1. Managing People in Organizations
David Patient
December 9, 2013

2. Dear, never forget one little point. It's my
business. You just work here.
(Elizabeth Arden, to her husband)

3. Agenda – December 9
• Power
• Case: Lisa Benton
• Article: Managing your boss

4. Power
• Potential
• Dependence
• Discretion

5. Power
• Refers to a capacity that A
has to influence the
behavior of B so that B
does something he or she
would not otherwise do
Dependence
 B’s relationship to A when
A possesses something that
B requires

6. Dependency: Key to Power
•
•
•
•
Importance
– The things you control must be important
Scarcity
– A resource must be perceived as scarce
Non-substitutability
– The resource cannot be substituted with something else
To increase the dependency of others on you, you need to
– Control things viewed as important
– The resources must be viewed as scarce
– The resource must have few or no substitutes
(nonsubstitutability)

7. Bases of Power (Raven & French)
POSITION POWER
•
•
•
•
Coercive power
Reward power
Legitimate power
Information Power

8. • Coercive power - One reacts to
this power out of fear of
the negative results that
might occur if one failed
to comply.

9. • Reward power –
People comply with
the wishes or
directives of another
because doing so
produces positive
benefits

10. • Legitimate power - represents
the formal authority to control
and use organizational resources

11. • Information power - comes from access to and
control over information

12. Bases of Power (PDIO)
POSITION POWER 2 – Sources of position power
•
•
•
•
Relevance
Centrality
Autonomy
Visibility

13. Sources of position power
• Relevance – positions have more relevance (power)
when they are closely aligned with corporate priorities
– E.g., R&D managers in a company based on innovation
– Line managers versus managers in staff or support
functions

14. Sources of position power
• Centrality – central positions give control over
access to important resources, including
information and other people

15. Sources of position power
• Autonomy – the more discretion
or freedom to make choices, the
more power a person will have
– Versus a person whose choices are
constrained, limited

16. Sources of position power
• Visibility– the more a person is visible
within an organization, and receives credit
for their initiatives and performance, the
more power they will have
– Versus a managers who performs well, but
in relative obscurity …..

17. PERSONAL SOURCES OF POWER
• Expert power
• Referent power
• Charismatic power

18. • Expert power influence wielded as a
result of
expertise, special
skill, or knowledge

19. • Referent power based on
identification with a
person who has
desirable resources or
personal traits

20. • Charismatic power extension of referent
power stemming from an
individual’s personality
and interpersonal style

21. Evaluating the Bases of Power
• Coercive power tends to result in negative performance
responses from individuals, decreases
satisfaction, increases mistrust, and creates fear.
• Legitimate power does not have a negative effect, but does
not generally stimulate employees to improve their
attitudes or performance, and it does not generally result in
increased commitment.
• Reward power may improve performance in a variety of
situations if the rewards are consistent with what the
individuals want as rewards.
• Expert power relies on trust that all relevant information is
given out honestly and completely.

22. Assessing power dynamics
• Identify interdependencies among relevant
parties
• Determine sources of power of relevant
parties
• What are underlying differences among
parties? How are these reflected in
perceptions, assumptions, and conflict?
• Analyze the broader context
• ……… UPDATE REGULARLY

23. Influence tactics
• Push tactics
–
–
–
–
Assertiveness
Reasoning, rationality
Coercing
Stating expectations
VERSUS
• Pull tactics
–
–
–
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Listening
Disclosing
Exchange
Finding common ground

24. Role play
You are the leader of a group that is trying to develop a
website for a new client. One of your group
members, who was assigned the task of researching and
analyzing the websites of your competitors, has twice
failed to bring the analysis to scheduled meetings even
though he knew it was due. Consequently your group is
falling behind on the project. As leader of the group, you
decide to speak with your team member.
Give specific examples of 4 different types of power
you could use to try to change their behavior.

25. 1.
2.
3.
4.
What kind of influence is most likely to result in the
desired behavior?
What will have the most long-lasting efects?
What effect will using the different types of power have
on the ongoing relationship?
Which forms of power are considered the most
acceptable? The least acceptable?

26. • What should a recent MSc graduate entering a
new job do to maximize their power and
accelerate their career progress?

27. MBA’s act like they know a lot more than they
do. The only way to learn is on the job, and
your formal education won’t help you. I’ve
known some Harvard MBA’s, and I don’t like
them.
(Deborah Linton)

28. Lisa Benton – General questions
• How did Benton get into
this mess?
• What could she have
done differently?
• What (specifically)
should she do now?

29. Deborah Linton
•
•
•
•
First meeting
Perceptual biases
Personal style
Sources of power
– Position
• Legitimate
• Coercive
• Reward
– Personal
• Expert
• Referent
• Why does Linton behave the way she does?

30. Ron Scoville
• First meeting
• Personal style
• Sources of power?
– Referent?
– Network?
• Why does Scoville
behave the way he
does?

31. Lisa Benton
• Why is Benton behaving this way?
• What sources of power does she have

32. How did she get into this mess?
• Did she take the right job?
– Two important questions:
• Fit between job and who she is? (Opportunities for success)
• Fit between job and who she wants to be? (learning opps)
– Research conducted
•
•
•
•
Company and division?
Position and manager?
Power dynamics, manager, colleagues?
Discrepancies?
– Personal fit and motivation?
– Professional fit and experience?
– Other factors (individuals, building, image, ..)?

33. How did she get into this mess?
• Benton did not understand the power
dynamics and her colleagues
– Deborah Linton
– Ron Scoville
– Interdependencies among parties
– Differences among parties
– Sources of power?

34. How did she get into this mess?
• Benton did not recognize her own sources of
power
– Expertise, skills, knowledge
– Experience (Right-Away)
– Network
• Jack Vernon, Bob Mitchell
• Peers

35. How did she get into this mess?
• Benton missed opportunities for action
– First meeting with Linton
– First meeting with Scoville
– Seeing Richard Clark
– Staff ad agency meetings
– The typing incident (with Vernon)
– The copying incident (with Scoville and Linton)
– Conversation with Jack Vernon
– Performance evaluation by Linton

36. Turning points?
• How could Benton have handled
the following situations
differently:
– Her first meeting with Linton?
– The copying incident?
– Her chat with Vernon about
whether she was happy at work?
– Her performance evaluation
– The final yelling incident with
Scoville

37. What should Benton do now?
• Stay at or leave Houseworld?
• If she stays:
– How to mend relationship with
Linton?
– How to mend relationship with
Scoville?
– Other actions?

38. Lisa Benton - Part B
• Does this change your recommendations?
• Why was Linton behaving in those ways?
• What does the end of the story teach us ...?

39. Article – Managing Your Boss
• Understand your manager and her context:
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–
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–
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Goals and objectives
Challenges and pressures
Strengths and weaknesses
Preferences, biases, blindspots
Communication, interpersonal and work style
• Understand yourself
• Work on the relationship
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–
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Establish clear (mutual) expectations
Keep your manager informed
Develop trust
Ask for feedback
Complement their weaknesses
Use their time and resources wisely
Increase their effectiveness

40. Article – Managing Your Career
• To build power over your career:
– Seek positions that “fit” and offer learning opportunities
– Use the “fit” to develop relationships and track record of
success
– Use the learning opportunities to develop expertise and
skills
– Develop personal network in terms of size, reach, and own
centrality
– Focus on achieving organizational objectives, vs. Personal
ambitions
– Seek opportunities to develop and display leadership
competencies
– Set career objectives, and use to evaluate opportunities
– Invest power to create more power

41. Lesson 5 – Most important points
• Power and politics
– Understand different sources of power (position, network, and
personal)
• Lisa Benton
– Apply material on power and politics to a situation of a new MBA
graduate facing a hostile, challenging professional situation
– Discuss the sources of power available to a fresh graduate
• Managing your boss
– Explore ways to develop a more productive relationship with your
manager
– Use material to better understand how to build and use power to
advance careers
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42. For December 16
• Case: Rob Parsons A *
• Article: Conducting a performance appraisal
interview
* = Read and be prepared to discuss!!!

43. Questions?
Thoughts?
Comments?
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