Conflict, Power, and

Politics
Organization Theory and Design
Thirteen Edition
Richard L. Daft

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publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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 Interdepartmental Conflict in Organizations
• Intergroup Conflict:
the behavior that occurs among organizational groups when participants
identify with one group and perceive that other groups may block their
group’s goal and achievement or expectation.

• Competition:
rivalry among groups in the pursuit of a common prize.

Group identification Observable group differences Frustration

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 Sources of
Conflict
• Goal incompatibility
The achievement of one
department’s goal often
interferes with another
department’s goal.
e.g. University police versus
researchers in the science
department
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Sources of Conflict

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 Sources of Conflict and
Use of Rational versus Political Model

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Top 10
Problems
from Too Much
Conflict

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 Tactics for Enhancing Collaboration
• Create integration devices
Teams, task forces, and project managers used as integration devices
Horizontal integration & Vertical integration

• Use confrontation and negotiation

Confrontation: A situation in which parties in conflict directly engage one another
and try to work out their differences.
Negotiation: The bargaining process that often occurs during confrontation and
that enables the parties to systematically reach a solution.
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Negotiation Strategies

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 Tactics for Enhancing Collaboration
• Schedule intergroup consultation
When conflict is intense and enduring, top managers may intervene as third
parties or bring in third-party consultants from outside the organization.
e.g. workplace mediation
• Practice member rotation
Individuals from one department can be asked to work in another department
on a temporary or permanent basis.
• Create shared mission and superordinate goals
Top management creates a shared mission and establishes superordinate goals
that require cooperation among departments.
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 Power and Organization
• “Power is America’s last dirty word…..People who have it deny it;
people who want it do not want to appear to hunger for it; and
people who engage in its machinations do so secretly.”
~Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1979).

• “Power is the ability to get things done the way one wants them
done; it is the latent ability to influence people.”
~Gerald Salancik & Jeffrey Pfeffer (1977) and Robert Allen & Lyman Porter (1983).

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 Type of Power
Individual hard power
Legitimate power
Reward power
Coercive power
Personal soft power
Expert power
Referent power
Organizational Power
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Power versus Authority
Authority is narrower than power
• Defined by the formal hierarchy and reporting relationships

~Authority is vested in organizational positions

~Authority is accepted by subordinates
~Authority flows down the vertical hierarchy

• Power can be exercised upward, downward, and horizontally

• Authority is exercised downward along the hierarchy
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Vertical Sources of Power
• Formal Position – legitimate power accrued to top positions
• Resources – resources can be used as a tool for power
• Control of Information – information is a primary business
source
• Network Centrality – being centrally located in the
organization and having access
• People – loyal executives/managers
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 Information Flow for
Computer Decision at Clark Ltd.

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Illustration of Network Centrality

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 The Power of Empowerment
• Power sharing, the delegation of power or authority to
subordinates
• Empowerment benefits:
• Employees receive information about company performance
• Employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to
company goals
• Employees have the power to make substantive decisions

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Horizontal
Sources of Power
• Relationships across
departments, divisions, units
• New trends: IT department,
compliance department
• Strategic Contingencies – groups
most responsible for key
organization issues

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Strategic Contingencies That Influence
Horizontal Power among Departments

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 Political Processes in Organizations
• Politics is the use of power to influence decisions toward goals
Self-serving behavior versus natural organization process
• Organizational Politics - activities to acquire, develop, and use
power to influence goals when there is uncertainty or
disagreement about choices
• Domains of political activity:
• Structural Change
• Management Succession
• Resource Allocation 19
 Using Hard/Soft Power and Politics

• Managers can rely on “hard power” which stems from a

person’s position of authority

• Effective managers often use “soft power” which is based on

personal characteristics and building relationships

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 Tactics for Increasing Power and Using Power
Tactics for Increasing the Power Base Political Tactics for Using Power

1. Enter areas of high uncertainty 1. Build coalitions and expand networks

2. Create dependencies 2. Assign loyal people to key positions

3. Provide scarce resources 3. Use reciprocity

4. Satisfy strategic contingencies 4. Enhance legitimacy and expertise

5. Make a direct appeal

6. Create a higher purpose

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