Power & Politics

Power is the ability to

Get someone to do something you want
done.
Make things happen in the way you want.
Influence is
What you have when you exercise power.
Expressed by others behavioral response

to your exercise of power.

Bases of Power
Position power.
Derives from organizational sources.
Types of position power.

Reward power
Coercive power
Legitimate power
Process power
Information power
Representative power

 Reward power.
The extent to which a manager can use

extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to control

other people.
Success in accessing and utilizing

rewards depends on managers skills.

 Coercive power.
The extent to which a manager can

deny desired rewards or administer

punishments to control other people.
Availability varies from one organization

and manager to another.

 Legitimate power.
Also known as formal hierarchical
authority.
The extent to which a manager can use
subordinates internalized values or
beliefs that the boss has a right of
command to control their behavior.
If legitimacy is lost, authority will not be
accepted by subordinates.

 Process power.
The control over methods of production
and analysis.
Places an individual in the position of:
Influencing how inputs are transformed into

outputs.
Controlling the analytical process used to
make choices.

 Information power.
The access to and/or control of information.
May complement legitimate hierarchical
power.
May be granted to specialists and
managers in the middle of the information
system.
People may protect information in order
to increase their power

 Representative power.
The formal right conferred by the firm to

speak as a representative for a

potentially important group composed of
individuals across departments or
outside the firm.
Helps complex organizations deal with a

variety of constituencies.

 Personal power.
Derives from individual sources.
Types of personal power.
Expert power.
Rational persuasion.
Referent power.

 Expert power.
The ability to control another persons

behavior through the possession of

knowledge, experience, or judgment
that the other person needs but does
not have.
Is relative, not absolute.

 Rational persuasion.
The ability to control another persons

behavior by convincing the other person

of the desirability of a goal and a
reasonable way of achieving it.
Much of a supervisors daily activity

involves rational persuasion

 Referent power.
The ability to control anothers behavior

because the person wants to identify

with the power source.
Can be enhanced by linking to morality

and ethics and long-term vision.

Consequences of Power
Sources
of Power
Expert
Power
Referent
Power
Legitimate
Power

Consequences
of Power

Commitment

Compliance

Reward
Power
Coercive
Power

Resistance

How do managers acquire the

power needed for leadership?
Acquiring and using power and

influence.

Three dimensions of managerial power

and influence.
Downward.
Upward.
Lateral.

Effective managers build and maintain

position power and personal power to

exercise downward, upward, and lateral
influence.

 Building position power by:

Increasing centrality and criticality in the

organization.
Increasing task relevance of own

activities and work units activities.

Attempting to define tasks so they are

difficult to evaluate.

 Building personal power by:

Building expertise.
Advanced training and education, participation in

professional associations, and project involvement.

Learning political savvy.

Learning ways to negotiate, persuade, and

understand goals and means that others accept.

Enhancing likeability.
Pleasant personality characteristics, agreeable

behavior patterns, and attractive personal

appearance.

 Managers increase the visibility of their

job performance by:

Expanding contacts with senior people.
Making oral presentations of written work.
Participating in problem-solving task

forces.
Sending out notices of accomplishment.
Seeking opportunities to increase name
recognition.

 Additional tactics for acquiring and

using power and influence.

Using coalitions and networks to alter

the flow of information and the

analytical context.
Controlling, or at least influencing,
decision premises.
Making ones own goals and needs clear.
Bargaining effectively regarding ones
preferred goals and needs.

Power Tactics
Ways in which individuals translate power bases
into specific actions
Nine influence tactics:

Legitimacy
Rational persuasion*
Inspirational appeals*
Consultation*
Exchange
Personal appeals

Power Tactics
Ingratiation
Pressure
Coalitions

Preferred Power tactics by

Influence Direction
Upward Influence

Downward Influence

Lateral Influence

Rational persuasion

Rational persuasion

Rational persuasion

Inspirational appeals

Consultation

Pressure

Ingratiation

Consultation

Exchange

Ingratiation

Legitimacy

Exchange

Personal appeals

Legitimacy

Coalitions

What is empowerment, and

how can managers empower
others?

Empowerment.

The process by which managers help others to

acquire and use the power needed to make

decisions affecting themselves and their work.
Considers power to be something that can be

shared by everyone working in flatter and more

collegial organizations.
Provides the foundation for self-managing work
teams and other employee involvement
groups.

 The power keys to empowerment.

Traditional view.
Power is relational in terms of individuals.

Empowerment view.
Emphasis is on the ability to make things

happen.
Power is relational in terms of problems and

opportunities, not individuals.

How do managers acquire the

power needed for leadership?
Obedience and the acceptance of

authority cont.

For a directive to be accepted as

authoritative, the subordinate:

Can and must understand it.

Must feel mentally and physically capable of

carrying it out.
Must believe that it is consistent with the
organizations purpose.
Must believe that it is consistent with his or
her personal interests.

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 The power keys to empowerment.

Ways to empower others.
Changing position power.
Expanding the zone of indifference.

 Power as an expanding pie.

With empowerment, employees must be

trained to expand their power and their

new influence potential.
Empowerment changes the dynamics

between supervisors and subordinates.

 Ways to expand power.

Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
Provide opportunities for creative problem

solving coupled with the discretion to act.

Emphasize different ways of exercising

influence.
Provide support to individuals so they become

comfortable with developing their power.

Expand inducements for thinking and acting,

not just obeying.

Types of Organizational
Politics
Managing
impressions

Creating
obligations

Attacking and
blaming

Types of
Organizational
Politics

Cultivating
networks

Controlling
information

Forming
coalitions

Conditions for Organizational Politics

Personal
Characteristics

Conditions
Supporting
Organizational
Politics
Tolerance of
Politics

Scarce
Resources

Complex and
Ambiguous
Decisions

Controlling Political Behavior

Provide
Sufficient
Resources

Remove
Political Norms

Introduce
Clear Rules

Hire
Low-Politics
Employees

Free Flowing
Information

Increase
Opportunities
for Dialogue

Manage Change
Effectively

Peer Pressure
Against Politics