Influence, Power, and Politics (An Organizational Survival Kit)

1. Chapter Thirteen Influence, Power, and Politics (An Organizational Survival Kit)

2. “Getting Things Done” Sequence • Leadership • Managing Change • Influence, Power, and Politics • Managing Conflict • Note: menu of options available to you in an organizational setting

3. Power How does one get things done, even if one has formal authority?

4. 13-1a Chapter Thirteen Outline • Influencing Others • Nine Generic Influences • Three Influence Outcomes • Practical Research Insights • Strategic Alliances and Reciprocity • Social Power and Empowerment • Five Bases of Power • Practical Lessons from Research • Employee Empowerment • Making Empowerment Work

5. 13-1b Chapter Thirteen Outline (continued) Organizational Politics and Impression Management • Definition and Domain of Organizational Politics • Impression Management • Keeping Organizational Politics in Check

6. 13-2a Nine Generic Influence Tactics • Rational persuasion. Trying to convince someone with reason, logic, or facts. • Inspirational appeals.Trying to build enthusiasm by appealing to others’ emotions, ideals, or values. • Consultation.Getting others to participate in planning, making decisions, and changes. • Ingratiation. Getting someone in a good mood prior to making a request; being friendly, helpful, and using praise or flattery. • Personal appeals.Referring to friendship and loyalty when making a request.

7. 13-2b Nine Generic Influence Tactics • Exchange.Making express or implied promises and trading favors. • Coalition tactics.Getting others to support your effort to persuade someone. • Pressure. Demanding compliance or using intimidation or threats. • Legitimating tactics.Basing a request on one’s authority or right, organizational rules or polices, or express or implied support from superiors.

8. Three influence outcomes • Commitment – will gladly do it • Compliance – will grudgingly do it • Resistance – will refuse in one way or another to do it • We all know what “no” means? At least most of the time. What does a “yes” mean? • Note results of research

9. Basis of strategic alliances • Reciprocity – people should be paid back for their positive and negative acts • Social power – ability to get things done with human, informational, and material resources

10. 13-3 Skills and Best Practices: How to Turn Your Coworkers into Strategic Allies • Mutual respect. • Openness. • Trust. • Mutual benefit.

11. Five Bases of Power • Reward power:Promising or granting rewards. • Coercive power:Threats or actual punishment. • Legitimate power:Based on position or formal authority. • Expert power:Sharing of knowledge or information. • Referent power:Power of one’s personality (charisma).

12. Ritti: where does power come from? • Formal power – see previous slide • Informal power held by individuals • Perception that one has power • Friendship network • Intimate knowledge of key process • IOUs • Informal power held by superiors • For upwardly mobile, these superiors provide opportunities for advancement

13. Ritti: continued • How else can power exist in an organization (or why can some rank and file members give their superiors headaches?) • Those how have reached a plateau and are not going anywhere (or care to) • Hold key positions like secretaries • Non-mobile middle managers who handle key details their bosses do not want to deal with or who have expert knowledge • Controls a key part of the process – can enforce bureaucratic adherence to rules

14. Empowerment • Two way street: • Management must be willing to allow employees to make key decisions • Employees must be receptive to the idea

15. Randolph’s Empowerment Model The Empowerment Plan Share Information Create AutonomyThrough Structure Let Teams BecomeThe Hierarchy Remember: Empowerment is not magic;it consists of a few simple steps anda lot of persistence.

16. 13-7 Organizational Politics and Impression Management Political Tactics: • Attacking or blaming others. • Using information as a political tool • Creating a favorable image. • Developing a base of support. • Praising others (ingratiation). • Forming power coalitions with strong allies. • Associating with influential people. • Creating obligations (reciprocity). Impression management:“The process by which people attempt to control or manipulate the reactions of others to images of themselves or their ideas.” Organizational politics:“Involves intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self-interest of individuals or groups.”

17. 13-8 Figure 13-2 Levels of Political Action in Organizations Distinguishing Characteristics Cooperative pursuit of general self-interests Network Level Coalition Level Cooperative pursuit of group interests in specific issues Individual Level Individual pursuit of general self-interests

18. 13-9 Table 13-1 Practical Tips for Managing Organizational Politics • Reduce System Uncertainty • Reduce Competition • Or establish formal conflict resolution and grievance processes • Break Existing Political Fiefdoms • deal with overly political individuals • Prevent Future Fiefdoms • Screen out overly political individuals

19. Pursuing Political Change • City, State, or National Level • Resistance to change • Comes from bureaucracy and other stakeholders • Exhibits similar characteristics as discussion on why change is resisted • Difficulty in “unfreezing” aspect • Enabling legislation or similar mechanism to facilitate unfreezing

20. Pursuing Political Change • Leadership issues • Lead/coordinate diverse group of “advocates” • Lead person within bureaucracy to champion the change • Role of influence and politicking to build coalition of “advocates”, allies, etc. and to obtain support for change • Managing conflict among allies, etc.