Chapter Six

Organizational Power
 Organizational Power
• Specific topics:
– The meaning of power
– What is the key to power?
– The distinction among authority, power, and
influence
– Leadership vs. Power
– Bases of power
– Information and power
– Power tactics and influence strategies

2
 The Meaning of Power
• Power:
– is the ability of individuals or groups to induce or
influence the beliefs or actions of other persons or
groups.
– is the ability to get things done despite the will &
resistance of others or the ability to “win” political
fights & outmanoeuvre the opposition.

3
 The Meaning of Power

• Power:
– refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of
B so that B does something he/she wouldn’t otherwise do.

• This definition implies:

(1) a dependence relationship, and

(2) that B has some discretion/limited freedom over his or her

own behaviour.

4
 What is the key to power?... Dependency

The General Dependency Postulate

• The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater power A has
over B.
• Dependency, is inversely proportional to the alternative
sources of supply.
What Creates Dependency?
– Dependency is increased when the resource you control is
important and scarce.

5
 Difference Among

Power, authority, and influence

6
AUTHORITY POWER INFLUENCE
Formal Informal Formal or informal
legitimises & is a source of Need not be legitimate Flows from power
power.
Form of power Operate & become More closely associated
effective in non-formal with leadership
situations also.
Has rational legal May or may not have broader in scope than
implications rational legal implications power
Impersonally vested in the Bases of power such as
job; flows from the position charisma, knowledge, &
reference have
personalised bases
Can be delegated Cannot be delegated
except of Authority
More structured Some forms, structured
Flows downwards flow in all directions
Compliance to authority compliance is not
is mandatory mandatory

7
Leadership vs. Power

Reading Assignment

8
 Coercive
Power

Legitimate Reward Power

Power
Bases of Power
Referent Power

Expert Power
 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.
10
 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.
11
8

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.
12
 Sources…
• Power can come from many different sources

13
 Sources of Power
• Authority: power that is legitimized by the
legal and cultural foundations on which an
organization is based
• Control over resources: as the organization
controls more and more resources in its
environment, power within an organization
comes from the control of resources

14
 Sources of Power (cont.)
• Control over information: access to strategic
information and the control of the
information are sources of considerable
power
• Non-substitutability: if no one else can
perform the tasks that a person or subunit
performs, that person or subunit is non-
substitutable

15
 Sources of Power (cont.)
• Centrality: the subunits that are most central to
resource flows have the ability to reduce the
uncertainty facing other subunits
• Control over uncertainty: a subunit that can
actually control the principal sources of
uncertainty has significant power
– Changes in contingencies facing the organization
alter which subunits have this power

16
 Sources of Power (cont.)
• Unobtrusive power: controlling the premises
of decision making
– Unobtrusive power: the power flowing from the
ability to control the premises behind decision
making
– The power of a coalition resides in its ability to
control the assumptions, goals, norms, or values
that managers use to judge alternative solutions
to a problem

17
 CONTINGENCIES OF POWER

• Contingencies of power:
– Refers to certain conditions from which power
bases generate.
– Includes:
• substitutability,
• centrality,
• discretion, and
• visibility.
• These are not sources of power

18
 Contingencies of power

Sources Power
of power over others

Contingencies
of power

Substitutability
Centrality
Discretion
Visibility

19
 Consequences of power
Sources Consequences
of power of power

Expert
power
Commitment
Referent
power
Legitimate
power Compliance

Reward
power
Coercive Resistance
power

20
 POWER TACTICS AND INFLUENCE STRATEGIES

• How do people use their power and get others

to do what they want?
– Tactics of power
– Influencing strategies

21
 Tactics of power

• Image building
– Actions which enhance reputation and further
career: appropriate dress; support for the ‘right’
causes; adherence to group norms; air of self-
confidence.

22
 Tactics of power

• Selective information

– Withhold unfavourable information from

superiors;
– Keep useful information from your competitor;

– Offer only favourable interpretations;

– Overwhelm others with complex technical data

23
 Tactics of power

• Scapegoating:
– Make sure someone is blamed; avoid personal
blame; take credit for success.
– Blame a predecessor’
– ‘Pick your timing to discredit people’

24
 Tactics of power

• Formal alliances
– Agree actions with key people; create a coalition
strong enough to enforce its will
– ‘Gain access to key players and information’
– ‘Seek the support and affiliation of those in power’

25
 Tactics of power

• Networking
– Make lots of friends in influential positions
– ‘Be mobile … out and about, talking, networking’

– ‘Invite the ”right” people to social events’

26
 Tactics of Power

• Compromise:

– Give on unimportant issues to create allies for

subsequent, more important issues.
– ‘Be ready to change your opinions quickly’

– ‘Decide how much you are prepared to lose’

27
 Tactics of Power

• Rule manipulation:
– Refuse requests on grounds of ‘against company
policy’ but grant identical requests from allies on
the grounds of ‘special circumstances’

28
 Influencing strategies

• Reason
– Use of facts and data to make a logical or rational
presentation of ideas as a basis for a logical
argument that supports a request
• Friendliness
— Use of flattery, creation of goodwill, acting humble, and
being friendly prior to making a request.

29
 Influencing strategies

• Sanction:
– Use of organizationally derived rewards and
punishments such as preventing or promising a
salary increase,
– threatening to give an unsatisfactory performance
evaluation, or withdrawing a promotion.

30
 Influencing strategies

• Coalition:
– Mobilizing other people in the organization to
support you, and thereby strengthening your
request.

31
 Influencing strategies

• Bargaining:
– Use of negotiation through the exchange of
benefits or favours - based upon the social norms
of obligation and reciprocity.

32