1. ChapterChapter I NFLUENCE, POWER, AND POLITICS IN ORGANIZATIONS ElevenEleven

2. After reading this chapter you should be able to: 1.Distinguish between social influence, power, and politics in organizations. 2.Characterize the major varieties of social influence. 3.Describe the conditions under which various forms of social influence are used. 4.Identify the major types of individual power in organizations. 5.Explain the two major approaches to the development of subunit power in organizations (i.e., the resource-dependency model and the strategic contingencies model). 6.Describe organizational politics as well as when and where it is likely to occur. 7.Explain the major ethical issues surrounding political behavior in organizations.

3. Social Influence: A Basic Organizational Process (Pp. 409-412) Social Influence - attempts to affect another in a desired fashion Power - the capacity to change the behavior or attitudes of others in a desired manner Organizational politics - unauthorized uses of power that enhance or protect your own (or your group’) personal interests, usually at the expense of organizational goals - technically it is illegitimate in both its means and its ends - typically is a source of conflict as well

4. Personal Characteristics Organizational Position POWER Successful influence (had desired effect) Unsuccessful influence (did not have desired effect) Motive: To satisfy personal interests Organizational politics Motive: To satisfy organizational goals Legitimate behavior Figure 11.1 Relationship Among Social Influence, Power, and Politics

5. Social Influence: A Basic Organizational Process (cont.) Tactics of Social Influence - several tactics identified by research Rational persuasion - based on logical arguments Inspirational appeal - appeal to another’s values and ideals Consultation - request participation in decision making Ingratiation - putting person in good mood or getting them to like you Exchange - promise benefits in exchange for compliance Personal appeal - appeal to another’s feelings of loyalty or friendship Coalition-building - seeking or noting the support of others Legitimating - relating request to one’s authority and organizational policies and practices Pressure - use of demands, threats, and intimidation When Are These Tactics Used? - use depends upon organizational level of the person one is attempting to influence - open, consultative tactics are believed to be more appropriate than coercive tactics -less socially desirable tactics -- i.e., pressure and legitimating -- used much less frequently

6. Position Power Legitimate power Reward power Coercive power Information power Personal Power Rational persuasion Referent power Expert power Charisma Individual Power Individual Power: A Basis for Influence (Pp. 413-420) Two major categories of individual power bases Position power - power based on one’s formal position in an organization Personal power - power derived from a person’s individual qualities or characteristics

7. Individual Power: A Basis for Influence (cont.) Position Power - formal powers that remain vested in the position and are available to anyone who holds that position Legitimate power - power people have because others recognize and accept their authority - covers a relatively narrow range of influence Reward power - power to control the rewards that others receive Coercive power - power to control punishments that others receive Information power - power to control information needed by subordinates to do their jobs - technology has made information available to more people, thereby reducing its importance as a source of individual power

8. Individual Power: A Basis for Influence (cont.) Personal Power - power derived from an individual’s unique characteristics Rational persuasion - ability to mount logical arguments and factual evidence to convince others an idea is acceptable - among the most popular types of influence in organizations Expert power - derived from superior knowledge and skills in a certain field - people whose expertise is highly regarded are among the most powerful people in organizations Referent power - derived from the degree to which one is liked and admired by others Charisma - an engaging and magnetic personality - charismatic people: - have a clear vision of the future - tend to be excellent communicators - inspire trust

9. Individual Power: A Basis for Influence (cont.) Power: How Is It Used? - various bases of power often are used together in varying combinations Source of Power 020406080100 Support of the financial community Management decision control Expertise and knowledge Support of senior colleagues Support of the board of directors Personality and leadership skills Percentage of CEOs who identified this factor as one of the top three sources of power in their jobs Figure 11.5 Bases of Power of CEOs

10. Individual Power: A Basis for Influence (cont.) Empowerment - the passing of responsibility and authority from managers to subordinates - key to empowerment is the sharing of expert information - empowerment is a matter of degree rather than all-or-nothing - supervisors rely less on coercive power and more on expert power - most managers are afraid of relinquishing control, so empowered employees remain in the minority - experts predict a change in the direction of empowerment

11. Group or Subunit Power (Pp. 421-424) Resource Dependency Model - power resides within subunits able to control the greatest share of valued organizational resources - subunits depend on other subunits for resources - to the extent one subunit controls the resources on which another subunit depends, the first subunit may be said to have power over the second Asymmetrics - imbalances in resource dependencies Resources controlled Resources needed Important Resources Production department Accounting department Marketing department Unimportant Resources Figure 11.8

12. Group or Subunit Power (cont.) Strategic Contingencies Model - power resides in subunits with the capacity to control the activities of other subunits - a subunit’s power is determined by: - the importance of its activities for organizational success - activities are nonsubstitutable and indispensable - its capacity to reduce uncertainty faced by other subunits - the centrality of the functions it performs Capacity to reduce uncertainty Nonsubstitutable and indispensable activities High organizational centrality Subunit Power Figure 11.9

13. Organizational Politics: Power in Action (Pp. 424-432) Organizational Politics - actions not officially approved by an organization that are taken to influence others to meet one’s personal goals - place one’s self-interest above the interests of the organization Political Tactics - refers to various forms of political behavior Controlling access to information - being able to determine who is in the know and who is not Blaming and attacking others - avoid blame when bad things occur Scapegoat - someone who is made to take the blame for another’s failure or wrongdoing Developing a base of support - gaining the support of others Reciprocity - people expect to be paid back for the favors they grant others Cultivating a favorable impression - image building Organizational chameleons - individuals who discern what behaviors are generally appropriate and then go out of their way to make others aware they behaved in such a manner

14. Organizational Politics: Power in Action (cont.) Political Tactics (cont.) Aligning oneself with more powerful others Mentor - a better-established person to look out for one’s interests Coalitions - groups that band together to achieve some common goal Ingratiation - agreeing with powerful others in order to become their ally

15. Organizational Politics: Power in Action (cont.) Political Tactics (cont.) Playing political games Authority games Insurgency games - played to resist formal authority Counterinsurgency games - played to counter such resistance Power base games - enhance the degree and breadth of one’s power Sponsorship game - attaching oneself to a rising or established star in return for a piece of the action Alliance game - peers agree in advance to support each other Empire building - gaining increased responsibility for more important organizational decisions Rivalry games - designed to weaken one’s opponents Line versus staff game - undermine other group’s power Rival camps game - groups or individuals with differing points of view attempt to undermine the other’s power Change games - played to create organizational change Whistle-blowing game Young Turks game - overthrow existing leadership

16. Organizational Politics: Power in Action (cont.) When Does Political Action Occur ? Conditions prompting political acts Uncertainty - organizational priorities unclear Resources - large amounts of scarce resources are at stake Conflicting interests - involved parties have different goals Power - involved parties have approximately equal power Politics in human resource management - nature of HRM activities makes them prime candidates for organizational politics - e.g., performance appraisal, personnel selection, pay decisions Politics and the organizational life span - contrasting degrees and types of political activity characterize different stages Birth stage - political activity not particularly likely Mature stage - full range of political activities Decline stage - insecurity throughout the organization prompts intense political activity

17. Organizational Politics: Power in Action (cont.) When Do Organizational Politics Occur? Existence of policy - political activity more likely in the absence of clear policies - political activity likely to occur in the face of ambiguity

18. Extent to Which Political Activity is Likely (range 0-3) Production and blue collar Clerical and white collar Technical and professional Lower management Middle management Upper management 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 Organizational Level Political activity is perceived to increase at higher organizational levels (.18) (.50) (.54) (.73) (1.22) (1.07) Figure 11.13 Organizational Politics: More Likely at the Top

19. The Ethics of Organizational Politics (Pp. 432-436) Organizational Power - the greater one’s power, the greater the temptation to use that power for immoral purposes Potentially political behaviors Gender discrimination in recruitment or hiring Arrangements with vendors leading to personal gain Nonperformance factors used in appraisals Gender discrimination in compensation Not maintaining confidentiality Using discipline inconsistently Gender discrimination in promotion Sexual harassment Allowing differences in pay due to friendships Hiring, training, or promoting based on favoritism 05101520253035 Percentage Responding with a 4 or 5 on a five-Point Scale Measuring Degree of Seriousness (where 5=“very great”) Figure 11.14 Situation

20. The Ethics of Organizational Politics (cont.) Assessing the Ethics of Political Behavior - there are no clear-cut criteria to judge the ethics of an organizational action - useful guidelines, instead Are only selfish interests promoted? - unethical behavior more likely if only personal interests served Are privacy rights respected? - difficult to assess whether individual’s right to privacy outweighs greater social good Is it fair? - any political behavior that unfairly benefits one party over another may be unethical