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A. To decide not to play is deciding not to be effective.
B. Better to be explicit about it with a political map than to proceed as if power and politics
didn’t matter.
II. Summary and Implications for Managers
A. Few employees relish being powerless in their job and organization.
B. People respond differently to the various power bases.
C. Expert and referent power are derived from an individual’s personal qualities.
D. In contrast, coercion, reward, and legitimate power are essentially organizationally
derived.
E. Competence especially appears to offer wide appeal, and its use as a power base results in
high performance by group members.
F. An effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations. Some people are
significantly more politically astute than others, meaning that they are aware of the
underlying politics and can manage impressions.
G. Those who are good at playing politics can be expected to get higher performance
evaluations and, hence, larger salary increases and more promotions than the politically
naïve or inept.
H. The politically astute are also likely to exhibit higher job satisfaction and be better able to
neutralize job stressors. Specific implications for managers are below:
1. To maximize your power, you will want to increase others’ dependence on you. You
can, for instance, increase your power in relation to your boss by developing
knowledge or a skill she needs and for which she perceives no ready substitute.
2. You will not be alone in attempting to build your power bases. Others, particularly
employees and peers, will be seeking to increase your dependence on them, while you
are trying to minimize it and increase their dependence on you. The result is a
continual battle.
3. Try to avoid putting others in a position where they feel they have no power.
4. By assessing behavior in a political framework, you can better predict the actions of
others and use that information to formulate political strategies that will gain
advantages for you and your work unit.
5. Consider that employees who have poor political skills or are unwilling to play the
politics game generally relate perceived organizational politics to lower job
satisfaction and self-reported performance, increased anxiety, and higher turnover.
Therefore, if you are adept at organizational politics, help your employees understand
the importance of becoming politically savvy.
EXPANDED CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Power and Leadership
A. Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, so that B acts in
accordance with A’s wishes.
B. Power may exist but not be used. It is, therefore, a capacity or potential.
C. Probably the most important aspect of power is that it is a function of dependence.
1. The greater B’s dependence on A, the greater is A’s power in the relationship.
2. Dependence, in turn, is based on alternatives that B perceives and the importance that
B places on the alternative(s) that A controls.
D. A person can have power over you only if he or she controls something you desire.
E. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals.
F. Differences Between Leadership and Power
1. Goal compatibility:
a. Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence.
b. Leadership, on the other hand, requires some congruence between the goals of the
leader and those being led.
2. The direction of influence:
a. Leadership focuses on the downward influence on one’s followers.
b. Leadership research, for the most part, emphasizes style.
c. The research on power focuses on tactics for gaining compliance.
d. It goes beyond the individual as the exerciser of power, because groups as well as
individuals can use power to control other individuals or groups.
II. Bases of Power
A. Formal Power
1. Coercive power
a. The coercive power base depends on fear of negative results.
b. It rests on the application, or the threat of application, of physical sanctions such
as the infliction of pain, the generation of frustration through restriction of
movement, or the controlling by force of basic physiological or safety needs.
c. At the organizational level, A has coercive power over B if A can dismiss,
suspend, or demote B, assuming that B values his or her job.
d. Similarly, if A can assign B work activities that B finds unpleasant or treat B in a
manner that B finds embarrassing, then A possesses coercive power over B.
2. Reward power
a. The opposite of coercive power is reward power.
b. People comply because doing so produces positive benefits; therefore, one who
can distribute rewards that others view as valuable will have power over those
others.
c. These rewards can be either financial—such as controlling pay rates, raises, and
bonuses—or nonfinancial, including recognition, promotions, interesting work
assignments, friendly colleagues, and preferred work shifts or sales territories.
3. Legitimate power
a. In formal groups and organizations, the most common access power is through
legitimate power.
b. It represents the power a person receives as a result of his/her position in the
formal hierarchy.
c. Legitimate power is broader than the power to coerce and reward.
i. It includes acceptance of the authority of a position by members of an
organization.
B. Personal Power
1. Expert power
a. Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or
knowledge.
b. As jobs become more specialized, we become increasingly dependent on experts
to achieve goals.
2. Referent power
a. Referent power is based on identification with a person who has desirable
resources or personal traits.
i. If I admire and identify with you, you can exercise power over me because I
want to please you.
b. Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that
person.
c. Referent power explains why celebrities are paid millions of dollars to endorse
products in commercials.
d. Some people who are not in formal leadership positions nonetheless have referent
power and exert influence over others because of their charismatic dynamism,
likability, and emotional effects on us.
C. Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?
1. Personal sources are most effective.
2. Both expert and referent power are positively related to employees’ satisfaction with
supervision, their organizational commitment, and their performance, whereas reward
and legitimate power seem to be unrelated to these outcomes.
3. Coercive power usually backfires.
III. Dependence: The Key to Power
A. The General Dependence Postulate
1. The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B.
2. When you possess anything that others require but that you alone control, you make
them dependent upon you and, therefore, you gain power over them.
3. Dependence, then, is inversely proportional to the alternative sources of supply.
4. This is why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather than using just one.
5. It also explains why so many of us aspire to financial independence.
B. What Creates Dependence?
1. Importance
a. To create dependency, the thing(s) you control must be perceived as being
important.
2. Scarcity
a. A resource needs to be perceived as scarce to create dependency.
b. The scarcity-dependency relationship can further be seen in the power of
occupational categories.
i. Individuals in occupations in which the supply of personnel is low relative to
demand can negotiate compensation and benefit packages, which are far more
attractive than can those in occupations where there is an abundance of
candidates.
3. Nonsubstitutability
a. The more that a resource has no viable substitutes, the more power that control
over that resource provides.
C. Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Assessing Resources
1. One tool to assess the exchange of resources and dependencies within an organization
is social network analysis.
2. This method examines patterns of communication among organizational members to
identify how information flows between them.
3. Within a social network, or connections between people who share professional
interests, each individual or group is called a node, and the links between nodes are
called ties. When nodes communicate or exchange resources frequently, they are said
to have very strong ties.
a. A graphical illustration of the associations among individuals in a social network
is called a sociogram and functions like an informal version of an organization
chart. The difference is that a formal organization chart shows how authority is
supposed to flow, whereas a sociogram shows how resources really flow in an
organization. (Exhibit 13-1)
4. Networks can create substantial power dynamics. Those in the position of brokers
tend to have more power because they can leverage the unique resources they can
acquire from different groups.
5. In other words, many people are dependent upon brokers, which gives the brokers
more power.
6. There are many ways to implement a social network analysis in an organization.
a. Some organizations keep track of the flow of e-mail communications or document
sharing across departments.
b. Other organizations look at data from human resources information systems,
analyzing how supervisors and subordinates interact with one another.
IV. Power Tactics
A. What power tactics do people use to translate power bases into specific action?
B. Research has identified nine distinct influence tactics.
1. Legitimacy. Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with
organizational policies or rules.
2. Rational persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to
demonstrate a request is reasonable.
3. Inspirational appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s
values, needs, hopes, and aspirations.
4. Consultation. Increasing the target’s support by involving him or her in deciding
how you will accomplish your plan.
5. Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following 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.
C. Using Power Tactics
1. Some tactics are more effective than others.
a. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most
effective, especially when the audience is highly interested in the outcomes of a
decision process.
b. Pressure tends to backfire and is typically the least effective of the nine tactics.
c. You can also increase your chance of success by using more than one type of
tactic at the same time or sequentially, as long as your choices are compatible.
d. Using both ingratiation and legitimacy can lessen the negative reactions from
appearing to “dictate” outcomes, but only when the audience does not really care
about the outcomes of a decision process or the policy is routine.
2. But the effectiveness of some influence tactics depends on the direction of influence.
a. As Exhibit 13-2 shows, rational persuasion is the only tactic effective across
organizational levels. Inspirational appeals work best as a downward influencing
tactic with subordinates.
b. When pressure works, it’s generally downward only. Personal appeals and
coalitions are most effective as lateral influence.
c. Other factors that affect the effectiveness of influence include the sequencing of
tactics, a person’s skill in using the tactic, and the organizational culture.
d. You’re more likely to be effective if you begin with “softer” tactics that rely on
personal power, such as personal and inspirational appeals, rational persuasion,
and consultation.
i. If these fail, you can move to “harder” tactics, such as exchange, coalitions,
and pressure, which emphasize formal power and incur greater costs and risks.
e. Interestingly, a single soft tactic is more effective than a single hard tactic, and
combining two soft tactics or a soft tactic and rational persuasion is more effective
than any single tactic or combination of hard tactics.
f. The effectiveness of tactics depends on the audience.
i. People who especially likely to comply with soft power tactics tend to be
more reflective, are intrinsically motivated, have high self-esteem, and have
greater desire for control.
ii. People especially likely to comply with hard power tactics are more
action-oriented and extrinsically motivated and are more focused on getting
along with others than with getting their own way.
D. Cultural Preferences for Power Tactics
1. People in different countries prefer different power tactics.
a. Those from individualistic countries tend to see power in personalized terms and
as a legitimate means of advancing their personal ends, whereas those in
collectivistic countries see power in social terms and as a legitimate means of
helping others.
i. A study comparing managers in the United States and China found that U.S.
managers prefer rational appeal, whereas Chinese managers preferred
coalition tactics.
(a) These differences tend to be consistent with the values in these two
countries.
(b) Reason is consistent with the U.S. preference for direct confrontation and
rational persuasion to influence others and resolve differences, while
coalition tactics align with the Chinese preference for meeting difficult or
controversial requests with indirect approaches.
E. Applying Power Tactics
1. People differ in their political skill, or their ability to influence others to enhance
their own objectives.
a. The politically skilled are more effective users of all of the influence tactics.
Political skill also appears more effective when the stakes are high—such as when
the individual is accountable for important organizational outcomes.
b. Finally, the politically skilled are able to exert their influence without others
detecting it, a key element in being effective (it’s damaging to be labeled
political).
2. Finally, we know cultures within organizations differ markedly—some are warm,
relaxed, and supportive; others are formal and conservative.
3. Some cultures encourage participation and consultation, some encourage reason, and
still others rely on pressure.
a. People who fit the culture of the organization tend to obtain more influence.
i. Specifically, extraverts tend to be more influential in team-oriented
organizations, and highly conscientious people are more influential in
organizations that value working alone on technical tasks.
ii. Part of the reason people who fit the culture are influential is that they are able
to perform especially well in the domains deemed most important for success.
In other words, they are influential because they are competent.
b. So the organization itself will influence which subset of power tactics is viewed as
acceptable for use.
V. How Power Affects People
A. Does power corrupt?
1. Evidence suggests that power leads people to place their own interests ahead of
others.
2. Powerful people react—especially negatively—to any threats to their competence.
3. Power also leads to overconfident decision making.
B. Power Variables
1. Power doesn’t affect everyone in the same way, and there are even positive effects of
power. Let’s consider each of these in turn.
a. First, the toxic effects of power depend on one’s personality.
i. Research suggests that if we have an anxious personality, power does not
corrupt us because we are less likely to think that using power benefits us.
b. Second, the corrosive effect of power can be contained by organizational systems.
i. One study found, for example, that while power made people behave in a
self-serving manner, when accountability of this behavior was initiated, the
self-serving behavior stopped.
c. Third, forgive the pun, but we have the power to blunt the negative effects of
power.
i. One study showed that simply expressing gratitude toward powerful others
made them less likely to aggress against us.
d. Finally, remember the aphorism that those with little power grab and abuse what
little they have? There appears to be some truth to this in that the people most
likely to abuse power are those who are low in status and gain power. Why is this
the case? It appears that having low status is threatening, and this fear is used in
negative ways if power is given.
e. As you can see, there are factors that can ameliorate the negative effects of power.
f. But there also appear to be general positive effects.
i. Power energizes and leads to approach motivation.
ii. It also can enhance people’s motivation to help others, at least for certain
people.
g. It is not so much that power corrupts as it reveals.
i. For those with strong moral identities, power actually enhanced their moral
awareness.
VI. Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace
A. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an
individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment.
1. Although the definition changes from country to country, most nations have at least
some policies to protect workers. Whether the policies or laws are followed is
another question, however.
2. Organizations have generally made progress in the past decade toward limiting overt
forms of sexual harassment.
a. This includes unwanted physical touching, recurring requests for dates when it is
made clear the person isn’t interested, and coercive threats that a person will lose
his or her job for refusing a sexual proposition.
3. Generally, sexual harassment is more prevalent in male-dominated societies.
4. Most studies confirm that the concept of power is central to understanding sexual
harassment.
a. Sexual harassment is more likely to occur when there are large power
differentials.
b. The supervisor-employee dyad best characterizes an unequal power relationship,
where formal power gives the supervisor the capacity to reward and coerce.
c. Because employees want favorable performance reviews, salary increases, and the
like, supervisors control resources most employees consider important and scarce.
d. Thus, sexual harassment by the boss typically creates the greatest difficulty for
those being harassed.
e. If there are no witnesses, it is the victim’s word against the harasser’s. Has this
boss harassed others, and, if so, will they come forward or fear retaliation?
5. The following are some ways managers can protect themselves and their employees
from sexual harassment.
a. Make sure an active policy defines what constitutes sexual harassment, informs
employees they can be fired for sexually harassing another employee, and
establishes procedures for how complaints can be made.
b. Reassure employees that they will not encounter retaliation if they issue a
complaint.
c. Investigate every complaint and include the legal and human resource
departments.
d. Make sure offenders are disciplined or terminated.
e. Set up in-house seminars to raise employee awareness of the issues surrounding
sexual harassment.
6. The bottom line is that managers have a responsibility to protect their employees
from a hostile work environment, but they also need to protect themselves.
a. Managers may be unaware that one of their employees is being sexually harassed.
But being unaware does not protect them or their organization.
b. If investigators believe a manager could have known about the harassment, both
the manager and the company can be held liable.
VII. Politics: Power in Action
A. Definition of Organizational Politics
1. Political behavior refers to those activities that are not required as part of one’s
formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the
distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
2. Political behavior is outside one’s specified job requirements.
3. It encompasses efforts to influence the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision
making.
4. It includes such varied political behaviors as withholding key information from
decision makers, whistle blowing, spreading rumors, leaking confidential
information, etc.
B. The Reality of Politics
1. Interviews with experienced managers show that most believe political behavior is a
major part of organizational life.
a. Many managers report some use of political behavior is both ethical and
necessary, as long as it doesn’t directly harm anyone else.
b. They describe politics as a necessary evil and believe someone who never uses
political behavior will have a hard time getting things done.
c. Most also indicate they had never been trained to use political behavior
effectively.
2. Organizations are made up of individuals and groups with different values, goals, and
interests.
3. This sets up the potential for conflict over resources.
4. Resources in organizations are also limited, which often turns potential conflict into
real conflict.
a. Because resources are limited, not everyone’s interests can be provided for
causing the conflict.
b. Gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being at the expense of
others.
c. These forces create a competition.
C. The most important factor leading to politics within organizations is the realization that
most of the “facts” that are used to allocate the limited resources are open to
interpretation.
1. What is good performance?
2. What’s an adequate improvement?
D. Most managerial decisions take place in the large and ambiguous middle ground of
organizational life.
E. Because most decisions have to be made in a climate of ambiguity, people within
organizations will use whatever influence they can to taint the facts to support their goals
and interests.
1. These are activities we call politicking.
2. It is possible for an organization to be politics free, if all members of that organization
hold the same goals and interests, however, that is not the organization most people
work in.
VIII. Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior
A. Factors Contributing to Political Behavior (Exhibit 13-3)
1. Individual factors
a. Researchers have identified certain personality traits, needs, and other factors that
are likely to be related to political behavior.
b. Employees who are high self-monitors, possess an internal locus of control, and
have a high need for power are more likely to engage in political behavior.
c. The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues and is more likely to be
skilled in political behavior than the low self-monitor.
i. Individuals with an internal locus of control are more prone to take a proactive
stance and attempt to manipulate situations in their favor.
ii. The Machiavellian personality is comfortable using politics as a means to
further his/her self-interest.
d. An individual’s investment in the organization, perceived alternatives, and
expectations of success will influence the tendency to pursue illegitimate means
of political action.
i. The more that a person has invested and the more a person has to lose, the less
likely he/she is to use illegitimate means.
ii. The more a person expects increased future benefits from the organization, the
more that person has to lose if forced out and the less likely he or she is to use
illegitimate means.
iii. The more alternative job opportunities an individual has—due to a favorable
job market or the possession of scarce skills or knowledge, a prominent
reputation, or influential contacts outside the organization—the more likely
that individual is to risk illegitimate political actions.
iv. Finally, an individual with low expectations of success from illegitimate
means is unlikely to use them.
v. High expectations from such measures are most likely to be the province of
both experienced and powerful individuals with polished political skills and
inexperienced and naïve employees who misjudge their chances.
B. Organizational Factors
a. Political activity is probably more a function of the organization’s characteristics
than of individual difference variables.
b. When an organization’s resources are declining, when the existing pattern of
resources is changing, and when there is opportunity for promotions, politics is
more likely to surface.
c. Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance
evaluation systems, zero-sum reward allocation practices, democratic decision
making, high pressures for performance, and self-serving senior managers will
create breeding grounds for politicking.
d. When organizations downsize to improve efficiency, people may engage in
political actions to safeguard what they have.
e. Promotion decisions have consistently been found to be one of the most political
in organizations.
f. The less trust there is within the organization, the higher the level of political
behavior and the more likely it will be illegitimate.
g. Role ambiguity means that the prescribed behaviors of the employee are not clear.
h. Subjective criteria in the appraisal process.
i. Subjective performance criteria create ambiguity.
ii. Single outcome measures encourage doing whatever is necessary to “look
good.”
iii. The more time that elapses between an action and its appraisal, the more
unlikely that the employee will be held accountable for his/her political
behaviors.
i. The zero-sum approach treats the reward “pie” as fixed so that any gain one
person or group achieves has to come at the expense of another person or group.
