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Chapter 13
Power and Politics
Chapter Overview
For anything to be accomplished in an organization people must use both power and
politics. While often looked at as negative aspects of organizations, both power and politics
are the means by which organizations and individuals get objectives accomplished.
Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Define power and contrast leadership and power.
3. Identify nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies.
5. Apply impression management techniques.
6. Show the influence of culture on the uses and perceptions of politics.
Suggested Lecture Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
A. This chapter will examine how power shapes group goals and resource allocation as
well as the individual use of political skills to achieve goals.
II. A DEFINITION OF POWER
A. Power Defined: a capacity that one person has to influence the behavior of another
so that the other acts in accordance with the first person’s wishes.
B. Two Facets of Power. When it comes to power:
1. Capacity or Potential. Power’s potential need not be
actualized to be effective. It may exist even if not used.
2. Dependency. Power requires a dependency relationship: the greater the
dependency, the greater the power that exists.
III. CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP AND POWER
A. Similarities. The concepts of leadership and power are closely
intertwined. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group
goals.
B. Differences. Power and leadership differ in three major areas:
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1. Goal Compatibility.
2. Direction of Influence.
3. Research Emphasis.
a. Leadership research tends to emphasize the style leaders take.
b. Research on power is a broader topic and focuses on tactics for gaining
compliance.
c. Power research looks at the power exerted by individuals, as well as that
used by groups.
IV. BASES OF POWER
A. Groupings. There are two general groupings of power sources:
formal and personal.
1. Formal Power.
a. This source of power comes from an individual’s position in an organization.
b. It is based on the ability to coerce or reward, or from formal authority.
1) Coercive Power.
a) This power base is driven by fear.
2) Reward Power.
a) The opposite of coercive power, this source of power is based on
3) Legitimate Power.
a) In formal groups and organizations, this common base of power is
2. Personal Power.
a. This power stems from an individual’s unique
characteristics.
b. There are two bases of personal power:
1) Expert Power.
a) This is influence wielded because of expertise, special skill, or
2) Referent Power.
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a) This power is based on identification with a person who has
desirable resources or personal traits.
b) It develops out of admiration of another and the desire to be like that
person: followers wish to please a person with referent power.
c) This source of power is closely aligned with charisma.
B. Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?
1. Personal Power.
2. Formal Power.
a. Reward and legitimate power are unrelated to organizational outcomes.
b. Coercive power is negatively related to employee satisfaction and
commitment.
C. Power and Perceived Justice
1. Just as relational dependency potentially distorts the
2. People in positions of power are often blamed for their failures and credited for
their successes to a greater degree than those who have less power.
3. Authorities are given greatest trust when they have a lot of power and their
organizations are seen as operating fairly, and the least trust when they have a
lot of power and their organizations are seen as operating unfairly.
V. POWER TACTICS
A. Defined: Power tactics are what people use to translate
power bases into specific actions that influence others.
2. In fact, over time, successfully applied power tactics can result in the
accumulation of a power base.
B. Nine Influence Tactics:
1. Legitimacy. Relying on one’s positional authority or
stressing the request is in accordance with
organizational policies and rules.
2. Rational Persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to
demonstrate the 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 motivation and support by involving him
or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done.
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 the
request.
9. Coalitions. Enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the
support of others as a reason for the target to agree.
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C. Tactic Effectiveness. Not all tactics are equally effective.
2. Ineffective Tactics. Pressure is the least effective of all nine tactics.
4. The Impact of Influence Direction. Tactic effectiveness is
5. You’re more likely to be effective if you begin with “softer” tactics that rely on
6. 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.
7. Interestingly, a single soft tactic is more effective than a single hard tactic, and
8. The effectiveness of tactics depends on the audience.
a. People especially likely to comply with soft power tactics tend to be more
reflective, are intrinsically motivated, have high self-esteem, and have
9. The politically skilled are more effective users of all of the influence tactics.
a. Political skill also appears more effective when the stakes are high—such as
when the individual is accountable for important organizational outcomes.
10. 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).
11. Finally, we know cultures within organizations differ markedly—some are
warm, relaxed, and supportive; others are formal and conservative.
1) 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.
Exhibit 13.1
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g. Maybe the most important factor leading to politics within organizations is
the realization that most of the “facts” used to allocate the limited resources
are open to interpretation.
h. It is in the large and ambiguous middle ground of organizational life—where
the facts don’t speak for themselves—that politics flourish.
i. Finally, because most decisions have to be made in a climate of ambiguity—
where facts are rarely fully objective and thus are open to interpretation—
people within organizations will use whatever influence they can to taint the
facts to support their goals and interests.
VII. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
A. Factors Contributing to Political Behavior.
1. Individual Factors.
a. At the individual level, researchers have identified certain personality traits,
needs, and other factors likely to be related to political behavior.
b. In terms of traits, we find that 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.
1) The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher
levels of social conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political
behavior than the low self-monitor.
c. Because they believe they can control their environment, individuals with an
internal locus of control are more prone to take a proactive stance and
attempt to manipulate situations in their favor.
1) Not surprisingly, the Machiavellian personality—characterized by the
will to manipulate and the desire for power—is comfortable using
politics as a means to further his or her self-interest.
d. In addition, an individual’s investment in the organization, perceived
alternatives, and expectations of success influence the degree to which he or
she will pursue illegitimate means of political action.
1) The more a person expects increased future benefits from the
2) The more alternative job opportunities an individual has—due to a
3) Finally, if an individual has a low expectation of success in using
illegitimate means, it is unlikely he or she will attempt to do so.
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a) High expectations of success in the use of illegitimate means 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.
2. Organizational Factors. This is the most influential set of
factors leading to political behavior.
a. Organizational Resources.
1) When an organization’s resources are declining or when the existing
2) This is especially true in periods of downsizing.
b. Promotions.
1) The availability of promotions is one of the most political aspects of any
organization and is most likely to cause political behavior.
c. Organizational Culture.
1) Cultures evidencing the following characteristics are more likely to
experience political behaviors.
a) Low levels of trust (also increases the likelihood of illegitimate
political actions).
c) The more organizations use subjective criteria in performance
appraisal, emphasize a single outcome measure, or allow significant
time to pass between the time of an action and its appraisal, the
greater the likelihood that an employee can get away with
politicking.
(2) The use of a single outcome measure encourages individuals to
(3) The time lapse between an action and its appraisal is also a
relevant factor.
2) The use of zero-sum or win-lose reward allocation practices, which
forces employees to compete with each other for a limited reward.
3) When there are high pressures for performance, especially when
4) When the firm is being led by poor example: self-serving senior
managers who use political behaviors make such behavior acceptable
throughout the organization.
B. How Do People Respond to Organizational Politics?
1. In our previous discussion in this chapter of factors that
a. But for most people—who have modest political
Exhibit 13.2
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skills or are unwilling to play the politics game—outcomes tend to be
predominantly negative.
b. Exhibit 13.2 summarizes the extensive research on the relationship between
organizational politics and individual outcomes.
2) The perception of politics also tends to increase job anxiety and stress.
3) This seems due to the perception that, by not engaging in politics, a
4) When politicking becomes too much to handle, it can lead employees to
quit.
c. Researchers have also noted several interesting qualifiers.
1) First, the politics– performance relationship appears to be moderated by
an individual’s understanding of the “hows” and “whys” of
organizational politics.
a) “An individual who has a clear understanding of who is responsible
for making decisions and why they were selected to be the decision
b) When both politics and understanding are high, performance is
likely to increase because the individual will see political actions as
an opportunity.
(2) But when understanding is low, individuals are more likely to
2) Second, political behavior at work moderates the effects of ethical
leadership.
3) Third, when employees see politics as a threat, they often respond with
defensive behaviors—reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action,
blame, or change.
a) Exhibit 13.3 provides some examples of
these behaviors.
b) Defensive behaviors are often associated
with negative feelings toward the job and work environment.
(1) At that point, they lose the trust and support of their peers,
bosses, employees, and clients.
C. Impression Management (IM).
1. The process by which individuals attempt to control the
impression others form of them is called impression
management (IM).
Exhibit 13.3
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a. Being perceived positively by others should have benefits for people in
organizations.
b. It might, for instance, help them initially to get the jobs they want in an
organization and, once hired, to get favorable evaluations, superior salary
2. Who is most likely to use or not use this concept?
a. The high self-monitor is the most likely to employ this concept.
b. Low self-monitors tend to present images of themselves that are consistent
with their personalities, regardless of the beneficial or detrimental effects
for them.
3. Keep in mind that the impressions people use IM to
convey are necessarily false (although, of course, they sometimes are true).
a. Excuses, for instance, may be offered with sincerity.
b. Referring to the example in Exhibit 13.4, you can actually believe that ads
contribute little to sales in your region.
c. But misrepresentation can have a high cost.
1) If you “cry wolf” once too often, no one is likely to believe you when the
wolf really comes.
3) People don’t like to feel others are manipulating them through
impression management, so such tactics should be employed with
caution.
d. Are there situations in which individuals are more likely to misrepresent
themselves or more likely to get away with it?
1) Yes—situations characterized by high uncertainty or ambiguity provides
4. The increasing use of telework may be increasing the use of IM.
a. Individuals who work remotely from their supervisors engage in high levels
of IM relative to those who work closely with their supervisors.
5. Most of the studies undertaken to test the effectiveness
of IM techniques have related it to two criteria:
interview success and performance evaluations.
a. The evidence indicates most job applicants use IM techniques in interviews
and that it works.
1) In one study, for instance, interviewers felt applicants for a position as a
2) Moreover, when the researchers considered applicants’ credentials, they
concluded it was the IM techniques alone that influenced the
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interviewers—that is, it didn’t seem to matter whether applicants were
well or poorly qualified.
3) If they used IM techniques, they did better in the interview. Some IM
techniques work better than others in the interview.
4) Researchers have compared applicants whose IM techniques focused on
5) In general, applicants appear to use self-promotion more than
ingratiation. What’s more, self-promotion tactics may be more important
to interviewing success.
6) Applicants who work to create an appearance of competence by
7) These effects reach beyond the interview:
8) Ingratiation also works well in interviews; applicants who compliment
the interviewer, agree with his or her opinions, and emphasize areas of
fit do better than those who don’t.
b. In terms of performance ratings, the picture is quite different.
1) Ingratiation is positively related to performance ratings, meaning those
2) However, self-promotion appears to backfire:
a) Those who self-promote actually seem to receive lower performance
evaluations.
b) There is an important qualifier to this general result.
(1) It appears that individuals high in political skill are able to
(2) Another study of 760 boards of directors found that individuals
who ingratiate themselves to current board members (express
(3) What explains these results?
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(d) Thus, if you’re going to self-promote, remember that what
works in an interview won’t always work once you’re on the
job.
c. Are our conclusions about responses to politics globally valid?
1) Almost all of our conclusions on employee reactions to organizational
politics are based on studies conducted in North America.
2) The few studies that have included other countries suggest some minor
modifications.
VIII. THE ETHICS OF BEHAVING POLITICALLY
A. Ethical Guidelines for Political Behavior.
1. While there are no clear-cut standards to differentiate
ethical from unethical politicking, answering the following
2. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?
3. How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm
(or potential harm) it will do to others?
4. Does the political activity conform to the standards of equity and justice?
a. Sometimes it is difficult to weigh the costs and benefits of a political action,
but its ethicality is clear.
b. The department head who inflates the performance evaluation of a favored
5. Unfortunately, powerful people can become very good at explaining self-serving
behaviors in terms of the organization’s best interests.
a. They can persuasively argue that unfair actions are really fair and just.
b. Our point is that immoral people can justify almost any behavior.
c. Those who are powerful, articulate, and persuasive are most vulnerable to
ethical lapses because they are likely to be able to get away with unethical
IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
A. If you want to get things done in a group or an organization,
it helps to have power.
B. As a manager who wants to maximize your power, you will want to increase others’
dependence on you.
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1. But you will not be alone in attempting to build your power bases.
D. 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.
E. Few employees relish being powerless in their job and organization.
1. Try to avoid putting others in a position where they feel they have no power.
F. People respond differently to the various power bases.
2. In contrast, coercion, reward, and legitimate power are essentially
organizationally derived.
3. Competence especially appears to offer wide appeal, and its use as a power base
G. An effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations.
1. 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.
H. Some people are significantly more politically astute than others, meaning that they
are aware of the underlying politics and can manage impressions.
1. Those who are good at playing politics can be expected to get higher
2. The politically astute are also likely to exhibit higher job satisfaction and be
better able to neutralize job stressors.
3. 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.
X. KEEP IN MIND
A. Informal, expert, and referent power are the most important
to acquire.
XI. SUMMARY
Discussion Questions
1. Contrast leadership and power.
Answer: Power and leadership differ in three major areas: (1) Goal Compatibility.
Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. Leadership
2. Define the five bases of power.
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Answer: Formal Power. This source of power comes from an individual’s position
in an organization and has three bases associated with it. (1) Coercive Power. This
power base is driven by fear. A target reacts to this power out of fear of the negative
3. List and define nine influence tactics.
Answer: (1) Legitimacy: relying on one’s positional authority or stressing the
request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules. (2) Rational
Persuasion: presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the
4. Describe the effective use of influence tactics.
Answer: Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the
most effective tactics. Typically, these “softer” tactics are more effective than
“harder” tactics (exchange, coalitions, and pressure). Pressure is the least effective
5. List the individual and organizational factors that stimulate political behavior.
Answer: Individual factors: (1) personal traits, (2) situational factors (investment in
the organization, the number of perceived alternatives, and expectations of success).
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Suggested Assignment
Name That Power Base! The goal is for students to recognize through practice what the
different bases of power look like in a real situation. Choose students to role-play the two
positions, SGA Representative and President of your university. Let the students role-play
for ten to twelve minutes. Adjust the time as you see fit. The rest of the class should observe
the role-play and note:
a. What power base was used by each person?
b. What else could they have done to make the position more powerful?
c. What did they do that didn’t fit that power perspective?
d. Did they choose the most appropriate power base for this situation? Why?
Once the role-play is completed, have the class discuss the following:
a. Was this the only effective power base that could be used by the SGA?
b. How did the choice of power bases on the part of the SGA Representative
and the President affect the outcome of the negotiation?
Power Play Situation
You are a member of the Student Government Association’s (SGA) executive body at
your college or university. You are an elected student representative, an executive-
level officer, but not the President of the SGA. You represent students in the
business program/school. This program is a major source of revenue for the
SGA Representative: choose one of the five power bases and negotiate the
elimination of, or modification of, this policy. Choose the one you think has the most
credibility given this situation. Talk, negotiate, and so on, as you think appropriate
given this base of power. Do not make overt statements that will give away your
power base.