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Power and Politics
Presented to:
Dr. Maha Hafez
Presented by:
Asmaa Osman
Nevien Ahmed
Wael Refaat
Chapter Learning Objectives
• 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.– Distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate political
behavior.– Identify the causes and consequences of political
behavior.– Apply impression management techniques.– Determine whether a political action is ethical.– Show the influence of culture on the uses and
perceptions of politics.
Power and Politics
• Why they are described as the last dirty words? People who have power deny it. People who want it try to not look like they are seeking it. And those who are good at getting it are secretive about how they
do so.
• Is power always bad? No. it is a matter of using it productively in order to be effective
manager.
A Definition of Power
• Power– The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B
so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes– Exists as a potential or fully actualized influence over a
dependent relationship.
• Potential: need not be actualized to be effective. You may have power but not impose it.
• Dependency: Alternatives. Weight of alternatives.
power
potential dependency
Contrasting Leadership and Power
Description Power Leadership
Goal compatibility Merely dependency Min appeal to those who are being led.
Direction of influence Lateral and upward influence pattern.
Downward influence on one’s followers.
Gaining compliance Dependent on tactics Dependent on styleThe exerciser Individual or groups Individual
Leaders achieve goals and power is a means of facilitating their achievement
Bases of Power• Coercive
• Remove something of positive value or inflict something of negative value
• Reward• give something of positive value or remove something of
negative value• Legitimate
• It represents the formal authority to control and use organizational resources
Formal
• Expert• As a result of expertise , special skill or knowledge.
• Referent• Develops out of admiration and the desire to be like the
person. Charisma.Personal
Bases of Power
• Formal Power– Established by an individual’s position in an organization
• Coercive Power» A power base dependent on fear of negative results
• Reward Power» Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others
view as valuable
• Legitimate Power» The formal authority to control and use resources based on a person’s
position in the formal hierarchy
Personal Power - Power that comes from an individual’s unique characteristics –
these are the most effective
which bases of power are most effective
Base of power Type Employee satisfaction , commitment & performance
Personal Expert and referent Positively related
Formal Reward and legitimate unrelated
Formal Coercive Backfire in negatively related
Expert Power Influence based on special skills or knowledge
Referent PowerInfluence based on possession by an individual of desirable resources or personal traits
Dependency: The Key To Power
• The General Dependency Postulate– The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the
power A has over B– Dependency is inversely proportional to the alternative sources
of the supply– Possession/control of scarce organizational (information,
prestige,…)resources that others need makes a manager powerful
– Access to optional resources (e.g., multiple suppliers) reduces the power you place in the hand of others.
•Importance
•Scarcity•Non
substitutability
Dependency
Dependency: The Key To Power
• Importance Control things that perceived as being important
Matsushita
Heavily tech oriented
Engineers are powerful group
P & G
Brand oriented. Marketing is the name of the game
Marketers are powerful group
Dependency: The Key To Power
• Scarcity“In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is King” Explain the illogical behaviour of the low ranking members to gain power over the
high ranking members such as;– Destroying the manual that describe how a job done.– Refusing to train people or show exactly what they do.– Creating specialized language that inhibit others from– understanding their job.
Non substitutabilityThe fewer viable substitutes for a resource the more power the
control over the source provides.
Power Tactics
• Power Tactics– Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific
actions
– Nine influence tactics:• Legitimacy• Rational persuasion*• Inspirational appeals*• Consultation*• Exchange• Personal appeals• Ingratiation using friendly behavior prior to making a request
• 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
You can increase the chance of success by using more than one tactic at the same time or sequentially
Factors Influencing Power Tactics
• Factors that defining which tactics are considered appropriate:– Sequencing of tactics
– Political skill of the user– the ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance their own objectives
– The culture of the organization• Some culture encourage the use of participation and consultation, some
encourage reason, and still others rely on pressure.• So the organization itself will influence which power tactics is viewed as
acceptable.
Softer•Less risk and cost
Moderate Harder•Greater risk and cost
Politics: Power in Action
• Organizational Politics : The use of power to affect decision making in an organization or on members behavior
• Political Behavior– Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in
the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization, the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making
Political Behavior
Legitimate
(normal)complaining, bypassing,
obstructing
Illegitimate
(play hardball)
violates the implied rules of the game: sabotage,
whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest
The Reality of Politics
– Limited resources lead to competition and political behaviors
– Gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being at the expense of others
– The “ facts’ don’t speak for themselves, politics flourish.
– People within the organization will use whatever influence they can to taints the facts to support their goals and interest.
The Reality of Politics
Politics in the eye of the behavior
“Political” label “Effective Management” label
Blaming others Fixing responsibilities
Arrogant Confident
Apple polishing Demonstrating Loyalty
Covering your rear Documenting decisions
Creating conflict Encouraging change and innovation
Kissing up Developing working relationships
A behavior that one person labels as “ organizational politics” can be characterized as instance “ effective management”
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior
• Factors Contributing to Political BehaviorPower leads to “ the tendency to view other people only in terms of qualities that serve one’s personal goals and interests, while failing to consider those features of others that define their humanity”
Individual factors
Organizational factors
Political Behavior
• Rewards• Averted Punishment
Individual factors
Self monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social conformity and is more skilled in political behavior
Internal locus control believe that they can control the environment and are more prone to take proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations to their favor
Machiavellian personality use politics as a means to further self interest
Perceived alternatives and expectations of success will influence the degree to which he will pursue illegitimate means of political actions
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior (cont.)
Organizational factors
Reallocation of resources when an organization resources are declining, changing politicking is more likely to surface
Promotion the opportunity for promotions encourages people to compete and to try to influence the decision outcome
Low trust the less trust , the higher the level of political behavior of the illegitimate kind
Role Ambiguity the greater the role ambiguity, the more one can engage in political activity with little chance of it being visible
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior (cont.)
How do people respond to organizational politics
• Employee Responses to Organizational Politics– Most employees have low to modest willingness to play politics
and have the following reactions to politics
Organizational politics may threaten employees
Decreased job satisfaction
Increased anxiety and stress
Increased turnover
Reduced performance
Defensive Behaviors
• Defensive behaviors ; reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame & change
• Employees who perceive politics as a threat have defensive reactions
Avoiding Action
Avoiding Blame
Avoiding Change
• Over-conforming• buck-passing• playing dumb• stalling
• Bluffing• playing safe• Justifying• scapegoating
• Prevention• self-protection
Impression Management (IM)
• The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them
• IM Techniques– Conformity– Excuses– Apologies– Self-Promotion– Flattery– Favors– Association
IM Effectiveness
• Job Interview Success – IM does work and most people use it– Self-promotion techniques are important– Ingratiation is of secondary importance
• Performance Evaluations– Ingratiation is positively related to ratings– Self-promotion tends to backfire
The Ethics of Behaving Politically
• There are no clear-cut ways to differentiate ethical from unethical politicking
• Three questions help:
1. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?
2. How Does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm done by the action?
The Ethics of Behaving Politically
3. Does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice?
• Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are often argued in ways to make unethical practices seem ethical.
Global Implications
Culture might enter any of the topics we’ve covered to this point.
1. Does culture influence political perception?
2. Does culture affect the power of influence tactics people prefer to use?
3. Does culture influence the effectiveness of different tactics?
Global Implications
• Politics Perceptions– Negative consequences to the perception of
politics seem to be fairly widespread
• Preference for Power Tactics– The choice of effective tactics is heavily
dependent on the culture of the country in which they are to be used
• Effectiveness of Power Tactics– There is much less evidence as to whether these
tactics work better in some culture than in others
Summary and Managerial Implications
• Increase your power by having others depend on you more “Power is a two-way street”.
• People respond differently to various power bases.
• Expert and referent power are far more effective than is coercion.
– Greater employee motivation, performance, commitment, and satisfaction
– Personal power basis, not organizational
Summary and Managerial Implications
• The power of the manager may also play a role in determining job satisfaction.
• The effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations.
• The more political that employees perceive an organization, the lower their satisfaction.
Conclusion
• Managers need to use power effectively.
• Closely related to power is politics. Politics relates to the ways people gain and use power in organizations.
• Political activities in an organization are inevitable and managers should manage them carefully.
• Power and politics are present in all organizations.
• Power is the ability to influence people and events.
THANK YOU