Power, Politics, Sources of Individual, Functional & Divisional Power and

Organisational Politics

Dr. G C Mohanta, BE, MSc(Engg), MBA, PhD(Mgt)

Professor

Al-Qurmoshi Institute of Business Management Hyderabad

Power Power is the potential ability to influence

behaviour, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get the people to do the things they would not otherwise do.

The greater A’s dependency on B, the greater B’s power over A.

Dependency arises as some body has control over the resources and due to:

Importance of the resource to the organization

Scarcity of the resource

Non-substitutability of the resource

Sources of Individual Power Two main sources of individual power

Position power—based on one’s formal position in an organization

Personal power—derived from a person’s individual qualities or characteristics

Position Power

• Legitimate power• Reward power• Coercive power• Information power

Personal Power

• Rational persuasion• Referent power• Expert power• Charismatic power

Individual Power

Legitimate Power Legitimate Power—refers to the ability to influence

others because of the position one holds in the organization.

It is also called authority, or the right to command. Characteristics of organizational authority are:

i. It is invested in a person's position.

ii. It is accepted by subordinates.

iii. Authority is used vertically, flows from the top down.

Coercive & Reward Power

Coercive Power—the power to punish or withhold punishment.

It is based on fear.

It can come from legitimate power.

It can come informally, e.g., fear of rejection by co-workers.

Reward Power—The power to give pay raises, promotion, praise, interesting projects, and other rewards to subordinates.

Information, Expert & Rational Persuasion Power

Information Power—The power that stems from access to and control over information.

Expert Power—based on an individual's special and valued expertise.

The lower the substitutability of the expertise, the greater the expert's power.

Rational Persuasion - Ability to mount logical arguments and factual evidence to convince others an idea as acceptable.

Referent & Charismatic Power Referent Power - Informal power that stems from

being liked, admired, and respected.

Charismatic Power - An intense form of referent power that stems from an individual’s personality or physical or other abilities, which induce others to believe in and follow that person. Vision

Inspire trust

Excellent communicators

Sources of Functional and Divisional Power

Power Tactics

Ways in which Individual translates power bases into specific actions

Seven tactical dimensions or strategies

Reason

Assertiveness

Friendliness

Coalition

Bargaining

Higher authority

Sanctions

Power Tactics: From Most to Least Popular

Strategies for Attaining Power

Maintaining alliance with powerful people

Embrace or Demolish

Divide and Rule

Manipulate Information

Create good impressions

Collect and use IOUs

Go slow and easy

Wait for crises

Reservations against participation

Power Sharing Decentralization of power- shared decision

making.

De-concentration – handing over some admin authority to lower levels

Delegation- Transferring responsibility for specifically defined functions

Devolution - creating and strengthening sub-units

Privatization – passing responsibility to private organisations.

Organizational Politics Politics are the 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 and disadvantages within the organization.

Politics = Power in Action

Legitimate and illegitimate political behaviors are common in organizations.

Factors contributing to Political Behavior

Individual factors (e.g., personality traits, needs)

Organizational factors (e.g., when organizational resources decline, resources change, low trust exists, high performance pressures, and the opportunity of promotion exists)

Good Power and PoliticsProcesses

Empowerment, open conflict, positive-sum games, creative turbulence, acceptance of rules of the game, consensus on core values, shifting coalitions and interests

Outcomes

Flexibility, adaptiveness, overcome dependency and inertia, root out entrenched interests, abolish unproductive routines, increased efficacy, efficiency

Bad Power and PoliticsFrom the organization’s perspective

Processes Back-stabbing, rumor-mongoring, vengeance-

seeking, sabotage, corruption, secrecy, hoarding, zero-sum games

Outcomes Goal subversion/sub-optimization; factionalism;

stalemate & inertia, high cost in time & resources, loss of transparency and accountability

From the participant’s perspective Uncertainty, anxiety, frustration, stress, isolation,

inability to focus on tasks, failure

How Do People Respond to Organizational Politics?

Decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety, increased turnover, and reduced performance

Defensive Actions:

Reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change

Impression Management

The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them.

Defensive BehaviourAvoiding Action

Over conforming

Buck Passing

Playing Dumb

Stretching

Stalling

Avoiding Blame Bluffing

Playing Safe

Justifying

Scapegoating

Misrepresenting

•Avoiding Change – Prevention

– Self-protection

Impression Management Conformity: Agreeing to gain approval

Excuses: To minimize severity

Apologies: Admitting responsibility and attempt to gain pardon

Self-Promotion: Highlighting one’s achievements and positives

Flattery: Complimenting others

Favours: Doing something nice to gain approval

Association: Reflected glory