POWER AND

POLITICS

Dr. MG Jomon
 Power

The capacity that A has to influence the

behaviour of B so that B acts in accordance
with A’s wishes

Dr. MG Jomon
 Power and Leadership

• Leaders use power as a means to achieve group

goals
• Power does not require goal compatibility; operates
on dependency
• Direction of influence
• Leadership is an individual phenomenon (ex. Style
etc) while power can be group as well

Dr. MG Jomon
 Bases of power: Formal power
Coercive power:
 Power that is based on fear (ex: A has power if he can suspend B)

 Reward power:
 Ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable.

 Legitimate power:
 Based on the position in the formal hierarchy of an organ.

 Information power:
 Power that comes from access to and control over information

Dr. MG Jomon
 Bases of power: Personal power
 Expert power:
 Influence based on special skills or knowledge

 Referent power:
 Influence based on desirable resources/ personal traits
 Ex: Power that comes from like, respect admiration - Celebrities

 Charismatic power:
 Due to the charisma of the person
 Extension of referent power.

Dr. MG Jomon
 Dependency: The Key to Power

What creates dependency?

Dependency is increased when the resource one control is:
• Important
• Scarce
• Non-substitutable

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 Power Tactics
Ways to translate power into specific actions
• Reason: Use of data and logic
• Friendliness: Being friendly prior to the request
• Coalition: Getting support to back up the request
• Bargaining: Use of negotiation keeping favours in mind
• Assertiveness: Insisting on compliance
• Higher authority: Getting support from higher levels to back up the
request
• Sanctions: Use of rewards or punishments to get it done

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 Politics: Power in Action

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.

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 The Reality of Politics

• A fact of life in organizations

• If you ignore, do so at your peril
• Can organizations be politics free?

Dr. MG Jomon
 Types of political power

 Legitimate political behavior

 Normal everyday politics
 Ex. Complaining to the boss, by-passing chain of command

 Illegitimate political behaviors

• Extreme political behavior that violates the implied
rules of the game.
• Ex. sabotage, whistle blowing, and symbolic protests etc.

Dr. MG Jomon
 Factors Influencing Political Behavior

 Individual factors
 High self-monitors, Internal locus of control and High
need for power

 Organizational factors
 Reallocation of resources, Promotion opportunities,
Low trust, Role ambiguity, Unclear performance
evaluation system, Democratic decision making, High
performance pressures, Self-serving senior managers

Dr. MG Jomon
 Impression Management

The process by which individuals attempt to

control the impression others form of them.

Positive perception brings in benefits for people in orgns.

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 Impression Management (IM) Techniques

 Conformity – Agreement to gain approval

 Excuses – Explanation to reduce severity
 Apologies – Admitting responsibility and seeking pardon
 Self-Promotion – Calling attention to one’s achievements
 Acclaiming – Explanation of favourable events
 Flattery – Complementing another to make oneself likable
 Favours – Doing something nice to get approval
 Association – Protecting ones image by establishing linkages
( Ex: Your boss studied in my B-school)

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 Defensive behaviour

Reactive and protective behavior to avoid

action, blame, or change

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 Defensive Behaviors
 Avoiding Action
 Overconfirming, Passing the buck, Playing dumb,
Depersonalization, Stretching and smoothing, Stalling (support
privately)

 Avoiding blame
 Bluffing, Playing safe, Justifying, Scapegoating, Misrepresenting,
Escalation of commitment.

 Avoiding Change
 Prevention
 Self-protection

Dr. MG Jomon
 The ethics of behaving politically

Discussion Point

Dr. MG Jomon
Dr. MG Jomon