UNIT SEVEN (7)

POWER AND POLITICS

 Power Defined
Power is simply the ability to get others to do what
one wants them to do.

“A has power over B to the extent that he can get B

to do something B would not otherwise do.”
Power has to be exercised or have the potential for
being exercised in relation to some other person or
group
• Power is also a complex and dynamic concept and
difficult to define easily.
• At a broad level, power can be interpreted in terms
of control or influence over the behaviour of other
people with or without their consent.
• Sometimes power is interpreted in terms of the
extent of influence that can actually be exercised
over other people, and sometimes, it is taken to
include influence over objects or things as well as
people.
• power is an inherent feature of work organisations.
 Power Defined

• Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the

behaviour of B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s
wishes.

• This definition implies that there is a potential

for power if someone is dependent on another.

• But one can have power and not impose it.

 Power Sharing

Power sharing requires time to develop within an

organization’s culture. It cannot be forced on people,
and proper leadership and vision are needed to
implement the process.
 Power Sharing
Time is needed to develop:

(1)better lines of communication

(2)more trust, and

(3)openness between the power sharers i.e. managers
and subordinates to accomplish goals; it is
unreasonable to expect managers simply to begin
sharing their power with others without some
resistance.
 Power & Authority
Authority is the formal power that a person has
because of his position in the organization.

Directives or orders from a manager in an authority

position are followed because they must be followed.
Persons in higher positions have legal authority over
subordinates in lower positions
 Characteristics of Authority
• Authority has the following characteristics:
• It is vested in a person’s position. An individual has
authority because of the position that he holds, not because
of any specific personal characteristics.

• It is accepted by subordinates. The individual in a legal

authority position exercises authority and can gain
compliance because she has a legitimate right.

• Authority is used vertically and flows from the down in the

hierarchy of an organization
 Power & Authority
That power involves force and coercion.

Authority, however, is a subset of power.

Much narrower in scope, authority does not carry the
implication of force, rather, it involves a “suspension
of judgment” on the part of its recipients
 Power
• The most important aspect of power is that it is a
function of dependency
• The more that B depends on A, the more power A
has in the relationship.
• Dependence, in turn, is based on the alternatives
that B perceives and the importance that B places
on the alternative(s) that A controls.
• A person can have power over you only if he or she
controls something you desire.
 Power

• Power should not be considered a bad thing,

however.

• Power, if used appropriately, should actually be

a positive influence in an organization.
It is central to the framework of order and
system of command through which the work
and activities of the organization are carried out,
and the implementation of policies and
procedures.
Bases of Power
Five-category classification scheme of sources or
bases of power Coercive
power

• Coercive Power
Referent Reward
• Reward power
Bases of
power

Power
• Legitimate classification

• Expert Expert Legitimate

power power

• Referent
 Evaluating the Bases of Power

People will respond in one of three ways when

faced with the people who use the bases of power
described above:
Commitment

compliance

resistance
 DEPENDENCY: THE KEY TO POWER

• The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the

power A has over B.
• When you possess anything that others require
but that you alone control, you make them
dependent upon you and therefore you gain
power over them
 DEPENDENCY: THE KEY TO POWER
• Dependency is inversely proportional to the
alternative sources of supply.

• If something is plentiful, possession of it will not

increase your power
• But if you can create a monopoly by controlling
information, prestige, or anything that others
crave, they become dependent on you.
 What Creates Dependency?

• Dependency is increased when the resource you

control is important,
• scarce, and
• cannot be substituted.
 INFLUENCE TACTICS
People use common tactics to influence outcomes:

•Rational persuasion. Using facts and data to make

a logical or rational presentation of ideas.

•Inspirational appeals. Appealing to values, ideals,

and goals when making a request.

•Consultation. Getting others involved to support

one’s objectives.
 INFLUENCE TACTICS

• Ingratiation. Using flattery, creating goodwill,

and being friendly prior to making a request.

• Personal appeals. Appealing to loyalty and

friendship when asking for something.

• Exchange. Offering favours or benefits in

exchange for support.
 INFLUENCE TACTICS
• Coalition tactics. Getting the support of other people
to provide backing when making a request.

• Pressure. Using demands, threats, and reminders to

get someone to do something.
• Legitimating tactics. Claiming the authority or right
to make a request, or showing that it supports
organizational goals or policies.
 EMPOWERMENT:
GIVING POWER TO EMPLOYEES

• The definition of empowerment refers to the freedom

and the ability of employees to make decisions and

commitments.

• One group of executives “believed that

empowerment was about delegating decision
making within a set of clear boundaries
EMPOWERMENT: GIVING POWER TO
EMPLOYEES

• Empowerment would start at the top, specific

goals and tasks would be assigned, responsibility
would be delegated, and people would be held
accountable for their results.
• In fact empowerment can be succinctly defined
as the authority of subordinates to decide and
act.
 EMPOWERMENT: GIVING POWER TO
EMPLOYEES

• Empowerment was “a process of risk taking and

personal growth.” This type of empowerment starts
at the bottom, with considering the employees’
needs, showing them what empowered behaviour
looks like, building teams, encouraging risk-taking,
and demonstrating trust in employees’ ability to
perform.
 EMPOWERMENT: GIVING POWER TO
EMPLOYEES

In order for an employee to be fully empowered, he or she

needs access to the information required to make
decisions; rewards for acting in appropriate, responsible
ways; and authority to make the necessary decisions.
 EMPOWERMENT: GIVING POWER TO
EMPLOYEES

• Empowerment means that employees understand

how their jobs fit into the organization and that
they are able to make decisions regarding job
action in light of the organization’s purpose and
mission.
 Empowerment in the Workplace

• Some managers are reluctant to empower their

employees because this means sharing or even
relinquishing their own power.

• Other managers worry that empowered employees

may decide to work on goals and jobs that are not
as closely aligned to organizational goals.

• Some managers, of course, do not fully understand

how to go about empowering their employees.
 Conditions for Empowerment
• There must be a clear definition of the values and
mission of the company.

• The company must help employees gain the

relevant skills.
• Employees need to be supported in their decision
making and not criticized when they try to do
something extraordinary.

• Employees need to be recognized for their efforts.

 Effects of Empowerment
• Researchers have shown that at both the individual
level and the team level, empowerment leads to greater
productivity and profit.
• It improves performance because of the opportunities it
provides to staff to do their work more effectively.
• It develops individual knowledge so they take a
broader and more proactive orientation towards their
jobs.
Characteristics of Empowered People

• Empowered people have a sense of self-

determination (this means that they are free to
choose how to do their work; they are not
micromanaged).

• Empowered people have a sense of meaning (they

feel that their work is important to them; they care
about what they are doing).
 Characteristics of Empowered People

• Empowered people have a sense of competence

(this means that they are confident about their
ability to do their work well; they know they can
perform).

• Empowered people have a sense of impact (this

means that people believe they can have influence
on their work unit; others listen to their ideas).
 Problems with Empowerment
• First, some managers do not want empowered employees,
because this can take away some of their own base of
power.

• Second, some employees have little or no interest in being

empowered, and therefore resist any attempts to be
empowered.

• And finally, empowerment is not something that works

well in every workplace throughout the world.
 THE ABUSE OF POWER: HARASSMENT IN THE
WORKPLACE

• Many employees report of managers who harass

employees, demanding overtime without pay or
excessive work performance.

• However, a researcher notes that “when it becomes a

question of shaming people, embarrassing people,
holding them up to ridicule, just constantly being on
their case for no apparent reason, then [management] is
becoming unreasonable
THE ABUSE OF POWER: HARASSMENT
IN THE WORKPLACE

• “A bully often acts by isolating an individual. And

they may be a serial bully, who always has a
victim on the go. They may, in fact, have multiple
victims on the go, but their strategy is to isolate
them from one another.”
THE ABUSE OF POWER: HARASSMENT
IN THE WORKPLACE
• Sexual Harassment:
• According to research “sexual harassment is
more likely to occur in environments that
tolerate bullying, intimidation, yelling, innuendo
and other forms of discourteous behaviour.”
 Sexual Harassment

• Sexual harassment is defined as 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
 Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment includes unwanted physical

touching, recurring requests for dates when it is
made clear the person is not interested, and
coercive threats that a person will lose her or his
job if she or he refuses a sexual proposition.
Sexual Harassment

Due to power inequities, sexual harassment by

one’s manager typically creates the greatest
difficulty for the person being harassed. If there
are no witnesses, it is the manager’s word against

the employee’s word.

 Political Behaviour
Those activities that are outside one’s formal role (i.e., not
part of one’s specific job duties), and that influence, or try to
influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages
within the organization.

This definition also encompasses efforts to influence the

goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making when
we state that politics is concerned with “the distribution of
advantages and disadvantages within the organization.”
 Political Behaviour
Political behaviours includes:

o whistle-blowing
o spreading rumours,
o withholding key information from decision
makers,
o leaking confidential information about
organizational activities to the media,
o exchanging favours with others in the organization
for mutual benefit, and
o lobbying on behalf of or against a particular
individual or decision alternative.
 Political Behaviour.

The most important factor behind politics

within organizations is the realization that
most of the “facts” that are used to allocate
the limited resources are open to
interpretation
 Political Behaviour
• What, for instance, is good performance?

• What is an adequate improvement?

• What constitutes an unsatisfactory job?

• It is in this large and ambiguous middle ground of
organizational life—where the facts don’t speak for
themselves—that politics flourish.
 Types of Political Activity

• Attacking or blaming others. Used when trying to

avoid responsibility for failure.
• Using information. Withholding or distorting
information, particularly to hide negative
information.

• Managing impressions. Bringing positive attention

to one’s self or taking credit for the positive
accomplishments of others.
 Types of Political Activity

• Building support for ideas. Making sure that others

will support one’s ideas before they are
presented.

• Praising others. Making important people feel

good.

• Building coalitions. Joining with other people to

create a powerful group.
 Types of Political Activity
• Associating with influential people. Building
support networks.

• Creating obligations. Doing favours for others so

they will owe you favours later.
 Impression Management

• The process by which individuals attempt to

control the impression others form of them

• Being perceived positively by others should have

benefits for people in organizations.
• It might, for instance, help them initially to get the
jobs they want in an organization and, once hired,
to get favourable evaluations, superior salary
increases, and more rapid promotions.
 Use of Impression Management
• Impression management is more likely to be used
by high self-monitors than low self-monitors.

• Low self-monitors tend to present images of

themselves that are consistent with their
personalities, regardless of the beneficial or
detrimental effects for them.

• In contrast, high self-monitors are skilled at

reading situations and moulding their
appearances and behaviour to fit each situation
 Effectiveness of Impression Management

• Impression management behaviour is positively

associated with job-interview success.
• Those using impression management techniques
received better performance evaluations from their
managers, were liked more by their managers, and
were criticized less.
 Effectiveness of Impression Management

• Impression Management effects seem to work

more strongly when the measures of performance
are subjective, however, than when they can be

measured more objectively.

Making Office Politics Work

• Nobody wins unless everybody wins

• Don’t just ask for opinions—change them

• Everyone expects to be paid back.

• Success can create opposition.

 Improving Political Effectiveness
• Frame arguments in terms of organizational
goals
• Develop the right image
• Gain control of organizational resources
• Make yourself appear indispensable
• Be visible
• Develop powerful allies
• Avoid “tainted” members
• Support your manager
 The Toxic Workplace
• The workplace has often been seen as one of the places
where civility still ruled, with co-workers treating each
other with a mixture of formality and friendliness,
distance and politeness.

• However, with downsizing, reengineering, budget cuts,

pressures for increased productivity, autocratic work
environments, and the use of part-time employees,
there has been an increase in “uncivil and aggressive
workplace behaviours.”
 The Toxic Workplace-Civility & Incivility
• Behaviour “involving politeness and regard for
others in the workplace, within workplace norms
for respect.”

• Workplace incivility then “involves acting with

disregard for others in the workplace, in violation
of workplace norms for respect.”