OB - CH 13

Flashcards covering the definitions of power, dependence, influence tactics, political behavior, defensive actions, and impression management techniques based on the lecture transcript.

Power

The capacity, discretion, and means to enforce one's will over others.

Dependence

The most important aspect of power, where one person has power over another because they control something the other person desires.

Formal power

Power that comes from a person's position in the organization, including job title and the authority to provide rewards or punishments.

Personal power

Power that originates from an individual's unique characteristics such as knowledge, skills, and the degree to which others like or admire them.

Coercive Power

A type of formal power characterized by the ability to influence others by threatening punishment or negative consequences like demotion or unpleasant assignments.

Reward Power

A type of formal power based on the ability to influence others by providing or withholding benefits such as bonuses, promotions, or special opportunities.

Legitimate Power

Formal power derived from a person's position or role in the hierarchy, granting the right to make requests and expect compliance.

Expert Power

Personal power based on specialized knowledge, skills, or expertise that others value and find difficult to replace.

Referent Power

Personal power that comes from being admired, liked, or seen as a role model, leading others to identify with or emulate the person.

The General Dependence Postulate

The principle that when you possess anything others require but that you alone control, you make them dependent upon you and gain power over them.

Importance

A factor of dependence occurring when the resource, information, or service controlled is significant for others' goals or performance.

Scarcity

A factor of dependence where the controlled resource is difficult to find or obtain either inside or outside the organization.

Nonsubstitutability

A factor of dependence where there are no good alternatives for what a person provides, making it difficult to replace them with others or technology.

Influence tactics

Specific behaviors people use to change others' attitudes, decisions, or actions at work.

Legitimacy

An influence tactic relying on formal authority, organizational rules, or policies to justify a request.

Rational persuasion

An influence tactic using logical arguments, data, and evidence to demonstrate that a request is reasonable and will lead to good outcomes.

Inspirational appeals

An influence tactic that appeals to values, ideals, aspirations, or emotions to gain support and enthusiasm.

Consultation

An influence tactic involving asking for others' input or participation in planning a change to increase their sense of ownership.

Exchange

An influence tactic offering something the other person values, such as rewards or favors, in return for compliance.

Personal appeals

An influence tactic requesting compliance based on friendship, loyalty, or a personal relationship.

Ingratiation

An influence tactic using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior to make someone like you before making a request.

Pressure

An influence tactic using demands, threats, repeated reminders, or intimidation to ensure compliance; it often backfires.

Coalition building

An influence tactic that involves seeking the support of others to show widespread backing and pressure someone into agreement.

Automatic processing

A superficial consideration of evidence and information that takes little time or effort and relies on heuristics.

Controlled processing

A detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic, such as requesting $ROI$ calculations.

Need for cognition

A personality trait depicting an individual's ongoing desire to think and learn, which influences whether they use automatic or controlled processing.

Political skill

The ability to influence others to enhance one's own objectives.

Political behavior

Activities not required as part of a formal role that influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within an organization.

Defensive Behaviors

Actions residents take to protect their image, job, or power when they feel threatened, often classified into avoiding action, blame, or change.

Overconforming

A defensive behavior of strictly interpreting responsibilities or rules to avoid taking action.

Buck passing

A defensive behavior involving transferring the responsibility for a task or decision to someone else.

Feigning ignorance

A defensive behavior where an individual falsely pleads inability or ignorance to avoid an unwanted task.

Stretching

A defensive behavior of prolonging a task so that a person appears to be occupied longer than necessary.

Stalling

A defensive behavior of appearing supportive in public while doing little or nothing in private.

Bluffing

A defensive behavior involving the rigorous documentation of activity to project competence, also known as "covering your rear."

Playing safe

A defensive behavior of evading situations that may reflect unfavorably, such as taking only projects with high success probability.

Justifying

A defensive behavior of developing explanations to lessen responsibility for negative outcomes.

Scapegoating

A defensive behavior of placing blame for a negative outcome on external factors that are not entirely blameworthy.

Misrepresenting

A defensive behavior involving the distortion, embellishment, or selective presentation of information.

Impression Management (IM)

Processes by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them.

Conformity

An IM technique of agreeing with someone else's opinion to gain their approval.

Favors

An IM technique of doing something nice for someone to gain that person's approval.

Excuses

An IM technique of explaining a predicament in a way that minimizes its apparent severity.

Apologies

An IM technique of admitting responsibility for an undesirable event while seeking a pardon.

Self-Promotion

An IM technique of highlighting best qualities and calling attention to achievements while downplaying deficits.

Enhancement

An IM technique of claiming that something one did is more valuable than others would normally think.

Flattery

An IM technique of complimenting others to appear perceptive and likeable.

Exemplification

An IM technique of doing more than necessary to appear dedicated and hardworking.