Organizational power and politics

1. ORGANIZATIONAL
POWER AND
POLITICS

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
• How do power bases work in organizational life?
• How do you recognize and account for the exercise of
counterpower and make appropriate use of strategic
contingencies in interunit or interorganizational relations?
• How do managers cope effectively with organizational politics?
• How do you recognize and limit inappropriate or unethical
political behavior where it occurs?

4. HOW DO POWER BASES
WORK IN ORGANIZATION
LIFE?

5. WHAT IS POWER?
• According to Max Weber, power as the probability that one actor
within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his
own will despite resistance.
• According to Emerson, The power of actor A over actor B is the
amount of resistance on the part of B which can be potentially
overcome by A.
• POWER – for our purpose as an interpersonal relationship in
which one individual (or group) has the ability to cause another
individual (or group) to take an action that would not be taken
otherwise.

6. POWER, AUTHORITY, AND LEADERSHIP
• Power has been referred to by some as “informal authority,” whereas authority has
been called legitimate power.

7. • Authority represents the right to seek compliance by others; the exercise of
authority is backed by legitimacy.
• Leadership is the ability of one individual to elicit responses from another person
that go beyond required or mechanical compliance.

8. TYPES OF POWER
• Coercive power – involves forcing someone to comply
with one’s wishes.
• Utilitarian power – based on performance-reward
contingencies
• Normative power – rests on the beliefs of the members in
the right of the organization to govern their behavior.

9. BASES OF POWER
• Referent power – also called charismatic power, because
allegiance is based on interpersonal attraction of one
individual for another.
• Expert Power
• Legitimate power
• Reward power
• Coercive Power

10. WHAT CAUSES SOME PEOPLE TO BE MORE
SUBMISSIVE OR VULNERABLE TO POWER ATTEMPTS?
•Subordinate’s Values
•Nature of relationship between A and B.
•Counterpower

12. USES OF POWER
COMMON POWER TACTICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
1. Controlling Access to Information.
2. Controlling access to persons
3. Selective use of objective criteria
4. Controlling the agenda
5. Using outside experts
6. Bureaucratic gamesmanship
7. Coalitions and alliances

13. THE ETHICAL USE OF POWER
Referent power • Treat subordinates fairly
• Defend subordinates’ interest
• Be sensitive to subordinates’ needs, feelings
• Select subordinates similar to oneself
• Engage in role modeling
Expert power • Promote image of expertise
• Maintain credibility
• Act confident and decisive
• Keep informed
• Recognized employee concerns
• Avoid threatening subordinates’ self-esteem
Legitimate power • Be cordial and polite
• Be confident
• Be clear and follow up to verify understanding
• Make sure request is appropriate
• Explain reasons for request
• Follow proper channels
• Exercise power regularly
• Enforce compliance
• Be sensitive to subordinates’ concern

14. THE ETHICAL USE OF POWER
Reward power • Verify compliance
• Make feasible, reasonable requests
• Make only ethical, proper requests
• Offer rewards desired by subordinates
• Offer only credible rewards
Coercive power • Inform subordinates of rules and penalties
• Warn before punishing
• Administer punishment consistently and
uniformly
• Understand the situation before acting
• Maintain credibility
• Fit punishment to the infraction
• Punish in private.

15. POLITICAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS
WHAT IS POLITICS?
- Who described it as who gets what, when and how.
(Lasswell)
- Those 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 dissensus about choices.(Pferrer)

16. REASONS FOR POLITICAL
BEHAVIOR
1. Ambiguous goals
2. Limited resources
3. Changing technology
4. Nonprogrammed decisions
5. Organizational change

17. POLITICAL STRATEGIES IN INTERGROUP
RELATIONS
• Power and the Control of Critical
Resources
- refer to the ability of individuals
or groups within the organization
to have influence and authority
over important assets or elements
that are crucial for the
organization's success.
• Power and the control of
Strategies Activities
- refer to the ability of individuals or
groups to influence and direct the
strategic decisions and actions that
shape the organization's overall
direction and success.

18. LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL
BEHAVIOR
•How do you recognize and limit
inappropriate or unethical political
behavior where it occurs?