Chapter 13 - Organizational Power and Politics

Question 1

what is power?

Answer 1

an interpersonal relationship in which one individual (or group) has the ability to cause another individual (or group) to take an action that otherwise would not have been taken

–> one person changing the behaviour of another

Question 2

difference between power, authority, and leadership

Answer 2

all concepts closely related

power = capacity of one to secure compliance from another

authority = right to seek compliance by others - legitimacy

leadership = ability of one to elicit responses from another that go beyond required or mechanical compliance

Question 3

what are the three types of power theorized by Etzioni?

Answer 3

1. coercive power
   - involves forcing someone to comply with one’s wishes
   - ex: prison
2. utilitarianism power
   - power based on performance-reward contingencies
   - ex: business organizations
   - ex: person will comply with a supervisor in order to receive a pay raise or promotion
3. normative power
   - uses normative justification rather than the use of material incentives or physical force
   - ex: religious institution

Question 4

French and Raven’s 5 bases of power

Answer 4

1. referent power
2. expert power
3. legitimate power
4. reward power
5. coercive power

Question 5

behaviour consequences of French and Raven’s power bases

Answer 5

in all 5 cases, the exercise of power involves subtle and sometimes threatening interpersonal consequences for the parties involved

when power is exercised, employees have several ways in which to respond –> resistance, compliance, or commitment

Question 6

commitment is mostly under which types of power bases?

Answer 6

referent and expert

Question 7

compliance is mostly under which power bases?

Answer 7

legitimate or reward power

Question 8

resistance is most common under which power base(s)?

Answer 8

coercive power

Question 9

three factors that cause some people to be more submissive or vulnerable to power attempts?

Answer 9

1. subordinate’s values
2. nature of relationship between leader and potential follower
3. counterpower (does potential follower have counterpower? example: unionized)

Question 10

What are some common power tactics in organizations?

Answer 10

1. controlling access to information
2. controlling access to persons
3. selective use of objective criteria
4. controlling the agenda
5. using outside experts
6. bureaucratic gamesmanship (ex: group drags its feet on making changes)
7. coalitions and alliances

Question 11

several common symbols of managerial power as identified by Kanter

Answer 11

• can intercede favorably on behalf of someone in trouble
• can get a desirable placement for a talented subordinate or approval for expenditure beyond their budget
• secure above-average salary increases for subordinates
• get items on agenda at policy meetings
• gain quick access to top decision makers or early info about decisions/ policy shifts
• top decision makers seek their opinions

Question 12

ethical use of power

Answer 12

all employees have a right to know that the exercise of power within the organization will be governed by ethical standards that prevent the abuse of exploitation

all different power bases have standards that manager’s should follow (they are common sense though really)

Question 13

what is politics?

Answer 13

one mechanism to solve allocation problems when other mechanisms fail

activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a situation

typically for the purpose of overcoming opposition/ resistance

Question 14

what kinds of reasons make the use of politics more likely and what kinds of behaviours will result

Answer 14

ambiguous goals
- try to define goals to one’s advantage

limited resources
- fight to maximize one’s share of resources

changing technology and environment
- attempt to exploit uncertainty for personal gain

non-programmed decisions
- attempt to make suboptimal decisions that favor personal ends

organizational change
- attempt to use reorganization as a chance to pursue own interest/ goals

competition among employees (employees will be more sneaky lol)

Question 15

two major aspects of politics in intergroup relations

Answer 15

1. relationship between power and the control of resources (resource dependence model)
2. relationship between power and the control of strategic activites

Question 16

what is resources dependence model used for?

Answer 16

can analyze intergroup political behaviour by examining how critical resources are controlled and shared

when one subunit of an org controls a scarce resource that is needed by another subunit, the subunit with the resource acquires power

–> puts unit in better position for bargaining

–> subunit power accrues to departments that are most instrumental in bringing in or providing resources which are highly valued by the total organization

Question 17

what are strategic contingencies

Answer 17

activities that subunits can gain control over that others need to complete their tasks

example
- where critical contingencies were customer delivery and product quality
- share of power resided in the sales and production staff

Question 18

strategic contingencies model of subunit power: suggests three factors influence the ability of one subunit A over another B

Answer 18

1. As ability to help B cope with uncertainty
2. the degree to which A offers the only source of the required resource for B
3. the extent to which As contributions are central to organizational success (work centrality)

Question 19

what are four strategies to reduce politics in organizations?

Answer 19

1. reduce system uncertainty
2. reduce competition
3. break existing political fiefdoms
4. prevent future fiefdoms

Question 20

how to reduce system uncertainty (and politics)

Answer 20

• make clear what are the bases and processes for evaluation
• differentiate rewards among high and low performers
• make sure rewards are as immediately and directly related to performance as possible
• clarify roles

Question 21

how to reduce competition (and politics)

Answer 21

• try to minimize resource competition among managers
• replace resource competition with externally oriented goals and objects

Question 22

how to break existing political fiefdoms

Answer 22

• through personnel reassignment or transfer
• by changing the reward system to encourage interunit cooperation