Ambiguous goals. When the goals of a department or organization are ambiguous, more room is available for politics. As a result, members may pursue personal gain under the guise of pursuing organizational goals. Show
Because most organizations today have scarce resources, ambiguous goals, complex technologies, and sophisticated and unstable external environments, it seems reasonable to conclude that a large proportion of contemporary organizations are highly political in nature. As a result, contemporary managers must be sensitive to political processes as they relate to the acquisition and maintenance of power in organizations. This brings up the question of why we have policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in organizations. Actually, such policies are frequently aimed at reducing the extent to which politics influence a particular decision. This effort to encourage more “rational” decisions in organizations was a primary reason behind Max Weber’s development of the bureaucratic model. That is, increases in the specification of policy statements often are inversely related to political efforts, as shown in (Figure). This is true primarily because such actions reduce the uncertainties surrounding a decision and hence the opportunity for political efforts. We’ve updated our privacy policy so that we are compliant with changing global privacy regulations and to provide you with insight into the limited ways in which we use your data. You can read the details below. By accepting, you agree to the updated privacy policy. Thank you! View updated privacy policy We've encountered a problem, please try again. Presentation on theme: "Influence, Empowerment, and Politics"— Presentation transcript: 1 Influence, Empowerment, and Politics 2 Ch. 15 Learning
Objectives 3 Ch. 15 Learning Objectives
4 The Tug-of-War between Self-Interest and Mutuality of Interest
5 “Soft” Influence Tactics 6 “Hard” Influence Tactics 7 Outcomes of Influence Attempts 8 Test Your Knowledge Commitment Compliance Resistance
9 Power Concepts Social Power: The ability to get things done with human, informational, and material resources Power is not power OVER
others Power is the ability to GET THINGS DONE In reading this description of social power, you can see how power is not a downward proposition exclusively. It also means having power to influence peers, customers, and managers. 10
Power Concepts Personalized Power Socialized Power 11 Test Your Knowledge Jarrett has a
strong need for power. He enjoys the challenge of making difficult decisions that have a major impact on the organization. At times he makes decisions that have negative consequences for himself and his team but are good for the larger organization. Jarrett…. Plays politics to get what he wants Has personalized power Demonstrates socialized power and mutuality of interest Is driven to protect his self-interests Jarrett has a strong
need for power. He enjoys the challenge of making difficult decisions that have a major impact on the organization. At times he to makes decisions that have negative consequences for himself and his team but are good for the larger organization. Jarrett…. Plays politics to get what he wants Has personalized power Demonstrates socialized power and mutuality of interest Is driven to protect his self-interests Answer: C 12 Sources of Power Position – derived from one’s position and
status within the organization Reward: If you do it I’ll give you something Coercive: If you don’t do it something bad will happen Legitimate: Do it because the boss asks you to Can be positive or negative French and Raven have defined five sources of power. Three sources, listed on this slide, are byproducts of one’s position. The other two power sources, listed on the next slide, are earned by individuals through the respect they
garner from others. Because of their position, managers are able to offer bonuses, recognition, promotions, and other such rewards. In addition, their position gives them the authority to punish and withhold rewards in order to influence compliance. Finally, position gives managers decision authority that is used to affect subordinates’ behavior. These sources of power can produce negative results if they are used threateningly or in a demeaning way. They can have
positive results when they are focused constructively on job performance while being clearly aligned with the goals of the larger organization.
13 Sources of Power Personal – derived from one’s personal characteristics, relationship with others,
and behavior towards others Expert: Do it because I know a lot about this subject Referent: Do it because you like me Expert and referent sources of power are earned by individuals based on who they are and how they relate to and treat others. How can you increase your expert power? Strategies include becoming an expert in your field, attending meetings of trade or professional associations, reading publications, keeping up with the latest
technology, volunteering to learn something new, projecting a positive self-concept, and showing that you have the expertise. A drawback to this type of power is that specializing can sometimes pigeon-hole you into a certain roles and preclude you from more general management opportunities. The referent power base reminds us of a rather obvious truth—that individuals are influenced more by people they identify with and enjoy working with than with those they
don’t. 14 Test Your Knowledge Which strategy would be most effective in each situation? Upward influence Peers
Downward What is the best combination of strategies? Reward Coercive Legitimate Expert Referent Research has shown that leaders take a contingency approach when deciding what influence tactic to use. It will depend on the situation. If there is anticipated resistance or when the follower’s behavior violates important norms a legitimization or pressure tactic might be chosen. When the
leader stands to benefit they may use a personal appeal or ingratiation approach. When it is a peer and/or the objective is clearly in alignment with organizational objectives the rational approach would work best. Upward influence – typically rational persuasion is most common – coalitions are also used Lateral tactics – personal appeal, reciprocity, ingratiation, exchange, and legitimization are also used. Downward – Expert and referent In
general, research has shown that the combined use of tactics is the most effective. However, that depends on the combination you choose. What is the right combination? Hard ones are most effective used by themselves. Also, it is better to use a combination of softer tactics first and use the hard one’s only as a last resort. Research has shown that using expert and referent power together get the best combinaltion of results and favorable
reactions from lower-level employees. 13 15 Empowerment Empowerment sharing varying degrees of power with
lower-level employees to tap their full potential Empowerment involves considering power as not a zero-sum game but instead something that is unlimited and can be shared by all. Empowerment is a win-win proposition and should not be viewed as threatening, but rather as a means of helping managers and employees to develop new skills and reach career goals.
16 The Evolution of Power: From Domination to Delegation 17 Participative Management
18 Delegation Delegation granting decision-making authority to people at lower levels How can delegation be used
effectively? Why are managers often reluctant to delegate? The highest degree of empowerment is delegation. How can delegation be used effectively? Research has shown that greater delegation was associated with the following factors. When the employee is competent, the employee shares the manager’s task objectives, the manager has a long-standing and positive relationship with the employee, and when the lower-level person was also a
supervisor. Why are managers often reluctant to delegate? Ask for comments… go to next slide for list of barriers to delegation 19 Delegation Barriers to Delegation include: 20 Personal Initiative: The Other Side of Delegation
21 Randolph’s Empowerment Model 22 Organizational Politics
23 Uncertainty Triggers Political Behavior 24
Test Your Knowledge Given what we know about causes of political behavior, who would be most likely to engage in self-interested politics? A new, relatively young employee starting out her career or An older, more established employee. Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on their manager’s rankings of them Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on an established, known set of standards
1. 2. Given what we know about causes of political behavior, who would be most likely to engage in politics? A new, relatively young employee starting out her career or An older, more established employee. Answer: B, there is more uncertainty for newer employees A financial advisor whose pay is 100% commission-based or A financial analyst. Answer: A, when employees understand that their
performance will be measured based on a set of standards, they are more likely to work towards meeting those standards, rather than engaging in behaviors that will increase their liking with their manager. A system based on rankings is likely to lead to judgments being made both on objective indicators of performance but also are more likely to be influenced by non-job-related factors.
25 Levels of Political Action in Organizations 26 Political Tactics For each tactic, estimate the effectiveness of using this tactic to promote organizational objectives Highly unlikely to be effective May or may not be effective Highly likely to be effective Attacking or blaming others Using information as a political tool
Creating a favorable image (impression management) Developing a base of support Praising others (ingratiation) Forming political coalitions with strong allies Associating with influential people Creating obligations (reciprocity) These political tactics are listed in descending order of occurrence. What is the likelihood that each of these would be effective in promoting organizational interests as
well as individual self-interests? Attacking or blaming others - 3 Using information as a political tool - 2 Creating a favorable image (impression management) - 1 Developing a base of support - 1 Praising others (ingratiation) – 3 (as long as it is perceived to be sincere) Forming political coalitions with strong allies – 2 (as long as those allies also have org’s interests at heart) Associating with
influential people - 3 Creating obligations (reciprocity) – 2 (indicates compliance rather than commitment, may or may not yield long-term benefits for org. 27 Are You Politically Naïve, Sensible, or a Political
Shark? 28 How to Keep Organizational Politics Within Reasonable Bounds
29 15 Supplemental Slides The following set of slides has been developed in close collaboration with the authors of the text to provide instructors with additional material for class lectures. In most cases, the material is not discussed in the text, and includes updated sources and relevant examples to accompany
text information. 15-29 30 Video Cases Bully Broads Officials Investigate CEOs Stock Options 31 “With Honors” Movie
Clip 32 “Scarface” Movie Clip What characterizes the relationship between the Detective and
Tony (Al Pacino)? What sources of power do both characters have? What influence tactics does the Detective use? Does the Detective use or abuse power? What outcome will this influence attempt likely yield? NOTE: Instructors will have to obtain their own copy of Scarface – show scene that begins when Al Pacino and the Detective are sitting down at a restaurant to discuss business. What characterizes the relationship
between the Detective and Tony? Interdependent because Al needs police officers to ensure smooth, uninterrupted drug operations, Mel needs leads in order to make arrests so he looks like he’s doing his job and wants to make money from Al’s operation. What sources of power do both characters have? Tony Reward power because he has money because of his position in the drug operations Detective Expert/informational power
because he knows the law enforcement operations in Miami area and about drug operations Coercive power because he can arrest him for his drug deals Reward power because he can give him leads and kill people or threaten to if they don’t pay What influence tactics does the detective use? Exchange, legitimating by pointing out that the police can make Tony’s life miserable; Pressure – threaten if this conversation is made public the police will
look bad so they’ll hurt Tony’s business. The detective definitely did not use consultation – he had the deal formulated already when he presented it to Tony. Does the Detective use or abuse power? Abuse because he is using his position in the police force for exclusively personal gain that is counter to the organization’s goals. What outcome will this influence attempt likely yield? Compliance because Tony won’t be committed to it
because it doesn’t really help him that much, he is doing it because he wants to avoid going to jail and to ensure that his operations run smoothly. 6 33 Principles of Influence 34 Principles of Influence 35 Impression Management Tips
36 Building Empowerment Through Ownership
37 Being Politically Proactive 38 Outcomes of Telling the Truth or Lying
39 Outcomes of Telling the Truth or Lying
40 The Paradox of Self-Reliance in the Age of Empowerment
41 A Workplace Empowerment Scale 42 Conclusion Questions for discussion What are some of the perceptions that people have about organizational politics?What are some of the perceptions that people have about organizational politics? It decreases job satisfaction. It decreases organizational commitment. It increases job stress.
Which of the core influence tactics are most effective at building commitment multiple select question?Rational persuasion, consultation, collaboration and inspirational appeals are the most effective at building commitment.
Which forms of power are associated with increased employee satisfaction performance organizational commitment?Referent power is more effective than formal power bases and is positively related to employees' satisfaction with supervision, organizational commitment, and performance.
Which of the core influence tactics are most effective at building commitment?Core influence tactics—rational persuasion, consultation, collaboration, and inspirational appeals—are most effective at building commitment.
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