ETHICAL POWER, POLITICS,
AND ETIQUETTE 9
Changes in Chapter 9 from the 9th Edition to the 10th Edition
The entire chapter has been updated with 75 (94%) new references to this new edition.
Throughout the chapter, minor changes have been made to shorten the text.
The introduction to the Power section has been re-written will all new references.
The introduction to the Business Etiquette section has been shortened while adding new
content and references.
The case is the same, but the title and names have been changed.
Chapter Outline
I. HOW POWER, POLITICS, ETIQUETTE, AND ETHICS AFFECT BEHAVIOR, HUMAN
RELATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE
II. POWER
A. Organizational Power.
B. Bases of Power and How to Increase Your Power.
1. Coercive, 2. Connection, 3. Reward, 4. Legitimate, 5. Referent, 6. Information, 7.
Expert power
C. Influencing Tactics
1. Reading People, 2. Create and Present a Win-Win Situation, 3. Ingratiation tactic—
praise,
4. Rational Persuasion, 5. Inspirational Appeal, 6. Personal Appeal, 7. Legitimization.
III. ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS
A. The Nature of Organizational Politics.
B. Political Behavior
1. Networking, 2. Reciprocity, 3. Coalition Building
C. Developing Political Skills.
IV. VERTICAL POLITICS
A. Relations With Your Boss.
B. Relations With Subordinates.
V. HORIZONTAL POLITICS
A. Relations With Peers.
B. Relations With Members of Other Departments
VI. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE
A. In Person Etiquette
1 Conversation Etiquette, 2 Dining Etiquette, 3 Hoteling, Telecommuting,
and Cubicle Etiquette
B. Digital Etiquette
1 Cell Phone Etiquette, 2 E-Mail and Texting/Instant Messaging
Etiquette
C. In Person or Digital Etiquette
1 Job Interview, 2 Meeting and Presentation, 3 Networking Etiquette:
VII. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND ETIQUETTE
A. Customer Satisfaction
1 Attitudes Lead to Behavior, 2 Proper and 3 Improper Customer
Etiquette
B. Dealing with Dissatis2ed Customers
VIII. DO POWER, POLITICS, AND ETIQUETTE APPLY GLOBALLY?
LECTURE OUTLINE PLUS
Power Point: You may use the Power Point supplement to enhance your lectures. Even if your classroom is not
equipped to use Power Point, you can review the material on your personal computer to get teaching ideas and to
copy the slides. Copies of the slides can be made into overheads.
I. HOW POWER, POLITICS, ETIQUETTE, AND ETHICS AFFECT BEHAVIOR,
HUMAN RELATIONS, AND PERFORMANCE
LO 1. State how power, politics, and ethics affect behavior, human relations, and performance.
In the long run, people using ethical power and politics behave differently, have more positive human
Work Application (WA): NOTE: All the work application questions appear in the test bank
so that you can assess students’ ability to apply the concepts to their work world. However,
because student answers will vary, there are no answers in the test bank.
WA 1- Give an example, preferably from an organization you work(ed) for, of ethical and unethical
politics. Describe the behavior and consequences for the individual(s) and the organization.
SA- In this situation my boss was using ethical politics and the manager of the other department was
using unethical politics. The department I was working for was growing and the next department over
work. The manager of the other department maintained his status, but he hurt the organization’s
performance.
Application Situations
Ethical and Unethical Politics, AS-9.1
1. A. Ethical. Carlos may not be helping the organization by delivering the figures at 10:00, but it isn’t hurting either.
2. A. Ethical? Aisha isn’t hurting anyone by asking for information that makes her more knowledgeable, but when
3. A. Ethical. Claire isn’t hurting anyone by getting some positive exposure for her efforts, and it does give her
4. B. Unethical. This behavior hurts others, thus the organization is hurt.
5. A. Ethical. Tanya may not be helping the organization, but she isn’t hurting anyone either. Playing golf will create
II. POWER
Self-Assessment Exercise 9-1 Power Base
A. Organizational Power. KT- power. Without power managers would not be successful at achieving
objectives, and organizations would not function effectively.
B. Bases of Power and How to Increase Your Power. KT- See seven bases of power below. The two
sources of power are: position power, which is given by management in the form of authority, and
personal power, which is given by the followers. Charisma is a common term for personal power. The
seven bases of power are:
Exhibit 9.1 Sources and Bases of Power With Situational Supervision Styles, may be shown as you
cover the seven bases of power, or afterward as a summary.
1. Coercive power is based on threats and/or punishment to influence compliance. To have coercive
2. Connection power is based on relationships with influential people. To increase your connection
3. Reward power is based on the ability to influence others with something of values to them. Reward
4. Legitimate power is based on position power. Legitimate power can be increased by letting people
5. Referent power is based on personal power. To gain referent power, develop your relationship with
6. Information power is based on information desired by others. To increase information power, have
information flow through you. Know what is going on in the organization. Provide service and
7. Expert power is based on skill and knowledge. To become an expert, take all the training and
LO 2. Describe seven bases of power.
1. Coercive power is based on threats and/or punishment to influence compliance. 2. Connection
power is based on relationships with influential people. 3. Reward power is based on the ability to
LO 3. List techniques to increase your power bases.
1. To have coercive power you need to gain and maintain the ability to hire, discipline, and fire
employees. 2. To increase your connection power, expand your network of contacts with important
managers who have power. Get in with the “in crowd.” 3. Reward power can be gained by evaluating
employees’ performance and determining their raises and promotions. Using praise can help increase
WA 2- Of the many suggestions for increasing your power base, which two are your highest priority
for using on the job? Explain.
SA- My first priority to work on is connection power. I’m not very political. But as the text states, if I
want to be successful I need to work on politics, and connections is a part of politics. My second
WA 3- Give two examples, preferably from an organization you work(ed) in, of people using power.
Identify the power base, and describe the behavior and how it affected human relations and
performance.
SA- I had this young boss who used the coercive power base. He always was telling people what to do
At Papa Ginos the manager used reward power. We got periodic reviews and raises every couple of
months. There were regular contests like employee of the week. Who could sell the most pizza in one
BMV-9-1 Show Behavior video module 9-1 with
Video Exercise 9-1, Bases of Power.
SB 9.1- Skill Building Exercise, Bases of Power, may be used with groups that have been meeting for
some time.
Application Situations
Using Power, AS-9.2
6. A. Coercive. Coercive power is appropriate for discipline.
7. C. Reward or legitimate. Referring to your legitimate power to get Anita to do a minimum amount of work is
8. D. Referent power. This is an appropriate time to use your relationship to get Tony to speed up his work. Being a
9. B. Connection. Determine whose help you need and seek an alliance to help get what you want.
C. Influencing Tactics
LO 4. Describe five influencing tactics.
1. Ingratiation is about giving praise. 2. Rational persuasion is about giving logical arguments with factual evidence.
1. Reading People. To influence others, you have to put yourself in their position and know their expectations and
2. Create and Present a Win-Win Situation. Let the person know what’s in it for them.
3. Ingratiation tactic–praise. With the ingratiation tactic you are friendly and give praise to get the person in a good
4. Rational Persuasion. The rational persuasion tactic includes logical arguments with factual evidence to persuade
5. Inspirational Appeal. The inspirational appeal tactic attempts to arouse follower enthusiasm through
6. Personal Appeal. You request the person to meets your objective based on loyalty and friendship, as a favor to
you.
7. Legitimization. With the legitimization tactic you rely on organizational authority that a reasonable request is
WA-4. Give an example of when you or someone else used one of the five influencing tactics in an organization you
work/ed for to achieve an objective. Be sure to state the tactic.
SA- I used legitimization on the job when I asked my boss for a day off. People do it regularly, so long as they can
APPLICATION SITUATIONS
Influencing Tactics AS-9.3
11. B. Inspirational appeals. A pep talk may motivate the employees to push to meet the deadline.
12. C. Legitimization. This is an unusual request that is reasonable.
14. A. Rational persuasion. The most commonly used influencing tactic with bosses is to convince them that you
SB 9.2 and 9.3- Skill Building Exercise, Influencing Tactics develops influencing skills
III. ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS
Self-Assessment Exercise 9-2
A. The Nature of Organizational Politics. KT- politics and reciprocity. Politics is the organization’s
medium of exchange. It is the network of interactions by which power is acquired, transferred, and
exercised.
Through the process of reciprocity we do others favors and they do us favors in order to meet
objectives.
WA 5- Give an example of reciprocity, preferably from an organization you work(ed) for. Explain the
trade-off?
SA- On the loading dock we packed trucks alone. However, when we had a heavy item we would help
LO 5. Discuss the necessity of organizational politics and three political behaviors.
In our economy, money is the medium of exchange; in an organization, politics is the medium of
exchange. Political behavior is used to develop relationships that are necessary to get your job done.
B. Political Behavior
1. Networking
2. Reciprocity
3. Coalition Building
4, Putting the Political Behaviors Together.
C. Developing Political Skills. As stated in the text, review Self-Assessment Exercise 9.2 Political
Behavior, and determine where you need to improve. Work Application Question 6 asks:
WA 6- Of the 10 political behaviors, in Self-Assessment Exercise 9.2, which two need the most and
least effort on your part. Explain your four answers.
SA- The area I need to work on is avoiding giving my opinion on controversial issues. I’m too quick to
speak up, and sometimes it gets me into arguments and causes hurt feelings. A second area is my lack
IV. VERTICAL POLITICS
A. Relations With Your Boss.
1. Common expectations of bosses: (1) loyalty, respect and support your boss, don’t talk behind her
back. (2) cooperation, be a team player. (3) initiative, be a self-starter. (4) information, keep your boss
informed of your performance. (5) openness to criticism, be open to listening to the way to improve
your performance.(6) Regaining Your Boss’s Trust.
WA 7- Of the five common expectations of bosses, which is your strongest and weakest area? Explain
your answers.
SA- My strongest is cooperation. I’m a team player. My weakest area is criticism. I tend to make
B. Relations With Subordinates.
1. Developing Supervisor-Employee Relations. Supervisor-employee relations are critical to the
success of any organization. A good working relationship does not require the supervisor to be well
liked or popular. What it does mean is that the supervisor and employee can work together in a manner
that achieves the objectives.
2. Friendship. The supervisor should be friendly, but cannot be a real friend to employees. It is
generally agreed that one should socialize with peers.
WA 8- Assume you get hired or promoted to a management position. Will you develop a relationship
with your employees based on friendship? Describe the relationship you plan to develop.
SA- No, as it says in the book I cannot be a real friend. The type of relationship I want could be called
a professional relationship. I want my employees to respect my judgments and me. They don’t have to
3. The open-door Policy. KT- open-door policy. The supervisory should be available to employees. To
be successful, the supervisor must be ready, willing, and able to help employees.
WA 9- Does/did your present or past boss use the open-door policy?
SA- Not really. He will talk to me but he usually lets me know he’s busy and doesn’t have much time to
V. HORIZONTAL POLITICS.
A. Relations With Peers. You need to properly balance your 1. cooperation with your peers as you 2.
compete with them. 3. Criticizing your peers properly can help them and the organization.
WA 10- Give an example, preferably from an organization you work(ed) for, of a situation in which
you had good human relations with your peers. Describe how you cooperated, competed, and/or
criticized your peers.
SA- Last summer when loading trucks I had good relations with my peers. I cooperated with them by
B. Relations With Members of Other Departments. Be cooperative and follow the guidelines set up by
staff departments whose help you will use.
LO 6. Identify techniques to develop effective relations with superiors, subordinates, peers, and
members of other departments.
1. Superiors- Meet the common expectations of your boss: be loyal, be cooperative, use initiative, keep
your boss informed, and be open to criticism. 2. Subordinates- Be friendly, but you cannot be real
WA 11- Give an example, preferably from an organization you work(ed) for, of a situation in which
you had good human relations with members of other departments. Describe how your relations
affected your performance, the other departments, and the organization as a whole.
SA- I worked as a clean and set-up person for the training department of my company. I had a good
relationship with the trainers. Because the trainers were nice to me, I performed well for them. The
Application Situations
Relations with others, AS-9.4
16. B. Superior. The owner is the boss of all employees.
17. C. Peers. The workers getting together are peers.
1. Putting it All Together. See Exhibit 9-2.
Exhibit 9-2, Human Relations Guide to Ethical Decision Making, may be shown to put the concepts of
power, politics, and ethics together.
VI. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE
LO 7. State two classifications of business etiquette and how etiquette overlaps between the
two classifications.
Two classi2cations are in person (conversation, dining, hoteling, telecommuting, and cubicle
Business etiquette, often referred to as manners, is the code of behavior expected in work
situations.
A. In Person Etiquette
Here we discuss in person etiquette during conversations, dining, and hoteling.
1 Conversation Etiquette: Do use titles and last names (until told otherwise). Don’t use
2 Dining Etiquette: See Exhibit 9.3 for details.
3 Hoteling, Telecommuting, and Cubicle Etiquette: Hoteling is the sharing of workspace and
equipment. So do cleaning up after yourself and make sure the equipment is ready for the
WA 12– Give a job example of when a coworker behaved with improper in person etiquette.
SA- When I worked a Friendly’s this male employee got mad about something and started using the F word so that
B. Digital Etiquette
1 Cell Phone Etiquette: Business etiquette says not to do personal things in your work area.
2 E-Mail and Texting/Instant Messaging Etiquette: Don’t send a text/IM unless it is has
WA 13- Give a job example of when a coworker behaved with improper digital etiquette.
I was explaining how to do a task and my coworker took a phone call right in front of me
C. In Person or Digital Etiquette
1 Job Interview Etiquette: See Exhibit 9.6 for etiquette do’s and don’ts of job interviewing.
2 Meeting and Presentation Etiquette: It is considered poor manners to be talking, texting, or sur2ng
3 Networking Etiquette: In the next chapter, you will learn how to network with manners.
W O R K A PC A T I O N S
WA 14- Give a job example of when a coworker behaved with improper meeting,
presentation, on networking etiquette.
SA- During a meeting two of the people were not paying attention as they kept having a
WA 15- Do an online search on yourself. What were the results?
I did a search and found that a friend of mine did put up a few pictures of us drinking. So I
VII. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND ETIQUETTE
A. Customer Satisfaction
Everyone in the organization should be focusing on satisfying customers. It is important to
listen to customers and met their needs and solve their problems.
1 Attitudes Lead to Behavior: What we think about customers is how we feel, and what we
feel is how we behave toward customers.
2 Proper Customer Etiquette: Develop a welcoming attitude, or service with a smile, not a
frown; convey that you care about the customer and what to meet their needs and solve
their problems; make the buyer feel good about the sales and service experience, and invite
the customer back for repeat business.
3 Improper Customer Etiquette
Don’t ignore customers.
Don’t conduct personal business while waiting on customers
Don’t use rude behavior and get the customer defensive—do apologize.