Trends in Power and Politics 1

Trends in Organizational Power and Politics

Timothy Claflin

David Knight

Katrina Portis

Chenista Straubel

Vartan A. Terian

Management 331

Stephan Daniel

18 May 2004
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Trends in Organizational Power and Politics

Purpose

The purpose of this interlocution is to show how different organizations handle power in

organizations and effective organizational politics. Power and politics have a common

denominators and harnessing the energy produced benefits organizations with synergy and

focused momentum. In this discussion of power in an organization, we reflect on how

organizations are using the personalized powers of positional, reward tactics, and coerciveness.

Power in Organizations

Two dimensions of power exist within an organization these include socialized,

personalized, and through six bases or sources arise: position, reward, coercive, legitimate,

expert, and referent powers.

Women seem to have a higher need for socialized power and as women gain power;

tensions may form between male peers as men attempt to protect their power bases. Glass

ceilings revolve around access to power. To use power ethically and responsibly, managers must

strive for socialized power and avoid personalized power when creating an effective power base.

Socialized power is uplifting resulting in initiation, persistence, and consistency and

results from the positive use of legitimate, expert, and referent power. Personalized power often

results in domination, focuses on self-interests, and involves negative legitimate power, coercive,

and negative rewards tactics. Expert and referent power have the most positive impact between

power bases and work outcomes and tend produce compliance however, compliant people

require a constant flow of power to remain motivated. Coercive and negative legitimate power

can also produce compliance, but this will come with animosity producing only short-term

results. Reward and legitimate power have a slightly positive impact and coercive power has a
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negative impact. Positive legitimate, expert, and reference foster internalization that is

intrinsically driven creating allies who are self-starters requiring less direct supervision. The

greatest potential for improving job performance and personal satisfaction, and thus reducing

turnover, comes from expert and referent power.

Examples of how Positional Powers are Used Today

Positional power is the most prevalent type of power given to employees by leaders in

Ace Hardware. An example of how people gain positional power at Ace Hardware is by

achievement. Employees that want to move up have the option of being placed on a “promotion

list.” Once on the list, it is up to their supervisors to begin training them to move to the next

position. When a person gets the promotion, he or she has been empowered to accomplish the

objectives of the company.

Reward power is a type of power granted solely on the manager’s position within the

organization. Reward power can have very positive affects on motivation. Pay raises,

incentives, bonuses, and promotions are a few ways managers attempt to control their workers’

behavior and or motivate performance. Many workers never look at monetary increases

negatively and monetary incentives enhance the desired performance. This alone may not satisfy

the employee indefinitely, but words of praise and empowerment can encourage acceptable

behavior. Knowing which reward to use and when is very important when handing out an

incentive. A manager can also take the opposite approach and threaten to take certain rewards

away from an employee if he or she does not perform to expectations. This can result in stagnant

pay, no bonus, and a recommendation for termination. Ace Hardware does not use the reward

power in the management field and instead offers incentives at the end of the year. Distribution
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centers at Ace Hardware do offer bonuses based on performance. Incentives are performance

driven and given or withheld based on levels achieved or maintained.

Coercive power is the ability to use words to influence a higher-level management person

to grant or revoke certain privileges. Coercive power can also leave too much to the supervisor

for personal interpretation. Coercive power can also become a weapon of the “buddy system” or

in some cases, lead to abuse of nepotism. This can happen in a reverse manner. When a

company has a low performance, employee supervisors with coercive powers protect them, only

because they are someone’s family. At JPMorgan Chase Bank, phone-based employees are able

to receive a bonus reward if their monitored calls receive a superior grade. The call has to meet

certain criteria. If the phone-based employee’s direct manager feels the call is superior; the

second level manager has to review the phone call to evaluate the superiority of the call. To

receive a pay raises two managers have to approve of the employee’s performance. It is often

difficult to distinguish which manager is actively using their reward or coercive powers.

Mangers also need to know when it is best to use coercive power. It is good that more than one

manager has to evaluate and approve of an outcome because this gives little room for employees

to say the results are due to favoritism or personal dislike. Each employee’s personality differs

to how they react to their managers using reward or coercive powers. The manager needs to

know what method is best for each of their employees.

Effects of Organizational Politics

“Those who think they’re too smart to engage in politics will be governed by those are
dumber.” -- Plato

Organizational politics is the art of getting things done within organizations and involves

acts that attempt to influence, enhance, or to protect the interests of individuals and groups.
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Organizational politics is often associated with dirty or underhanded strategic tactics

implemented by ill-meaning individuals in pursuit of their own personal agenda. In part, this is

true, there maybe an agenda that is separate and whole in and of itself at the root of office

politics, but it does not have to be ill meaning and implementation does not have to require dirty

or underhanded strategic tactics. Integrity can be a source of power and behind political tactics;

you will find a source a power. The challenge for managers is to strike a balance between self

and organizational interests while creating a high degree of healthy influence that happens when

self-interests serve the organizations interests.

Organizational Influence

Organizational influence has three possible outcomes: commitment, compliance, and

resistance. The best that an organization can hope for is commitment because those you are

trying to influence remain intrinsically motivated resulting in long-term consistency and

persistence. In order to use organizational influence, individuals must perceive themselves as

both competent and effective without issuing domination. Interpersonal influences emerge

because of the culture differences.

Two types of influential tactics are soft and hard. Soft tactics appear fair and hard tactics

are perceived as unfair. Five generic soft tactics include rational persuasion, inspirational

appeals, consultation, ingratiation, and personal appeals. Of these five soft tactics, consultation,

rational persuasion, and inspirational tactics have the best likelihood of generating long-term

commitment meaning that the influence attempt must involve something important and

enjoyable and be based upon a friendly relationship. Ingratiating improves performance

appraisals. Four generic hard tactics include exchange, coalition tactics, pressure, and
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legitimating tactics. Ranking of the influence tactics does not effect downward, upward, or

lateral influential directions.

Win-win relationships (mutuality of interests) thrive on complementary strengths and

personal appeals. There are four methods for dealing with potential allies: mutual respect,

openness, trust, and mutual benefit. Reciprocity is the foundation that provides for the formation

of long-term strategic alliances and this involves personal risk.

Organizational Politics

Socioeconomic and cultural impacts affect politics, racial, ethnic minorities, and white

women appear to have a lesser degree of understanding of organizational politics than do white

men. Favorable politics affects those who are friendly, reasonable, and often of the opposite

gender. Individuals who rely on ingratiation as a political tactic receive less favorable results

from their efforts.

Five sources of uncertainty trigger political behavior: unclear objectives, vague

performance measures or controls, incomplete decision processes, competition, and change.

Three levels of political maneuvers include individual, coalition (issue-oriented informal group

bound by pursuit of a single issue), and networks (people-oriented associations that seek support

for self-interests). Eight political tactics that occur include: attacking or blaming, use of

information either positive or negative as a tool, image, forming a support base, praise

(ingratiation), power coalitions with strong allies, associations (with influential people), and

obligations (reciprocity). Misuse of power reflects in domination, intimidation, and in threats.

Communicating from egocentric sources will only create temporary results and viewed as

underhanded or coercive.
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Managing politics helps to keep its influence constructive and within reasonable bounds.

Reducing system uncertainty and competition by using standardized performance evaluations

with clear and distinct performance / rewards links and dissolving internal competition by

focusing on external competitiveness with clearly defined goals and objectives helps to restore or

to create a fair and level “playing field.” Preventing or breaking political fiefdoms by use of

direct tactics can help to manage organizational politics. Instilling a rational attitude that places

organizational goals first over personal self-interests and making this the basis for rewards and

promotions can help control the misuse of power in organizational politics. Integrating fairness

through commitment and ingratiation creates positive long-term results within an organization.

Individuals and group must realize that you cannot make change, you have to sell it, and this

involves politics and power. Sharing of information ethically and responsibly can help level the

“playing field” in the political arena.

Empowering lower level employees to make decisions can often help to break or prevent

political fiefdoms within an organization. Delegation is the highest form of empowerment and

this takes trust, time, and cognitive experiences. Empowering through delegation is a three-step

process that includes domination, consultation, and participation. When implemented properly

and with integrity, empowering through delegation builds a solid base through which you create

powerful allies that are motivated in the best interest of the organization. Personal initiative is a

way of behaving that goes beyond formal job requirements and reveals that you can be trusted.

Delegation requires commitment that is reflective of personal initiative to act and to behave

ethically and with integrity in the spirit of creating win-win solutions and situations.

Power and Economic Alliances

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When it comes to reaching economic goals and attracting new businesses to areas that are

underdeveloped, there is strength in numbers. By developing regional economic alliances, state

and local agencies are much more likely to hear the interests that are important to the businesses

involved. The benefits of business alliances are many: increased technological advances,

creation of new jobs, the robust exchange of new ideas, and increased political leverage, just to

name a few. The cumulative efforts of many organizations can also strengthen their ability to

compete on a global scale.

The Silicon Valley region of California is an excellent example of how the efforts of

many companies allied together can create a powerhouse of global technology development.

Silicon Valley has the reputation throughout the world for the development of some of the most

innovative computer, software, and electronic hardware technology.

Another good example of regional economic alliance is the creation of the Maryland

business council. The Maryland business council was the creation of Edwin F. Hale Sr.,

Chairperson and CEO of Baltimore-based 1st Mariner Bank. Hale created the council to

represent the small to medium-sized businesses that exist in Maryland. Hale's idea is for

Maryland businesses to have a support system in the form of business leaders who will

selectively attend meetings of community groups, zoning and other boards that oversee land use,

licensing, and other areas (Arney 2004). Maryland's small and medium sized businesses now

have a unified voice that helps them to navigate the maze of city governmental agencies, better

cope with the cost of health care coverage for employees, gain access to affordable and

dependable credit, and attract better candidates for employment. The benefits that come from the

formation of this council will be felt more in the future as the council becomes better known and

more members participate. "It brings to the table a whole new set of voices," Anirban Basu,
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chairman and chief executive officer of Sage Policy Group LLP and a member of the council's

board of directors, said in a recent interview. "It's obvious that the future of Maryland's and

indeed the future of the nation's economy is in the hands of the businesses that are

entrepreneurial enough, innovative enough, flexible enough, to incorporate and market the latest

technologies and employ the most modern business practices” (Arney 2004). It is obvious that

when local and state leaders ban together, their unified voice is a very strong force and enables

them to influence how the government of Maryland creates policy for small and medium

businesses. On a national scale, the formation of the Amtrak Business Coalition has helped to

influence Congress and the White House to increase their investment in an aging railway system.

The ABC (Amtrak Business Coalition) consists of more than fifty East Coast business

organizations from Virginia to Maine and includes The New England Council. In all, the

Coalition represents twelve states and the District of Columbia. The ABC will work toward an

increased federal commitment to preserve safe and reliable service along Amtrak's Northeast

Corridor Main Line, as well as key Main Line connector routes in New England, upstate New

York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia (Business Wire. May 5, 2004). It is the intention of this

coalition of prominent East Coast organizations to ensure the restoration of the rail system that

so many people and businesses rely on. By the formation of this coalition, the power to

influence federal funding for Amtrak has dramatically increased. The White House had

requested $900 million for Amtrak, however this was sum was horribly inadequate for Amtrak to

continue to operate at its current level. The coalition took their fight to Congress stating that

funding for Amtrak was critical to insure the economic health of the East Coast. The ABC

(Amtrak Business Coalition) gains its strength from the sheer size and diversity of it members

and has substantial influence in Congress. ABC has requested $1.8 billion from Congress to
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perform adequate repairs and upgrades to keep Amtrak healthy and able to supply the service

that so many people count on. Although ABC may not receive its entire request of $1.8 billion,

it will surely receive more than the $900 million originally requested to Congress by the White

House. Only through the creation of an alliance such as ABC, could it be possible to influence

Congress to provide funding at the level requested.

These examples demonstrate the power of economic alliances. In order for businesses to

gain substantial influence in their local, state, and federal political arenas, the formation of

alliances is crucial and highly beneficial. It is easy for politicians to silence the cries of a few but

when organizations ban together their powers of influence dramatically increases.

Summary

Power and influence has roots engrained in many cultures as is evident and written in the

historical memoirs and encoded or symbolized even on cave walls. The power and political

arena has shaped the past and present and its influence will forever oversee the future. There is

no mastery of power and politics as change dominates this arena and as individuals and members

of a society, the best we can hope for is positive outcomes from the centers of influence whose

decisions, morals, and ethics continue to shape the future of organizations, society, and

individuals. Creating balance and harmony is the goal of power and of influence and ultimately,

politics.
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