POWER AND POLITICS

IN

AN

ORGANISATION

WHAT IS POWER

Power refers to the

possession of authority
and influence over others.

WHY IS POWER REQUIRED?

PROVIDING DIRECTION
GET FAST ACCESS TO DECISION
MAKERS
MAINTAIN REGULAR, FREQUENT
CONTACT WITH DECISION MAKERS
ASSISTING IN THE MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
STRUCTURE TO ORGANISATIONS
ASSIST TO EMPLOYEES IN
PERFORMING BETTER
ARTICULATE THE GOALS

TYPES OF POWER

COERCIVE POWER
LEGITIMATE POWER
REWARD POWER
REFERENT POWER
EXPERT POWER

COERCIVE POWER
Coercive power is the
ability of a manager to
force an employee to
follow an order by
threatening the employee
with punishment if the
employee does not comply
with the order.

Examples of
coercive power
Threats of writeups,
Demotions,
Pay cuts, layoffs,
Terminations if
employees don't
follow orders.

LEGITIMATE POWER

Legitimate power is
power you derive from
your formal position or
office held in the
organization's
hierarchy of authority.

Example of
legitimate power
The president o
a corporation
has certain
powers because
of the office he
holds in the
corporation.

REWARD POWER

Reward power is simply the

power of a manager to give
some type of reward to an
employee as a means to
influence the employee to
act.
Rewards can be
Tangible

Tangible rewards are physical things like

Monetary awards,
wage or salary increases,
bonuses, plaques,
Certificates, medals
gifts.

Intangible rewards are not physical things, but can be

more effective like
Praise,
Positive feedback,
Recognition,
More responsibility including
a rise in status,
Well-timed 'thank-you.

REFERENT POWER

Referent power is power of an

individual over the Team or
Followers, based on a high level of
identification with, admiration of, or
respect for the powerholder/ leader.

Examples of referent power are

Nationalism,
patriotism,
celebrities,
mass leaders,
widely-respected people.

EXPERT POWER

Expert power is power based upon

employees perception that a manager or
some other member of an organization
has a high level of knowledge or a
specialized set of skills that other
employees or members of the organization
do not possess.

Example for expert power

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF POWER

Leadership responsibilities
Organizational and personal goals
Inspire commitment
Creativity
Reduction of bureaucratic obstacles

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF POWER

Bully Bosses

Manipulator

Sexual harassment

WHAT IS CONFLICT?

Conflict is a condition that exists

anytime two or more people disagree
over an issue or situation.

WHAT IS WORKPLACE CONFLICT?

Workplace

conflict is disagreement or
opposition between/among individuals,
teams or departments in an
organisation.

Conflict

is a natural phenomenon,
neither inherently good or bad, but
there may be positive or negative
outcomes.

VIEWS ABOUT CONFLICT

Three Views of Conflict

Traditional View
2. Human Relations View
3. Interactionist View

THE TRADITIONAL VIEW

This

approach assumes that all

conflicts hamper performance.

Conflicts

occur
due
to
poor
communication, lack of openness and
trust between people, and the failure
of managers to be open to their
employees.

THE HUMAN RELATIONS VIEW

This

approach assumes that conflicts

occur naturally in all groups and
organizations.
It is natural and cannot be avoided,
hence it should be accepted.
It cannot be removed and it may play
a role in group performance.

THE INTER-ACTIONIST VIEW

This

approach encourages conflict

because it believes that a peaceful and
cooperative
group
may
become
constant and may not respond to the
need for change and innovation.

Group

leaders should maintain

sufficient conflict so that the group
remains creative and self-critical.

LEVELS OF CONFLICT

Conflicts can be at
Intrapersonal level (conflict within
the individual)
Interpersonal level (individual to
individual conflict)
Inter-group level
Inter-organizational level

INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT
These conflicts involve the individual alone.
It can be of three types (Schermerhorn et al, 2002):
Approach approach conflict: It occurs when a person has to
choose between two positive and equally attractive alternatives.
For example, choosing between promotion in the organization or
a new job with another firm.
Avoidance avoidance conflict: It occurs when a person has to
choose between two negative and equally unattractive
alternatives. For example, to make a choice between accepting a
job transfer to another town or have the employment terminated.
Approach avoidance conflict: It occurs when a person has to
choose between something that has both positive and negative
results. For example, accepting or not accepting a job with a
higher pay but with increased responsibilities that demand a lot
of personal time.

INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

It

occurs between two or

more individuals who are
against one another.

INTER-GROUP CONFLICT

It

occurs among members

of different teams or
groups

INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL
CONFLICT

It

occurs due to competition

and rivalry between firms
that operate in the same
markets

CAUSES OF CONFLICT
Misunderstandings
Personality clashes
Competition for resources
Authority issues
Lack of co-operation
Differences of opinion
Low performance
Values or goal differences

TYPICAL RESPONSES TO CONFLICT

Fight it out
Pretend to agree
Try to find common ground
Admit that you are wrong
Turn the conflict into a joke
Work toward a mutually agreeable solution

ADVANTAGES OF CONFLICT
Helps to raise and address problems.
Energizes work to be on the most appropriate
issues.
Helps people "be real", for example, it motivates
them to participate.
Helps people learn how to recognize and benefit
from their differences.

Improves communication

DISADVANTAGES OF CONFLICT
Lost work time and productivity
Lost employees / high turnover
Damage to organization reputation
Sabotage, theft, damage
Lowered job motivation
Health costs due to stress
Legal costs due to litigation

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
STYLES
Force
Avoidance
Accommodation
Compromise
Collaborative

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
STYLES (CONT)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Force It is a victory achieved due to force, superior skill, or

domination of one party. It is a win-lose situation.
Avoidance In avoidance, every one shows that the conflict
does not really exist and hopes that it will finish.
Accommodation It involves hiding the differences between
the conflicting parties and showing areas of agreement.
Compromise It occurs when each party gives up
something for the sake of the other. No party is fully satisfied.
Collaboration It involves appreciation by all conflicting
parties that something is wrong and needs attention.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
STYLES (CONT)
Approach

Objective

Your Posture

Supporting Rationale

Likely Outcome

Forcing

Get your way.

I know whats right.

Dont question my
judgment or
authority.

It is better to risk
causing a few hard
feelings than to
abandon a position
you are committed
to.

You feel vindicated,

but other party feels
defeated and
possibly humiliated.

Avoiding

Avoid having to deal

with conflict.

Im neutral on that
issue. Let me think
about it.

Disagreements are
inherently bad
because they create
tension.

Interpersonal
problems dont get
resolved, causing
long-term frustration
manifested in a
variety of ways.

Accommodating

Dont upset the other

person.

How can I help you

feel good about this
encounter? My
position isnt so
important that it is
worth risking bad
feelings between us.

Maintaining
harmonious
relationships should
be our top priority.

Other person is likely

to take advantage of
you.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES (CONT)

Approach

Objective

Your Posture

Supporting Rationale

Likely Outcome

Compromising

Reach an
agreement quickly.

Lets search for a

mutually agreeable
solution.

Prolonged conflicts distract

people from their work and
engender bitter feelings.

Participants
become
conditioned to
seek an
expedient,
rather than
effective
solution.

Collaborating

Solve the problem

together.

This is my position.
What is yours? Im
committed to finding the
best possible solution.

The positions of both parties

are equally important
(though not necessarily
equally valid). Equality
emphasis should be placed
on the quality of the outcome
and the fairness of the
decision-making.

Participants
find an
effective
solution.

THANK YOU