Power ..??
Power is the ability to do something you want done. Make things happen in the way you want.
Influence is .
what you have when you exercise power. expressed by others behavioral response to our exercise of power.
Positional Power
Derives from organizational sources. Types of position power.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Reward power coercive power legitimate power. process power information power representative power.
Personal Power
Derives from individual sources. Types of personal power
1. Expert power 2. Rational persuasion 3. Referent power.
Empowerment: Power to Employees
The freedom and the ability of employees to make decisions and commitments Managers disagree over definition of empowerment
Empowerment as delegating decision making within a set of clear boundaries versus Empowerment as a process of risk taking and personal growth
Conditions for True Empowerment
Clear definition of the values and mission of the company Company must help employees acquire the relevant skills Employees need to be supported in their decision making, and not criticized when they try to do something extraordinary Employees need to be recognized for their efforts
Politics ..??
Behavior to influence, or attempt to influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
Organizational Politics
Organizational politics are informal, unofficial, and sometimes behind-thescenes efforts to sell ideas, influence an organization, increase power, or achieve other targeted objectives. Rational decision making alone may not work when interests are fundamentally incongruent, so political behaviors and influence tactics arise.
Organizational politics is not always bad!!!
Types of Political Activity
Attacking or blaming others Controlling information Forming coalitions Networking Creating obligations Managing impressions
Examples
Bypassing the chain of command to get approval for a special project Going through improper channels to obtain special favors, or lobbying high-level managers just before they make a promotion decision.
Ethics of Power and Politics
Must satisfy three criteria : Criterion of utilitarian outcomes Criterion of individual rights Criterion of distributive justice
Impression Management
The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them More likely used by high self-monitors than low self-monitors
High self-monitors try to read the situation
Impression Management (IM) Techniques
Conformity Agreeing with someone elses opinion in order to gain his or her approval. Excuses Explanations of a predicament-creating event aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament. Apologies Admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action. Acclamations Explanation of favorable events to maximize the desirable implications for oneself.
Impression Management (IM) Techniques
Flattery Complimenting others about their virtues in an effort to make oneself appear perceptive and likable. Favours Doing something nice for someone to gain that persons approval. Association Enhancing or protecting ones image by managing information about people and things with which one is associated.
Summary
Managers need to use power effectively. Closely related to power is politics. Politics relates to the ways people gain and use power in organizations. Political activities in an organization are inevitable and managers should manage them carefully. Power and politics are present in all organizations.
Summary
The more political that employees perceive an organization, the lower their satisfaction. People respond differently to various power bases.
Employees working under coercive managers are unlikely to be committed, and more likely to resist the manager.
Question ..?
