Organizational Theory,

Design, and Change

Sixth Edition
Gareth R. Jones

Chapter 14
Managing Conflict,
Power, and Politics

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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What is Organizational
Conflict?

Organizational Conflict: The clash that

occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one
group blocks or thwarts the goals of another
Some conflict can actually improve
organizational effectiveness

Beyond a certain point, conflict becomes a

cause for organizational decline

Can overcome inertia and lead to learning and

change

Conflict leads to inability to reach consensus and

indecision
Too much time spent on bargaining rather than
acting swiftly to resolve problems

On balance, organizations should be open to

conflict and recognize its value
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Figure 14.1: Cooperation and

Competition Among Organizational
Stakeholders

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Managing Conflict:
Resolution Strategies
Organizational conflict can escalate
rapidly and sour an organizations
culture

Managing conflict is an important priority

Organizations must balance the need

to have some good conflict without
letting it escalate into bad conflict
Choice of conflict-resolution method
depends on the source of the problem
Conflict can be reduced by structural
and attitudinal changes within the
organization
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Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Managing Conflict:
Resolution Strategies
Acting at the level of structure

Alter the level of differentiation and

integration to change relationships
Increase the number of integrating roles
Assign top managers to solve conflict
Rethink hierarchy/reporting relationships

Acting at the level of attitudes

and individuals

Establish procedures for airing grievances

Bargaining and negotiation
Exchange/rotate/terminate individuals
Replace members of top management
CEOs can also use their power to resolve
conflicts and motivate units to cooperate
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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What is
Organizational Power?

Organizational power: the ability of

one person or group to overcome
resistance by others to achieve a
desired objective or result

Conflict and power are intimately related

Power can come from many different
sources

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Sources of
Organizational Power

Authority: power that is

legitimized by the legal and
cultural foundations on which an
organization is based
Control over resources: as the
organization controls more and
more resources in its
environment, power within an
organization comes from the
control of resources
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Sources of Organizational
Power (cont.)
Control over information:
access to strategic information
and the control of the information
are sources of considerable power
Nonsubstitutability: if no one
else can perform the tasks that a
person or subunit performs, that
person or subunit is
nonsubstitutable
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Sources of Organizational
Power (cont.)

Centrality: the subunits that are

most central to resource flows
have the ability to reduce the
uncertainty facing other subunits
Control over uncertainty: a
subunit that can actually control
the principal sources of
uncertainty has significant power

Changes in contingencies facing

the organization alter which
subunits have this power
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Sources of Organizational
Power
(cont.)

Unobtrusive power: controlling

the premises of decision making

Unobtrusive power: the power

flowing from the ability to control the
premises behind decision making
The power of a coalition resides in its
ability to control the assumptions,
goals, norms, or values that
managers use to judge alternative
solutions to a problem
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Using Power:
Organizational Politics

Organizational politics:
activities taken within
organizations to acquire, develop,
and use power and other
resources to obtain ones
preferred outcomes in a situation
in which there is uncertainty or
disagreement about choices

There are many tactics for playing

politics
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Using Power:
Tactics
for
Playing
Politics
Increasing indispensability: become

indispensable to the organization

Increasing nonsubstitutability:
develop specialized skills or knowledge
that enables one to control a crucial
contingency facing the organization
Increasing centrality: accept
responsibilities that enhance ones
reputation or that of ones function
Associating with powerful managers:
supporting a powerful manager who is
clearly on the way to the top
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Using Power: Tactics for

Playing Politics (cont.)

Building and managing coalitions

Influencing decision making

Must be circumspect in the use of power

Controlling the agenda

Forming relationships with stakeholders and

other subunits around some common issue
Skills in coalition building are important

By setting the agenda, managers can

control the issues and problems to be
considered

Bringing in an outside expert

Use supposedly neutral outsiders to support

the views of the coalitions
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

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