UNDERSTANDING POWER:Sources of Power, Responses to the Use of Power, Managing Political Behavior

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Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Lesson 18

UNDERSTANDING POWER

We started discussing concept of power and try to differentiate power, influence and authority.

Power - the ability to influence another person

Influence - the process of affecting the thoughts, behavior, & feelings of another person

Authority - the right to influence another person. Legitimate power is known as authority.

Sources of Power:

Organizations are composed of people who come together to achieve their common goals. When

resources are scarce, people and groups have to compete for them, and some achieve their goals while

others do not. In an organization, leaders have the primary responsibility to ensure that competition for

resources is free and fair and that people who obtain power over resources do so because they possess

skills and abilities that will, in the long run, benefit all members of the organization. Similarly leaders

also use different sources of power to influence followers and get things from them.

Sources of Power

1. Reward power

Other Sources of Power

- giving something of value.

2. Coercive power (Punishment)

· Connection power

- force against the will (threat of firing).

· Information power

3. Expert power

- use of knowledge, competence, expertise.

· Group decision making power

4. Referent power

· Organization power

- use of charisma to influence others (inspiration)

5. Legitimate power

· Coalition power

- position power.

6. Numbers power

7. Others- legal, public, money

1. Reward power: When someone has power to give some thing of value or withhold this. Reward

power is the power to give pay raises, promotions, praise, interesting projects, and other rewards to

subordinates. As long as subordinates value the rewards, a manager/leader can use reward power to

influence and control their behavior.

2. Coercive power (Punishment): Coercive power is the power to give or withhold punishment.

Punishments range from suspension to demotion, termination, unpleasant job assignments, or even the

withholding of praise and goodwill. The ability to reward or punish subordinates gives supervisors great

power, which is sometimes abused. It is for this reason that most organizations have clearly defined

rules concerning when and how employees are to be rewarded or punished. Review boards and

promotion committees may be used to assist management in this respect.

Coercive power and reward power are actually counterparts of each other. If you can remove something

of positive value from another or inflict something of negative value upon him/her, you have coercive

power over that person. If you can give someone something of positive value or remove something of

negative value, you have reward power over that person.

3. Expert power: Expert power is "influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or

knowledge." Expertise has become a powerful source of influence as the world has become more

technological. As jobs become more specialized, we become increasingly dependent on experts to

achieve goals. Generally, people who possess expert power are promoted up the hierarchy of authority

so that their informal power eventually becomes formal.

4. Referent power: Its base is identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal

traits. If I admire and identify with you, you can exercise power over me because I want to please you.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that person; it is a lot like

charisma. These individuals are often noted for their agreeableness, extroversion, or conscientiousness.

Fame is one sign that a person has acquired referent power.

5. Legitimate power: In formal groups and organizations, the most frequent access power is one's

structural position. It represents the power a person receives as a result of his/her position in the formal

hierarchy. Positions of authority include coercive and reward powers. Legitimate power, however, is

broader than the power to coerce and reward. It includes acceptance of the authority of a position by

members of an organization. Legitimate power confers on an individual the legitimate authority to

control and use organizational resources to accomplish organizational goals. Legitimate power is the

ultimate source of an individual's power in an organization.

6. Numbers power: The formal and informal power using by an individual same time. Especially when

number maters. More people are on your side, you can use this to influence.

7. Others: other powers are the legal power uses according to the law, public power given by the public

to an individual as leader and money power based on financial resources and influences others with the

power of money.

Other Sources of Power:

Connection power: connection power is the power based on good connection inside and out side

the organization. And by using this power a leader can have achieve the organizational goals.

Information power: Information power is power stemming from access to and control over

information. The more information a manager possesses, the better able he or she is to solve

problems facing subordinates. Lack of information power forces subordinates to be dependant on

superiors for their information needs. Many managers are unwilling to share information power.

The most effective organizations do not do this.

Group decision making power: is a power in which leaders make decision in the group and

influence the group members.

Organization power: Leaders in particular functions or divisions can take advantage of other

sources of power to enhance their individual power. A division or function becomes powerful when

the tasks that it performs give it the ability to control the behavior of other divisions or functions, to

make them depend on it, and thereby increase its share of organizational resources. The power of a

function or division also stems from its importance, or centrality, to the organization. (a. How

central it is to the organization's operations and the degree to which it lies at the center of

information flows. (b. These functions or divisions have access to a lot of information, which gives

them power.

Coalition power: Those "out of power" and seeking to be "in" will first try to increase their power

individually. If ineffective, the alternative is to form a coalition--an informal group bound together

by the active pursuit of a single issue. Predictions about Coalition Formation. First, coalitions in

organizations often seek to maximize their size. Another prediction relates to the degree of

interdependence within the organization. Finally, coalition formation will be influenced by the

actual tasks that workers do.

Responses to the Use of Power

Responses of the use of power can be divided into three different behaviors. If positional power is used

appropriately the response of followers will be compliance. While excessive power use can create

resistance behavior. In case some one is using personal power the response is always commitment of

followers. Same can be understood from the following figure.

The more you will move toward excessive or coercive power the more you can experience resistance.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Using Power:

Knowing the persons who matter in your sphere of influence

Knowing who holds power

Using power appropriately to build consensus

Using Power Appropriately

Avoidance of power plays

Using Power Ethically: There are some questions that a leader should be asking to him

Does the behavior produce a good outcome for people both inside and outside the organization?

Does the behavior respect the rights of all parties?

Does the behavior treat all parties equitably and fairly?

Three ethical decision criteria are utilitarianism, rights, and justice. The first question you need to

answer addresses self-interest versus organizational goals. Ethical actions are consistent with the

organization's goals.

The second question concerns the rights of other parties. The final question that needs to be addressed

relates to whether or not the political activity conforms to standards of equity and justice.

Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are often argued in ways to make unethical practices

seem ethical. Powerful people can become very good at explaining self-serving behaviors. They can

persuasively argue that unfair actions are really fair and just.

Negative Consequences and Power

Abraham Lincoln once said: "Nearly everyone can stand adversity, but if you want to test a person's

true character, give him power". Historian Lord Acton once said, "Power corrupts, and absolute power

corrupts absolutely."

How do you get power?

Key words:- Management, People, Motivation, Organization, Team, Culture, Influence, Politics etc.

Influencing: The process of affecting other's attitudes and behavior to achieve an objective. Leadership

focuses on the downward influence on their followers. Power does not minimize the importance of

lateral and upward influence patterns.

Types of Influence Tactics:

Rational persuasion

Consultation

Personal appeals

Coalition tactics

Legitimizing tactics

Pressure tactics

Inspirational appeals

Outcomes of Influence

Same way as in case of power, the more you will move toward excessive or coercive influencing tactics

or use of power the more you can experience resistance.

Politics: Activities to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain desired future

outcomes when there is uncertainty or disagreement about choices. Or "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." This definition encompasses key

elements.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

Political behavior is outside one's specified job requirements.

It encompasses efforts to influence the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making.

It includes such varied political behaviors as withholding key information from decision makers,

whistle blowing, spreading rumors, leaking confidential information, etc.

We can also say that Politics is the art of Influencing the Allocation of Scarce Resources. Politics;

Is an interpersonal endeavor

Is a collective activity

Requires analysis and planning

Involves image

The Reality of Politics: Politics is a fact of life in organizations. Organizations are made up of

individuals and groups with different values, goals, and interests. This sets up the potential for conflict

over resources. Resources in organizations are also limited, which often turns potential conflict into real

conflict. Because resources are limited, not everyone's interests can be provided for causing the

conflict.

Gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being at the expense of others.

These forces create a competition.

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.

What is good performance?

What's an adequate improvement?

Most managerial decisions take place in the large and ambiguous middle ground of organizational

life.

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. These are

activities we call politicking.

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.

Political Tactics:

Attacking or blaming others

Using information as a political tool

Creating a favorable image (impression management)

Developing a base of support

Praising others (ingratiation)

Forming political coalitions with strong allies

Associating with influential people

Creating obligations (reciprocity)

Organizational Factors Which Contribute to Political Behavior

Role ambiguity

Low trust

Self-serving senior managers

Democratic decision making

Unclear evaluation systems

High performance pressures

Zero-sum allocations

Scarcity of resources

Factors Contributing to Political Behavior

Organizational Factors

Political activity is probably more a function of the organization's characteristics than of

individual difference variables.

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.

Leadership & Team Management MGMT 623

o 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.

o When organizations downsize to improve efficiency, people may engage in political actions

to safeguard what they have.

o Promotion decisions have consistently been found to be one of the most political in

organizations.

o The less trust there is within the organization, the higher the level of political behavior and

the more likely it will be illegitimate.

o Role ambiguity means that the prescribed behaviors of the employee are not clear.

o There are fewer limits to the scope and functions of the employee's political actions.

o The greater the role ambiguity, the more one can engage in political activity with little

chance of it being visible.

o Subjective criteria in the appraisal process

o Subjective performance criteria create ambiguity.

o Single outcome measures encourage doing whatever is necessary to "look good."

o 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.

o 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. If I win, you must

lose!

o This encourages making others look bad and increasing the visibility of what you do.

o Making organizations less autocratic by asking managers to behave more democratically is

not necessarily embraced by all individual managers.

o Sharing their power with others runs directly against some managers' desires.

o The more pressure that employees feel to perform well, the more likely they are to engage

in politicking.

o If a person perceives that his or her entire career is riding on the next "whatever," there is

motivation to do whatever is necessary to make sure the outcome is favorable.

o When employees see top management successfully engaging in political behavior, a

climate is created that supports politicking.

Managing Organizational Politics

Reduce System Uncertainty

Reduce Competition

Break Existing Political Fiefdoms

The exercise of power is an essential ingredient of organizational life, so it is important for an

organization to manage organizational politics and harness it to support organizational interests. The

management of organizational politics falls primarily on the CEO/leader. If the CEO/leader is

perceived of as being weak, other top managers will lobby for their own interests and compete among

themselves for control of resources. To avoid power struggles, an organization must have a strong

CEO who can balance and manipulate the power structure. When there is a balance of power, the

decisions that result from the political process are more likely to favor the long-term interests of the

organization.

Managing Political Behavior:

Maintain open communication

Clarify performance expectations

Use participative management

Encourage cooperation among work groups

Manage scarce resources well

Provide a supportive organizational climate

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