Chapter 12 Power and Politics Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Global Edition 12e Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge Chapter 12 Power and Politics

KEY WORDS AND CONCEPTS POWER and it’s two parts Potential Dependency BASES OF POWER Formal Coercive, Reward, Legitimate Personal Expert and Referent

KEY WORDS AND CONCEPTS POWER TACTICS and EFFECTIVENESS Upward, downward and lateral influence COALITIONS PROBLEM OF UNEQUAL POWER POLITICAL BEHAVIOR “POLITICKING”

After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Define power and contrast leadership and power. Contrast the five bases of power, divided into formal & personal power Identify nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies. Identify the causes and consequences of political behavior. Show the influence of culture on the uses and perceptions of politics.

Power Two Facets or Parts: Potential: Power: The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. Two Facets or Parts: Potential: Power – can be used but does not need to be shown to be effective Dependency: The greater someone wants or desires something the greater the dependency on the person with power. Example of college degree in book. Power refers to the capacity one person has over the other person to get the individual to do something. Inherent in this definition is the idea of dependency. The stronger the relationship or the dependency that one person has when the other possesses something they want or requires, the greater the dependency on that person.

Contrasting Leadership and Power Differences Leadership Power Goal Compatibility Requires goal unity or oneness Only needs dependence Direction of Influence Focuses on downward influence Concerned with influence in all directions Research Emphasis Emphasizes leadership style Broader topic: focuses on tactics used by individuals and groups Leadership and power are two different concepts and need to be defined separately. Leadership is focusing on goal achievement along with followers. Power is used as a way to accomplish the goal and often followers are also means to accomplish the goal. Leadership will focus on using leadership downward to influence others to help them achieve their tasks, whereas power uses influence to gain something upward or laterally.

Two Main Bases of Power Formal Power Coercive Power Reward Power Legitimate Power Personal Power Expert Power Referent Power Let’s look at these! There are two main bases of power, formal and personal. Formal power is defined more by the position a person will hold in the organization. People with formal power can utilize different power bases to accomplish their tasks. The first is coercive power where employees fear negative consequences if they don’t do what they are told. Reward power is the ability to distribute rewards that others see as valuable encouraging them to accomplish the goals or tasks to get the reward. The last base is legitimate power where the formal authority to control and use resources is then based on the person’s position in the formal hierarchy.

Formal Power Power based on an individual’s position in an organization. Coercive (forcing) or threat Power React to power out of fear of the negative results Reward Power Desire for positive benefits Legitimate Power From the formal authority to control. SIAS gives me this kind of power as a teacher. There are two main bases of power, formal and personal. Formal power is defined more by the position a person will hold in the organization. People with formal power can utilize different power bases to accomplish their tasks. The first is coercive power where employees fear negative consequences if they don’t do what they are told. Reward power is the ability to distribute rewards that others see as valuable encouraging them to accomplish the goals or tasks to get the reward. The last base is legitimate power where the formal authority to control and use resources is then based on the person’s position in the formal hierarchy.

Personal Bases of Power Power from an individual’s unique characteristics Expert: Influence shown as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge Referent: Based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits Charisma (charm) The second major form of power is personal power which comes through the individual’s personality and characteristics. This is often more effective than formal power. Personal power can be based on expert power, or the individual’s special skills or knowledge. It can also be based in referent power, or the personal traits or resources he or she offers to others.

Effective Power Bases Expert and referent power are positively related to performance and commitment Reward and legitimate power are unrelated to organizational outcomes Coercive power is negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment Expert and referent power tend to be more effective when goals are related to performance and commitment. However, reward and legitimate power do not seem related to organizational outcomes. We have seen that coercive power tends to be negatively related to work outcomes such as employee satisfaction and commitment.

Power Tactics Power tactics: Used to turn power bases into specific actions that influence others Some are more effective than others There are a number of power tactics an individual can use or ways in which they can make the power base work for them by moving people into specific actions. Some are more effective than others.

Nine Influence Tactics (12-1) Legitimacy – given (lateral/downward influence) Pressure - least effective (downward influence) 3. Rational persuasion – effective (up, down, & lateral influence) This slide exhibits 9 major power or influence tactics. They are legitimacy, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalitions.

Nine Influence Tactics 4. Coalitions (lateral influence) 5. Inspirational appeals – effective (downward influence) 6. Consultation (downward and lateral influence) This slide exhibits 9 major power or influence tactics. They are legitimacy, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalitions.

Nine Influence Tactics 7. Exchange (downward & lateral influence) 8. Personal appeals (lateral influence) 9. Ingratiation – using friendly behavior to make a request (downward & lateral influence) This slide exhibits 9 major power or influence tactics. They are legitimacy, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalitions.

Effectiveness of Power Tactics Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals and consultation are most effective Pressure is least effective Using more than one tactic at the same time or sequentially increases chance of success “Softer” tactics work better than “harder” tactics

COALITIONS 联盟 (Liánméng) An informal group bound together by the active pursuit of a single issue Coalitions in organization often seek to maximize their size More coalitions will likely be created when there is a great deal of task and resource interdependence The more routine the task of a group, the greater likelihood that coalitions will form

Global Implications Culture affects preference for power tactics Individualistic cultures See power in personalized terms and as a legitimate means of advancing personal ends Engage in more self-promotion behaviors Collectivistic cultures See power in social terms and as legitimate means of helping others Coalitions are more common in China An individual’s culture influences preferences for power tactics. Individualistic cultures view power in personalized terms, and see it as a legitimate means of advancing personal ends, while those in collectivistic cultures view power in social terms and as a legitimate means of helping others.

POLITICAL BEHAVIOR Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization

The Reality of Politics Politics arise in organizations because of Conflicting interests Limited resources Ambiguity (not clear) in decision making Politicking: Twisting facts to support one’s own goals and interests Politics often occurs when resources are low, the excess demand for the resources leads to competition and political behaviors. When the scarce resources are distributed there will be varying views regarding how “fairly” or “effectively” the distribution was done. Perceptions can be distorted such that the manager feels he is documenting decisions and the employee just feels that the manager is covering his rear. Most of the time, managers are making decisions under ambiguous conditions and there is not a readily available objective standard. This creates a context in which political maneuvering is encouraged.

Legitimacy (Gives support) of Political Behaviors Legitimate Normal everyday politics – complaining Illegitimate “Hardball” activities such as sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protests Political behavior can take the form of legitimate or illegitimate behavior. Legitimate political behavior is everyday normal politics such as complaining, bypassing or obstructing. Illegitimate political behavior is more extreme and violates the implied rules of the game such as sabotage, whistle blowing and symbolic protest which includes things such as wearing protest buttons or calling in sick as a group.

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE POLITICAL BEHAVIOR High need for power Large investment in the organization More job alternatives High expectations of success

Organizational Factors Contributing to Political Behavior Opportunity for promotion exists Organizational culture issues Low trust Roles not clear High performance pressures Leading by poor example As well as organizational factors such as a culture of low trust and role ambiguity. The combination of these factors will lead to political behavior which can lead to favorable outcomes such as increased rewards or decreased punishments.

Responses to Organizational Politics For those unwilling to play, or with modest political skills, the outcomes are negative Decreased job satisfaction Increased anxiety and stress Increased turnover and poor performance Most employees will not engage in a high level of politics and often react negatively to politics. Their reactions include decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover and a reduction in performance. Even though the given outcome for the individual employee who engages in politics may be favorable, it is often a negative impact for the group as a whole.

Implications for Managers Power can be increased by: Increasing the dependence of others Gaining unique knowledge or skills Minimizing one’s own dependence Acquiring useful bases of power Using effective power tactics Avoiding coercion (force) Politics are a natural part of any organization. As a manager it is important to have a healthy understanding of how politics work and how you will utilize them yourself. The best way to increase your power is to have others depend on you more and need what you are offering. Expert (knowledge) and referent (relationships) power are far more effective than tactics such as coercion and lead to better workplace outcomes. There are benefits to politics in the workplace but when engaged at a very high level it can be damaging in the long run.

Keep in Mind… Informal, expert, and referent power are the most important Use consultation and inspirational appeals It is important to keep in mind that power is a reality in the workplace and informal, expert, and referent power tend to be the most important. If managers want to use power effectively they need to use consultation and inspirational appeals. Impression management effectiveness is very much dependent on the context in its effectiveness.

Summary Defined power and contrasted leadership and power. Contrasted the five bases of power. Identified nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies. Identified the causes and consequences of political behavior. Showed the influence of culture on the uses and perceptions of politics.

Group Activity –Power & Politics LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE PICTURE YOU ARE SHOWN ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PICTURE DISCUSS THE PICTURE WITH YOUR TEAM AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN WRITING 1. What represents power in the picture 2. What represents politics in the picture 3. What represents power and politics in the picture 4. What does your team think the picture is saying?

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