Power & Politics

Question 1

What is the difference between power and leadership?

Answer 1

Leadership is the ability to influence

Power is the capacity that you can influence

Question 2

What are the 5 ways power is created?

Answer 2

Coercive: ability to punish
Rewards: ability to rewards
Legitimate: Position/Role
Expert: superior knowledge
Referent: Identify with another

Coercive, Rewards, and Legitimate are all considered Formal Power

Expert and Referent are considered Personal Power

Question 3

What are the tactics that are used to influence others with their power?

Answer 3

Legitimacy
- legitimate power from position

Rational persuasion
- using factual evidence, data, and logical arguments
- most commonly used tactic

Inspirational appeals
- Emotional commitment

Consultation
- asking others for help

Exchange
- reward with benefit/favours in exchange for their help

Personal appeals
- Compliance based on friendship/loyalty

Ingratiation
- Making others feel good about themselves (dick riding)

Pressure
- using warnings, repeated demands, and threats

Coalitions
- Peer pressure, get another person to ask a favour with you

Question 4

What type of tactics are the most effective?

Answer 4

Soft tactics - rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation

Question 5

How do politics in Organizations occur?

Answer 5

1. Organization is composed of individuals with conflicting goals & interests
2. Conflict over allocation of limited resources
3. Doubt in decision making
4. Interpretation of organization information and the actions of individuals

Question 6

What situations would influence people to engage politically?

Answer 6

When there are more potential benefits and a higher risk of losing something, people are less likely to engage politically

The more job opportunities there are, the higher chance someone will engage politically

The higher the expectation of success, the more likely to engage politically

Question 7

Why do individuals engage in politics?

Answer 7

Safeguard what they have, if there is a chance that they might lose something

influence a decision for promotion

Question 8

What are the 2 forms of Ingratiation?

Answer 8

Conformity
- dick eating

Favours
- doing something nice for the sake of approval (also dick eating)

Question 9

What are the 2 forms of defensive IM?

Answer 9

Excuses

Apologies

Question 10

What are the 2 forms of self-focused IM?

Answer 10

Self-promotion
- gassing up what you did to make yourself look better

Enhancement
- making what you accomplished sound more impressive compared to others

Question 11

What are the 2 forms of assertive IM?

Answer 11

Flattery
- make yourself more likeable by complimenting others (looking humble)

Exemplification
- Doing more then needed to try and get praise for it