Armanel R.

Libunao

Armanel dela Rosa Libunao

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Power and Politics

• Power: The ability of one
person or group to cause
another person or group to do
something that they otherwise
might not have done.

• Organizational Politics:
Activities in which managers
engage to increase their power
and to pursue goals that favor
their individual and group
interests.
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The Dark Side of Power and
Politics
Power and politics often have
negative connotations because
people associate them with
attempts to use organizational
resources for personal
advantage and to achieve
personal goals at the expense
of other goals.
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The Bright Side

• Managers can use power to control
people and other resources so that
they cooperate and help to achieve
an organization’s current goals.

• Managers can use power to

engage in politics and influence
the decision-making process to
help promote new, more
appropriate organizational goals.
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Sources of Individual Power

Formal individual power is
the power that stems from a
person’s position in an
organization’s hierarchy.

Informal individual power

is the power that stems from
personal characteristics.
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Sources of Formal Power

• Legitimate: The power to control and use

organizational resources to accomplish
organizational goals.
• Reward: The power to give pay raises,
promotion, praise, interesting projects, and other
rewards to subordinates.
• Coercive: The power to give or withhold
punishment, such as suspension, termination, or
even the withholding of praise and goodwill.
• Information: The power that stems from access
to and control over information.
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Sources of Informal Power

• Expert: Informal power that stems from

superior ability or expertise.
• Referent: Informal power that stems
from being liked, admired, and
respected.
• Charismatic: An intense form of
referent power that stems from an
individual’s personality or physical or
other abilities, which induce others to
believe in and follow that person.
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Advice to Managers
• Recognize that power and politics influence all behavior in
organizations and that it is necessary to develop the skills
to be able to understand and manage them.

• Analyze the sources of power in the function, division, and

organization in which you work to identify powerful people
and the organization’s power structure.

• To influence organizational decision making and your

chances of promotion, try to develop a personal power base
to increase your visibility and individual power.
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Organizational Conflict
The struggle that arises
when the goal-directed
behavior of one person
or group blocks the
goal-directed behavior
of another person or
group.
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Sources of Organizational
Conflict
• Differentiation
– Differences in functional
orientation
– Status inconsistencies
• Task relationships
– Overlapping authority
– Task interdependence
– Incompatible evaluation systems
• Scarcity of resources
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Louis R. Pondy’s Stages of Conflict
Development
• Stage 1: Latent =conditions which provide potential for
conflict
A. Competition for scarce resources
B. Drive for autonomy
C. Differing goals of subunits (eg. Athletics vs. Recreation)

• Stage 2 : Perceived Conflict = 1 or more parties becomes aware of conflict

potential

• Stage 3: Conflict is felt = eg. Anger, frustration, hostility

• Stage 4: Conflict is manifested = exhibition of adversarial behavior (

apathy; rigid rules adherence; violence)

• Stage 5 : Conflict aftermath = conflict resolution/ basis for future conflict

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Conflict Management Techniques

Individual-level techniques
Bringing in outside help to give advice and counsel
Providing education and sensitivity training
Moving people around

Group-level techniques
Physically separating work groups
Revising rules and standard operating procedures
Providing common goals
Employing negotiation

Organizational-level techniques
Modifying differentiation and integration
Employing integrating mechanisms
Creating a common vision
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Negotiation
 Negotiation is a process in which groups with
conflicting interests meet together to make offers,
counteroffers, and concessions to each other in an
effort to resolve their differences.

 Third-party negotiator is an outsider skilled in

handling bargaining and negotiation.
– Mediator - a neutral third party who tries to help parties
in conflict reconcile their differences.
– Arbiter - a third party who has the authority to impose a
solution to a dispute.
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Advice to Managers
• Recognize that conflict is an enduring part of organizational
behavior, and develop the skills to be able to analyze and
manage it.
• When conflict occurs, try to identify its source and move
quickly to intervene to find a solution before the problem
escalates.
• Whenever you make an important change to role and task
relationships, always consider whether the change will create
conflict. Recognize that good organizational design can
prevent conflict from emerging.
• Recognize that the appropriateness of a conflict management
strategy depends on the source of the conflict.
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