© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-1 Power and Politics Chapter 11 Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 8/e Stephen P. Robbins

© 2005 Prentice-Hall )Define power 2)Describe the seven bases of power 3)Explain what creates dependency in power relationships 4)Describe how power is central to understanding sexual harassment After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-3 After reading this chapter, you should be able to: 5)Define political behavior 6)Describe the importance of a political perspective 7)Explain the factors contributing to political behavior in organizations 8)Identify seven techniques for managing the impression you make on others

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-4 Power Refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B does something he or she would not otherwise do

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-5 Power Potential Dependence Discretion

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-6 Leadership and Power Leaders use power as a way to attain group goals, and power is a means for facilitating their achievement

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-7 Bases of Power Formal – Coercive – Reward – Legitimate – Information

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-8 Coercive power - One reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that might occur if one failed to comply

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 11-9 Reward power - People comply with the wishes or directives of another because doing so produces positive benefits Legitimate power - represents the formal authority to control and use organizational resources

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Information power - comes from access to and control over information

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Bases of Power Personal – Expert – Referent – Charismatic

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Expert power - influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge Referent power - based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Charismatic power - extension of referent power stemming from an individual’s personality and interpersonal style

© 2005 Prentice-Hall The General Dependency Postulate The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B

© 2005 Prentice-Hall What Creates Dependency? Dependency is increased when the resource you control is –Important –Scarce –Nonsubstitutable

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Power in Groups: Coalitions Seek to maximize their size More created where there is task and resource interdependence

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Power and Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is about power It’s about one person controlling or threatening another –Supervisor’s power over subordinates for rewards and job security –Co-worker’s influence in denial or delay of information –Subordinate’s highlighting gender stereotypes

© 2005 Prentice-Hall 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

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Factors Contributing to Political Behavior Individual factors: Authoritarian High-risk propensity External locus of control High need for power Autonomy Security Status

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Factors Contributing to Political Behavior Organizational factors: Low trust Role ambiguity Unclear performance evaluation systems Zero-sum reward allocation practices Democratic decision making High pressures for performance

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Political Behavior Very strong evidence indicating that perceptions of organizational politics are negatively related to job satisfaction

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Political Behavior Increased job anxiety and stress Leads to self-reported declines in employee performance

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Defensive Behaviors

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Techniques Used for Impression Management Self-descriptions Conformity Accounts Apologies Acclaiming Flattery Favors

© 2005 Prentice-Hall Is a Political Action Ethical?

© 2005 Prentice-Hall )Defined power 2)Described the seven bases of power 3)Explained what creates dependency in power relationships 4)Described how power is central to understanding sexual harassment Summary

© 2005 Prentice-Hall )Defined political behavior 6)Described the importance of a political perspective 7)Explained the factors contributing to political behavior in organizations 8)Identified seven techniques for managing the impression you make on others Summary