Power

1. Chapter 10
Nelson & Quick
Power and Political Behavior
Copyright ©2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

2. Concept of Power
Power - the ability to influence another person
Influence - the process of affecting the thoughts,
behavior, & feelings of another person
Authority - the right to influence another person

3. Concept of Power
Zone of Indifference - the range in which
attempts to influence a person will be perceived
as legitimate & will be acted on without a great
deal of thought
Zone of Indifference
Z o n e o f I n d i f f e r e n c e
Managers strive to expand the zone of indifference

4. Sources of Organizational
Power: Interpersonal
Reward Power - agent’s ability to control the
rewards that the target wants
Coercive Power - agent’s ability to cause an
unpleasant experience for a target
Legitimate Power - agent and target agree that
agent has influential rights, based on position
and mutual agreement
Referent Power - based on interpersonal attraction
Expert Power - agent has knowledge target needs

5. Which Power is Most Effective?
Expert Power!
 Strong relationship to performance & satisfaction
 Transfers vital skills, abilities, and knowledge
within the organization
 Employees internalize what they observe & learn
from managers they consider “experts”

6. Information Power
Information Power - access
to and control over
important information
 Formal/informal position in
communication network
 Interpreting information
when passing it on

7. Using Power Ethically
Does the behavior produce a
good outcome for people both
inside and outside the
organization?
Does the behavior respect the
rights of all parties?
Does the behavior treat all
parties equitably and fairly?

8. Two Faces of Power
Personal Power
 used for personal gain
Social Power
 used to create motivation
 used to accomplish group goals

9. Successful Power Users
 Have high need for social power
 Approach relationships with a communal orientation
 Focus on needs and interests of others
belief in justice altruism
belief in the
authority system
preference for
work & discipline

10. Sources of Organizational Power:
Intergroup
 Control of critical resources
 Control of strategic contingencies - activities that
other groups need to complete their tasks
 Ways groups hold power over other groups
 Ability to reduce uncertainty
 High centrality - functionality central to
organization’s success
 Nonsubstitutability - group’s activities are
difficult to replace

11. Power Analysis:
A Broader View
Organizational Power
Coercive Power - influence through threat of
punishment, fear, or intimidation
Utilitarian Power - influence through
rewards and benefits
Normative Power - influence through
knowledge of belonging, doing the right thing

12. Power Analysis:
A Broader View
Organizational Membership
Alienative Membership - members feel
hostile, negative, do not want to be there
Calculative Membership - members weigh
benefits and limitations of belonging
Moral Membership - members have positive
organizational feelings; will deny own needs

13. Etzioni’s Power Analysis
Type of Membership
Type
of
Power
Alienative Calculative Moral
Normative
Utilitarian
Coercive
SOURCE: Adapted from Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations (Upper “Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964), 59-61

14. Kanter’s Symbols of Power
Ability to intercede for someone in trouble
Ability to get placements for favored employees
Exceeding budget limitations
Procuring above-average raises for employees
Getting items on the agenda at meetings
Access to early information
Having top managers seek out their opinion

15. Kanter’s Symbols of
Powerlessness
First-line Supervisors
• overly close supervision
• inflexible adherence to rules
• do job rather than train
Staff Professionals
• resistance to change
• turf protection
Key to overcoming powerlessness:
share power & delegate decision making
Top Executives
• budget cuts
• punishing behaviors
• top-down communications
Managers
• assign external attribution -
blame others or environment

16. Korda’s Power Symbols
Power - there are more people who inconvenience
themselves on your behalf than there are people on
whose behalf you would inconvenience yourself
Status - a person’s relative standing in a group
based on prestige and deference
Access
Time
Furnishings

17. Political Behavior in
Organizations
Organizational Politics - the use of power and
influence in organizations
Political Behavior - actions not officially sanctioned
by an organization that are taken to influence
others in order to meet one’s personal goals

18. Effective Political
Characteristics
What characteristics do
effective political actors
possess?

19. Influence Tactics
Consultation
Inspirational appeals
Rational persuasion
Ingratiation
Coalition
Exchange tactics
Upward appeals
Pressure
Upward Influence:
the boss
Downward Influence:
an employee
Lateral
Influence:
a coworker

20. Managing Political Behavior
 Maintain open communication
 Clarify performance expectations
 Use participative management
 Encourage cooperation among work groups
 Manage scarce resources well
 Provide a supportive organizational climate

21. Managing Up: The Boss
Understand Your Boss
and Her Context
 Her goals and
objectives
 The pressures on her
 Her strengths,
weaknesses, blind spots
 Her preferred work
style
Assess Yourself
and Your Needs
 Your own strengths and
weaknesses
 Your personal style
 Your predisposition
toward dependence on
authority figures

22. Develop and Maintain a Relationship that
 Fits both your needs and styles
 Is characterized by mutual expectations
 Keeps your boss informed
 Is based on dependability and honesty
 Selectively uses your boss’s time and
resources
Managing Up: The Boss
SOURCE: Information on slides 21-22 adapted and reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. From J. J. Gabarro and J. P.
Kotter, “Managing Your Boss,” Harvard Business Review (January-February 1980): 92-100. Copyright© 1980 by the Harvard Business
School Publishing Corporation; all rights reserved.

23. Sharing Power: Empowerment
Empowerment:
sharing power in such a
way that individuals learn
to believe in their ability
to do the job!

24. Empowerment’s Dimensions
Meaning - fit between
the work role and the
employee’s values
and beliefs
Self-determination -
having control over
the way one does
one’s work
Impact - belief that
one’s job makes a
difference within the
organization
Competence - belief
that one has the
ability to do the job
well
E2s

25. Guidelines for Empowering
 Express confidence in employees
 Set high performance expectations
 Create opportunities for participative decision
making
 Remove bureaucratic constraints that stifle
autonomy
 Set inspirational and meaningful goals

26. Employee Empowerment Grid
Point D
Mission Defining
Point B
Task Setting
Point E
Self-management
Point C
Participatory
Empowerment
Point A
No Discretion
Implement
Follow-up
Alt. Choice
Alt. Eval
Alt. Dev
Problem Id.
Problem Id. Alt. Eval
Alt. Dev
Alt.
Choice
Implement
Follow-up
Decision-Making Authority over Job Content
Decision-Making
Authority
over
Job
Context
Amitai Etzioni, Modern Organizations, 1964, pp.... 59-61. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

27. Using Power Effectively
 Use power in ethical ways
 Understand and use all of the various types of
power and influence
 Seek out jobs that allow you to develop your
power skills
 Use power tempered by maturity and self-
control
 Accept that influencing people is an important
part of the management job