McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All
rights reserved. 12-1 Chapter Power, Politics, and Empowerment 10
Slide 2 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All
rights reserved. 12-2 Power and Influence Power the capability to
get someone to do something It is the potential to influence
Influence the exercise of that capability It is a transaction in
which Person B is induced by Person A to behave in a certain way It
is power in action Slide 3 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-3 Where Does Power Come
From? Interpersonal Power Organizational Power Legitimate Power
Reward Power Coercive Power Personal Power Expert Power Referent
Power Interpersonal Power Organizational Power Legitimate Power
Reward Power Coercive Power Personal Power Expert Power Referent
Power Structural Power Resources Decision-Making Power Information
Power Structural Power Resources Decision-Making Power Information
Power Slide 4 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc. All rights reserved. 12-4 Characteristics of Organizational
Authority: 1.It is invested in a persons position 2.It is accepted
by subordinates 3.Authority is used vertically 1.It is invested in
a persons position 2.It is accepted by subordinates 3.Authority is
used vertically Slide 5 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-5 Subordinate Responses to
Different Sources of Interpersonal Power (1 of 2) The use of
legitimate or reward power will typically result in compliance
i.e., subordinates will obey your requests, but are unlikely to
exert more than the minimal effort necessary The use of coercive
power may result in resistance i.e., subordinates may only pretend
to comply with your requests, and they may openly resist Slide 6
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-6 Subordinate Responses to Different Sources of
Interpersonal Power (2 of 2) The use of expert or referent power
frequently results in commitment i.e., subordinates are likely to
exert high levels of effort to accomplish what you ask, perhaps
even exceeding what you requested Slide 7 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-7
Structural Power (1 of 2) Power is frequently prescribed by
structure within the organization Result from the nature of the
organizational social system rather than from attributes of an
individual The structure of an organization is the control
mechanism by which the organization is governed Slide 8
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-8 Structural Power (2 of 2) Formal Power
Organizational structure creates formal power and authority i.e.,
by specifying certain individuals to perform specific tasks and
make certain decisions Formal Power Organizational structure
creates formal power and authority i.e., by specifying certain
individuals to perform specific tasks and make certain decisions
Informal Power Structure significantly impacts informal power i.e.,
through its effect on information and communication flows within
the system Informal Power Structure significantly impacts informal
power i.e., through its effect on information and communication
flows within the system Slide 9 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-9 Symptoms and
Sources of Powerlessness (1 of 2) PositionSymptomsSources
First-line supervisors (e.g., manager) Supervise too closely; fail
to train subordinates; not sufficiently oriented to the management
team; inclined to do the job themselves Routine, rule-minded jobs:
limited lines of communication; limited advancement opportunities
for themselves and their subordinates Staff professionals (e.g.,
corporate lawyer, human resources specialist) Create islands and
set themselves up as experts; use professional standards as basis
for judging work that distinguishes them from others; resist change
and become conservative risk takers Their routine tasks are only
adjuncts to real line job; blocked career advancement replaced by
outside consultants for non-routine work Slide 10 McGraw-Hill/Irwin
2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-10
Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness (2 of 2)
PositionSymptomsSources Top-level managers (e.g., chief executive
officer, vice president) Short-term horizon; top- down
communication systems emphasized; reward followers to think like
the manager; do not welcome bearers of bad news Uncontrollable
lines of supply; limited or blocked lines of information about
lower managerial levels; diminished lines of support because of
challenges to legitimacy Slide 11 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-11 Empowerment
Process of enhancing feelings of self- efficacy among
organizational members, through the identification of conditions
that foster powerlessness, and through their removal by both formal
organizational practices and informal techniques of providing
efficacy information Slide 12 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-12 Reasons
Empowerment is not Universally Embraced: 1.Managers fear the loss
of power, control, and authority 2.Employees are not able to make
responsible decisions 3.Empowering employees was attempted before
and it failed 4.Sharing proprietary information means leaking
ideas, plans, and knowledge to competitors 5.Not everyone wants to
be empowered 1.Managers fear the loss of power, control, and
authority 2.Employees are not able to make responsible decisions
3.Empowering employees was attempted before and it failed 4.Sharing
proprietary information means leaking ideas, plans, and knowledge
to competitors 5.Not everyone wants to be empowered Slide 13
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-13 Learning to leverage empowerment as a means to
strengthen the capabilities and commitment of employees is one of
the most important challenges facing managers today. Slide 14
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-14 Increasing Your Effectiveness in Empowering Others
(1 of 2) When you delegate responsibility, make certain you are
also delegating authority to go along with it Be prepared to give
up your managerial parent role and assume a partner role Assure
your subordinates through words and deeds that it is OK to make
mistakes Slide 15 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc. All rights reserved. 12-15 Increasing Your Effectiveness in
Empowering Others (2 of 2) Information sharing is important
Empowered employees must have sufficient information to be able to
see the big picture Provide training opportunities so employees can
develop skills to successfully perform new job responsibilities
Performance feedback is particularly important for newly empowered
employees Slide 16 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-16 Interdepartmental Power
(1 of 2) Strategic contingency theory focuses on subunit power
Strategic contingency event or activity of crucial importance to
completing a project or accomplishing a goal Slide 17
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-17 Interdepartmental Power (2 of 2) The power
differential between subunits is influenced by the: degree of
ability to cope with uncertainty centrality of the subunit
substitutability of the subunit Slide 18 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-18 Coping with
uncertainty Coping with uncertainty Centrality Substitutability
Power acquired by subunit and power differentials Power acquired by
subunit and power differentials Preventing market share decline by
product development Providing accurate future-based predictions
Absorbing problems from other units Being in an urgent or immediacy
position Being located at center of work flow Possessing needed
skills or expertise Possessing only talents that are available to
complete job A Strategic Contingency Model of Subunit Power
CONTINGENCY EXAMPLES Slide 19 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-19 Political
Strategies and Tactics (1 of 2) Individuals and subunits
continually engage in political behavior, i.e.,: Behavior that is
usually outside the legitimate, recognized power system Behavior
that is designed to benefit an individual or subunit, often at the
expense of the organization in general Behavior that is intentional
and is designed to acquire and maintain power Slide 20
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-20 Political Strategies and Tactics (2 of 2) As a
result of politically oriented behaviors, the formal power that
exists in an organization is often sidetracked or blocked Political
behavior results in the displacement of power Slide 21
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-21 Political Game Playing (1 of 2) Political games are
played at all organizational levels by both managers and
non-managers Slide 22 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill
Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-22 Political Game Playing
(2 of 2) Games are played to: 1. resist authority (insurgency game)
2. counter the resistance to authority (counterinsurgency game) 3.
build power bases (sponsorship game and coalition- building game)
4. defeat rivals (line-versus-staff game) 5. bring about
organizational change (whistle-blowing game) Slide 23
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved. 12-23 Impression Management The actions individuals take
to control the impressions that others form of them It is universal
A significant part of behavior in organizations is motivated by the
desire of organization members to be perceived in certain ways
Stems from political influence tactics Slide 24 McGraw-Hill/Irwin
2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-24
Using Power to Manage Effectively (1 of 2) 1.Recognize that there
are multiple interests in virtually every organization 2.Know what
position relevant individuals and groups hold with respect to
issues important to you Slide 25 McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2005 The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12-25 Using Power
to Manage Effectively (2 of 2) 3.Understand that to get things done
you must have power, and in the case of those who oppose you, you
must have more power than they do 4.Recognize the strategies and
tactics through which organizational power is developed and
used
