Topic: Power and politics

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Topic Power and politics
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Power defined

• Control and influence over others
• Ability to modify the conduct of other
  individual(s) or group(s)

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Sources of individual power (French Raven)

• Reward
• Coercive
• Legitimate
• Expert
• Referent

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Strategic contingency power

• Power of divisions, departments, groups (or
  individuals)
• Power accrues to those who cope w/critical
  organizational problems (critical contingencies
  and uncertainty)
• Critical resources are important, scarce, and
  nonsubstitutable

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Strategies managers use (most frequent to least
frequent)

• Form alliances and coalitions
• Present a persuasive viewpoint
• Deal directly with key decision makers
• Use data to convince others
• Focus on the needs of the target group
• Work around roadblocks
• Exaggerate information
• Use personal attributes

• Use contacts for information
• Surround self with competent others
• Deal with others socially
• Be persistent
• Offer favors/monetary rewards
• Use threats
• Commit the uncommitted
• Use organizational rules
• Give guarantees
• Discredit the opposition

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Strategies for Success
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Gender differences in upward influence (managers
from Fortune 100 companies)

• Female managers influence attempts
• Showed more concern for others
• Act with organizations broad interests in mind
• Consider how others might feel about influence
  attempt
• Involve others in planning
• Focus on both task and interpersonal aspects of
  the situation

• Male managers influence attempts
• More concern for self
• Act out of self interest
• Less consideration for how others might feel
  about influence attempt
• Work alone in developing their strategy
• Focus primarily on the task

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Gender differences in upward influence

• Female managers

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Politics defined

• Power in action, especially informal power

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Individual Factors

• Self-monitoring
• Locus of control
• Machavellianism
• Investment in the organization
• Perceived job alternatives
• Expectations of success

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Organizational factors (all increase political
behavior)

• Decline or reallocation of resources
• Low trust
• Role ambiguity
• Unclear performance appraisal system
• Zero-sum reward practices

• Democratic decision making
• High performance pressure
• Self-serving senior managers (politicking
  rewarded and practiced by upper management)

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Strategies for increasing using your power base

• Be observant
• Enter high-uncertainty areas
• Create dependencies, provide resources
• Become an expert (enhance legitimacy)
• Build coalitions, expand networks
• Control decision premises (e.g. agenda)
• Explicit preferences, implicit power