Week 10: Power, Politics and Ethics

What is power?

• Influence is identical to leadership 

• Deepdene = resource dependency  

Social Exchange

The play of power is based on social exchange.

• Resource dependency  

• Power or influence

Social Exchange: Resource dependency

• Occurs when an individual needs something that another person has.

  • ...the person with the need is said to be dependent on the other guy.

Social Exchange: Power or influence

• Occurs when the person with the need GETS what he needs, but ALWAYS in exchange for something. 

  • Slippery slope to harassment  

The 2 things are up for exchange are

• A change in your Thinking or a change in behaviour 

• Am I playing with power short-term or long-term? 

Slack

Alternative sourcing, which explains why power doesn’t always work 

• Avoid relying solely on one source.

• You leave your bad job because you have found a new one elsewhere and no longer have to deal with job sourcing.

N-Pow Positive (David McClelland) (Socalized Power)

Uses power to help others and the organization; supportive, constructive leadership

N-Pow Negative (David McClelland) (Personlized Power)

Uses power for personal gain; controlling, self-serving behaviour

• For example: You stick with a bad job because you need the paychecks cheques to pay off your student debt.

5 bases of power

1. Legitimate Power

2. Reward Power

3. Coercive Power

4. Referent Power

5. Expert Power

Legitimate Power

• Derived from a person’s position or job in an organization

  • Position = formal leadership  

• You're the CEO/CFO, C-suite

• You're hired with authority and hired with the right to give orders and be very directive and tell people what to do. 

Reward Power

• The ability to provide positive outcomes and prevent negative outcomes

• This gives you the right to throw the dog biscuits. 

  • Right outcomes  

• Protect your people from negative things. 

Coercive Power

• Punishment and threat

• Controlling people through fear

  • You arrive at work 15 mins early because you know your boss will be agitated if you’re late.

Referent Power

• Being well-liked by others

  • People will do a favor for you because you’re highly respected, admired, and seen as a role model.

• Charisma  

  • Personal style that captures the attention, hearts and imagination of people 

Expert Power

• All about your credibility 

• Information/credentials that you hold 

• Designations that you've earned 

• KSA's 

How do people obtain power?

1. Doing the right things

2. Cultivating the right people

Doing the right things

• Extraordinary activities 

  • Go for that job that suits you; don’t be like everyone else 

• Visible activities 

  • Publicize your activities, but do it with humility. 

  • Grapevine 

• Relevant activities 

  • If nobody sees the work you've attached yourself to, it's not going to add to your influence.

Cultivating the right people

• Networking 

• Getting in touch with critical stakeholders  

What are the behaviours of the leader who is properly empowering his people?

Authority, opportunity, and motivation

Freedom

Where it is needed

Self-efficacy

Degrees of Empowerment

1. No discretion

• Routine, repetitive, and task-assigned

2. Participatory empowerment

• Autonomous work groups, given some authority

3. Self-managed

• Full decision-making power

How will I know when I've properly empowered my people?

• Self-determined 

  • Feel like you have freedom. 

• Sense of meaning 

  • When employees feel like their work is important to them 

• Sense of competence 

  • Growing their KSAs

• Sense of impact  

  • Influence impacts the self. 

  • Influence impacts others

Influence Tactics: Assertiveness

Ordering, nagging and setting deadlines

Influence Tactics: Ingratiation

Using flattery and acting friendly

Influence Tactics: Exchange

Doing favours or offering to trade favours

Influence Tactics: Upward Appeals

Making formal or informal appeals to superiors for intervention

• Also inspirational appeals and personal appeals

Influence Tactics: Coalition Formation

Seeking united support from other organzational members

Influence Tactics: Rational Persuasion

Using facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation of ideas

Who wants Power?

• Those high on McClellad’s Need for Power (N-Pow)

Personal Power

Playing the game for your own benefit 

Affiliative Power

Playing the game to get people to like you

Institutional Power playing is superior on 3 things

• Known for building a sense of personality with your people 

• Great at getting people to always keep organizational priorities in mind 

• Great at developing team spirit  

Strategic Contingency Model

A view that sees power as something that accrues to (comes to, lands to, builds into) an organizational sub unit

Strategic Contingencies

--> Critical factor that affects organizational effectiveness

Contains:

• Scarcity of resources

• Uncertainty

• Centrality

• Substitutability

Strategic Contingencies: Scarcity of resources

• No one else had these resources. 

• Those who have plenty of scarce resources 

Strategic Contingencies: Uncertainty

Units that can best deal with uncertainty = gets power 

Strategic Contingencies: Centrality 

Activities more central to the work flow hub influence decision making 

Strategic Contingencies: Substitutability  

Sub unit will have little power if other inside or outside could do the same thing 

• KSA's 

Organizational Politics

• Pursuit of self-interest in an organization, whether or not this self-interest corresponds to organizational goals

TEAL QUESTION: What do we call it when the CEO is playing politics? He said he hires "people like this" but this is the 3^rd summer he's hired his niece  

Conflict of interest (nepotism)  

• You sign up for one thing, and then you always bend the rules 

Political Skill

The ability to understand others at work and then use that knowledge to influence them to act in ways that enhance their own personal and professional objectives 

• I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back. 

Observable Characteristics

• Social astuteness

• Interpersonal influence

• Apparent sincerity

• Networking ability

Social astuteness

• Man, isn't he good at tuning into others needs 

  • But don’t forget, he's going to use that 

Interpersonal influence

Persuasive/slick (Ethos, pethos and logos) 

Apparent sincerity

• Good position comes across sincere and genuine 

• Is it real, is it true, is it a hoax, are you just using people? 

Networking ability

• People who are effective politicians tend to have a strong network. 

• They can establish great relations with critical stakeholders inside and outside to get what they way 

  • Its not what you know but rather who you know 

Machiavellianism (STAR)

A chosen style based on cenacle believes on human nature (you're not born this way) 

High Machiavellianism

• They are narcist's 

• Sociosocial problems 

• Sociopaths 

• They believe they can do this to humans, and it's in human nature 

• They constantly lie --> convincing liars  

Defensiveness

• Reactive politics 

  • Constantly defending yourself, you scape goat when bad things come along and take credit when good things come along 

    • Self-serving bias 

Ethics/Business Ethics

• Ethics lie outside  

• Set of standards  

• Body --> What are the bodies that have affected me?  

• Systematic thinking 

• Right and wrong in both your professional and personal life 

What are my bodies and where did my ethics come from?

• First body: Parents, family and caregivers 

• Second body: Teachers/Academic institutions 

  • Effective and ineffective 

• Other bodies 

  • Religious institutions 

  • Friends 

  • Boss/Supervisors  

  • Country culture afflictions --> Cultural values and

Morals/Business Morals

• How you choose to live your life 

• Morals lie within 

• CHOICE of a value system 

• You chose to act a certain way, whether you're being watched or not 

Is it possible for Ethics < Morals?

Yes 

• How I behave is greater than ethics 

• Example: A manager goes above and beyond safety procedures, not just the legal requirement.

Ethical Conduct

• Ethics codes 

  • Lists the number of things expected in the organization 

    • No bullying 

    • No falsification of expense records in documents  

• Always honest communication 

• Fair treatment 

Ethical Misconduct

Issues covered in corporate codes of ethics

Bounded Ethicality

The psychological process by which people engage in behaviour that violates their own ethical standards

• Upon further reflection, the human will say, "I knew it was wrong." 

Bounded Ethicality Example

Example: Student stealing his roommate’s homework to get a good grade = Cheating  

• Violates what you already know is wrong cheating.

The 7 causes of unethical Behaviour

1. Gain

2. Performance pressure

3. Role conflict

4. Strong organizational identification

5. Competition

6. Personality

7. Org industry and culture

Unethical Behaviour: Gain

• Fame, opportunity and  

• "Opportunity is the best predictor of behaviour" 

Unethical Behaviour: Performance Pressure

Example above of how a student cheated on his homework by stealing his roommate’s homework 

Unethical Behaviour: Role Conflict

The what and the how 

• I didn't know what you wanted me to do, so I bribed the guy. 

Unethical Behavior: Strong organizational identification

• 3 types of commitment 

• I had to do it because I'm known for helping the organization when we hit a tough spot 

Unethical Behavior: Competition

• Ignites unethical behaviour 

• If there's only 1 winner to get 1 million bucks, you'll do anything to get it. 

Unethical Behavior: Personality

• External locus of control 

• High-end pow negative people  

Unethical Behavior: Organizational industry and culture

Certain industries and cultures that say falsify the expenses

4 Components of Corporate Social Responsability (CSR)

(Similar to Abraham's Notion of prepotency, need to fulfill 1-2 before you fulfill 3-4.) 

1. Economic

2. Legal

3. Ethical

4. Philanthropic

CSR: Economic

• Required for business society (be profitable)

• Whatever we've promised to your shareholders, we fulfilled it 

CSR: Legal

• Required for business by society

• Obey all laws and adhere to all regulations

CSR: Ethical

• Expected of business by society.

  • Avoid questionable practices.

• We have a record of going above and beyond for our people 

CSR: Philanthropic

• Desired/expected of business by society

  • Be a good corporate citizen.

• Giving back to society and remaining anonymous 

• If you attached your name to it, it’s a way to feed into economic responsibility.