Learning Outcomes

Describe the concept of power

Identify forms and sources of power
in organization
Define organizational politics and
learn the role of political skills and
influence tactics

Power is often seen as

Negative
Power has to do with behaviours that are not
transparent and are slightly dodgy making the
work of others difficult.
Power is a process of influence by which
unscrupulous colleagues pursue their personal
rather than organizational interests. They are
Machiavellian types

The Machiavellian type

A person who adopts duplicitous
methods and is scheming and cunning
In psychology this a specific
personality type. The Mach IV
questionnaire enables one to check if
one has high or low Machiavellianism
(Christie and Geis 1970)

Examples from TVN case

study
Dancer and his men who indulge their
fantasies at the companys expenses
Frank Selby, Head of Engineering
Features of Dancers behaviour:
does not want to share information
about the programme,
runs regularly over budget,
has a do it now pick up the pieces
later or ignore them attitude

But:
Such a view of power and organisation is too
simplistic
It does not account for the nuances and
complexities of organised life
In our case-study: Everyone agrees that Dancer and
his men are extremely good at what they do,
they are liked and have great reputation within
the organisation and in the broader broadcasting
world

There is a mid-way between the nave manager and the overthe top Machiavellian one!

Very nave, unreflective manager:

too often victim of circumstances
who often find it difficult to understand how they got
themselves/others in certain situations
who are often puzzled by what they perceive as bosses,
subordinates or peers unreasonableness
Shrewd, Machiavellian operators:
cynical and calculative
think they can manipulate their way though any
situation
who unproblematically lie, deceive, victimise, coerce to
achieve their personal ends

The middle way is:

The reflective manager who understands that
organizations are
complex and multi-faceted and always have a political
dimension.
The political dimension is due to the fact that:
Organizations combine, often in an unstable manner,
different interests
The goals are not often clear to all and the meaning of the
goal can be different for different people and interests
groups
Interests are not fixed once and for all, because of broader
economic, political, social and cultural changes

Zooming in the political arena

Interests may run on parallel lines and never meet
Interests may be aligned: coalitions, alliances
Interests may collide, be in opposition
Why?
Because people want the same things: competition on
(perceived) limited and valuable resources
Because people want different things: alternative
scopes, visions, methods, instruments, etc.
In our case-study:
What does Neville Cottingham want?
What does Tony Dancer want?
What interests are they representing?

Positive view of power

Power as processes of influencing others in order
to get them to do specific tasks, adopt specific
behaviors
These are overall good for the organization
Power that is used to create motivation and to
accomplish social/organizational goals

To analyze a situation and

Diagnose a problem

To offer solutions on
how to intervene and
change the
problematic situation

 Diagnose the web of power relations by reflecting on others

and ones position in the web: the relation of dependence or
inter-dependence
(e.g. Goals, interests, resources controlled or wanted, etc.)
Become aware of ones goal and become responsible for the
tactics and strategies to use in order to change the web
Understand that actions are never completely controllable
in their results but there are often unintended consequences
In a few wordsit is a good idea
to develop a political expertise!

To develop political
expertise
What are the forms and bases of power?
What are the main tactics one can use?
What are the political skills to develop?

Sources and forms of power

Interpersonal forms/bases of power
Intergroup sources of power

Sources of power
Reward power: Power based on agents
ability to control rewards that the agent
targeted wants, e.g. bonuses, salary
increases, promotion
Coercive power: Power that is based on
agents ability to cause unpleasant
experience for a target, e.g. threats,
punishments, including withdrawing
support
Classic text: French
and Raven,1959

 Legitimate power: Power that is

based on the position and mutual
agreement, i.e. agent and target
agree that the agent has the right to
influence the target. This is the
reason why our team does what we
ask or why we do what our boss asks
us to (within limit, i.e. the request
needs to be legitimate)

 Referent power: Power based on

desirable features the agent has that
make him or her attractive, respected,
loved by the target agent. Charisma is
an example of this power
Expert power: the power based on a
specialist knowledge or skills the agent
has that the target needs

An additional power bases

Informational power: access to
and/or control over important
information

Intergroup sources of power

Control of critical resources: when one
holds a resource another group
desires that group holds power
Control of strategic contingencies:
activities that one groups depends
on in order to complete its task
Classic text: Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978

Three factors
Ability to cope with uncertainty
High degree of centrality
Non-substability

Tactics

Descriptions

Examples

Pressure

Use of demands
threats, intimidation to
comply

If you dont do this you

are fired.

Upwards appeals

Refer to approval from

higher management or
respected others to
gain compliance

I am reporting you to
my boss. My boss
supports this idea

Exchange

Promise of rewards and You owe me a favor

benefits or reminding
This will speed up your
of a favor due
promotion
You can get the
account you have
wanted for so long

Coalition

Aid of others to
persuade you

All the other team

leaders agree with
me / Ill ask you in
front of the whole
committee

Tactics

Descriptions

Examples

Ingratiation

Get the target in a

good mood to think
favorably of the agent
demand, flattering

Only you can do this

job right.

Rational persuasion

Use of logical
argument and factual
evidence to persuade
the option desired is
viable

This new procedure will

save us $150.000 in
overheads

Inspirational appeals

The agent uses

emotional persuasion
arousing enthusiasm
appealing to values
and ideals

Being environmentally
conscious is the right
thing.
Getting that account
will be tough, but I
know you can do it

Consultation

Participation in making
a decision or planning
a change

This new attendance

plan is controversial
how can we make it
more acceptable?

Case study TVN

Diagnose the web of power relations
and dynamics of power
Offer a solution intervening in the
power web.
Justify your solution with reference to
the theories offered in todays
lecture: what tactics and why?
Propose a clear plan of action

Political skills
The ability to get things done through
positive interpersonal relationships
outside the formal organization
Key features:
Social astuteness: accurate perception
and evaluation of the social situation

 Interpersonal influence: subtle and

influential personal style that is effective in
getting things done. It requires adaptability
Networking ability: individual ability to
develop and retain diverse and extensive
social networks
Sincerity: ability to portray authenticity

Managing political behavior

Favor social power rather than personal Machiavellian
power.
If too much this can become dysfunctional (bending
rules, withholding information or spreading rumors and
mis-information, etc)
Too much dysfunctional political behavior can lead to
widespread job dissatisfaction then to high turnover,
etc.

How to manage political

behavior?
Attempt to reduce uncertainty:
open communication,
clarify expectations on performance (link clear
goals to rewards)
Participative management: involve people in
decision making
Favor collaboration/cooperation between
groups
But, if resources cannot be increased: make
their allocation transparent and fair

Conclusions
Politics is a physiological part of organized life
Power is the ability to influence others
It can be negative or positive
It is possible to develop political expertise,
becoming a reflective manager who
understands:
The web of power relations, the power dynamics
and how to intervene in them in a useful
manner

Final point
Ethical issues
Three useful questions:
Does the behavior produce a good outcome
for the majority of people? Utilitarian view
Does the behavior respect the rights of all
stakeholders? Individual rights
Does the behavior treas all party equitably
and fairly? The justice criterion