Facilitator:

Bangi, Y. I (PhD)
POWER AND IFM
POLITICS
 Outlines
 What is power?
 Types of power and their determinants
 Empowerment
 Misuse of power in organizations
 Meaning of politics
 Why politics in organizations?
 Factors influencing power and politics
 Strategies of power and politics

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 i) Meaning of Power
 Kotter, J(1985) defined power as a
measure of person’s potential to get others
to do what he/she wants them to do as well
as to avoid being forced what he/she does
want to do.
 Lewin, K(1993) defines power as the
possibility of inducing forces of a certain
magnitude on another person.
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 What is power?
 Power is the ability to …
– Get someone to do something you want done.
– Make things happen in the way you want.
 Influence is …
– What you have when you exercise power.
– Expressed by others’ behavioral response to
your exercise of power.

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 Cont…
Power is the ability to:-
a)Influence behaviours of others
b)Make one/people do what you
want them to do
c)Make others comply

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 Types and
Determinants/Sources/Bases of
Power
SN TYPE OF SOURCE OF POWER IMPLICATION
POWER
1. Coercive Force Compliance/ Chaos
2. Expert Expertise Compliance/ Commitment
3. Legitimate Occupancy of an Compliance/ Commitment
Organsational position
4. Charismatic Charisma Compliance/ Commitment

5 Reward Rewards as per one’s Compliance/ Commitment

discretion

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 Empowerment
 Cotton, J( 1993) Defined empowerment as a
participative process that uses the entire capacity of
employees and is designed to encourage increased
commitment to their organization's success.

 Refers to the process in which managers shares

power with subordinates by sharing resources with
them, allowing them to participate in the decision
making process and by giving them access to relevant
and important information.

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 Elements of Empowerment
 Access to information – information is
power·
 Inclusion and participation – build
commitment to change
 Accountability – Answerability
 Local organizational capacity – ability to
work together
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 Reasons for empowerment
 Generate commitment of all employees to the success of

the organization

 Enable the organization better to meet the needs of its

customers and adapt to changing market requirements.

 Helps the organization to improve performance and

productivity and adopt new methods of working to match

new technology

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 Cont….
 Improve the satisfaction employees get from

their work.

 Provide all employees with the opportunity to

influence and be involved in decisions which

are likely to effect their interest.

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 Importance of Empowerment
 Increased morale
 Increased productivity
 Reduced wastage
 Costs reductions
 Employees retention/low turnover
 Foster industrial Peace
 Promote industrial democracy

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 Power Tactics
 Legitimacy – power position
 Rational persuasions – expertise
 Consultations – inclusion in the process
 Ingratiation – creating friendship
 Pressure – compliance with rules and laws
 Coalitions – get support from others
 Personal appeals – friendship and loyalty
 Inspirational appeal - use of facts, data values etc.

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 Misuse of Power in
Organizations
 Power can be mis-used by managers and
employees in the following ways;-
 Sexual harassment
 Deprivation of rights
 Un equal treatment
 Imbalanced distribution of resources
 Humiliation in front of other people
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 Cont….
 Periodically reminding that you can be fired
 Withhold information
 Exclude from meetings
 Not believing on collaborations
 Believing help as a sign of weakness
 Not caring about social issues (spouse death)
 Openly favors member of their team etc.

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 POLITICS
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 Meaning of politics
 Pareek, U (2010 defines Organsational
politics as the art of using power.
 Organizational politics involves those
activities by organizations to acquire,
develop, and use power and other resources
to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a
situation in which there is uncertainty or
dissent about choices.” (Pfeiffer, 1981) 

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 Cont...

 Harold Lasswell (1938) defines

politics as who gets what when and
how. Though this definition was
mainly aimed at defining the term in
the nation-wide context , is still valid
and useful in he organizational
context.
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 Factors Influencing Political
Behavior
 Low trust
 Unequal treatment
 Expectation of success
 Leadership styles
 Allocation of resources
 Success expectation
 Promotion opportunities E.t.c

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Strategies of Power and Politics
 According to Luthans, F (2002), the following
are the most common strategies used in
organizations:-
• Attack and blame others
• Maintain alliance with powerful people
• Divide and rule
• Manipulate classified information
• Own/Control resource
• Whistle-blowing – information disclosure
• E.t.c
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 Impacts of Organizational Politics
 Depending on how politics is being practiced and handled in an

organization, can either bring positive or negative impacts. Some of

these are listed below;-

• Low moral

• Poor industrial relations

• Promotion of industrial democracy

• Conflicts and tensions
• Low productivity E.t.c

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 Ways of limiting political
behavior in organisations.
• Provide Sufficient Resources
• Introduce Clear Rules
• Free Flowing Information
• Measure performance, not personalities
• Remove Political Norms
• Hire Low-Politics Employees
• Increase Opportunities for Dialogue
• Peer Pressure Against Politics

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 THANKS
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