Power and Politics PPT #11 Final Flashcards
Concepts of Power
Power: The ability to influence others’ behavior
Abusing power:
* Abusive supervision/bullying
* Sexual harassment or sexual misconduct
* Pressure to do personal favours, break rules, etc.
Conformity
Studies:
Milgram experiment: Person thought they were shocking a person, they were told that the voltage was increasing; they found out that people would continue to shock people even after hearing the distress of the person they are shocking; this lead to the idea of listening to authority even when it is immoral
Zimbardo’s prison experiment: People assigned to play the role of prison guard became more power corrupt and treating prisoners inhumanly. This showed that the idea of people fall into a role and will act immorally in these positions of power.
Asch studies: There were people who were part of the experiment and a person that is not part of the experiment, everyone was shown 3 lines and asked to match the 4th line to what they thought was same line. So the person not in on it would say A but everyone else would say B even though it was wrong. The idea was that after a while the person who knew was right would just agree with everyone else as the conformed.
Formal power vs. Informal power
Positional power bases: legitimate, reward, coercive, informational
Personal power bases: referent, expert; having the knowledge or skills
Forms of Power
Legitimate Power: Power due to position of established authority
Reward Power: Power based on ability to provide desired rewards (includes intangible rewards – e.g., praise)
Coercive Power: Power associated with threats, punishment, and/or fear
Information Power: Power due to access to valuable information
Referent Power: Power due to interpersonal liking or respect
Expert Power: Power due to valuable knowledge and/or skills
Influence Tactics
Inspirational Appeals: Appealing to values, emotions, beliefs, or ideals
Rational Persuasion: Using logic to draw connections between desired action and outcomes
Consultation: Getting buy-in by asking for input/help
Personal Appeal: Influence due to liking, respect, or comfort/familiarity
Ingratiation: Using flattery or otherwise putting the person in a good mood before the ‘ask’
Coalition: Convincing by showing that others are on board
Exchange: Reciprocity, or explicit exchange of favors
Pressure: Using demands, threats, or intimidation
Legitimating: Using authority position to demand obedience
Influence Tactics Most to Least Effective
Most Effective:
- Inspirational Appeals: 90% commitment
- Consultation: 55% commitment
Least Effective:
- Legitimating: 0% commitment
- Pressure: 3% commitment
Organizational Politics
Organizational politics are informal efforts to influence decisions and gain power.
Can become more of an issue when resources are scarce, or during organizational change
Too much can lead to lower:
commitment, job satisfaction, performance, and well-being
Contributors to political behavior:
Individual level:
* Political skill; influence over others
* Locus of control; internal belief and external influence
* Investment in the organization; commitment to org vs. protect personal interest
* Expectations of success; confidence in success
Organizational Level:
* Scarcity of resources; competion of resources leads to internal conflict
* Role ambiguity; unclear responsabilities
* Performance evaluations; subjective assesments
* Promotions; competition for advancement, recognition
* Democratic decision making; shared decisions
Ethics and National Culture
Ethics
* Can build in checks on power, or decentralize – e.g., no one individual holds all the authority
* Hold those in power accountable
National culture
* Countries vary on power distance
Conclusion:
Power should be handled with care, great power comes great responsability
Choose influence tactics wisely
Organizational politics can’t be avoided completely, but should be kept in check
