Influence, Power & Politics

Question 1

Influence

Answer 1

• The ability to use social forces to affect the behavior of others.
• Informal strategies include persuasion, peer pressure, and compliance techniques.
• Persuasive influence is used in situations like obtaining a loan from a friend or convincing a coworker to help with a task.
• Peer pressure influence involves urging someone to break a rule because “everybody does it.”
• Compliance techniques may include flattery or offering favors to persuade someone to work overtime.

Question 2

Influence Tactics

Answer 2

• Assertiveness: Directly stating one’s needs or desires.
• Ingratiation: Increasing personal appeal through favors, praise, or flattery.
• Rationality: Using logical arguments to persuade others.
• Sanctions: Threatening negative consequences, such as demotion or firing.
• Exchanges: Offering favors or benefits in exchange for compliance.
• Upward Appeals: Seeking support from higher-status individuals.
• Blocking: Interfering with or prohibiting others’ activities.
• Coalitions: Building support from coworkers or subordinates.
• Higher-status individuals may use assertiveness or sanctions, while lower-status individuals use rational appeals.
• Coworkers commonly employ ingratiation and exchange for personal favors.
• Rationality and coalition tactics are often used to institute changes in work tasks or context.

Question 3

Power

Answer 3

• The use of some aspect of a work relationship to compel another to perform a certain action despite resistance.
• For example, a company president can issue an order to a vice president, expecting compliance due to the power associated with their status relationship.
• Power is often derived from the relationship between two parties rather than from the individuals themselves.
• Influence primarily resides in the individual, while power comes from the relationship or positions of the parties involved.
• A coworker might use persuasion to motivate a colleague to increase productivity, whereas a supervisor can use their authority to compel the same action.

Question 4

Power & Leadership

Answer 4

• Legitimate power tends to validate the use of reward and coercive power.
• Expert power should also exist in legitimate power positions, as qualified individuals are often in supervisory roles.
• Leaders with high legitimate and reward power, coupled with expert power, are likely to develop a strong referent power base.
• In the decision-making model, leaders possess the power to make significant decisions independently or delegate decision-making authority.

Question 5

Organizational Politics

Answer 5

• Self-serving actions designed to affect the behavior of others to achieve personal goals.
• Influence and power can be used for purposes beyond self-interest, whereas politics is inherently self-serving.

Question 6

Functional Politics

Answer 6

• Political behaviors that help the organization to attain its goals.

Question 7

Dysfunctional Politics

Answer 7

• Political behaviors that detract from the organization’s ability to attain its goals.

Question 8

Types of Political Behavior

Internal-External Dimension

Answer 8

• Internal political behavior occurs solely within the organization, involving its members.
• External political behavior extends beyond the organization’s boundaries, involving interactions with external entities such as lawsuits, consultations with competitors, or leaking company information to the press.

Question 9

Types of Political Behavior

Lateral-Vertical Dimension

Answer 9

• Lateral political behavior occurs between members of the same status within the organization.
• Vertical political behavior crosses hierarchical levels, involving interactions between superiors and subordinates.

Question 10

Types of Political Behavior

Legitimate-Illegitimate Dimension

Answer 10

• Legitimate political behavior adheres to generally accepted norms and rules within the organization.
• Illegitimate political behavior violates these norms and is considered extreme or unacceptable.

Question 11

Causes of Organizational Politics

Competition for Power & Resources

Answer 11

• Scarce resources within organizations can prompt individuals to engage in political behavior to acquire what they need to achieve their objectives.
• When resources like money, promotions, or status are limited and difficult to obtain due to bureaucratic obstacles or arbitrary allocation processes, organizational members may resort to political tactics.
• For instance, individuals might develop close relationships with influential decision-makers to gain access to important resources more quickly.
• In some cases, resources may be distributed based on personal connections rather than actual need, leading to favoritism within organizations.
• Competition for grants or other external funding sources can also fuel political behaviors within departments or teams as they vie for a larger share of resources.

Question 12

Causes of Organizational Politics

Subjective Performance Appraisals

Answer 12

• Subjective performance evaluation criteria can lead to career success being unrelated to actual job performance.
• When decisions like pay raises and promotions are based on poorly defined or measured subjective criteria, employees may resort to political tactics to gain favor with decision-makers.
• Political tactics such as forming alliances, discrediting others, and lobbying can undermine organizational effectiveness by promoting individuals who may not be the best performers.
• Overemphasis on criteria unrelated to job performance, such as appearance or adherence to company philosophy, may encourage employees to prioritize looking good over performing well.

Question 13

Causes of Organizational Politics

Lack of Cooperation & Interdependence

Answer 13

• Work groups with low interdependence, weak cooperation norms, and lack of support for each other are prone to higher levels of political behavior.
• A study indicated that work groups can be positioned on a continuum, with highly politicized groups at one end and supportive, cooperative groups at the other.
• Cooperative, interdependent, and supportive groups are less likely to engage in political behavior compared to their less cooperative and supportive counterparts.

Question 14

Causes of Organizational Politics

Increased Group Decision Making

Answer 14

• Group decision-making procedures in organizations increase the likelihood of political behavior.
• Group decision-making involves members lobbying for specific courses of action and exchanging favors to achieve desired outcomes.
• Properly regulated group decision-making typically leads to functional outcomes.
• Dysfunctional outcomes may arise if high-quality decisions are rejected due to opponents’ political influence and power.

Question 15

A Contingency Approach to Organizational
Power & Politics

Answer 15

• Individual differences in the desire and ability to use organizational power and politics are explored through ongoing research.
• The effectiveness of power usage is related to the characteristics of both the wielder and recipient(s) of power.
• Organizations and work groups vary in their tolerance for different types of power and political maneuvers by members.
• A contingency approach, considering the interaction of individual/group characteristics and situational factors, is best for understanding power and politics in organizations.
• Gray and Ariss (1985) proposed a lifecycle model where appropriate political behaviors vary across different stages of an organization’s development.
• Cobb (1984) proposed an episodic model of power, examining power episodes in actual work settings, considering factors related to the wielder, recipient, and situational context.
• The episodic model integrates research on power in organizations, offering a comprehensive approach to understanding power dynamics.