Power and Politics

Sexual Harassment: The Manager's Role is Critical

- Active policy: what constitues sexual harassment, informs eployees they can be dismissed for inappropriate behavior, and establishes procedures for making complaints -Protect complaining people -Investigate every complaint, inform HR and lega department -Consequences are in lined with law and policiy. Offenders are disciplined -Raise employees and managers awareness

The reality of Organizational Politics

- Organizations are made up of individuals with different goals and interests -Resources in organizations are limited, which often turns potential conflict into real conflict -Unclear roles and processes can be replaced by power play -Most of the "facts" that are used to allocate the limited resources are open to interpretation-Many decision are made under ambiguous conditions -Taboo: not openly addressed, works better hidden

Political Behavior - Tactics (positive and negative effects)

-Control of information - E.g. design of systems, emphasizing expert role, forwarding insider information, filtering, retaining information, rumors. - Control of behaviour, rules and norms - E.g. Influencing guidelines, consciously designing guidelines a little diffuse and blurred -Networking - E.g. building of coalitions, covert coalition building, rewarding loyalties, to suck up to somebody - Impression Management - E.g. to put oneself on the agenda, Challenging others publicly, surrounding oneself with status symbols -Situational control, establishing inherent necessities - E.g. producing accomplished facts, to present s.th. highly questionable as a fact, work to rule, -Pressure for action - E.g. Emotionalizing, browbeating, offering seemingly fair exchanges, setting deadlines and monitoring them -Seizing chances, timing - E.g. Utilizing opportunities, waiting for advantageous moments, being available

Limitations of seeing Organizations as Systems of Power and Politics

-Danger of increased politicization of organizational life --> may generated cynicism and mistrust -Engouragement to view organizations as zero-sum-games where there must be winners and losers -Overstatment of the power of the individual --> underplay of system-dynamics that determine what becomes political

Why are Personal Power sources most effective?

-Expert and referent power are positively related to employees' satisfaction with supervision, their organizational commitment and their performance -Reward an legitimate power are unrelated to the above outcomes -Coercive power is negatively related to employee satisfaction

sociogram

A graphical illustration of the associations among individuals in a social network. -formal organization chart shows how authority is supposed to flow, whereas a sociogram shows how resource really flow in an organization

Coercive Power

A power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply e.g. threat of application, bodily distress, restriction of movement, withholding of basic physiological or safety needs, withholding key information

dependence

B's relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires

Reward power

Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable e.g. pay rates, raises, bonuses, recognition, promotions, interesting work assignments, preferred work shipfts or sales territories

Explain the three bases of formal power and the two bases of personal power

Formal power - Coercive Power - Reward Power - legitimate power Personal power -Expert Power -Referent Power

Employee Responses to Politicking (cf Sexual harassment as well)

Most employees have low to modest willingness to play politics and have the following reaction to negative forms of politicking

Identify the causes and consequences of abuse of power

Power not only leads people to focus on their self-interest because they can. it liberates them to focus inward and thus come to place greater weight on their own aims and interests - Power also leads to overconfident decision making

power

The capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B so that B acts in accordance with A's wishes For a power situation to exist, one person or group needs to have control over resources that the other person or group values

Explain the role of dependence in power relationships

The greater B's dependene on A, the more power A has over B Dependence increases when the resource you control is important, scarce and nonsubstitutable -Importance: If nobody wants what you have, it's not going to create dependence -Scarcity -Nunsubstitutability: The fewer viable substitues for a resource, the more power a person controlling that resource has

Political Behavior

activities that are not required as part of a person's formal role in the organization but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization -Outside of one's specified job requirements -Includes effort to influecne decision making goals, criteria or processes -Includes such behaviors as withholding informaiton, whistle blowing, spreading rumors, gossipingm and leaking condifential information Employees convert tehir power into action in order to -Exert influence -Earn rewards -Advance their careers -as well out of their (legitimate) interests (more or less linked to their tasks and objectives (positive impacts of politics)

sexual harassment

any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual's employment and creates a hostile work environment -Sexual harassment covers a range of unwanted actions from verbally expressed sexual adumbrations, suggestions transgressions like jokes, pictures, e-mails to sexual abuse or assault Consequences: -Negative effect on job attituted Withdrawal from the job -sexual harassment leads more likely to withdrawal thant workplace bullying -Women exposed to sexual harassment reported distress even 2 years after the harassment occured

referent power

influence based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits e.g. charismatic dynamism, likability, emotional appeal

expert power

influence based on special skills or knowledge

Identify power or influence tactics and their contingencies

power tactics: ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions 1. Legitimacy: Relying on your authority position or saysing that a request is in accordance with organizational policies rules 2. Rational persuasion: Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demnostrate that a request is reasonable 3. Inspirational appeals: Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target's values, needs, hopes, and aspirations 4. Consultation: Increasing support by involving the target in deciding how to accomplish your plan 5. Exchange: Rewarding the target with beneftis or favors in exchange for acceding to a request 6. Personal appeals: Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty 7. Ingratiation: Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request 8. Pressure: Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats 9. Coalitions: Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree --> (Pressure tactic tends to backfire and is typically the least effecitve of the nine

defensive behaviors

reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change

political skill

the ability to effectively understand others at work and use that knowledge to influence others in ways that enhance personal and/or organizational objectives

legitimate power

the power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization