12

C H A P T E R
T W E L V E

Organizational Power
and Politics
 Suggested topics
 Describe a time when you had to deal with
“organizational politics”.
 Describe a situation where you saw
evidence of power or influence being used
in an organization
 Describe a time when someone influenced
you to act a particular way or do a particular
thing that you would not of otherwise done.
 Power
Empowerment

How to get it
How to use it

…without abusing it
 Definition
 A “four letter word”?
 Influence?
 Control over others?
 Being able to get things done?
 ??????
 A shifting definition…
 Reflects the new “reality” of organizations
 A new definition of “employee”
 The Meaning of Power
Power is the capacity of a person,
team, or organization to influence
others.
– The potential to influence others
– People have power they don’t use
and may not know they possess
– Power requires one person’s
perception of dependence on
another person

Southland Times, New Zealand

 Why does having power matter?
With power you can…
 Intercede favorably on behalf of someone in trouble
 Get a desirable placement for a talented subordinate
 Get approval for expenditures beyond the budget
 Get items on and off agendas
 Get fast access to decision makers
 Maintain regular, frequent contact with decision makers
 Acquire early information about decisions and policy
shifts
 The goal?
 Overcome feelings of powerlessness
 Convert power effectively into interpersonal
influences in ways that avoid the abuse of
power
To empower yourself
To facilitate the empowerment
of others
Relationship Among Social Influence, Power,
and Politics
Capacity to
Successful
exert influence

Organizational
Power Social influence
politics

Use of power for

personal interests Unsuccessful
 Power and Dependence
Person B’s
counterpowe Person
r over Person A
A

Person Person
B B’s Goals
Person A’s
power over
Person B
 Types of Individual Power: A
Summary
Individual Power

Position Power
Personal Power
• Referent power
• Legitimate power
• Expert power
• Reward power
• Coercive power
 Model of Power in
Organizations
Sources
Of Power

Power
Legitimate over Others
Reward
Coercive
Contingencies
Expert Of Power
Referent
 Legitimate Power
 One’s structural position
 The power a person receives as a result of
his or her position in the formal hierarchy of
an organization
 The Limits of Legitimate Power
The Caine Mutiny illustrates
the limits of legitimate power
in organizations. Captain
Queeg (Humphrey Bogart,
seated left) asked his crew to
do more than they were
willing to follow, so they Archive Photos

staged a mutiny.
 Reward and Coercive Power
 Power that achieves compliance based on
the ability to distribute rewards that others
view as valuable
 Coercive Power: the opposite of reward
power: the power that is based on fear of
negative results.
 Sources of Power
Legitimate Power

Reward Power

Coercive Power

Expert Power
Archive Photos

Referent Power
 Expert Power
 Influence is based on special skills or
knowledge
 Referent Power
 Influence is based on possession by an
individual of desirable resources or personal
traits

 The desire to please…

 Information and Power
 Control over information flow
– Based on legitimate power
– Relates to formal communication network
– Common in centralized structures (wheel pattern)

 Coping with uncertainty

– Those who know how to cope with organizational
uncertainties gain power
» Prevention
» Forecasting
» Absorption
 Contingencies of Power
Sources Power
Of Power over others

Contingencies
Of Power

Substitutability
Centrality
Discretion
Visibility
Increasing Nonsubstitutability

Controlling
Differentiation
Tasks

Increasing
Nonsubstitutability

Controlling Controlling
Labour Knowledge
 Consequences of Power
Sources Consequences
of Power of Power

Expert
Power
Commitment
Referent
Power
Legitimate
Power Compliance
Reward
Power
Coercive Resistance
Power
 Sexual Harassment and Power
 Harasser stereotypes the victim as subservient
and powerless
 Harasser threatens job security or safety
through coercive or legitimate power
 Hostile work environment harassment
continues when the victim lacks power to stop
the behaviour
 Office Romance and Power
 Co-workers believe that employees in
relationships abuse their power to favour
each other.
 Higher risk of sexual harassment when
relationship breaks off.
 Organizational Politics
 Attempts to influence others using
discretionary behaviours to promote
personal objectives
– Discretionary behaviours — neither explicitly
prescribed nor prohibited

 Politics may be good or bad for the

organization
 Organizational Politics: More Likely at
the Top
Extent to Which Political Activity is Likely (range 0-3)

1.3 Political activity (1.22)

1.2 is perceived to
increase at higher (1.07)
1.1
organizational levels
1.0
.9
.8
(.73)
.7
(.54)
.6 (.50)
.5
.4
.3 (.18)
.2
.1
Production and Clerical and Technical and Lower Middle Upper
blue collar white collar professional management management management
Organizational Level
 Types of Organizational
Politics
Managing Attacking and
impressions blaming

Creating
Types of Controlling
obligations Organizational information
Politics

Cultivating Forming
networks coalitions
 Impression management
 Conformity: agreeing with another’s opinion to get their approval
 Excuses: Explanations of a predicament-creating event aimed at
minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament
 Apologies: Admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and
simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action
 Acclamations: Explanation of favourable events to maximize the
desirable implications for oneself.
 Flattery: Complimenting others on their virtues in an effort to make
oneself appear perceptive and likeable
 Favours: Doing something nice for someone to gain that person’s
approval
 Association: Enhancing or protecting one’s image by managing
information about people and things with which one is associated.
 It was
You John’s fault
scratch my
back… Attacking and
blaming I thought
you
knew…
Creating
Types of Controlling
obligations Organizational information
Politics

Cultivating Forming
networks coalitions

Look who We agreed

I know… that…
Conditions for Organizational
Politics

Personal Scarce
Characteristics Resources
Conditions
Supporting
Organizational
Politics
Complex and
Tolerance of
Ambiguous
Politics
Decisions
 Conditions for Organizational
Internal
locus of
Politics Perceived
control alternatives?

Personal Scarce
Characteristics Resources
Conditions
Deceit is Zero-sum
appropriate Supporting rewards
Organizational
Politics
Complex and
Tolerance of
Ambiguous
Politics
Decisions
Democratic
It works here decision making
 Political Antics Top the “Most Unethical
List”:
Situation
Survey Results Potentially
political
Gender discrimination behaviours
in recruitment or hiring (22.6)
Arrangements with vendors
leading to personal gain (23.1)
Nonperformance factors
used in appraisals (23.5)
Gender discrimination
in compensation (25.8)
Not maintaining
confidentiality (26.4)
Using discipline
inconsistently (26.9)
Gender discrimination
in promotion (26.9)
Sexual
harassment (28.4)
Allowing differences in pay
due to friendships (30.7)
Hiring, training, or promoting
based on favouritism (30.7)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Percentage Responding with a 4 or 5 on a five-Point Scale
Measuring Degree of Seriousness (where 5=“very great”)
Controlling Political Behaviour
Provide
Remove
Sufficient
Political Norms
Resources

Hire
Introduce
Low-Politics
Clear Rules
Employees

Increase
Free Flowing
Opportunities
Information
for Dialogue

Manage Change Peer Pressure

Effectively Against Politics