CHAPTE

8
Power and Politics

Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada

Inc.

Chapter Outline
A Definition of Power
Bases of Power
Formal Power
Personal Power
Evaluating the Bases of Power
Dependency: The Key to Power
The General Dependency Postulate
What Creates Dependence?
Influence Tactics
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Chapter Outline
How Power Affects People
Empowerment: Giving Power to Employees
Definition of Empowerment
The Abuse of Power
Harassment in the Workplace
Politics: Power in Action
Definition of Political Behaviour
The Reality of Politics
Types of Political Activity
Impression Management
The Ethics of Behaving Politically
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Learning Outcomes
1. Define the term "power" as it
relates to organizational behaviour.
2. Critique the bases of individual
power including coercive, reward,
legitimate, expert, referent and,
information.
3. Describe the concept of
dependency as it relates to power.
4. Explain how people obtain power
and influence in organizations
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Learning Outcomes
5. Discuss the concepts of empowerment
by considering degrees and effects of
empowerment.
6.Determine what organizations can do to
prevent sexual harassment and bullying.
7.Analyze various forms of political activity.
8.Discuss the positive and negative effects
of office politics.
9. Explain how global factors influence
organizational power and politics.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Power and Politics

Power
A capacity that A has to influence the
behaviour of B, so that B acts in
accordance with As wishes.

Dependence
Bs relationship to A when A possesses
something that B needs.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Bases of Power
Formal Power
Coercive Power
Power that is based on fear.
Reward Power
Power based on the ability to provide
benefits or rewards to people.
Legitimate Power
Power based on relative position in the
organizational hierarchy.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Bases of Power
Personal Power
Expert Power
Power based on a persons
experience and knowledge.
Referent Power
You like the person and enjoy
doing things for him or her.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Evaluating the Bases of Power

People will respond in one of three ways:
1. Commitment The person is enthusiastic
about the request and carries the task out.
2. Compliance The person goes along with
the request grudgingly, putting in minimal
effort.
3. Resistance The person is opposed to
the request and tries to avoid it.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Leaders Use of Power

The least effective power bases are the ones
most likely to be used by managers.
Coercive, legitimate, and reward
Easiest to implement
Effective leaders use referent and/or expert
power.
Deadline pressures increase group member
reliance on individuals with expert power.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Dependency: The Key to Power

Importance
The things you control must be important.

Scarcity
A resource must be perceived as scarce.

Non-substitutability
The resource cannot be substituted with
something else.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Increasing Dependency
How to increase the dependency of
others on you:
Control things viewed as important.
The resources must be viewed as scarce.
The resource must have few or no
substitutes (non-substitutability).
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Influence Tactics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Rational persuasion
Inspirational appeals
Consultation
Ingratiation
Personal appeals
Exchange
Coalitions
Pressure
Legitimacy
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Political Skill
The ability to influence others in such a
way as to enhance their own objectives.
Research indicates that:
Politically skilled individuals use influence
tactics more effectively.
Political skills appear to be more effective
when stakes are high.
Politically skilled people are able to exert
influence without others detecting it.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

How Power Affects People

Does power corrupt?
Power can lead people to place their
own interests ahead of others
Powerful people react (more negatively)
to any threats to their competence
More willing to denigrate others
Power also leads to overconfident
decision making
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Empowerment: Giving Power to

Employees
The freedom and the ability of employees to
make decisions and commitments.
Managers disagree over definition of
empowerment.
Empowerment as delegating decision
making within a set of clear boundaries
versus
Empowerment as a process of risk taking
and personal growth
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Conditions for True Empowerment

1. There must be a clear definition of the
values and mission of the company.
2. Company must help employees acquire
the relevant skills.
3. Employees need to be supported in their
decision making, and not criticized when
they try to do something extraordinary.
4. Employees need to be recognized for
their efforts.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

The Abuse of Power: Harassment in the

Workplace
People who engage in harassment in the workplace are
typically abusing their power position.
Manager-employee
Where position power gives the manager the capacity to
reward and coerce.
Co-workers
Although co-workers appear to engage in somewhat less
severe forms of harassment than do managers, coworkers are the most frequent perpetrators of
harassment, particularly sexual harassment, in
organizations.

Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada

Inc.

The Abuse of Power: Workplace

Bullying
Bullying can happen across levels of
the organization, or among coworkers.
Recent research found that:
40 percent of the respondents noted that they had
experienced one or more forms of bullying weekly in the
past six months.
10 percent experienced bullying at a much greater level:
five or more incidents a week.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

The Abuse of Power: Sexual Harassment

The Supreme Court of Canada definition
Unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature in the
workplace that negatively affects the work environment
or leads to adverse job-related consequences for the
employee.
There is disagreement as to what specifically constitutes
sexual harassment.
Unwanted physical touching.
Recurring requests for dates when the person is clearly
uninterested.
Coercive threats that a person will lose her or his job if
she or he refuses a sexual proposition
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Additional Examples of Sexual Harassment

More subtle forms (harder to interpret):
Unwanted looks or comments
Off-colour jokes
Sexual artifacts such as nude calendars in
the workplace
Sexual innuendo
Misinterpretations of where the line
between being friendly ends and
harassment begins
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Sexual Harassment: How Managers Can

Protect Themselves and their Employees.
Make sure an active policy is in place.
Ensure employees that they will not face
retaliation if a complaint is filed.
Investigate every complaint.
Make sure that offenders are disciplined or
terminated.
Set up in house seminars to raise employee
awareness.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Politics: Power in Action

Political behaviour is those activities

that influence, or attempt to
influence, the distribution of
advantages and disadvantages
within the organization.

Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada

Inc.

Why Do Politics in an Organization Exist?

Organizations are made up of groups
and individuals who have differing
values, goals and interests.
Resources in organizations are limited.
Performance outcomes are not
completely clear and objective.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Types of Political Activity

Attacking or blaming others
Using information
Managing impressions
Building support for ideas
Praising others
Building coalitions
Associating with influential people
Creating obligations
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Impression Management
The process by which individuals attempt to
control the impression others form of them.
Researchers have compared applicants who
use two distinct approaches in job
interviews
Self promotion: promoting ones
accomplishments
Ingratiation: complimenting the interviewer
and finding areas of agreement
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

The Ethics of Behaving Politically

No clear-cut ways to differentiate ethical
from unethical politicking
Outright lies may be an attempt at
impression management. Is it worth the risk?
Often difficult to weigh the costs and
benefits of political action - Need to consider
equity and fairness
Powerful people can persuasively argue that
unfair actions are really fair and just, or in
the best interests of the organization
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Global Implications
Views on Empowerment
Preference for Influence tactics
Response to Politics in the Workplace

Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada

Inc.

Summary
1. Effective leaders use expert
and/or referent power.
2. To maximize your power,
increase others dependence on
you.
3. Politics is inevitable; managing
politics well is a skill.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

OB at Work: For Managers

As a manager who wants to maximize your
power, you will want to increase others
dependence on you. You can, for instance,
increase your power in relation to your boss by
developing knowledge or a skill she needs and
for which she perceives no ready substitute.
You will not be alone in attempting to build
your power bases. Others, particularly
employees and peers, will be seeking to
increase your dependence on them, while you
are trying to minimize it and increase their
dependence on you. This push and pull is
continual.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

OB at Work: For Managers

Try to avoid putting others in a position
where they feel they have no power.
An effective manager accepts the political
nature of organizations. By assessing
behaviour in a political framework, you
can better predict the actions of others
and use that information to formulate
political strategies that will gain
advantages for you and your work unit.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

OB at Work: For Managers

Consider that employees who have

poor political skills or are unwilling to play
the politics game generally relate
perceived organizational politics to lower
job satisfaction and self-reported
performance, increased anxiety, and
higher turnover. Therefore, if you are good
at organizational politics, help your
employees understand the importance of
becoming politically savvy.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.

Concepts to Skills: Politicking

1. Frame arguments in terms of
organizational goals.
2. Develop the right image.
3. Gain control of organizational resources.
4. Make yourself appear indispensable.
5. Be visible.
6. Develop powerful allies.
7. Avoid tainted members.
8. Support your manager.
Copyright 2016 Pearson Canada
Inc.