation
Least effective:
Pressure
Combining tactics increases effectiveness
Direction, sequencing, individual skill, and organizational culture modify effectiveness
Tactic effectiveness is modified by the direction of the influence.
Downward. Inspirational appeals and pressure work best as downward influencing tactics.
Lateral. Personal appeals and coalitions are most effective as lateral influence attempts.
Upward. The only tactic that is effective across all organizational levels is rational persuasion.
Many factors can influence the effectiveness of the power tactics discussed.
The most effective tactics tend to be rational persuasion, inspirational appeals and consultation, while the least effective is pressure.
Their ability to encourage the desired behavior could depend on the sequencing of the tactics. It is often better to start with softer tactics such as exchange and work up to harder tactics such as pressure. The success of the tactics will, however, greatly depend on the political skill of the user and the context or culture of the organization.
-You’re more likely to be effective if you begin with “softer” tactics that rely on personal power, such as personal and inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation.
-If these fail, you can move to “harder” tactics, such as exchange, coalitions, and pressure, which emphasize formal power and incur greater costs and risks.

11. Politics: Power in Action
Politics occur when employees convert power into action
Organizational Politics:
Activities 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
Outside of job requirements
Requires the use of power
Political behavior is defined as activities that are not required as part of the job, but that impacts the way benefits and punishments are distributed within the organization.

12. Legitimacy of Political Behaviors
Based on sticking to the implied rules
Legitimate:
Normal everyday politics – complaining
Illegitimate:
“Hardball” activities such as sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protests
Political behavior can take the form of legitimate or illegitimate behavior. Legitimate political behavior is everyday normal politics such as complaining, bypassing or obstructing. Illegitimate political behavior is more extreme and violates the implied rules of the game such as sabotage, whistle blowing and symbolic protest which includes things such as wearing protest buttons or calling in sick as a group.

13. The Reality of Politics
Politics arise in organizations because of:
Conflicting interests
Limited resources
Ambiguity in decision making
Politicking: twisting facts to support one’s own goals and interests
Politics often occurs when resources are low, the excess demand for the resources leads to competition and political behaviors. When the scarce resources are distributed there will be varying views regarding how “fairly” or “effectively” the distribution was done. Perceptions can be distorted such that the manager feels they are documenting decisions and the employee just feels that the manager is covering his/her rear.
Most of the time, managers are making decisions under ambiguous conditions and there is not a readily available objective standard. This creates a context in which political maneuvering is encouraged.

14. Individual Factors Contributing to Political Behavior
Traits that encourage political action:
High self-monitors
High need for power
Situational influences leading to illegitimate political actions:
Lower organizational investment
Greater the number of perceived alternatives
Greater expectations of success
There are a number of factors that influence political behavior. These factors include individual factors such as those with high “mach” personalities or high expectations of success. Situational influences such as low organizational investment or high expectations of success can lead to illegitimate political actions.

15. Organizational Factors Contributing to Political Behavior
Organizational resources declining or distribution shifting
Opportunity for promotion exists
Organizational culture issues:
Low trust
Role ambiguity
Zero-sum reward allocation
High performance pressures
Leading by poor example
As well as organizational factors such as a culture of low trust and role ambiguity. The combination of these factors will lead to political behavior which can lead to favorable outcomes such as increased rewards or decreased punishments.

16. Responses to Organizational Politics
For those unwilling to play, or with modest political skills, the outcomes are negative
Moderated by individual’s understanding of who makes decisions and why they were selected
When perceived as a threat, people respond with defensive behaviors
Most employees will not engage in a high level of politics and often react negatively to politics. Their reactions include decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover and a reduction in performance. Even though the given outcome for the individual employee who engages in politics may be favorable, it is often a negative impact for the group as a whole.

17. Impression Management (IM)
The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them
People may misrepresent themselves in situations of high uncertainty or ambiguity
Misrepresentations may discredit the individuals – seen as insincere or manipulative
Impression Management is a response to political behavior and is defined as the process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them. Some techniques used to manage this impression is conformity, self-promotion, favors and association.
Some may misrepresent themselves when they are faced with high uncertainty or ambiguity. These misrepresentations may be seen as insincere or manipulative.

18. Techniques Used for Impression Management
Conformity: agreeing with someone else's opinion in order to gain his or her approval.
Favors: doing something nice for someone to gain that person's approval.
Excuses: explanations of our predicament-creating event aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament.
Apologies: admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action.
Self-Promotion: highlighting one's best qualities, downplaying one's deficits, and calling attention to one's achievements.
Enhancement: Claiming that something you did is more valuable than most other members of the organizations would think is a self-focused IM technique.
Flattery: complementing others on their virtues in an effort to make one appear perceptive and likable.
Exemplification: Doing more than you need to in an effort to show how dedicated and hard working you are is an assertive IM technique.
1-Conformity: agreeing with someone else's opinion in order to gain his or her approval.
2-Favors: doing something nice for someone to gain that person's approval.
3-Excuses: explanations of our predicament-creating event aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament.
4-Apologies: admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action.
5-Self-Promotion: highlighting one's best qualities, downplaying one's deficits, and calling attention to one's achievements.
6-Enhancement: Claiming that something you did is more valuable than most other members of the organizations would think is a self-focused IM technique.
7-Flattery: complementing others on their virtues in an effort to make one appear perceptive and likable.
8-Exemplification: Doing more than you need to in an effort to show how dedicated and hard working you are is an assertive IM technique.

19. Impression Management Results
Interviews
Self-promotion and ingratiation work well
Performance Evaluations
Ingratiation positively related
Self-promotion is negatively related
Impression management has shown to be effective in different situations such as job interviews and performance evaluations. It is important that in an interview you set forth a positive impression. Many applicants utilize IM to get the interviewer to like them. Self-promotion is seen as important because it shows confidence, however in an interview ingratiation is not as effective. Albeit, in performance evaluations ingratiation has been found to be a positive technique and linked to higher rankings. However, self-promotion does not work as well in this context.
You must be aware of your context when utilizing IM techniques in order to get the outcome desired.

20. The Ethics of Behaving Politically
Questions to consider:
What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?
How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm it will do to others?
Does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice?
Is political behavior ethical in the workplace? Well the answer is probably yes and no. It is difficult to tell ethical from unethical politicking. There are three questions that can help define ethical/unethical political behavior:
What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?
Does the utility balance out any harm done by the action?
Does the action conform to standard of equity and justice?
The answers to these questions can lead you to decide if the behavior is ethical or unethical.

21. Global Implications Perception of Politics:
Negative consequences are common
Preference for Power Tactics:
Differences exist consistent with cultural values
Effectiveness of Power Tactics:
Little evidence for differences
Politicking in the workplace is done around the globe, and the perception of politics seems to be consistently negative in most cultures. However, there is a difference between what power tactics are effective, and it varies by cultural acceptance and norms. There has not been a lot of research done to determine which tactics are effective in which cultures, so that is an area still open to debate.

22. Implications for Managers
Power can be increased by:
Increasing the dependence of others
Gaining unique knowledge or skills
Minimizing one’s own dependence
Acquiring useful bases of power
Using effective power tactics
Avoiding coercion
Politics are a natural part of any organization. As a manager it is important to have a healthy understanding of how politics work and how you will utilize them yourself. The best way to increase your power is to have others depend on you more and need what you are offering. Expert (knowledge) and referent (relationships) power are far more effective than tactics such as coercion and lead to better workplace outcomes.
There are benefits to politics in the workplace but when engaged at a very high level it can be damaging in the long run.

23. Keep in Mind…
Informal, expert, and referent power are the most important
Use consultation and inspirational appeals
IM techniques effectiveness depends on the setting
It is important to keep in mind that power is a reality in the workplace and informal, expert and referent power tend to be the most important. If managers want to use power effectively they need to use consultation and inspirational appeals. Impression Management effectiveness is very much dependent on the context in its effectiveness.

24. Summary Defined power and contrasted leadership and power.
Contrasted the five bases of power.
Identified nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies.
Identified the causes and consequences of political behavior.
Applied impression management techniques.
Showed the influence of culture on the uses and perceptions of politics.

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