1. Managing Conflict, Power, and Politics
Organizational Theory, Design, and Change Fifth Edition Gareth R. Jones
Chapter 14
Managing Conflict, Power, and Politics
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Learning Objectives
Describe the nature of organizational conflict, its sources, and the way it arises between stakeholders and subunits
Identify the mechanisms by which managers and stakeholders can obtain power and use that power to influence decision making and resolve conflict in their favor
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3. Learning Objectives (cont.)
Explain how and why individuals and subunits engage in organizational politics to enhance their control over decision making and obtain the power that allows them to influence the change process in their favor
Appreciate the importance of managing an organization’s power structure to overcome organizational inertia, and to bring about the type of changing that promotes performance
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4. What is Organizational Conflict?
The clash that occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one group blocks or thwarts the goals of another
Although conflict is often perceived as something negative, research suggests that some conflict can actually improve organizational effectiveness
Can overcome inertia and lead to learning and change
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5. Figure 14-1: Cooperation and Competition Among Stakeholders
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6. What is Organizational Conflict?
Beyond a certain point, conflict becomes a cause for organizational decline
Conflict leads to inability to reach consensus and indecision
Too much time spent on bargaining rather than acting swiftly to resolve problems
On balance, organizations should be open to conflict and recognize its value
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Figure 14-2: Relationship Between Conflict and Organizational Effectiveness
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8. Pondy’s Model of Organizational Conflict
Conflict is a process that consists of five sequential stages
Stage 1: Latent conflict: no outright conflict exists, but there is a potential for conflict because of several latent factors
Sources of conflict include:
Interdependence
Difference in goals and priorities
Bureaucratic factors
Incompatible performance criteria
Competition for scarce resources
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9. Pondy’s Model of Organizational Conflict (cont.)
Stage 2: Perceived conflict: subunits become aware of conflict and begin to analyze it
Conflict escalates as groups battle over the cause of conflict
Stage 3: Felt conflict: subunits respond emotionally to each other, and attitudes polarize into “us-versus-them”
Cooperation between units decreases
What began as a small problem escalates into huge conflict
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10. Pondy’s Model of Organizational Conflict (cont.)
Stage 4: Manifest conflict: subunits try to get back at each other
Fighting and open aggression
Passive aggression – doing nothing
Organizational effectiveness suffers
Stage 5: Conflict aftermath: conflict is resolved in some way
If sources of conflict are not resolved, the dispute will arise again
Conflict aftermath
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11. Figure 14-3: Pondy’s Model of Organizational Conflict
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Managing Conflict
Organizational conflict can escalate rapidly and sour an organization’s culture
Managing conflict is an important priority
Organizations must balance the need to have some “good” conflict without letting it escalate into “bad” conflict
Choice of conflict resolution method depends on the source of the problem
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13. Managing Conflict: Resolution Strategies
Acting at the level of structure
Because task interdependence and differences in goals produce conflict, alter the level of differentiation and integration to change relationships
Increase the number of integrating roles
Assign top managers to solve conflict
Rethink the hierarchy/reporting chain
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14. Managing Conflict: Resolution Strategies (cont.)
Acting at the level of attitudes and individuals
Establish a procedural system that allows parties to air their grievances
Important for conflict between management and unions
Use a third-party negotiator
Exchange/rotate/terminate individuals
CEOs can also use their power to resolve conflicts and motivate units to cooperate
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15. What is Organizational Power?
Organizational power: the ability of one person or group to overcome resistance by others to achieve a desired objective or result
Conflict and power are intimately related
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16. Figure 14-4: Sources of Organizational Power
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17. Sources of Organizational Power
Authority: power that is legitimized by the legal and cultural foundations on which an organization is based
Empowerment: the deliberate decentralization of authority
Control over resources: as the organization controls more and more resources in its environment, power within an organization comes from the control of resources
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18. Sources of Organizational Power (cont.)
Control over information: access to strategic information and the control of the information are sources of considerable power
Nonsubstitutability: if no one else can perform the tasks that a person or subunit performs, that person or subunit is nonsubstitutable
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19. Sources of Organizational Power (cont.)
Centrality: the subunits that are most central to resource flows have the ability to reduce the uncertainty facing other subunits
Control over uncertainty: a subunit that can actually control the principal sources of uncertainty has significant power
Changes in contingencies facing the organization alter which subunits have this power
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20. Sources of Organizational Power
Unobtrusive power: controlling the premises of decision making
Unobtrusive power: the power flowing from the ability to control the premises behind decision making
The power of a coalition resides in its ability to control the assumptions, goals, norms, or values that managers use to judge alternative solutions to a problem
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21. Using Power: Organizational Politics
Organizational politics: activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a situation in which there is uncertainty or disagreement about choices
Tactics for playing politics
Increasing indispensability: become indispensable to the organization
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22. Using Power: Organizational Politics (cont.)
Tactics for playing politics (cont.)
Increasing nonsubstitutability: develop specialized skills or knowledge that enables one to control a crucial contingency facing the organization
Increasing centrality: accept responsibilities that enhance one’s reputation or that of one’s function
Associating with powerful managers:
supporting a powerful manager who is clearly on the way to the top
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23. Using Power: Organizational Politics (cont.)
Tactics for playing politics (cont.)
Building and managing coalitions
Forming relationships with stakeholders and other subunits around some common issue
Skills in coalition building are important
Influencing decision making
Must be circumspect in the use of power
Controlling the agenda
By setting the agenda, managers can control the issues and problems to be considered
Bringing in an outside expert
Use supposedly neutral outsiders to support the views of the coalitions
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24. Using Power: Organizational Politics (cont.)
Costs and benefits of organizational politics
To manage organizational politics and gain its benefits, an organization must establish a balance of power in which alternative views and solutions can be offered and considered by all parties and dissenting views can be heard
Balance of power should shift over time toward the party that can best manage the uncertainty and contingencies confronting the organization
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25. Using Power: Organizational Politics (cont.)
Costs and benefits of organizational politics (cont.)
If balance of power does not encourage allocation of resources to where value is created, the organization suffers
If powerful managers can suppress views against their interests, debates become restricted, checks and balances fade, bad conflict increases, and organizational inertia increases
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26. Figure 14-5: Maintaining a Balance of Power
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