Chapter 13

Relationship between dependency and power

directly related to power, the more a person or unit is dependent on you the more power you have.

Zimbardo Study

18 individuals were assigned to the role of prison guard, "prisoners" were picked up by actual cops and transferred to a basement prison at Stanford. Guards were assigned to keep order but received no training. Prisoners began to feel depressed and helpless, guards began to become aggressive and abusive. Ended after only 6 days because everyone had become so entrenched with their roles.

Asch Studies

Found that individuals could be influenced to say that two lines were the same length when one was clearly shorter than the other. Illustrates the power that even a small dissenting minority can have.

Behavior Impression Management

Includes how you perform on the job and how you interact with others

Nonverbal Impression Management

Includes the clothes you choose to wear and your demeanor

9 Key Influence Tactics- Rational Persuasion

Includes using facts, data and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. This is the most commonly applied influence tactic.

Verbal Impression Management

Includes your tone of voice, rate of speech, what you choose to say and how you say it

Organizational Politics

Informal, unofficial, and sometimes behind the scenes efforts to sell ideas, influence and organization, increase power, or achieve other targeted objectives.

Information Power

Is similar to expert power but differs in its source. Experts tend to have a vast amount of knowledge or skill, whereas information power is distinguished by access to specific information

Effective Politics

Isn't about winning at all costs but about maintaining relationships while achieving results. Individuals ally themselves with like minded others in an attempt to win the scarce resources.

Negative Side of Organizational Politics

More likely to flare up in times of organizational change or when there are difficult decisions to be made and a scarcity of resources that breeds competition among organizational groups. To minimize overly political behavior, company leaders can provide equal access to information, model collaborative behavior, and demonstrate that political maneuvering will not be rewarded or tolerated.

9 Key Influence Tactics- Legitimating Tactics

Occurs when the appeal is based on legitimate or position power. "by the power vested in me..." this tactic relies upon compliance with rules, laws, and regulations. It is not intended to motivate people but to align them behind a direction. Obedience to authority is filled with both positive and negative images. Authority is often used as a last resort. If it does not work, you will not have much else to draw from in your goal to persuade someone

Substitutability

Ones ability to find another option that works as well as the one offered. The harder it is to find a substitute, the more dependent the person becomes and the more power someone else has over them.

Conformity

People's tendencies to behave consistently with social norms. can result in engaging in unethical behaviors, because you are led by someone you admire and respect who has power over you.

Antecedents to Political Behavior: Individual

Political skill Internal locus of control (believe that they can make a difference in organizational outcomes) Investment in the organization Expectation of success

Legitimate Power

Power that come from one's organizational role or position

9 Key Influence Tactics- Consultation

Refers to the influence agent's asking others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group. The most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision making.

Commonly used influence tactics

Responses to influence attempts include resistance, compliance or commitment. Occurs when the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt. Compliance occurs when the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do. Commitment occurs when the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it as well

Antecedents to Political Behavior: Organizational

Scarcity of resources Role Ambiguity (Allows individuals to negotiate and redefine their roles) Promotions Democratic Decision-making

9 Key Influence Tactics- Inspirational Appeals

Seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action

Milgram Studies

Set out to study conformity to authority. Tested how far individuals would go in hurting another individual when told to do so by a researcher.

Referent Power

Stems from the personal characteristics of the person such as the degree to which we like, respect, and want to be like them. often called charisma

Reward Power

The ability to grant a reward, such as an increase in pay, a perk, or an attractive job assignment. Reward power tends to accompany legitimate power and is highest when the reward is scarce

Downward Influence

The ability to influence employees lower than you. This is best achieved through an inspiring vision. Research also shows that the better the quality of the relationship between subordinate and their supervisor, the more positively resistance to influence attempts are seen

What is power?

The ability to influence the behavior of the others to get what you want

Upward Influence

The ability to influence your boss and others in position higher than yours. May include appealing to a higher authority or citing the firms goals as an overachieving reason for others to follow your cause. Can also take the form of an alliance with a higher status person

Coercive Power

The ability to take something away or punish one for noncompliance. Coercive power often works through fear, and it forces people to do something that ordinarily they would not choose to do

Scarcity

The uniqueness of a resource. The more difficult something is to obtain, the more valuable it tends to be. Effective persuaders exploit this reality by making an opportunity or offer seem more attractive because it is limited or exclusive

Importance

The value of the resource. If the resource or skill you control are vital to the organization, you will gain some power. The more vital the resources that you control are, the more power you will have

Peer Influence

To be effective within organizations, peers need to be willing to influence each other without being destructively competitive. Research shows that across all functional groups of executives, finance or human resources as an example, rational persuasions the most frequently used influence tactic.

9 Key Influence Tactics- Pressure

refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur. This often includes threats and frequent interactions until the target agrees

Impression Management

Actively shaping the way you are perceived by others. By using impression management strategies, you control information that makes others see you in the way you want to be seen. On the job, the most effective approach to impression management is to do two things at once- build credibility and maintain authenticity. Three main categories: nonverbal impression management, verbal impression management, and behavior impression management

Expert Power

Comes from knowledge and skill

Conformity in other countries

In the USA conformity has been decreasing since the 1950's, In Japan however more conformity than in more individualistic countries such as Great Britain.

Negative Consequences

Power can be more intoxicating and can be devastating when abused. One reason it can be abused is because individuals are so quick to conform.

Positive Consequences

Powerful leaders can align an entire organization to move together to achieve goals.

9 Key Influence Tactics- Coalition Tactics

Refer to a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others

9 Key Influence Tactics- Ingratiation

Refers to different forms of making others feel good about themselves. Includes any form of flattery done either before or during the influence attempt

9 Key Influence Tactics- Exchange

Refers to give and take in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return

9 Key Influence Tactics- Personal Appeal

Refers to helping another person because you like them and they asked for your help

Bases of Power

Researchers identified six sources of power, which include legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, information and referent

Direction of Influence

The type of influence used tends to vary based on the target