2. 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
3. Why does having power matter?
With power you can…
• 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
4. Types of Individual Power: A
Summary
Individual Power
Position Power
• Legitimate power
• Reward power
• Coercive power
Personal Power
• Referent power
• Expert power
5. Legitimate Power
Refers to the power that is
inherent in the position and
authority of an individual within
an organization. This scope of
legitimate power is determined by
job description of an individual.
6. Reward and Coercive Power
• Reward Power: Refers to the power possessed
by individual who has the authority to give
rewards to others.
• Coercive Power: the opposite of reward
power: the power that is based on fear of
negative results.
7. Expert Power
Refers to the power
possessed by an
individual because of
his/her superior ability or
expertise in one or more
areas.
8. Referent Power
It is the power used by an
individual who is liked and
respected by others. This power
is usually an outcome of an
individual’s good interpersonal
skills.
9. Tactics for Increasing Power
•Provide resources to other departments and
operating units
•Create dependencies
•Take responsibility for areas of high
uncertainty
10. Faces of Power in Action
• Positive
– Leading
– Influencing
– Selling
– Persuading
• Negative
– Coercing
– Forcing
– Hurting
– Crushing
11. POLITICS
Politics relates to the way a person is
able to get power over others and the
way in which uses power over others.
12. “Politics refers to the structure and process of the use
of authority and power to affect definition of goals,
direction and the other major parameters of the
organization. Decisions are not made in a rational way
but rather through compromise, accommodation and
bargaining.”
13.
14. How do organizational politics
affect managers and management?
Managers may gain a better understanding of
political behavior by placing themselves in the
positions of other persons involved in critical
decisions or events.
14
15. Causes of Political Behaviour
Lust for power
Competition for control over resources
Protection of self-interests
Unequal distribution of authority
need for inter-department coordination
16. Political strategies to gain power
Bargaining or trade-off
Competition
Control over information
Pressure
Control over communication channels
17. Handling Political Behaviour
Clearly Defined jobs
Proper Managerial Behaviour
Effective Communication
Fair Evaluation System
