10 - Power

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information power

power relating to legitimate or expert sources of power

what forms does information power come in?

control over the flow of interpretation and info given to others, and the perceived ability to cope with organizational uncertainties

how can people respond to power?

commitment, compliance, or resistance

commitment

person is enthusiastic about the request and carries it out, despite resistance or setbacks. likely to initiate and demonstrate effort and persistence

compliance

person goes along with request grudgingly; bare minimum and no initiative, likely to give up if there are setbacks

resistance

person is opposed to the request and tries to avoid it, by refusing, delaying, nullifying it

what are the main factors/contingencies that can increase your positional power?

substiutability, centrality, flexibility, and visibility

substitutability/relevancy

availability of alternatives, including the sources that offer the resource but also the resource substitutions themselves. power is strongest when one has a monopoly over a valued resource

centrality

power holder’s importance based on the degree of interdependence between others. this increases with the amount of people dependent on you and how affected they are with the dependence

flexibility

freedom to exercise judgement, determined by work assignments, life cycle of position, and rewards

visibility

awareness of a person and their resources; interacting with influential people in the organization

charisma

gift of grace; someone who received God’s favour. this is a compelling charm that can inspire devotion, charm, and be able to persuade others

power

capacity to achieve one’s ends

paradox of power

power makes people uncomfortable; people who have power deny it, people who want it try not to look like they want it, and those who are good at getting it are secretive about why

power’s strategic terms

persuasion, manipulation, domination, coercion, force, and violence

power’s agency terms

cause, capacity, freedom, will, end, and interest

what can power denote?

rule or order

power alternatives of rule or order

monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, patriarchy, hierarchy, etc.

key features of power

power is a function of dependence; research of power considers influence; to exert power, use various tactics to gain compliance; power is not confined to individuals, but also groups

what is the most important point of power

power is perceived. violating norms is perceived to be associated with power, so people who do whatever they want are people with power

social influence

the way which individuals change behaviour to meet demands of social environment

who are the fathers and their studies of the field of social influence?

asch’s conformity experiment, milgram’s obedience study, and zimbardo’s stanford prison experiment

what are the forms of social influence?

conformity, obedience, leadership, peer pressure, reactance, psychological manipulation, coercion, persuasion, propaganda, and marketing

what do the three fathers argue?

social norms and other situational pressures can influence our social behaviour and lead ordinary people to do horrible things. they demonstrate who choose between authority, or conformity

asch experiment

finds out how easily we are influenced, or to what extent social pressure from the majority group affects someone to conform

what reasons explain why people conform?

normative influence and informational influence

normative influence

people want to fit in the group

informational influence

people believe the group is better informed than them

milgram experiment

finds out how far ordinary people would be willing to go in obeying instructions that harm others. Dependent on if they recognize someone’s authority as morally right or legally based. this recognizes the danger of blind obedience

what are the two sets of behaviour in a social situation

autonomous state and agentic state

autonomous state

people direct their own actions, taking responsibility for the results of them

agentic state

people allow others to direct their actions and pass the responsibility to the person giving the orders. aka, they act for another person’s will

how can we enter an agentic state?

the person giving the orders must be perceived as legitimate authority, and the person receiving them must believe the authority will accept the responsibility of the results

criticism of milgram experiment

lack of experimental realism, selection bias, external validity, and ethics

authoritarianism

to prefer things to be simple rather than complex and hold traditional values

conscientiousness

to be responsible, orderly, and dependable

higher moral reasoning

manner which one makes ethical judgments

social intelligence

ability to develop clear perception of the situation using situational cues

what predicts resistance to the demands of authority?

moral reasoning and social intelligence

what personality traits are influenced and interact with situational factors?

authoritarianism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness

social power

to create conformity even when the people being influenced may attempt to resist those changes

why is the milgram experiement important to understand?

to create organizational change, highlight the importance of speaking truth to power, and teach us how to defend ourselves from authority

stanford prison experiment’s purpose

to find out why people become brutal and violent; is it because they’re sadistic or because of the environment?

what did the stanford prison experiment reveal?

people will readily conform to social norms they’re expected to play, so the environment and stereotypes are important to shape behaviour, studying the situational explanation of behaviour

wells fargo

employees faking bank accounts due to pressure from an aggressive incentive compensation program, highlighting the dangers of unethical incentive structure and lack of accountability

dependency

when you possess something that others require but you control, so you gain power as they’re dependent on you

important points for dependency

power is depended, and power is perceived, so power is always a potential that can influence social behaviour

how can we establish power over others?

sources of power and contingencies of power

bases of power

legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent

why is it important to understand different types of power?

it allows us to see the many ways people can influence others

positional powers

legitimate, reward, and coercive as these are situational

personal powers

expert and referent, as they depend on unique characteristics

legitimate power

capacity to influence through formal authority — for instance, as an instructor, they can make demands to people, but this power is given and can be taken from you

where can legitimate power come from?

position, reciprocity, and equity

coercive power

the ability to create negative outcomes for others by punishment. can be impersonal or personal, like embarrassment or demotion

reward power

ability to influence by giving positive outcomes, can be impersonal or personal, like salary or benefits

expert power

ability to influence others come from knowledge in a special field. this is good for managers, as people will seek your opinion. this also increases your visibility and personal brand

referent power

comes from a strong identification and desire to be like someone somehow, so you do things for them. associated with charisma, and this can be positively or negatively utilized, like celebrities

what is the most effective power?

personal power, as expert powers and referent powers are positively related to employee satisfaction with supervision, creating high levels of performance and organizational commitment

what powers are unrelated to satisfaction and commitment for the workplace?

reward and legitimate powers, as they are the most expensive way to achieve this. coercive power is negatively associated with this

what is the least effective power used by managers?

positional powers, as they are the easiest to implement despite the effect on employee commitment

what power do effective leaders use?

they use expert powers and/or referent powers

what powers can you increase within your organization?

positional power and personal power

where do we see substitutability in organizations?

through controlling tasks, knowledge and labour, and employee activities

what does high visibility lead to?

more opportunities for professional advancement, leading to better tasks and chances to work with more people in an organization

how is charisma formed?

it is a learned quality and born trait

what is personal attractiveness based on?

charisma, agreeable behaviour, and physical characteristics

agreeableness

one of the big five traits that are superordinate. we like people when they will support us, endure sacrifices, provide social reinforcement, and engage in social exchanges to sustain a relationship

attractiveness

increases your chance to become more likeable, popular, and earn more money. we automatically and unconsciously assign favourable traits to this feature

effort

desirable quality in employees, viewed as a sign of commitment and dedication

legitimacy

taking action congruent with the prevailing value system, which is the extent to which one’s authority is perceived as correct

influence

any behaviour to alter another person’s attitudes of behaviour

political behaviour

ability to influence others to enhance one’s own objectives

influence tactics

the steps we take to exert influence over others in the organization

what are the influence tactics?

silent authority, assertiveness, information control, coalition formation, upward appeal, ingratiation, consultation, exchange, and persuasion

silent authority

complying because you are aware of the requester’s expert/legitimate power, also known as deference to authority

assertiveness

acitvely applying legitimate and coercive power, like reminding subordinates of obligation, and using threats of sanctions to force compliance

information control

explicitly manipulating others’ access to information, like spreading rumours or whistle blowing to change someone’s behaviour

coaltion formation

people with common interests band together, as people may lack power on their own to influence others. closely related to network building and exchange as it actively establishes useful relationships.

upward appeal

trying to exert influence by passing over your immediate superior and appealing to someone higher up in hiearchy

ingratiation

a soft tactic, opposing assertiveness, coalition formation and upward appeal. by increasing the perception of similarity, we're more likely to comply with someone's request, especially if we like them. this can have a concave effect if done excessively

consultation

advice seeking, getting others involved in the decision to support your objectives.

exchange

offering favours or benefits for future gains, building heavily on using our network to exert influence

persuasion

one of the most effective influence tactics for career success, which is aimed at changing a person’s attitude or behaviour toward something

persuasion as a “dual process”

influence can be achieved by the use of reason, and by emotional response, leading the listener to identify with the speaker’s goals.

rational appeal

using facts and data to support your ideas

personal appeals

appealing to loyalty and friendship

inspirational appeals

appealing to values, emotions, and ideals, and ethics when making a request

impression management

actively shaping our public image, to satisfy basic norms of social behaviour.

impression management tactics

ingratiation, favours, excuses, apologies, self promotion, enhancement, and flattery

ingratiation

agreeing with someone’s option to gain their approval

how can self promotion affect performance evaluation?

if you are high in political skill, it increases it. those who ingratiate with supervisors get higher performance evaluations

hard influence tactics

silent authority, upward appeal, coalition formation, information control, and assertiveness. associated with resistance and compliance

soft influence tactics

persuasion, ingratiation/impression management, and exchange. associated with commitment and compliance

cialdini’s influence tactics

reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, consensus (social proof), and commitment

political behaviour in organizations

activities outside of one’s formal job duties, using bases of power to influence decision making. can be a few influence tactics

power’s legitimacy terms

authority, responsibility, and sovereignty

what are the three appeals of persuasion?

rational, personal, and inspirational