1. Influence, Empowerment, and Politics15
Influence, Empowerment, and Politics
In Chapter 15 you will learn how influence tactics, empowerment, and politics are used as means of dealing with the constant struggle between individual and collective interests that are at the very heart of interpersonal dealings in the workplace.
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Ch. 15 Learning Objectives
Explain the concept of mutuality of interest
Name at least three “soft” and two “hard” influence tactics, and summarize the practical lessons from influence research.
Identify and briefly describe French and Raven’s five bases of power, and discuss the responsible use of power.
Define the term empowerment, and explain why it is a matter of degree.
The chapter begins with a discussion of mutuality of interest followed by an examination of organizational influence tactics covered in Objectives 2 and 3. Empowerment is the next topic of discussion as addressed in Objectives 4 & 5.

3. Ch. 15 Learning Objectives
Explain why delegation is the highest form of empowerment, and discuss the connections among delegation, trust, and personal initiative.
Define organizational politics and explain what triggers it.
Distinguish between favorable and unfavorable impression management tactics.
Explain how to manage organizational politics.
The final three objectives explore various aspects of organizational politics and impression management.

4. The Tug-of-War between Self-Interest and Mutuality of Interest
Figure 15-1
The Tug-of-War between Self-Interest and Mutuality of Interest
Climate of Openness, Cooperation, and Trust
Climate of Destructive Competition and Suspicion
Influence tactics
Organizational contributors
Individuals
Groups
Empowerment
Mutuality of Interest (organizational effectiveness)
Motivation
Team building
Communication
Leadership
Self- Interest
Political
tactics
Mutuality of interest is balancing individual and organizational interests through win-win cooperation. We are all born with the inherent instinct towards self-preservation; but in an organizational setting, it is important that employees do what is best for the organization to ensure its livelihood.
The right side of this graphic shows the techniques managers and organizations use to focus employees’ energies on the mutuality of interest of organizational effectiveness.

5. “Soft” Influence Tactics
Rational persuasion: Using logical arguments and facts to persuade another that a desired result will occur.
Inspirational Appeal: Arousing enthusiasm by appealing to one’s values and beliefs
Consultation: Asking for participation in decision making or planning a change
Ingratiation: Getting someone to do what you want by putting that person in a good mood or getting him or her to like you.
Personal appeal: Appealing to feelings of loyalty and friendship before making a request
Ranked in diminishing order on this and the next slide are nine generic influence tactics used in the workplace. The first five tactics are called “soft” tactics, the last four tactics are called “hard” tactics.

6. “Hard” Influence Tactics
Exchange:: Promising some benefits in exchange for complying with a request.
Coalition Building: Persuading by seeking the assistance of others or by noting the support of others.
Legitimating: Pointing out one’s authority to make a request or verifying that it is consistent with prevailing organizational policies and practices.
Pressure: Seeking compliance by using demands, threats, or intimidation.
[No narration required.]

7. Outcomes of Influence Attempts
Commitment - a strong positive response
The person will agree and carry out the request because they truly believes it is the right or best thing to do
Compliance – completion of request
The person will agree only because there is something positive in it for him/her or something negative will happen if they don’t
Resistance - a strong negative response
Request will be disregarded, influence attempt is unsuccessful
Three possible outcomes of the influence tactics you just learned are commitment, compliance, and resistance.
The best outcome is commitment because the target person’s intrinsic motivation will energize good performance. 6

8. Test Your Knowledge Commitment Compliance Resistance
For each influence tactic identify the most likely outcome.
Commitment
Compliance
Resistance
Consultation
Rational Persuasion
Inspirational appeals
Ingratiation
Pressure
Coalition
Consultation – Commitment
Rational persuasion – Commitment
Inspirational appeals – Commitment
Ingratiation – Compliance – research has shown that this is does improve bosses’ impressions of their subordinates as long as it is perceived to be sincere
Pressure – Resistance, compliance; This is considered a “hard” tactic and is more often perceived as unfair. Studies have shown that unfair tactics are more likely to lead to resistance.
Coalition - compliance or resistance; if you feel ganged up on you may comply or resist depending on the situation.

9. Power Concepts
Social Power: The ability to get things done with human, informational, and material resources
Power is not power OVER others
Power is the ability to GET THINGS DONE
In reading this description of social power, you can see how power is not a downward proposition exclusively. It also means having power to influence peers, customers, and managers.

10. Power Concepts Personalized Power Socialized Power
used for personal gain
Socialized Power
used to create motivation
used to accomplish group goals
McClelland researched people’s needs and categorized them into a need for achievement, need for affiliation, and need for power. However, he made an important distinction between the need for personalized power and, what he called, socialized power.
Personalized power is when someone has the need to be selfish and use power for their own self-centered needs not for the good of the group or organization. Whereas, socialized power is used for the good of the organization and is often self-sacrificing. 7

11. Test Your Knowledge
Jarrett has a strong need for power. He enjoys the challenge of making difficult decisions that have a major impact on the organization. At times he makes decisions that have negative consequences for himself and his team but are good for the larger organization. Jarrett….
Plays politics to get what he wants
Has personalized power
Demonstrates socialized power and mutuality of interest
Is driven to protect his self-interests
Jarrett has a strong need for power. He enjoys the challenge of making difficult decisions that have a major impact on the organization. At times he to makes decisions that have negative consequences for himself and his team but are good for the larger organization. Jarrett….
Plays politics to get what he wants
Has personalized power
Demonstrates socialized power and mutuality of interest
Is driven to protect his self-interests
Answer: C

12. Sources of Power
Position – derived from one’s position and status within the organization
Reward: If you do it I’ll give you something
Coercive: If you don’t do it something bad will happen
Legitimate: Do it because the boss asks you to
Can be positive or negative
French and Raven have defined five sources of power. Three sources, listed on this slide, are byproducts of one’s position. The other two power sources, listed on the next slide, are earned by individuals through the respect they garner from others.
Because of their position, managers are able to offer bonuses, recognition, promotions, and other such rewards. In addition, their position gives them the authority to punish and withhold rewards in order to influence compliance. Finally, position gives managers decision authority that is used to affect subordinates’ behavior.
These sources of power can produce negative results if they are used threateningly or in a demeaning way. They can have positive results when they are focused constructively on job performance while being clearly aligned with the goals of the larger organization.

13. Sources of Power
Personal – derived from one’s personal characteristics, relationship with others, and behavior towards others
Expert: Do it because I know a lot about this subject
Referent: Do it because you like me
Expert and referent sources of power are earned by individuals based on who they are and how they relate to and treat others.
How can you increase your expert power? Strategies include becoming an expert in your field, attending meetings of trade or professional associations, reading publications, keeping up with the latest technology, volunteering to learn something new, projecting a positive self-concept, and showing that you have the expertise.
A drawback to this type of power is that specializing can sometimes pigeon-hole you into a certain roles and preclude you from more general management opportunities.
The referent power base reminds us of a rather obvious truth—that individuals are influenced more by people they identify with and enjoy working with than with those they don’t.

14. Test Your Knowledge
Which strategy would be most effective in each situation?
Upward influence
Peers
Downward
What is the best combination of strategies?
Reward
Coercive
Legitimate
Expert
Referent
Research has shown that leaders take a contingency approach when deciding what influence tactic to use. It will depend on the situation. If there is anticipated resistance or when the follower’s behavior violates important norms a legitimization or pressure tactic might be chosen.
When the leader stands to benefit they may use a personal appeal or ingratiation approach. When it is a peer and/or the objective is clearly in alignment with organizational objectives the rational approach would work best.
Upward influence – typically rational persuasion is most common – coalitions are also used
Lateral tactics – personal appeal, reciprocity, ingratiation, exchange, and legitimization are also used.
Downward – Expert and referent
In general, research has shown that the combined use of tactics is the most effective. However, that depends on the combination you choose.
What is the right combination?
Hard ones are most effective used by themselves.
Also, it is better to use a combination of softer tactics first and use the hard one’s only as a last resort.
Research has shown that using expert and referent power together get the best combinaltion of results and favorable reactions from lower-level employees. 13

15. Empowerment
Empowerment sharing varying degrees of power with lower-level employees to tap their full potential
Empowerment involves considering power as not a zero-sum game but instead something that is unlimited and can be shared by all. Empowerment is a win-win proposition and should not be viewed as threatening, but rather as a means of helping managers and employees to develop new skills and reach career goals.

16. The Evolution of Power: From Domination to Delegation
Figure 15-2
Power Distribution Followers are granted authority to make decisions
High
Power Sharing Manager/leader and followers jointly make decisions
Influence Sharing Manager/leader consults followers when making decisions
Degree of Empowerment
Authoritarian Power Manager/leader impose decisions
This figure shows the varying degrees of empowerment. Certainly a subordinate’s readiness for various tasks should also be a consideration as to what degree of empowerment is appropriate.
Domination
Consultation
Participation
Delegation
None

17. Participative Management
Participative Management the process whereby employees play a direct role in:
Setting goals
Making decisions
Solving problems
Making changes in the organization
Participative Management can promote: (name three OB concepts)
Participative management is predicted to increase motivation because it helps employees fulfill three basic needs: autonomy, meaningfulness of work, and interpersonal contact. Satisfaction of these needs enhances feelings of acceptance, commitment, security, challenge, and satisfaction. In turn, these positive feelings can lead to increased innovation and performance.
The effectiveness of participative management depends on the design of the work, the level of trust between management and employees, and
the employees' readiness to participate.
Participative management can promote perceptions of procedural justice, organizational commitment, and job involvement.

18. Delegation
Delegation granting decision-making authority to people at lower levels
How can delegation be used effectively?
Why are managers often reluctant to delegate?
The highest degree of empowerment is delegation.
How can delegation be used effectively? Research has shown that greater delegation was associated with the following factors.
When the employee is competent, the employee shares the manager’s task objectives, the manager has a long-standing and positive relationship with the employee, and when the lower-level person was also a supervisor.
Why are managers often reluctant to delegate?
Ask for comments… go to next slide for list of barriers to delegation

19. Delegation Barriers to Delegation include:
Belief in the fallacy “if you want something done right, do it yourself”
Lack of confidence/trust in lower levels
Low self-confidence
Fear of being called lazy
Vague job definition
Fear of competition from those below
Reluctance to take risks involved in depending on others
Lack of controls that provide early warning of problems with delegated duties
Poor example set by bosses who do not delegate
Although delegation sounds easy enough, many managers find it hard to actually do. The barriers listed here often interfere with the process.

20. Personal Initiative: The Other Side of Delegation
Figure 15-3
Personal Initiative: The Other Side of Delegation
Taking action
Asking for approval to act
Asking someone else to act
Telling someone about a problem
Noncompliance
Apathy
Levels of Action
Personal initiative occurs when individuals go beyond formal job requirements and become active self-starters.
Personal initiative is important in establishing trust with a manager and ensuring that he or she will think of you for developmental assignments to be delegated.
Following these tips can help you move toward personal initiative:
Go beyond the job.
Follow through on new ideas.
Don’t be defeated by criticism; rather learn from it.
Look ahead and around for opportunities.
Decreasing time to action to solve a problem

21. Randolph’s Empowerment Model
Figure 15-4
Randolph’s Empowerment Model
The Empowerment Plan
Share Information
Create Autonomy Through Structure
Let Teams Become the Hierarchy
The empowerment plan involves sharing information by sharing company performance information and helping people understand the business.
In addition, the plan requires creating autonomy through structure and letting teams become the hierarchy.
Organizations can create autonomy by creating a clear vision and clarifying the little pictures, creating new decision-making rules that support empowerment, and clarifying goals and roles collaboratively.
Organizations can let teams become the hierarchy by providing direction and training for new skills, providing encouragement and support for change, and gradually having managers let go of control.
Remember: Empowerment is not magic; It consists of a few simple steps and a lot of persistence

22. Organizational Politics
Organizational Politics intentional enhancement of self-interest
…but the self-interest should be aligned with the org’s interests
“Politics isn’t about winning at all costs. It’s about maintaining relationships and getting results at the same time.” --John Eldred, MGMT Professor & Consultant, Kingston U. UK.
Ideally one’s self-interest is also aligned with organizational interests.
…but the self-interest should be aligned with the org’s interests
As we’ve discussed earlier, when personal self interests override the needs of the organization, overall performance and morale of employees can decline.
“Politics isn’t about
winning at all costs. It’s
about maintaining
relationships and getting
results at the same time.”
John Eldred
Political behavior is not necessarily bad if it is used to serve the good of the organization.

23. Uncertainty Triggers Political Behavior
Sources of Uncertainty:
Unclear objectives
Vague performance measures
Ill-defined decision processes
Strong individual or group competition
Any type of change
Political maneuvering is triggered primarily by uncertainty. Five common sources of uncertainty are listed here.

24. Test Your Knowledge
Given what we know about causes of political behavior, who would be most likely to engage in self-interested politics?
A new, relatively young employee starting out her career or
An older, more established employee.
Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on their manager’s rankings of them
Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on an established, known set of standards 1. 2.
Given what we know about causes of political behavior, who would be most likely to engage in politics?
A new, relatively young employee starting out her career or
An older, more established employee.
Answer: B, there is more uncertainty for newer employees
A financial advisor whose pay is 100% commission-based or
A financial analyst.
Answer: A, when employees understand that their performance will be measured based on a set of standards, they are more likely to work towards meeting those standards, rather than engaging in behaviors that will increase their liking with their manager. A system based on rankings is likely to lead to judgments being made both on objective indicators of performance but also are more likely to be influenced by non-job-related factors.

25. Levels of Political Action in Organizations
Figure 15-5
Levels of Political Action in Organizations
Distinguishing Characteristics
Cooperative pursuit of general self-interests
Cooperative pursuit of group interests in specific issues
Individual pursuit of general self-interests
Network Level
Coalition Level
Individual Level
Although much political maneuvering occurs at the individual level, it also can involve group or collective action. Coalitions form because of an issue that matters to the individuals in the coalition; and once that issue is resolved, they typically disband.
Networks are a group of individuals who are together to promote each other and assist the members of the network in achieving their goals. For example, a Hispanic network at Avon has been established to support members’ career opportunities. Networks focus on people rather than issues and have longer-term purposes.

26. Political Tactics
For each tactic, estimate the effectiveness of using this tactic to promote organizational objectives
Highly unlikely to be effective
May or may not be effective
Highly likely to be effective
Attacking or blaming others
Using information as a political tool
Creating a favorable image (impression management)
Developing a base of support
Praising others (ingratiation)
Forming political coalitions with strong allies
Associating with influential people
Creating obligations (reciprocity)
These political tactics are listed in descending order of occurrence.
What is the likelihood that each of these would be effective in promoting organizational interests as well as individual self-interests?
Attacking or blaming others - 3
Using information as a political tool - 2
Creating a favorable image (impression management) - 1
Developing a base of support - 1
Praising others (ingratiation) – 3 (as long as it is perceived to be sincere)
Forming political coalitions with strong allies – 2 (as long as those allies also have org’s interests at heart)
Associating with influential people - 3
Creating obligations (reciprocity) – 2 (indicates compliance rather than commitment, may or may not yield long-term benefits for org.

27. Are You Politically Naïve, Sensible, or a Political Shark?
Favorite tactics
Techniques
Intent
Underlying attitude
Characteristics
None—the truth will win out
Tell it like it is
Avoid it at all costs
Politics is unpleasant
Naïve
Negotiate, bargain
Network; expand connections; use system to give and receive favors
Further departmental goals
Politics is necessary
Sensible
Bully; misuse information, cultivate and use “friends” and other contacts
Manipulate; use fraud and deceit when necessary
Self-serving and predatory
Politics is an opportunity
Sharks
You can get a general indication of your political tendencies by comparing your behavior with the characteristics in this table. Your book makes the distinction between organizational politics that serves one’s self interest and the organizational politics that serves the organization’s goals.

28. How to Keep Organizational Politics Within Reasonable Bounds
Table 15-3
How to Keep Organizational Politics Within Reasonable Bounds
Screen out overly political individuals at hiring time
Create and open-book management system
Make sure every employee knows how the business works and has a personal line of sight to key results
Have nonfinancial people interpret periodic financial and accounting statements for all employees
Establish formal conflict resolution and grievance processes
As an ethics filter, do only what you would feel comfortable doing on national television
Publicly recognize and reward people who get real results without political games
As we conclude this chapter, it is easy to see that organizational politics cannot be eliminated. A manager would be naïve to expect such an outcome. But political maneuvering can and should be managed to keep it constructive and within reasonable bounds. Therefore, following the practical steps in this list is recommended.

29. 15
Supplemental Slides
The following set of slides has been developed in close collaboration with the authors of the text to provide instructors with additional material for class lectures. In most cases, the material is not discussed in the text, and includes updated sources and relevant examples to accompany text information.
15-29

30. Video Cases Bully Broads Officials Investigate CEOs Stock Options
Videos applicable to this chapter and available on the Organizational Behavior Video DVD, Volume One include:
Bully Broads
Officials Investigate CEOs Stock Options
NOTE: Slides for the complete set of video cases on the Organizational Behavior Video DVD, Volume One can be found on the book’s website in the Instructor’s Resources.

31. “With Honors” Movie Clip
What sources of power do each of the characters have?
Monty
Professor Pitkannan
Courtney (Monty’s friend)
Security Guard
Simon (homeless man)
Notes: Instructors will have to obtain their own copy of “With Honors” movie. Show Chapter 2, through Chapter 4, A bargain in the basement – 12 minutes
These scenes start with Monty and his friend walking on campus. The scenes end when Monty leaves Widner Library and meets Courtney outside. She says, “You didn’t get it?” They leave to return to their house. The film cuts to Courtney examining donuts under a magnifying glass.
Monty
Reward power with regard to Simon because he can give him what he wants if he won’t burn the thesis and give it back to him.
Referent power with his friends because they tried to help him without being asked because they care about him.
Professor Pitkannan
Legitimate power
Expert power although Courtney calls this into question by stating that he is more of a celebrity than an intellectual
Reward power in that if he likes his thesis he’ll graduate Monty with honors (summa cum laude) and later his friends say that Pitkannan can get Marty into graduate school and set him up for life.
Courtney
Referent power because she is friendly with the security guard so he is willing to help her out
Security Guard
Legitimate power because his job allows him access to places others don’t have
Homeless man
Coercive power – because if he doesn’t comply with requests more papers will be burned
Does Simon behave ethically? Not really because he takes this opportunity that literally fell into his lap and uses it to his advantage. This would be analogous to having legitimate power and holding it over someone to benefit one’s self rather than to benefit a larger goal. 6

32. “Scarface” Movie Clip
What characterizes the relationship between the Detective and Tony (Al Pacino)?
What sources of power do both characters have?
What influence tactics does the Detective use?
Does the Detective use or abuse power?
What outcome will this influence attempt likely yield?
NOTE: Instructors will have to obtain their own copy of Scarface – show scene that begins when Al Pacino and the Detective are sitting down at a restaurant to discuss business.
What characterizes the relationship between the Detective and Tony?
Interdependent because Al needs police officers to ensure smooth, uninterrupted drug operations, Mel needs leads in order to make arrests so he looks like he’s doing his job and wants to make money from Al’s operation.
What sources of power do both characters have?
Tony
Reward power because he has money because of his position in the drug operations
Detective
Expert/informational power because he knows the law enforcement operations in Miami area and about drug operations
Coercive power because he can arrest him for his drug deals
Reward power because he can give him leads and kill people or threaten to if they don’t pay
What influence tactics does the detective use?
Exchange, legitimating by pointing out that the police can make Tony’s life miserable; Pressure – threaten if this conversation is made public the police will look bad so they’ll hurt Tony’s business.
The detective definitely did not use consultation – he had the deal formulated already when he presented it to Tony.
Does the Detective use or abuse power?
Abuse because he is using his position in the police force for exclusively personal gain that is counter to the organization’s goals.
What outcome will this influence attempt likely yield?
Compliance because Tony won’t be committed to it because it doesn’t really help him that much, he is doing it because he wants to avoid going to jail and to ensure that his operations run smoothly. 6

33. Principles of Influence
Liking: The more we like the other person, the more likely we’ll comply with their requests
Reciprocity: The belief that both good and bad deeds should be repaid in kind.
Social Proof: Role models and peer pressure are powerful forces
Source: R. B. Cialdini, "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," Harvard Business Review, October 2001, pp
Liking – people tend to like those who like them. This is why it’s important to build rapport with people who you would like to influence. So on a job interview, trying to find something in common with the person helps break the ice and increases liking.
Reciprocity – the belief that both good and bad deeds should be repaid in kind. Individuals generally experience powerful pressures to reciprocate benefits they have received from others. So if you offer to do something for someone, the norm of reciprocity would say that they will feel compelled to do something for you.
Social proof – role models and peer pressure are powerful cultural forces. So, if a request comes to you from two levels up in the organization, you will be more likely to comply with the request if your peers are also going to comply. You follow the lead from role models or people you want to emulate (respected boss or peer).
Source: R. B. Cialdini, "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," Harvard Business Review, October 2001, pp

34. Principles of Influence
Consistency: Once individuals have stated a commitment they tend to act in accordance with that commitment.
Authority: People tend to defer to and respect credible experts.
Scarcity: Requests that emphasize scarcity or the fact that some object, opportunity, or outcome will soon no longer be available, are difficult to resist.
Source: R. B. Cialdini, "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," Harvard Business Review, October 2001, pp
Consistency – people tend to do what they are personally committed to do. Once individuals have adopted a position or committed themselves to a course of action, they experience strong pressure to comply with requests that are consistent with these initial commitments. This is how the “foot in the door” tactic works. So, say you are campaigning for a particular candidate and you want to have people to donate to your candidate’s campaign.
First, you have the person to vocalize a commitment to something. In this example, they express their desire for the candidate to win. They have now made a commitment.
Next you ask them to sign a petition to put them on the ballot. They do this – no big problem for them.
Then you ask them to put a sign on their lawn reminding them that this would be aligned with their publicly stated commitment and with signing the petition (their behavior).
Finally, you ask them to make a donation. It’s clear they are committed to this based on the fact they just agreed to the previous requests and you use this fact to influence them to make the donation.
The door in the face technique works similarly in that you gain commitment to something and then ask for an outrageous request, or one that would be turned down understandably, and then you ask for the smaller request. For example, make a $1,000 donation to the candidate. If that is turned down you say, “Well then at least you could put a sign in your lawn supporting the candidate.”
Scarcity – people want items, information, and opportunities that have limited availability. This is one of the favorite tactics that sales people use. “Only 3 homes left”. Or “this sale is only for President’s day weekend, hurry in to take advantage of it.” Car salesmen also try to pressure people to buy by saying that here is the deal but it’s only good for tonight and we close soon, so you have to decide now. When in situations like this, you have to really ask yourself if there wasn’t this fear that I couldn’t get it again, would I still want it? If the answer is uncertain, than you may be making a hasty decision that is not in your best interest because of this scarcity tactic.
Authority – people tend to defer to and respect credible experts. For example, in a hospital the patients would listen to their doctors but were much less compliant with their physical therapists. Cialdini suggested that the center director post all the awards, certificates, and other credentials of the physical therapists. This salient information provided the “authority” necessary and patient compliance increased by 34% and didn’t drop.
These principles should be used in combination for their maximum impact.
Source: R. B. Cialdini, "Harnessing the Science of Persuasion," Harvard Business Review, October 2001, pp

35. Impression Management Tips
Tone down the star quality
Don’t be Mr. Personality
Get the inside scoop
Give ‘em something to talk about
Source: Allow Me to Introduce Myself (Properly), Sam Grobart, Money January 2007
This article provides tips on how to make a good first impression at the workplace when you’re “new”
Tone down the star quality – while you may have lots of good ideas, hold off on them until you’ve gained some credibility with your coworkers by doing your assigned job well
Don’t be Mr. Personality – be pleasant and polite but tone down your gregariousness until you are more comfortable with your coworkers (and they are more comfortable with you)
Get the inside scoop – don’t be too blunt in asking how things really get done, start by finding the someone who seems well-connected and ask about work-related preferences, not personalities
Give ‘em something to talk about – get on the good side of influential people and this may lead to many more people warming to your presence. Get others to “toot your horn”.
Source: Allow Me to Introduce Myself (Properly), Sam Grobart, Money January 2007

36. Building Empowerment Through Ownership
Believe in what you propose
Communicate the meaning of ownership
Share profit-and-loss information
Make it worthwhile financially
Turn your owners into decision makers
Taken from Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83 June 2005 “Every Employee an Owner”
Companies that have been the most successful at implementing employee-ownership plans follow these precepts:
Believe in what you propose
SR. management must be behind equity ownership and devote the necessary resources to sustaining it over time. Be patient because a transition to employee ownership takes time to “take” – maybe 1 to 2 years.
Communicate the meaning of ownership
Remind employees of their ownership with signs, banners, bulletin boards, company staionery, websites, speeches, informal talks.
Share profit-and-loss information
Employees are entitled to see all info about the company as long as it is aligned with SEC regulations
Educate workers about company’s financials, give business-literacy training
Make it worthwhile financially
Design the system to benefit the employees financially, increase people’s shareholdings every hear of their tenure.
Turn your owners into decision makers
Give employees discretion in how they do their jobs and to act on ways to improve them. At Whole Foods, workers are responsible for hiring people into their work groups. They are paid based on team performance so employee want to ensure they get the best workers and are invested in achieving that.

37. Being Politically Proactive
You want others to see your idea as you see it.
Political competence is methodical.
Words and approach matter.
The small stuff makes a big difference.
Taken from Fast Company May 2005 “Politically Proactive”, Samuel B. Bacharach
You want others to see your idea as you see it.
To do so you need to put yourself in their shoes to understand how your idea will be perceived by them and then tailor your approach accordingly.
Political competence is methodical.
You have to thoroughly prepare and analyze the organizational landscape to know what direction to go in. Determine potential allies and resisters to more effectively build a coalition.
Words and approach matter.
Use language they will understand – don’t talk over them or belittle their understanding of the issue. Know your audience and what words and language will resonate with them.
The small stuff makes a big difference.
Even if people disagree with your strategic goals, you may be able to find common ground in more tactical decisions. Agreeing on these issues may build trust that can help them embrace your longer-term ideas in the future.

38. Outcomes of Telling the Truth or Lying
Reason & Context of the Lie
Results of Lying
Results of Truth-telling
Conflicting Expectations
Easier to lie than to address the underlying conflict
Offers quick relief of the issue
Leaves the underlying problem unresolved
May have no meaningful consequences, good or bad.
Liar must rationalize the action in order to preserve positive self-concept
Emotionally more difficult than lying
May correct underlying problem.
May provoke further conflict.
Sometimes difficult to have an impact on an impermeable structure.
Develops one’s reputation as an “honest” person
Negotiation
Short term gain
Economically positive
Harms long term relationship
Must rationalize to oneself
Supports high quality long term relationship.
Develops reputation of integrity.
Models behavior to others
Taken from: Academy of Management Executive, 2005, Vol 19, No. 2 May, The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: The causes and management of workplace lying. Steven Grover
Research on lying has revealed these four lessons:
Lying is difficult to detect on the interpersonal level
Lying is partly caused y structural constraints and conflicts.
Lying is partly caused by individual differences
Lying is partly caused by reward structures.
Managers are faced with many circumstances in which they may be tempted to lie – this table shows the consequences of lying in each of four situations. Generally, lying hurts one’s reputation and long-term relationship with others.
One exception may be in the situation where you are holding someone’s confidence. To the extent that it is truly important to hold the confidence, lying by omission may actually do more good than harm because it will build relationships with the individual and others who later recognize the importance of omission.

39. Outcomes of Telling the Truth or Lying
Reason & Context of the Lie
Results of Lying
Results of Truth-telling
Keeping a confidence (that may require at least a lie of omission)
Protects whatever good reason there is for the confidence.
Maintains a long term relationship with the party for whom confidence is kept.
May project deceitfulness to the deceived party
Violates a trust to the confiding party.
Makes one appear deceitful to all parties in the long run.
Creates the impression of honesty beyond utility.
Reporting your own performance within an organization
Might advance oneself or ones cause.
Develops dishonest reputation over time.
Must continue the sequence of lies to appear consistent
Creates reputation of integrity
May not always be positive.
Taken from: Academy of Management Executive, 2005, Vol 19, No. 2 May, The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: The causes and management of workplace lying. Steven Grover
Research on lying has revealed these four lessons:
Lying is difficult to detect on the interpersonal level
Lying is partly caused y structural constraints and conflicts.
Lying is partly caused by individual differences
Lying is partly caused by reward structures.
Managers are faced with many circumstances in which they may be tempted to lie – this table shows the consequences of lying in each of four situations. Generally, lying hurts one’s reputation and long-term relationship with others.
One exception may be in the situation where you are holding someone’s confidence. To the extent that it is truly important to hold the confidence, lying by omission may actually do more good than harm because it will build relationships with the individual and others who later recognize the importance of omission.

40. The Paradox of Self-Reliance in the Age of Empowerment
Today’s workers must:
Rely on themselves
Be able to figure things out with minimal supervision
Develop collaborations and coalitions to move their projects along
Work comfortable amidst ambiguity and insecurity that surround those projects
Develop their capacities to work in conditions that require self-reliance
However, the paradox is:
People are only capable of self-reliance when they feel securely attached to trusted others
Notes:
Topic Covered: Empowerment
No longer can workers count on others to:
Provide rules
Goals
Clear promotional ladders
Protection
They must rely on themselves
They muse be able to
figure things out with minimal supervision
Develop collaborations and coalitions to move their projects along
Work comfortable amidst ambiguity and insecurity that surround those projects
They must develop their capacities to work in conditions that require self-reliance
There is however a paradox at the heart of self-reliance
People are only capable of being fully self-reliant when they feel securely attached to trusted others
When people are distracted by anxiety—from fear of failure, the lack of certainty, the difficulty of tasks—it is difficult for them to forge ahead and explore new territories
The paradox managers face: how to support others who must rely mostly on themselves, without retreating to the traditionally controlling managerial stance.
For discussion: How can today’s managers find productive middle grounds between being nurturing and over-controlling and between giving employees freedom and offering inadequate support?
Source: Excerpted from W A Kahn, “Managing the Paradox of Self-Reliance,” Organizational Dynamics, Spring 2002, p

41. A Workplace Empowerment Scale
1 = Very False, 10 = Very True
___ 1)
Encourage me to believe in myself
Gives me the freedom and flexibility to experiment
___ 2)
Helps remove roadblocks
___ 3)
Inspires me to do more than I thought I could
___ 4)
Establishes trust and credibility when relating to me
___ 5)
Encouraged me to openly express my feelings and concerns
___ 6)
Helps me set meaningful goals
___ 7)
Notes:
Topic covered: Empowerment
Directions: Have students think of their present jobs (or a past one) when rating each of the items on the above slide
Use the scale:
1 = very false t0 10= very true
Degree of empowerment:
10-27= very low empowerment
28-45= low empowerment
46-64= moderate empowerment
65-82= high empowerment
83-100= very high empowerment
For Discussion: How well does your empowerment score correlate with your job satisfaction and your intention to stay (or quit)? What is particularly good (or bad) about the empowerment climate in this situation? For you, what is the most important dimension of employee empowerment? Explain.
Source: Survey items excerpted from B P Niehoff, R H Moorman, G Blakely, and J Fuller, “The Influence of Empowerment and Job Enrichment on Employee Loyalty in a Downsizing Environment,” Group and Organizational Management March 2001, pp
Conveys ownership by talking in terms of our customer, our budget, our business
___ 8)
Is willing to give his or her time when I need it
___ 9)
Develops a trusting relationship by sharing information
___ 10)

42. Conclusion Questions for discussion
You might consider the following questions for discussion:
Of the nine generic influence tactics, which do you use the most when dealing with friends, parents, your boss, or your professors? Would other tactics be more effective?
Using the three possible outcomes of influence as a guide, generally how effective are you at influencing others? What do you need to do to improve?
Before reading this chapter, did the term power have a negative connotation for you? Do you view it differently now?
What base of power do you rely on in your daily affairs? Do you handle power effectively and responsibly?
In your opinion, how much empowerment is too much in today’s workplaces?
What are the main advantages and drawbacks of the trend toward increased delegation?
Why do you think organizational politics is triggered primarily by uncertainty?
What personal experiences have you had with coalitions?
Refer to the online Self Exercise titled “How much do you rely on upward impression management techniques.” How heavily do you rely on upward impression management tactics? What are the career implications of your approach to impression management?
How much impression management do you see in your classroom or workplace today? Citing specific examples, are those tactics effective?