Exam 3 - Unit 2

. A contingency is defined by Miles as?

"a requirement of the activities of one subunit that is affected by the activities of other subunits."

For our purposes here, we will adopt Pfeffer's definition of politics as involving?

"those activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain one's preferred outcomes in a situation in which there is uncertainty or dissensus about choices."

we can identify at least five conditions conducive to political behavior in organizations, which are? (reasons for political behavior).

1. Ambiguous goals. 2. Limited resources. 3. Changing technology and environment. 4. Nonprogrammed decisions. 5. Organizational change.

uncertainty can be reduced through?

1. prevent or forestall uncertainty for the other subunit. 2. provide or collect information. 3. ability to absorb pressures

referant power definition?

People have referent power to the extent that others like them, want to be affiliated with them, and identify with them

prestige power comes from?

a person's status and reputation.

Impression management means?

actively shaping the way you are perceived by others.

Downward influence is the ability to?

influence employees lower than you. This is best achieved through an inspiring vision. By articulating a clear vision, you help people see the end goal and move toward it.

Upward influence, as its name implies, is the ability to?

influence your boss and others in positions higher than yours. Upward influence may include appealing to a higher authority or citing the firm's goals as an overarching reason for others to follow your cause.

Expert power comes from?

knowledge and skill

Researchers identified six sources of power, which include?

legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, information, and referent

So, the eight sources of power we're going to talk about include?

legitimate, reward, coercive, information, expert, referent, prestige, and connection

coercive power is the ability to?

take something away or punish someone for noncompliance.

Reward power is?

the ability to grant a reward, such as an increase in pay, a perk, or an attractive job assignment.

You can use a variety of impression management strategies to accomplish the outcomes you want. Here are the three main categories of strategies and examples of each?

1. Nonverbal impression management includes the clothes you choose to wear and your demeanor. An example of a nonverbal signal is body art, including piercings and tattoos. 2. Verbal impression management includes your tone of voice, rate of speech, what you choose to say and how you say it. We know that 38% of the comprehension of verbal communication comes from these cues. Managing how you project yourself in this way can alter the impression that others have of you. For example, if your voice has a high pitch and it is shaky, others may assume that you are nervous or unsure of yourself. 3. Behavior impression management includes how you perform on the job and how you interact with others.

Researchers have identified distinct influence tactics, which are?

1. Rational persuasion includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. 2. Inspirational appeals seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action. 3. Consultation refers to the influence agent's asking others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group. Consultation is most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision making. 4. Ingratiation refers to different forms of making others feel good about themselves. Ingratiation includes any form of flattery done either before or during the influence attempt. 5. Personal appeal refers to helping another person because you like them and they asked for your help. We enjoy saying yes to people we know and like. A famous psychological experiment showed that in dorms, the most well-liked people were those who lived by the stairwell—they were the most often seen by others who entered and left the hallway. The repeated contact brought a level of familiarity and comfort. Therefore, personal appeals are most effective with people who know and like you. 6. Exchange refers to give-and-take in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return. The rule of reciprocation says that "we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us" 7. Coalition tactics refer to a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others. Common examples of coalitions within organizations are unions that may threaten to strike if their demands are not met. 8. Pressure refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur. 9. Legitimating tactics occur 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.

Our ideas about power are largely derived from work by two researchers who are?

French and Raven, in the 1950s and 1960s.

connection power, which comes from?

a person's association with other more powerful people.

According to advocates of the strategic contingencies model of power, the primary source of subunit power is the unit's ability to?

help other units cope with uncertainty.

legitimate, reward, coercive, information are classified as?

hierarchal power

expert, referent, and prestige are classified as?

personal power

Legitimate power is?

power that comes from one's organizational role or position.

Responses to influence attempts include?

resistance, compliance, or commitment

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.

In addition to the control of critical resources, subunits can also attain power by gaining control over activities that are needed by others to complete their tasks. These critical activities have been called?

strategic contingencies

Resistance occurs when?

the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt.

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

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.

Finally, one must consider the extent to which a subunit is of central importance to the operations of the enterprise. This is called the subunit's?

work centrality

centrality, in turn, is influenced by two factors, which are?

workflow pervasiveness—the degree to which the actual work of one subunit is connected with the work of the subunits. workflow immediacy, relates to the speed and severity with which the work of one subunit affects the final outputs of the organization.