Topic 10:

Power and Influence in the

Workplace

1-1
The Meaning of Power

Power is the capacity of a

person, team, or organization to
influence others.

10-2
Sources of Power

Legitimate
 Agreement that people in
certain position/roles can
request certain behaviors of
others
 Based on job descriptions and
mutual agreement
 Legitimate power range varies
across national and org
cultures.

10-3
Sources of Power

Legitimate

Reward
 Ability to control the allocation of
rewards valued by others and to
remove negative sanctions
 Operates upward as well as
downward

10-4
Sources of Power

Legitimate

Reward  Ability to apply punishment

 Exists upward as well as
Coercive downward
 Peer pressure is a form of
coercive power

10-5
Sources of Power

Legitimate

Reward

Coercive
 The capacity to influence
Expert others by possessing
knowledge or skills that they
value
 More employee expert power
over companies in knowledge
economy

10-6
Sources of Power

Legitimate

Reward

Coercive
 Occurs when others identify
Expert with, like, or otherwise respect
the person
Referent  Associated with charismatic
leadership

10-7
Influencing Others

 Influence -- any behavior that attempts to alter

someone’s attitudes or behavior
• Applies one or more power bases
• Process through which people achieve
organizational objectives
• Operates up, down, and across the organizational
hierarchy

10-8
Types of Influence

Silent • Following requests without overt influence

Authority • Based on legitimate power, role modeling
• Common in high power distance cultures

Assertiveness • Actively applying legitimate and coercive

power (“vocal authority”)
• Reminding, confronting, checking,
threatening

more
10-9
Types of Influence (con’t)

Information • Manipulating others’ access to information

Control • Withholding, filtering, re-arranging
information

Coalition • Group forms to gain more power than

individuals alone
Formation
1. Pools resources/power
2. Legitimizes the issue
3. Power through social identity

more
10-10
Types of Influence (con’t)

Upward • Appealing to higher authority

Appeal • Includes appealing to firm’s goals
• Alliance or perceived alliance with higher
status person

• Logic, facts, emotional appeals

Persuasion
• Depends on persuader, message content,
message medium, audience

more
10-11
Types of Influence (con’t)

Ingratiation/ • Increase liking by, or perceived similarity to

Impress. Mgt. the target person

• Promising or reminding of past benefits in

Exchange exchange for compliance
• Includes negotiation and networking

10-12
Organizational Politics

Behaviors that others perceive as self-serving

tactics for personal gain at the expense of
other people and possibly the organization.

10-13
Conditions for Organizational Politics

Tolerance of Scarce
Politics Resources
Conditions
Supporting
Organizational
Politics
Complex and
Organizational
Change Ambiguous
Decisions

10-14