Power and politics

Power and Politics
Ms. Vaishali Bapu Thorat
MBA (First Year)
MBA College, Loni, Tal-Rahata (Maharashtra)

2Copyright © 2006 by Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• Power has been defined as
having control, influence, or
domination over something or
someone.
– Chandler (1992)
• Power is defined as ‘the ability
to get things done, to mobilize
resources, to get and use
whatever it is that a person
needs for the goals he or she is
attempting to meet’.
– Kanter (1993)
Power

“Power tends to corrupt; absolute
power corrupts absolutely”
Lord Acton
You can get much farther with a kind
word and a gun than you can with a kind
word alone. — A. Capone

Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of
B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
Power may exist but not be used. It is, therefore, a capacity or
potential.
Probably the most important aspect of power is that it is a
function of dependency. The greater B’s dependence on A, the
greater is A’s power in the relationship.
A Definition of Power

Contrasting Leadership and Power
Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. Leadership, on the
other hand, requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those
being led.
A second difference relates to the direction of influence. Leadership focuses on the
downward influence on one’s subordinates.
It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. Power does not.
power can be used by groups as well as by individuals to control other individuals or
groups.

Leadership
•Agreement
•downward influence
•lateral and upward
influence
•focuses on answers
Power
• acceptance
•Intimidation
•lateral and upward
influence
•gaining compliance
Leadership and Power

The National Front Government lead by V. P. Singh was supported by the Left (represented here by
Jyoti Basu) as well as the BJP (represented by L. K. Advani)

Bases of Power
Coercive Power Power that is based on fear.
Reward Power Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute
rewards that others view as valuable.
Legitimate Power The power a person receives as a result of his or her
position in the formal hierarchy of an organization.
Expert Power Influence based on special skills or knowledge
Referent Power Influence based on possession by an individual of
desirable resources or personal traits.
Positional Power

Reward power

TOOLS FOR IMPROVING POWER IMAGE
 Communication skills
 Networking
 Mentoring
 Goal setting
 Developing expertise
 High visibility

Sources of Power
• Tactics for Increasing Power
– Provide resources to other departments and
operating units
– Create dependencies
– Take responsibility for areas of high uncertainty
– Satisfy strategic contingencies
– Build coalitions
– Expand networks
– Control decision processes

Sources of Power
• Authority linked to formal position
• Control over resources
• Control over decision-making processes and
information
• Network centrality
• Nonsubstitutability
• Management of strategic contingencies

Sources of Power

Power Tactics
Legitimacy
Rational persuasion
Inspirational appeals
Consultation
Exchange
Personal appeals
Ingratiation
Pressure
Coalitions
Ways in which individuals translate power
bases into specific actions.

There are seven tactical dimensions or strategies:
◆ Reason: Use of facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation of ideas
◆ Friendliness: Use of flattery, creation of goodwill, acting humble, and being friendly
prior to making a request
◆ Coalition: Getting the support of other people in the organization to back up the
request
◆ Bargaining: Use of negotiation through the exchange of benefits or favors
◆ Assertiveness: Use of a direct and forceful approach such as demanding
compliance with requests, repeating reminders, ordering individuals to do what is
asked, and pointing out that rules require compliance
◆ Higher authority: Gaining the support of higher levels in the organization to back
up requests
◆ Sanctions: Use of organizationally derived rewards and punishments such as
preventing or promising a salary increase, threatening to give an unsatisfactory
performance evaluation, or withholding a promotion

When Power Is Likely To Be Used
• For important decisions
• When performance is difficult to assess
• When there are uncertainties and
disagreement
• Interdependence

Issues on Which Power
Is Likely To Be Used
• Four Domains
– Structural change
– Interdepartmental coordination
– Management succession
– Resource allocation and budgeting

Employee Responses to
Use of Power
• Employees may react negatively to use of power
– Decreased trust in the organization
– Increased employee dissatisfaction
– Increased conflict within the organization
– Decreased morale and effort
– Increased employee turnover
• Power use may undermine future operations and
decision making

The Abuse of Power
in Organizations
• Necessary at times to achieve goals
– Personal goals
– Organizational goals
• Managers
– Necessary to understand that power is potentially abusive to employees
• Conditions Facilitating the Abuse of Power
– High information ambiguity
– High ends mean ambiguities
– Overly centralized decision making structure
– Scarcity of rival coalitions both internal and external to organization
– Low or one-sided interdependencies between key organizational stakeholders
– Culture of organizational complacency
– Short time horizons

Politics: Power in Action
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.
The use of power to influence decision making. It is power and influence based on
coalitcs building.
-Pettigrew (1973)
Organizational power is linked to dysfunction in organization
– Allen et al (1975)

Definition of Politics
Organizational Politics are the activities managers engage in to increase their
power and use it to achieve their goals.
Political strategies: specific tactics used to increase power and use it effectively.
 Political can be negative, but also is a positive force allowing needed
change.
 Everyone throughout the firm engagers in politics.
 Political activity allows a manager to gain support for an idea.

Factors/Conditions influencing Political Behaviour
FACTORS
Ambiguous
goals
Scarce
resources
Technology &
enviornment
Complex
and
ambiguous
decisions
Organisational
change
Personnel
characteristic

Reasons for Office Politics:
 Politics arrises when employees aspire to achive something
beyond their authority and control in a short span of time.
 Lack of supervision and control at the workspace.
 Too much of gossip at the work lead to politics.
 Arrogant superiors.
 Jealous colleagues.

Political Tactics and Strategies
To make effective use of organizational politics, leader must be
aware of specific political tactics and strategies. There are
three major tactics –
 Gaining power.
Building relationship with superiors and co-workers.
Avoiding political blunder.

Gaining power
 All political tactics are aimed to gaining and maintaining power,
even the power to avoid a difficult assignment.
 There are six techniques to gaining power:
 Develop power contacts
 Control vital information
 Control lines of communications
 Bring in outside expert
 Make a quick showing

Building Relationship
 Muck of organization politics involve building relationship with
network member who can be helpful now or later.
 Strategies for building relationship:
$ Make and manage impression on others
$ Ask satisfied customers to speak about you
$ Be overly courteous, pleasant and positive
$ Flatter others

Avoiding Political Blunders
A strategy for retaining power is to refrain from making power
eroding blunders which can prevent one from attaining power:
֍Criticiing the boss in public fourms
֍By passing the manager
֍Overt display of disloyalty
֍Being or perceived as a poor team player
֍Act in haste
֍Declining an offer from top management

Power, Politics, and
Organizational Performance
• Can serve to facilitate implementation of important
decisions
• Approaches to Reducing Inefficiencies Due to Political
Activity
– Increase level of slack resources
– Reduce differentiation and heterogeneity among organizational
members and units
– Divide organizational rewards more evenly

Conclusion
 Power is the ability to influence people and event.
 Managers need to use power effectively.
 Closely related to power is politics. Politics relates to the ways people gain
and use in organizations.
 Political activities in an organization are inevitable and managers should
manage them carefully.
 Power and politics are present in all organizations and are inevitable.
However, it depends on the shareholders whether to use it for their selfish
benefits or for an organizational development that can lead to everyone’s
benefits.

Power and politics

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