Power and Politics - Introduction, Sources of power, Organization politics, Reasons & Managing political behavior Conflict - Meaning, Types, Resolution styles Attitude & Values

1. MODULE 4
Power and Politics – Introduction, Sources of Power,
Organisational politics, Reasons and Managing Political
Behaviour.
Conflict – Meaning, Types (Individual, Group and Organisation),
Conflict resolution styles and Conflict management strategies.
Attitudes and Values.

2. Power and Politics
Introduction, Sources of Power, Organisational politics, Reasons
and Managing Political Behaviour.

3. Meaning
Power is the potential ability to influence the behaviour of others.
It is the ability to make things happen or get things done the way
you want
Definition
Power is “ the capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B,
so ‘B’ does something he would not otherwise do” - Robbins
(or)
Power , refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour
of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.

4. Contrasting Leadership and Power
• Leaders use Power as a means of attaining group goals
• Power does not require goal compatibility merely dependence.
Leadership, on the other hand, requires some congruence between
the goals of the leader and those being led.
• A second difference relates to the direction of Influence –
Leadership focuses on downward influence on followers (it
minimize the lateral and upward influence patterns) Power does
not.

5. Are Power and Authority the Same ?

7. Sources of Power
– Expert Power
– Charismatic Power
– Reward Power
– Information Power
– Exchange
– Legitimate Power
– Coercive Power

8. Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?
• Of the three bases of formal power (coercive, reward, legitimate)
and two bases of personal power (expert, referent) , which is
most important to have ?
• Research suggest pretty clearly that Personal sources of Power
are most effective.
• Both expert and referent power are positively related to employee
satisfaction with supervision, their organisational commitment
and their performance.
• Whereas reward and legitimate power seem to be unrelated to
these outcomes. One source of Formal Power – coercive power
actually can be very negative as in that it is negatively related to
employee satisfaction and commitment.

9. Politics
Politics refer to the structure and process of
the use of authority to affect the definition of
goals, directions and other major parameters
of the organization. Decisions are not made in
a rational or formal way but rather through
compromise, accommodation and bargaining.
- M. L. Tushman

10. Organizational politics
• Organizational politics is the process whereby
individuals or groups use whatever power
they can amass to influence organizational
decision in the direction of their own interests
-R. Miles
• Organizational politics refer to intentional
behaviours that are designed to enhance or
protect a person’s influence and self-interest
- Amos Drory

11. Reasons for Political Behaviour
1. Scarce Resources: sometimes ‘scarce resources’ have to be
reallocated on apriority basis carefully and hence threatened
with loss of resources , people engage in political actions to
safeguard what they have.
2. Limited Opportunities
3. Lack of Trust
4. Role Ambiguity – role descriptions are not clear
5. Politicking by Top Management

12. Political Strategies and Tactics to acquire Power
1. Forming alliances
2. Selective use of Information
3. Scapegoating
4. Image building
5. Networking
6. Compromise
7. Rule Manipulation
8. Fabianism
9. One step at a time
10. Persuasion

13. Managing Political Behaviour
• Define Job Duties clearly
• Design Jobs properly
• Demonstrate Proper Behaviour
• Promote Understanding
• Allocate Resources judiciously

14. Conflict – Meaning, Types (Individual, Group and
Organisation), Conflict resolution styles and Conflict
management strategies. Attitudes and Values

15. Meaning
Conflict is a perceived differences of values between two or more
parties that results in mutual opposition.
It is a process in which A deliberately tries to counteract the
efforts of B by some form of blocking that will result in
frustrating B in attaining his goal or frustrating his interests
- Robbins

16. Features of Conflict
1. Incompatibility
2. Perception
3. Blocking
4. Scarcity
5. Latent or Overt
6. Verbal or Non-verbal
7. Active or Passive

17. Philosophies of Conflict
Over the years, three distinct philosophies have been identified : The
classical, behavioural and interactionist philosophies
Behavioural
Philosophy
Interactionist
Philosophy
The Classical
Philosophy

18. The classical approach – viewed conflict as a potential
dangerous process. Conflict induces mainly negative outcomes,
anger, resentment, confusion , confusion, lack of cooperation, etc.
It disrupts the smooth functioning of organisational process and
creates chaos and order. Conflict is bad and must be avoided at all
costs i.e in this approach Conflict was viewed as harmful and was
avoided , suppressed.

19. Behaviouralists view also had similar view of conflict. i.e they
believed that conflict was harmful and should be avoided. Those
who generated conflict were trouble-makers and were bad for the
Organisation.
They, however accepted the fact that conflict is a natural
occurrence in all organisations.

20. Interactionist view - this is the emerging view of conflict and
this view has a broader scope. It recognises that in some cases
conflict may be helpful, facilitative and functional.
A minimum level of conflict is optimal. In the words of
S.P.Robbins “while the behavioural approach accepted conflict,
the interactionist view encourages conflicts on the grounds that a
harmonious , peaceful , tranquil and cooperative group is prone to
becoming static, apathetic and non-responsive to needs for change
and innovation”

21. Positive (Functional ) vs. Negative (Dysfunctional) conflict
In Negative conflict, individuals view others as opponent/enemy.
They are concerned about protecting themselves. They are less, or
not all bothered about basic human rights of others. They try to
win at all costs and often see people as expenses and not as
investments.
vice versa is Positive conflict

22. Conflict resolution styles
Thomas - Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)
In the 1970s Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann
identified five main styles of dealing with conflict because no
two individuals have exactly the same expectations and
desires and hence conflict is a natural part of our interactions
with others that vary in their degrees of cooperativeness and
assertiveness.

23. They argued that people typically have a preferred conflict
resolution style. However they also noted that different styles
were most useful in different situations. They developed the
Thomas - Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) which
helps you to identify which style you tend towards when
conflict arises.

24. The TKI is designed to measure a person's behavior in conflict
situations. "Conflict situations" are those in which the concerns of
two people appear to be incompatible. In such situations, we can
describe an individual's behavior along two dimensions: (1)
assertiveness, the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy his
own concerns, and (2) cooperativeness, the extent to which the
person attempts to satisfy the other person's concerns.

27. These two basic dimensions of behavior define five different
modes for responding to conflict situations:
Competing is assertive and uncooperative—an individual pursues
his own concerns at the other person's expense. This is a power-
oriented mode in which you use whatever power seems
appropriate to win your own position—your ability to argue, your
rank, or economic sanctions. Competing means "standing up for
your rights," defending a position which you believe is correct, or
simply trying to win.

28. • Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative—the
complete opposite of competing. When accommodating, the
individual neglects his own concerns to satisfy the concerns of
the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this
mode. Accommodating might take the form of selfless
generosity or charity, obeying another person's order when you
would prefer not to, or yielding to another's point of view.

29. • Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative—the person
neither pursues his own concerns nor those of the other
individual. Thus he does not deal with the conflict.
Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically
sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better
time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.

30. Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative—the complete
opposite of avoiding. Collaborating involves an attempt to work
with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their
concerns. It means digging into an issue to pinpoint the
underlying needs and wants of the two individuals.
Collaborating between two persons might take the form of
exploring a disagreement to learn from each other's insights or
trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.

31. • Compromising is moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness.
The objective is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution
that partially satisfies both parties. It falls intermediate between
competing and accommodating. Compromising gives up more than
competing but less than accommodating. Likewise, it addresses an issue
more directly than avoiding, but does not explore it in as much depth as
collaborating. In some situations, compromising might mean splitting
the difference between the two positions, exchanging concessions, or
seeking a quick middle-ground solution.

32. Theory: The "Interest-Based Relational Approach"
The second theory is commonly referred to as the "Interest-
Based Relational (IBR) Approach". This type of conflict resolution
respects individual differences while helping people avoid
becoming too entrenched in a fixed position.
In resolving conflict using this approach, you follow these rules:
– Make sure that good relationships are the first priority: As far
as possible, make sure that you treat the other calmly and that
you try to build mutual respect. Do your best to be courteous
to one-another and remain constructive under pressure.

33. – Keep people and problems separate: Recognize that in
many cases the other person is not just "being difficult" –
real and valid differences can lie behind conflictive
positions. By separating the problem from the person, real
issues can be debated without damaging working
relationships.
– Pay attention to the interests that are being presented:
By listening carefully you'll most-likely understand why
the person is adopting his or her position.

34. – Listen first; talk second: To solve a problem effectively you
have to understand where the other person is coming from
before defending your own position.
– Set out the "Facts": Agree and establish the objective,
observable elements that will have an impact on the decision.
– Explore options together: Be open to the idea that a third
position may exist, and that you can get to this idea jointly.
By following these rules, you can often keep contentious discussions
positive and constructive. This helps to prevent the antagonism and
dislike which so-often causes conflict to spin out of control.

35. Levels of Conflicts
Levels of
Conflicts
Intra-
individual
conflict
Inter
individual
conflict
Intra
group
conflict
Inter
group
conflict

36. Intra individual conflict
• Conflict from frustration
• Goal conflict
- Approach approach conflict
- Approach avoidance conflict
- Avoidance avoidance conflict
- Multiple approach avoidance conflict
• Role conflict
• Cognitive dissonance
• Neurotic tendencies

37. Inter personal conflict
• Transaction analysis
• Johari window
• Stroking
• Life positions

38. Intra group & inter group conflicts
• Task interdependence ( pooled, sequential,
reciprocal and comprehensive)
• Task ambiguity
• Goal incompatibility
• Competition for limited resources
• Competitive reward systems
• Changes within each group
• Changes between groups

39. Conflict management styles
• Conflict if not managed properly causes threat
to organizational performance
• The two ways of dealing with conflict are
1. To stimulate constructive conflicts
2. To resolve destructive conflicts

40. Conflict stimulation techniques
• Communication
• Bringing in outsiders
• Restructuring the organization
• Appointing a devils advocate

41. Conflict resolution techniques
• Problem solving
• Expansion of resources
• Avoidance of conflicts
• Smoothing
• Compromise
• Authoritative command
• Altering the human variable
• Altering the structural variable

42. Conflict management strategies
• Ignore the conflict
• Physical separation
• Super ordinate goals
• Withdrawal
• Dominance
• Appeal procedures
• Compromise
• Reduce interdependency
• Identify a common enemy

43. Attitudes and Values
Attitudes are the beliefs, feelings and action
tendencies of an individual or group of
individuals towards the objects, ideas and people
Values are stable, long lasting beliefs about what is
important. They are evaluating standards that
help us to define what is right or wrong, good or
bad, in the world