BA 320: Organizational Behavior: Week 7: Power and Politics Igor Himelfarb, Ph.D. Lincoln University

BA 320: Organizational
Behavior
Week 7: Power and Politics

Igor Himelfarb, Ph.D.
Lincoln University
After studying this chapter
you should be able to:
1. Define power.
2. Contrast leadership and power.
3. Describe the five bases of power.
4. Identify nine power or influence tactics and their
contingencies.
5. Determine how power affects people.
6. Define organizational politics and describe why politics
exist in organizations.
7. Identify the causes and consequences of political
behavior.
8. Determine whether a political action is ethical.
9. Describe the political mapping process and its
advantages. 13-2
Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
A Definition of Power
 Power: The capacity that A has to

influence the behavior of B so that
B acts in accordance with A’s wishes
 The most important aspect of
power is that it is a function of
dependence
13-3
Contrasting
Leadership and Power
Differences Leadership Power
Goal Requires goal Only needs
Compatibility congruence dependence
Focuses on Concerned with
Direction of
downward influence in all
Influence
influence directions
Broader topic:
focuses on tactics
Research Emphasizes
used by
Emphasis leadership style
individuals and
groups
13-4
Formal Bases of Power
 Formal power is based on an

individual’s organizational position
 Coercive Power: Complies from fear of
the negative results
 Reward Power: Complies due to desire
for positive benefits
 Legitimate Power: From the formal
authority to control and use organizational
resources
13-5
Personal Bases of Power
 Personal power stems from an individual’s

unique characteristics
 Expert: Influence wielded as a result of
expertise, special skill, or knowledge
 Referent: Based on identification with a
person who has desirable resources or personal
traits
 Charisma
13-6
Effective Power Bases
 Expert and referent power are

positively related to performance and
commitment
 Reward and legitimate power are
unrelated to organizational outcomes
 Coercive power is negatively related to
employee satisfaction and commitment
13-7
Power Tactics
 Power tactics: Used to translate

power bases into specific actions
that influence others
 Some are more effective than others
13-8
Nine Influence Tactics
1. Legitimacy
2. Rational persuasion
3. Inspirational appeals
4. Consultation
5. Exchange
6. Personal appeals
7. Ingratiation
8. Pressure
9. Coalitions
13-9
Influence Tactic Effectiveness
 Most effective:
Rational persuasion
Inspirational appeals
Consultation
 Least effective:
Pressure
 Combining tactics increases effectiveness
 Direction, sequencing, individual skill, and
organizational culture modify effectiveness
13-10
Preferred Power Tactics by
Influence Direction
13-11
Global Implications
 Culture affects preference for power tactics

 Individualistic cultures
 See power in personalized terms and as a
legitimate means of advancing personal ends
 Engage in more self-enhancement behaviors
 Collectivistic cultures
 See power in social terms and as legitimate
means of helping others
13-12
Political Skill
 Political skill: ability to influence others

to enhance one’s own objectives
 Politically skilled are more effective users of all
the influence tactics
 Political skill is more effective when the stakes
are high
 Those with political skill can exert their
influence without others detecting it
13-13
How Power Affects People
 People with power:

 Put their interests ahead of others
 Objectify others
 React to threats against their
competence
 Tend to be overconfident
 But there can be positive effects of
power
 Depends on personality
13-14
Organizational Politics
 Political behavior: consists of

activities that are not required as part of
an individual’s formal role but that
influence, or attempt to influence, the
distribution of advantages and
disadvantages within the organization
13-15
The Reality of Politics
 Politics arise in organizations because of:

 Conflicting interests
 Limited resources
 Ambiguity in decision making
 Politicking: Twisting facts to support

one’s own goals and interests
13-16
Individual Factors
Contributing to Political Behavior
 Traits that encourage political action:

High self-monitors
Internal locus of control
High need for power
 Situational influences leading to
illegitimate political actions
Lower organizational investment
Greater number of perceived alternatives
Greater expectations of success
13-17
Organizational Factors
Contributing to Political Behavior
 Organizational resources declining or distribution

shifting
 Opportunity for promotion exists
 Organizational culture issues

Low trust
Role ambiguity
Zero-sum reward allocation
Democratic decision making
High performance pressures
Leading by poor example
Unclear performance evaluation systems 13-18
Responses to
13-19
Qualifiers to Responses to
 The politics-performance relationship is
moderated by individual’s understanding
of who makes decisions and why they
were selected
 Political behavior at work moderates the
effects of ethical leadership
 When politics are perceived as a threat,
people respond with defensive
behaviors
13-20
Impression Management
 Impression Management: The

process by which individuals attempt to
control the impression others form of
them
 People may misrepresent themselves in
situations of high uncertainty or ambiguity
 Misrepresentations may discredit the
individuals – seen as insincere or
manipulative
13-21
Using Impression Management
 IM and interviews:
 Self-promotion and ingratiation work
well
 IM and performance evaluations:
 Ingratiation positively related
 Self-promotion is negatively related
13-22
The Ethics of
Behaving Politically
Questions to consider:
1. What is the utility of engaging in
politicking?
2. How does the utility of engaging in the
political behavior balance out any harm
it will do to others?
3. Does the political activity conform to
standards of equity and justice?
13-23
Mapping Your Political Career
13-24
Implications for Managers
 As a manager who wants to maximize your power, you will

want to increase others’ dependence on you.
 You will not be alone in attempting to build your power bases.
 Try to avoid putting others in a position where they feel they
have no power.
 By assessing behavior in a political framework, you can better
predict the actions of others and use that information to
formulate political strategies that will gain advantages for you
and your work unit.
 Help others understand the importance of becoming
politically savvy. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 13-25
Keep in Mind…
 Informal, expert, and referent power

are the most important
 Use consultation and inspirational
appeals
 The effectiveness of IM techniques
depends on the setting
13-26
Summary
1. Defined power.
2. Contrasted leadership and power.
3. Described the five bases of power.
4. Identified nine power or influence tactics and their
contingencies.
5. Determined how power affects people.
6. Defined organizational politics and described why politics
exist in organizations.
7. Identified the causes and consequences of political
behavior.
8. Determined whether a political action is ethical.
9. Described the political mapping process and its advantages.
13-27

BA 320: Organizational Behavior: Week 7: Power and Politics Igor Himelfarb, Ph.D. Lincoln University

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BA 320: Organizational Behavior: Week 7: Power and Politics Igor Himelfarb, Ph.D. Lincoln University

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BA 320: Organizational

Week 7: Power and Politics

 Power: The capacity that A has to

 Formal power is based on an

 Personal power stems from an individual’s

 Expert and referent power are

 Power tactics: Used to translate

 Culture affects preference for power tactics

 Political skill: ability to influence others

 People with power:

 Political behavior: consists of

 Politics arise in organizations because of:

 Politicking: Twisting facts to support

 Traits that encourage political action:

 Organizational resources declining or distribution

 Organizational culture issues

 Impression Management: The

 As a manager who wants to maximize your power, you will

 Informal, expert, and referent power

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