Chapter 7: Power, Politics, and Leadership
Exercising control over dysfunctional politics: Major outcomes related to 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
The Nature of Empowerment: 5 components
1. meaning: the value of a work, goal, evaluated in relation to a person's ideals or standards. A person who has done meaningful work is likely to feel empowered. 2. competence (self-efficacy) an individual's belief in his or her capability to perform a task well. 3. self-determination: an individual's sense of having a choice in initiating and regulating actions. Workers feel they can choose the best method to solve a particular problem. 4. Impact: the degree to which the worker can influence strategic, administrative, or operating outcomes on the job. 5. internal commitment: when workers are committed to a particular project, person, or program for individual motives.
Controlling politics
1. organizational leaders must be aware of its causes and techniques. Ex. During a downsizing a CEO can be on the alert for instances of backstabbing transparent attempts to please. 2. avoiding favoritism and cronyism- avoiding giving the best evaluations to the group members you like the best or to friends. 3. Setting good examples at the top of the organization. 4. Individuals and the organization to share the same goals. 5. Discuss questionable info in a public forum.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: false catastrophe
A manager pretends a catastrophe exists and then proceeds to rescue others from the catastrophe, thereby appearing to be superhero. Ex. IT informs top management that the system is antiquated and will severely damage the company's operations. Then, orders new equipment and hires personnel.
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: emails
Almost any email can be retrieved by IT specialists
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: advice
Asking advice on work-related topics builds relationships with other employees. Asking advice transmits a message of trust in the other person's judgement.
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: courteous
Be courteous, pleasant, and positive. They are the first to be hired and the last to be fired.
Political tactics and strategies: changes
Be the first to accept reasonable changes. The person who steps forward first to accept reasonable changes will acquire some political capital. It's politically wise to be an early adopter of new changes.
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: criticizing boss
Criticizing the boss in a public forum.
Political tactics and strategies:strategies aimed at gaining power: power contacts
Develop power contacts: cultivating friendly, cooperative relationships with powerful organizational members and outsiders can make the leader's cause much easier to advance. Ex. Throw parties and invite powerful people and their guests.
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: loyalty
Display loyalty. A loyal worker is valued because organizations prosper more with loyal than with disloyal employees.
Political tactics and strategies: political environment
Do what the political environment demands. Do whatever the political environment demands to attain your goals.
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: flatter
Flatter others sensibly. Flatter in the form of sincere praise can be an effective relationship builder. Tell another person you are impressed by something he/she has accomplished.
Political tactics and strategies:psychological capital
Individual's positive psychological state of development, characterized by four psychological resources: self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and residence. strong job performance by subordinates accrues power to the leader.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: backstabbing
Planning someone's demise.
Political tactics and strategies: politically correct
Political correctness involves being careful not to offend or slight anyone, and being extra civil and respectful.
Political tactics and strategies: control vital information
Power appeals to those who control vital information. it's politically important to stay informed.
Factors that contribute to organizational politics: pyramid shaped organization
Power at the top. Each layer on the organizational chart wields less power than the layer above.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: territorial games
Protecting and hoarding resources that give one power: such as information, relationships, and decision-making authority. Ex. a manager might tell others that his tar performer is mediocre to prevent the person from being considered for a valuable transfer opportunity.
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: bypassing the boss
Protocol is still highly valued in a hierarchical organization. Going around the boss to resolve a problem is hazardous.
Political tactics and strategies: paid back
Remember that everyone expects to be paid back. if you do not find some way to reimburse people for the good deeds they have done for you, your supply of people to perform good deeds will run short.
Political tactics aimed at building relationships:thank you
Send thank you notes to large numbers of people. One of the most basic political tactics, sending thank you notes profusely is simply an application of sound human relations.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: abusing power
The abuse often relates to behavior outside of formal responsibility. Ex. CEO closes a plant overseen by a manager he disliked or to use company funds to build an exorbitantly luxurious personal office. Political abuse of power includes such acts as shouting and swearing at subordinates, sexually harassing them, humiliating them in meetings.
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: declining an offer
Turning down top management, especially more than once, is a political blunder
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: dress code
Violating the dress code can block you from acquiring more power.
Political tactics and strategies: quick showing
a display of dramatic results can help gain acceptance for one's efforts or those of the group once a person has impressed management with his or her ability to solve that first problem, that person can look forward to working on problems that will bring greater power.
Tactics for becoming an empowering leader
a leader's power and influence increase when he or she shares power with others.
7 types of power: Personal power/referent
ability to influence others through one's desirable traits and characteristics
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: satisfied customers
ask satisfied customers to contact your boss. customer satisfaction is a top corporate priority.
Political tactics aimed at avoiding political blunders: foot in mouth
avoid being blatantly tactless toward influential people.
Power derived from capitalizing on opportunity
be where the action is
Political tactics and strategies; control lines of communication
controlling access to key people. Admins screen emails and telephone messages and are selective about who can communicate directly with the executive.
Effective delegation of empowerment
delegation: the assignment of formal authority and responsibility for accomplishing a specific task to another person. Without delegation, effective leadership and management cannot take place. delegation=specific task; empowerment: broad range of activities
Power stemming from dependencies
dependence perspective: people accrue power when others are dependent on them for things of value. Leader group member example would be that the group member who needs considerable recognition to survive becomes dependent on the leader who is a regular source of such recognition.
Empowering practices
foster initiatives and responsibility. A leader can empower team members simply by fostering greater initiative and responsibility in their assignments. Link work activities to organizational goals. align empowered actives with the strategic goals of the organization. Provide ample information. allow group members to choose methods allowing people to determine the most effective work technique. Encourage self-leadership, the heart of empowerment. Establish limits to empowerment; continue to lead; take into account cultural differences
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: divide and rule
have subordinates fight among themselves, therefore yielding the balance of power to another person. Placing subordinates in intense competition for resources.
Political tactics and strategies:strategies aimed at gaining power:compelling vision
helps the leader exercise power. serving the interests of others
Political tactics aimed at building relationships: impression
impression management includes behaviors directed at enhancing one's image by drawing attention to oneself. Speaking well and presenting one's ideas coherently. Another part of impression management is telling people about your success or implying you are an insider.
7 types of power:Position power/ legitimate
legitimate power: the lawful right to make a decision and expect compliance
Encouraging admiration from subordinates
managers and leaders encourage flattery and servile praise.
Factors that contribute to organizational politics
organizational politics; informal approaches to gaining power through means other than merit or luck
Emotional insecurity
people resort to political maneuvers to ingratiate themselves with superiors because they lost confidence in their own talents and skills
Machiavellian tendencies
people who engage in political behavior to manipulate others, sometimes for their own personal advantage
7 types of power: Personal power/prestige
power stemming from a person's status and reputation
7 types of power: Position power/information
power stemming from formal control over the information people need to do their work.
Factors that contribute to organizational politics: environmental uncertainty and turbulence
rely on org. politics to create a favorable impression because uncertainty makes it difficult to determine what they should be accomplishing.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: embrace or demolish
remove from the premises rivals who suffered past hurts through your efforts, otherwise they retaliate. Ex. opposing a hostile takeover
Empowerment
shared or distributed leadership. Empowering workers to assume more managerial responsibility enables the organization to get by with fewer bosses.
Power stemming from managing critical problems
strategic contingency theory: units best able to cope with the firm's critical problems and uncertainties acquire relatively large amounts of power. ex. lawsuits-legal department gets power, centrality: extent to which a unit's activities are linked in the system of organizational activities.
7 types of power: Personal power/expert
the ability to influence others through specialized knowledge, skills, or abilities
7 types of power: Position power/ reward
the authority to give employees rewards for compliance
Power stemming from being close to power
the closer a person is to power, the greater the power he or she exerts.
Resource-dependence perspective
the organization requires a continuing flow of human resources, money, customers, and clients to continue to function. When you lose control of resources your power might decline, but, if you are super powerful you will recover quickly.
Power
the potential or ability to influence decisions and control resources
7 types of power:Position power/coercive
the power to punish for noncompliance based on fear.
Power stemming from ownership
the strength of ownership power depends on how closely the leader is linked to shareholders and board members. A leader's ownership power is also associated with how much money he/she has invested in the firm.
Political tactics and strategies; bring in outside experts
to help legitimate their positions, executives will often hire a consultant to conduct a study or cast an opinion. The tactic seems ethical because the executive believes he/she is obtaining an objective opinion.
Unethical Political tactics and Strategies: setting a person up
to place a person in a position where he/she will either fail outright or look ineffective. Ex. CEO gives disliked executive position over troubled division. Later fires for poor performance
Factors that contribute to organizational politics; subjective standards of performance
when managers have no objective way of differentiating effective people from less effective, they will resort to favoritism.
