14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 1 Organizational Theory, Design, and Change Sixth Edition Gareth R. Jones Chapter 14 Managing Conflict, Power, and Politics

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2 What is Organizational Conflict? Organizational Conflict: The clash that occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one group blocks or thwarts the goals of another Some conflict can actually improve organizational effectiveness Can overcome inertia and lead to learning and change Beyond a certain point, conflict becomes a cause for organizational decline Conflict leads to inability to reach consensus and indecision Too much time spent on bargaining rather than acting swiftly to resolve problems On balance, organizations should be open to conflict and recognize its value

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 3 Figure 14.1: Cooperation and Competition Among Organizational Stakeholders

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 4 Managing Conflict: Resolution Strategies Organizational conflict can escalate rapidly and sour an organization’s culture Managing conflict is an important priority Organizations must balance the need to have some “good” conflict without letting it escalate into “bad” conflict Choice of conflict-resolution method depends on the source of the problem Conflict can be reduced by structural and attitudinal changes within the organization

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 5 Managing Conflict: Resolution Strategies Acting at the level of structure Alter the level of differentiation and integration to change relationships Increase the number of integrating roles Assign top managers to solve conflict Rethink hierarchy/reporting relationships Acting at the level of attitudes and individuals Establish procedures for airing grievances Bargaining and negotiation Exchange/rotate/terminate individuals Replace members of top management CEOs can also use their power to resolve conflicts and motivate units to cooperate

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 6 What is Organizational Power? Organizational power: the ability of one person or group to overcome resistance by others to achieve a desired objective or result Conflict and power are intimately related Power can come from many different sources

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7 Sources of Organizational Power Authority: power that is legitimized by the legal and cultural foundations on which an organization is based Control over resources: as the organization controls more and more resources in its environment, power within an organization comes from the control of resources

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 8 Sources of Organizational Power (cont.) Control over information: access to strategic information and the control of the information are sources of considerable power Nonsubstitutability: if no one else can perform the tasks that a person or subunit performs, that person or subunit is nonsubstitutable

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 9 Sources of Organizational Power (cont.) Centrality: the subunits that are most central to resource flows have the ability to reduce the uncertainty facing other subunits Control over uncertainty: a subunit that can actually control the principal sources of uncertainty has significant power Changes in contingencies facing the organization alter which subunits have this power

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 10 Sources of Organizational Power (cont.) Unobtrusive power: controlling the premises of decision making Unobtrusive power: the power flowing from the ability to control the premises behind decision making The power of a coalition resides in its ability to control the assumptions, goals, norms, or values that managers use to judge alternative solutions to a problem

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 11 Using Power: Organizational Politics Organizational politics: activities taken within 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 disagreement about choices There are many tactics for playing politics

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 12 Using Power: Tactics for Playing Politics Increasing indispensability: become indispensable to the organization Increasing nonsubstitutability: develop specialized skills or knowledge that enables one to control a crucial contingency facing the organization Increasing centrality: accept responsibilities that enhance one’s reputation or that of one’s function Associating with powerful managers: supporting a powerful manager who is clearly on the way to the top

14- Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 13 Using Power: Tactics for Playing Politics (cont.) Building and managing coalitions Forming relationships with stakeholders and other subunits around some common issue Skills in coalition building are important Influencing decision making Must be circumspect in the use of power Controlling the agenda By setting the agenda, managers can control the issues and problems to be considered Bringing in an outside expert Use supposedly neutral outsiders to support the views of the coalitions