PowerandPolitics

PGP1
AbhishekGoel

02/08/16

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Power
PowerreferstoacapacitythatAhastoinfluencethebehaviorofBso
thatBactsinaccordancewithAswishes.
f (dependency)
Importance
Scarcity
Nonsubstitutability

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FormalBasesofPower
CoercivePower:Fearofnegativeresultsfromfailingto
comply
RewardPower:ExpectationofPositiveOutcomesin
caseofcompliance
LegitimatePower: Formalauthoritytocontrolanduse
organizationalresources,derivedfromposition

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PersonalBasesofPower
ExpertPower:Expertise,SpecialSkill,Knowledge
ReferentPower:Identificationwithapersonwhohas
desirableresourcesorpersonaltraits

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Shortdiscussion
Whodoyouthinkisthemostpowerfulperson?
Whatisthebasisoftheirpower?

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 Whichoftheseisrelevantformanagersinworkcontext?

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Referent
Expert
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive

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Organizationalfactorsthatinfluenceposition
power
Flexibility
(discretion
vestedina
position)

Relevance
(Alignmentof
assigned
taskswithorg
priorities)
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Visibility
(topeople
whomatter)

Centrality
(accessto
information)

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InformationPower
Informationpowercanbeusedtodistortortoframeinformationto
influenceothersgoaldirectedbehaviors(Lussier &Achua,2001)

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Doweneedpower?
Isituseful?
Where?
Forwhat?
How?

Whatdopeopledowithit?
Whatdoweneedtocareabout?

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ObediencetoAuthority(1)
Milgrams experiment
WorldValuesSurvey
Peoplehavedifferentideasaboutfollowinginstructionsatwork.Somesaythat
oneshouldfollowone'ssuperior'sinstructionsevenwhenonedoesnotfully
agreewiththem.Otherssaythatoneshouldfollowone'ssuperior'sinstructions
onlywhenoneisconvincedthattheyareright.
Withwhichofthesetwoopinionsdoyouagree?
Followinstructions
Mustbeconvincedfirst
Depends

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Response

Followinstructions(%) Mustbeconvincedfirst (%)

Depends(%)

(N)

(Aggregate)[INDIA]

36.1

31.8

14.4

(2002)

Male[INDIA]

36.6

35.3

16.5

(1137)

Female[INDIA]

35.5

27.2

11.6

(865)

38countries

38.6

44.0

13.8

(53,543)

DatafromPeopleHoldingFullTimeEmployment|(N=16,815,38Countries)|DataCollectionYears:19992004
FollowInstructions

MustbeConvincedFirst

Depends

NoAnswer

DontKnow

38.2%

44%

15.4%

0.3%

2.1%

BasedondatafromWorldValuesSurvey(v.2015.04.18)

Obediencetofaith/religion 43.2%Netural,32.4%towardsindependence,24.3%towardsobedience
50%feltthatobeyingtherulersisacharacteristicofdemocracy(SampleSize1581)
IndianData 2014 Resultsin2016.LookforitemsY003andV138

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InfluenceTactics
Upward

Rational Persuasion

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Downward

Lateral

Rational Persuasion

Rational Persuasion

Inspirational appeal

Consultation

Pressure

Ingratiation

Consultation
Ingratiation
Exchange
Legitimacy

Exchange
Legitimacy
Personal appeal
Coalition

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Thinkaboutthese
Singlevs.combinationoftactics
Soft Hard
Importanceofrationalpersuasionincombination
Mostimportant:Rationalpersuasionandingratiation
(Higgins,Judge&Ferris,2003)

Impactonperformanceassessmentvs.onsalary
increaseandpromotion(Higgins,Judge&Ferris,2003)
Theroleofpoliticalskills

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AnInfluenceSituation
Pleaseassumethatyouhavejoinedyourcurrentorganizationaboutone
yearago.OneofyoursubordinatesisMr.Sharma,a58yearoldsupervisor
whohasbeenwiththeorganizationforalmosttwodecades.Hewillretire
intwoyearswhenhebecomeseligibleforafullpension.
Thetroubleisthathisperformanceiscomingdown.Hedoesnotseemto
beinclinedtogotheextramilebyputtinginextratimewhenrequired.
Andoccasionallyhisworkisevenabitbelowthestandard.Someline
workersandcustomershavecomplainedthathehastreatedthemrather
abruptlyandwithoutmuchsensitivity.Hehasnotdoneanythingbad
enoughtowarrantdisciplinaryaction,butheisdefinitelynotmeetingyour
expectations.Assumingthatyouarehavingyourregularquarterlyone
oneonemeetingwithhiminyouroffice,whichofthestatementsineach
pairwouldyoumake?
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PAIR I
Whenoneofyoursubordinatescalledtheotherdaytocomplainthatyouhadcriticizedhisworkinpublic,Ibecame
concerned.ThiswassecondsuchcallIhavereceivedlately.
Youknow,ofcourse,thatyourewrongtohavecriticizedyoursubordinatesworkinpublic.Thatssurewaytocreate
antagonismandlowermorale.
PAIR II
ImusttellyouthatImdisappointedinyourperformance.
Severalofouremployeesseemtobeunhappywithhowyouvebeenworkinglately.
PAIR III
Iknowthatyouvebeendoingagreatjobassupervisor,buttheresjustasmallthingIwanttoraisewithyouabouta
customercomplaint,probablynottooserious.
OflateIamincreasinglyconcernedaboutsomeaspectsofyourperformance,andIdliketodiscussthemwithyouopenly.
PAIRIV
Iwouldliketoseethefollowingchangesinyourperformance:(1),(2),and(3).
Ihavesomeideasforhelpingyoutoimprove;butfirst,whatdoyousuggest?
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HowtoInfluenceYourBoss?
Assumethatyouhavebeennegotiatingthesaleofsomepropertyownedby
yourcompany.Afterlotsofeffort,thebuyerhasmadeanattractiveoffer,
andyouhaveverballyacceptedit.Youbreakthisnewstoyourboss,andhe
ishappy.However,hesuggeststhatyougobacktothebuyerandtellthem
thattheyhavetosweetentheofferjustabitinordertogetbuyinbackat
headoffice.Youexpressyourreluctance,butyourbosssays:noharmin
asking.
Youdonotwanttogobacktotheprospectivebuyer.Andyourappraisalisa
fewweeksawaywhatwouldyoudo?

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Source:Wheeler,2004

PoliticalBehaviors
activitiesthatarenotrequiredaspartofpersonsformalrolein
theorganizationbutthatinfluence,orattempttoinfluence,the
distributionofadvantagesordisadvantageswithintheorganization.
NeededorNotneeded
Canweavoidthem?

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Politicking
Simplyput:useofpowerandinformationtomove
resourcestowardpreferredobjectives.
Isusedto
Obtainresources
Gathercooperationofpeopleoutsidedirectauthority

Needs
Understandingofkeyissuesanddriversinorganizationand
industry
Keeninterestinlifeoftheorganization
Exercisesoundjudgment
Cautious(notrash);carefuldecisions(notonimpulse)
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Influencers
Individualfactorssuchas:

Machiavellianism
Needforpower
Internallocusofcontrol
Selfmonitoring

Situationalfactorssuchas:
Organizationalculture
Performanceappraisal

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Assessingorganization
Observeandlisten Paycloseattentiontonorms;beconsistentwith
them
Politicalorganizationchart(howauthorityactuallyflows) formal
rolesaswellasinformalroles
TAKESTIME patience,appropriatetime,gracious

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Tipsonreadingothers
Listenintently
Observeaggressively(keenly) consistency
Sensitivity topickupnuances
Analyzefirstimpressions(myth) consistency

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PolitickingStrategies(Kipnis etal.,1984)
Havepositiveaswellasnegativeeffect
Basedoninfluencetactics,andhowoneusesthem
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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Assertiveness speakup
Upwardappeals demonstratesupport
BargainorExchange compromise
Reciprocation expectation
Coalitionbuilding
Ingratiation
Rationality
Inspirationalappeals
Consultation
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OutcomesofOrganizationalPolitics
Employeesattitudes:
Decreasedjobsatisfaction
Increasedanxietyandstress

Employeesbehaviors:

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Reducedperformance
Increasedturnover
Longitudinalstudy:Impactmediatedbymetexpectations(Vigoda &Cohen,2001)
Defensivebehaviors

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Keepingpoliticsincheck
Reducetaskambiguity
Increasecommunicationchannels
Ensureclearandconsistentrewardandpromotionstructure
Providesufficientresources
Formalizethestructure(Rao,Schmidt,&Murray,1995)

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Neutralizinginfluenceattempts
I.

Whenothersputpressure
I. Countertoshiftdependencetointerdependence
II. Confrontexploitingindividual
III. Activelyresist

II. Whenothersusereciprocity
I. Examineintentoffavors,gift
II. Confrontmanipulators
III. Toohighpressure disengage

III. Whenothersuselogic
I. Explainadverseeffectsofcompliance(onperformance)
II. Defendpersonalrights
III. Firmlyrefusetocomply
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Issueselling(Dutton&Ashford,1993;Dutton&Duncan,1987)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Congruence withownpositionandrole
Credibility maintain
Communication getconnected
Compatibility withorg
Solvability shouldbesolvable
Payoff longterm
Expertise identification
Responsibility pointout
Presentation succinct,clear,data,simple
Bundlingsimilarissuestogether
Visibility sellissueinpublic(whoallwantit)

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Thatsfine,but
WhatdoIdowithit?
Andtheansweris...

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