Leadership Chapter 7

Janet works for a nonprofit organization that provides educational resources to students from underprivileged backgrounds. She initiates a mentoring program as she believes it will improve the students' chances of graduating school. The dimension of empowerment highlighted in this scenario is:

internal commitment

Three kinds of territory in the modern corporate survival game

1. information 2. relationships 3. authority

Coercive power

The power to punish for noncompliance; it is based on fear

Personal power

1. Expert 2. Referent 3. Prestige

_____ includes behaviors directed at enhancing one's image by drawing attention to oneself.

Impression management

Referent power

The ability to influence others through one's desirable traits and characteristics.

A former government official is hired as the Chief Operating Officer by a private company that has considerable government dealings. In this case, the government official hired has considerable power because he:

controls vital information

Ethical political powers aimed at:

1. gaining power 2. building relationships with upper management & employees 3. avoiding political blunders

Which of the following is true of a pyramid-shaped organization structure?

Each successive layer wields less power than the layer above.

Impact of politics and subordinates and colleagues depend on what?

Perceptions of politics

Reward power

The authority to give employees rewards for compliance

leader political support

political acts and influence behaviors performed by leaders to provide followers with valuable resources to advance individual, group, or organizational objectives

Spreitzer's Psychological Definition of Empowerment

*Meaning - value of a work goal, evaluated in relation to a person's ideals or standards *Competence of self-efficacy - Individual's belief in his/her capability to meet performance requirements *Self-determination - Individual's sense of having a choice in imitating and regulating actions *Impact - Degree to which the worker can influence strategic, administrative, or operating outcomes on the job *Internal commitment - Takes place when workers are committed to a project, person, or program for individual motives

Delegation

*assigning formal authority and responsibility for accomplishing a specific task to another person *a major contributor to empowerment *An opportunity for group members to develop their skills and demonstrate competence *Without delegation, effective leadership and management cannot take place

Organizational politics

*informal approaches to gaining power through means other than merit or luck *politics are played to achieve power, either directly or indirectly *leaders need political skill to build alliances and gain resources (leader political support)

Three bases of power - Position

1. Legitimate power 2. Reward power 3. Coercive power

Factors contributing to organizational politics/power

1. Pyramid-shaped organizational structure 2. Subjective standards of performance 3. Environmental uncertainty & turbulence 4. Emotional insecurity 5. Machiavellian tendencies 6. Encouraging admiration from subordinates

Unethical Political Tactics and Strategies

1. backstabbing 2. embrace or demolish 3. setting a person up for failure 4. divide and rule 5. playing territorial games 6. creating and then resolving a false catastrophe 7. abusing power

Exercising Control Over Dysfunctional Politics

1. be aware of its causes/techniques, 2. avoid favoritism and cronyism, 3. set good examples at the top of the 4. organization, implement shared goals amongst 5. the firm and the human element in the firm 6. Encourage goal congruence, 7. discuss questionable information in a public forum, 8. hire people with integrity

Political blunders

1. criticize the boss publicly 2. bypass the boss, disregarding hierarchical protocol 3. decline an offer from top management. Especially more than once 4. put your foot in your mouth 5. not conforming to dress code

Gaining power

1. develop power contracts 2. have a compelling vision 3. control vital information 4. do what the political environment demands 5. make a quick showing 6. remember the expectation of payback 7. be politically correct 8. be the first to accept reasonable changes 9. develop positive psychological capital

Building relationships

1. display loyalty 2. manage your impression 3. ask satisfied customers to contact your boss 4. be courteous, pleasant, and positive 5. ask advice 6. send thank-you notes to many people 7. flatter others sensibly

Tactics for becoming an empowering leader

1. foster initiative and responsibility 2. link work activities to organizational goals 3. provide ample information 4. allow group members to choose methods 5. encourage self-leadership 6. establish limits to empowerment 7. continue to lead 8. take cultural differences into account 9. take empowerment expectations into account

The major outcomes related to the perception of politics

1. more strain, or adverse effects of stress 2. more intentions to quit 3. less job satisfaction 4. less emotional commitment to the employer 5. lower task performance 6. less organizational citizenship behavior

Which of the following is true of leader political support?

It refers to political acts and influence behaviors performed by leaders to provide followers with valuable resources to advance individual, group, or organizational objectives.

Empowerment

Passing decision-making authority and responsibility from managers to group members. Leader's power and influence increases when shared with others. Companies that empower and train people at all levels can create competitive advantage Empowering leadership by the CEO influences top-management team processes, thereby improving performance of the company

Legitimate Power

The lawful right to make a decision and expect compliance

Power

The potential or ability to influence decisions and control resources

Personal power

Three sources of power: expert power, referent power, and prestige power. They are all derived from the person rather than the organization. (Expert power and referent power contribute to charisma)

After suffering a loss in revenue, the accounting department of a large firm gains importance in determining critical financial policies for the upcoming year. This is best classified as power stemming from

capitalizing on opportunity.

_____ is the most likely factor that explains why some people who attain power act out of self-interest, whereas others with power act in the interest of others.

moral identity