Amity Business School

POWER AND POLITICS

Nitika Aggarwal
Vishal Bengani
Jagneet Mand
Ramneek Kaur
Shilpa Sharma
Sourjyo Roy
 POWER Amity Business School

 Power refers to a capacity that A has, to

influence the behavior of B in accordance
with A’s wishes.

 Power may exist but may not be used. It

is therefore a capacity or potential.
Someone may have power but may not
impose it.
 Difference – Power & Amity Business School

Leadership
BASIS POWER LEADERSHIP

Goal Compatibility No YES

Direction of Allows upward and Downward

Influence lateral development influence on
followers 
Research Emphasis Style Focus on tactics for
gaining compliance

Involves Groups or Only groups

individuals both
 BASES OF POWER Amity Business School

 Can be both individual as well as in a group

 Two types of Powers-

1.Formal Power- Based on individual’s

position in an organisation.
 They can come from the ability to coerce or
reward
 FORMAL POWER Amity Business School

COERCIVE POWER REWARD POWER LEGITIMATE POWER

 Dependent on fear.  It is the opposite of  The most frequent
Coercive Power. accessed power
 One reacts out of fear
of the negative results  People comply with  Represents formal
that occur if one fails to the wishes because it authority to control and
comply results in positive use organisational
benefits resources
 As a result of
frustration through  Rewards can be either  It includes both
restriction of movement, financial- pay rates, Coercive and Reward
or the controlling by force raises, bonuses OR non powers
financial- recognition,
 It rests on application promotions, etc  It is a more broader
or the threat of concept
application
 PERSONAL POWER Amity Business School

Power that comes from an individual’s

unique characteristic
 One need not be in a formal position to
exert these powers
 Two types of Personal Power-

 1. Expert Power
 2. Referent Power

Expert Power
1. Influence wielded as a
result of expertise, special
skill or knowledge.
2. One of the most powerful
sources of influence
3. Specialised job leads to
increased dependency on
experts
4. Experts vary from
physicians to tax
accountants, computer
specialists, etc
Amity Business School
Referent Power
1. Based on identification with
a person who has desirable
resources or personal traits
2. Develops out of admiration
of another and a desire to
be like that person
3. Charisma is the way by
which one acquires referent
power
4. Charismatic people are
able to exert influence over
others as they are more
dynamic and likeable
 MOST EFFECTIVE POWER? Amity Business School

 Research shows personal type of power

is most effective
 Expert and Referent Power are positively
related to employees satisfaction
 Reward and Legitimate Power seem to be
unrelated to the employees
 Coercive Power can backfire
 Amity Business School

Dependency – Key to Power

Importance - The things you
control must be important.

Scarcity - A resource must be

perceived as scarce.

Nonsubstitutability – The resource

can not be substituted with something
else.
 Amity Business School

Increasing Dependency
To increase the dependency of others
on you, you need to
•Control things viewed as important
•The resources must be viewed as
scarce
•The resources must have few or no
substitutes.
 POLITICS Amity Business School

It refers to the way people gain

and use power in the
organisation.

Political Behaviour-No formal

role in organisation.
1.Legitimate political behaviour-
eg,Complaining to supervisors
2.Illegitimate political behaviour-
eg.sabotage,whistle blowing
 Essence of Politics Amity Business School

1. Disagreement
2. Diversity
3. Scarcity
4. Interest-Defined as positions people want
to protect or goals they seek to achieve.
 Amity Business School

Factors influencing Political

Behaviour
 Organisational Behaviour
Reallocation of resources
Promotion Opportunities
Role ambiguity
Unclear performance evaluation System
High performance pressures
Self Serving Senior Managers
 Individual Behaviour
1.High Self Monitors
Amity Business School
2.Internal Locus of Control
3.High Mach Personality
4.Organizational Investment
5.Perceived Job alternatives
6.Expectations of success
 Ethics of behaving politically Amity Business School

• “Politics is not striking every time or striking

hard but knowing when to strike.”
3 questions you must ask yourself!
• What is the advantage of indulging in
politicking?
• Are you sure you are not hurting other’s
interests?
• Does your politicking conform with the ethical
and social standards?
 Global Implications Amity Business School

• Politics Perceptions.
• Preference for power tactics.
• Effectiveness of power tactics.
 Summary and Implications for Amity Business School

Managers…
• If you want things done your way u got to have power.
• Power attainment through skills is a two way street.
• When the manager is powerful and is confident about
himself then his words carry weight and he doesn’t need
to always use his official title to get work done. His words
alone carry the day.
• Enjoy and use politics to your advantage and to the
advantage of your department or organization.
• When in Rome do as the Romans. Use politics let not
others use you.
 CASE STUDY Amity Business School

The Power of Bill Fowler at

Blackmer/Dover Resources
 CASE FACTS Amity Business School

 Blackmer/Dover Resources’ plant makes heavy-duty pumps

designed to move commodities such as refined oil and chocolate.

 The management assigned employees to operate the same

machine for months And employees used their expertise to earn
more money.

 Earlier the company paid its employees on the basis of Piece

wage System but now it changed its payment plan to straight
hourly wage.

 . To make the plant more flexible, management encourages

workers to learn a variety of jobs and accept moves to different
parts of the factory floor.
 Amity Business School

 One of the employees was Bill Fowler who worked in the

company for 24 years.

 Fowler does not like changing jobs and he does not like
telling anyone anything about what he does.

 Fowler is outstanding at what he does an The

Management would love to incorporate Fowler’s know-how
into the manufacturing process, but he refuses to share his
secrets even with fellow workers.
 1. Explain Bill Fowler’s behavior in power Amity
terms?Business School

Bill Fowler’s Behaviour can be explained by illustrating Expert Power.

Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special
skill or knowledge. Expertise has become one of the most powerful
sources of influence in the world has become more technologically
oriented. Bill Fowler has all the expertise about his work but is not
ready to share with anyone in the organization. He thinks that if he
does so his importance in the organization will be lost and he will be
not be needed anymore.
 
 Amity Business School

2. What, if anything, does this case say about trust and power?

This case basically highlights the lack of trust amongst the employees
and the management of the Blackmer/Dover Resources’ plant. The
lack of trust in this case negatively impacts the working of the
employees . Fowler is not willing to give out his secret tricks and his
expert know how to the management or to his fellow employees.
Although Fowler has been working at Blackmer/Dover Resources
Plant for 24 years he has no trust or faith in the Organization or the in
the management of the Organization. Bill Fowler is not ready to
delegate power because he is insecure about his importance to the
company .
 Amity Business School

3. What, if anything, can management do to change Fowler’s behavior?

There are many tactics that the management can use to change or
influence Fowler’s behavior. The most popular and effective ones are stated
below:
Rational Persuasion: the management can try using logical arguments and
factual evidence to demonstrate that a request is reasonable.
Inspirational Appeals: the management can find out the wants, values,
needs, hopes and aspirations of Fowler and use them to inspire and
convince him to share his technical know how.
Consultation: the management can try to increase the motivation level of
Fowler by involving him in decision making and consulting him in various
issues.
Personal Appeals: they can also try asking compliance based on loyalty
towards the organization in the last 24 years.
 Amity Business School

THANK YOU