Chapter 13: Power and politics

Power

means to achieve goals, follower dependency, upward influence

Dependency

greater B dependency on A, greater power A has over B

What creates dependency?

Importance, scarcity, and no sustainability of resource

Formal power bases

Coercive, Reward, Legitimate

Personal power bases

Expert, Referent

Which behaviors are likely for which bases of power?

	Commitment	Compliance	Resistance
Coercive			X
Reward		X
Legitimate		X
Expert	X
Referent	X

Power tactics

ways individuals translate power bases onto specific actions

Most effective power tactic

rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, & consultation

Least effective power tactic

pressure tactic

Coalitions

clusters of individuals who temporarily come together for a purpose

Political behavior

activities not required in formal role, but that influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in org

Self-monitors

different behavior in different environments, adjust to when/how they are political

Unclear performance eval system

you don’t know what it takes to be high performer, so work harder networking

Zero sum reward practices

all or nothing, either get all of reward or none/terminated

High performance pressures

too hard need to engage in political behavior to help

Impression management

individuals try to control others impression of them

Issue Selling

Attempts to influence high level managers to pay attention to specific issues

People choose to sell issues when…

They think management will listen to them, The organization is changing

How to issue sell

1.      Bundling

2.      Framing

3.      Language

4.      Involvement

5.      Approach

6.      Timing

Bundling

connecting issues vs. selling the issue as an isolated concern

Framing

using a business vs. moral frame (how you frame an issue)

Language

flexible or specific to one audience (can get misinterpreted)

Involvement

go solo vs. involving others as co-sellers

Approach

formal vs. informal, public vs. private