Power, Politics & Ethics - 10 Flashcards
Power
The capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence
High slack ; low slack
Reliance is low ; reliance is high
Power doesn’t always work bc u have alt source; creates slack
Legitimate Power
Types of Individual Power
Power from person’s position in organization
“I have power over you b/c of my position”
E.g. President of your company asks you to do something
Reward Power
Types of Individual Power
Power from having ability to give positive outcomes and prevent negative ones
It’s reinforcement
E.g. You accept overtime b/c you want your boss to give you a promotion
Coercive Power
Types of Individual Power
Power from the use of punishment and threat
Compared to Reward power, this is punishment; controlling through fear
E.g. You arrive to work 15 mins early b/c you know your boss will be agitated
Referent Power
Types of Individual Power
Power from being well liked by others
E.g. Ppl will do favours for you b/c you are highly respected, admired, seen as a role model by others
Expert Power
Types of Individual Power
Power from having special info or expertise that’s valued by organization
Power no one gives to a person but something abt u that u have -charisma
E.g. Everyone at work comes to you w questions about data analystics b/c you have an EMBA in Digital Transformation from Mac
How do people obtain power?
Doing the right things
Cultivating the right people
What to do to “Do the right things”?
How do ppl obtain power?
Extraordinary Activities
Visible Activities
Relevant Activities
Attach yourself to things that are unusual / different & be really good at it;
You need to do things that make you visible to eventually get power;
Ppl should see that your work is relevant to then see “that’s amazing”
What to do to “Cultivate the right people”?
How do ppl obtain power?
Develop informal relationships with the right people
“Right people” – Outsiders, subordinates, peers, superiors
Network on a 360 to get yourself known.
Promote self enought but before ppl get tired/annoyed
What are the 3 degrees of empowerment?
No Discretion
Participatory Empowerment
Self-Management
Characteristics of no discretion empowerment?
Degree of Empowerment
Routine, repetitive, tasks assigned, operate according to rules rather than initiative
Characteristics of participatory empowerment
Degree of empowerment
Autonomous work groups, given some authority
Characteristics of Self-Management Empowerment
Degree of Empowerment
Full decision-making power, management has faith in employees carrying out organizational missions and goals
Characteristics of Empowerment
“What will I see in my ppl if properly empowered?”
Self determination
Sense of meaning
Sense of competence
Sense of impact
How do people show:
Self determination
Free to choose how to work
No micro-managed
“I love this job cause you are not micro managing”
How do people show:
Sense of meaning
Their work is important to them
They care abt what they are doing
Taught in culture and socialization
How do ppl show:
Sense of competence
Confident abt their ability to do their work well
They know they can perform
Same as self-efficacy
How do ppl show:
Sense of impact
Believe that they can have influence on their work unit
They feel like they are making a difference
What are:
Influence Tactics
Tactics that are used to convert power into actual influence over others
What are the :
Influence Tactics
Assertiveness
Ingratiation
Exchange
Upward Appeals
Coalition Formation
Rational Persuasion
Examples of:
Assertiveness
Ordering, setting deadlines, nagging
Examples of :
Ingratiation
Using flattery and acting friendly
Examples of :
Exchange
Doing favours
Offering to trade favours
“I scratch your back u scratch mine”
Examples of:
Upward Appeals
Making formal or informal appeals to superiors for intervention
(Also inspirational appeals and personal appeals)
Make your case
What is :
Coalition Formation
Seeking united support from other organizational members
Joining forces
What is:
Rational Persuasion
Using facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation
The more attractive you are (not just looks - walk, talk, whole package)
Strategic Contingencies
A view that sees power as something that accrues to organizational subunits that cope with critical organizational problems
How can subunits obtain power?
Securing scarce resources
Coping with uncertainty
Reducing substitutability or having no substitutes
Increasing centrality
Causes of :
Unethical Behaviour
Gain
Performance Pressure
Role Conflict
Strong Organizational Identification
Competition
Personality
Organization Industry and Culture
What is an example of :
Gain
Unethical Behaviour
Doing it so I can get fame/fortune (opportunity)
Example of:
Performance Pressure
Doing it because I felt like I had to
Example of:
Role conflict
Ethical dilemmas from your job that get resolved in unethical ways
Example of:
Strong organizational identification
Some employees identify strongly w the organization therefore doing whatever it takes (unethical ones) for the organization
Example of:
Competition
Stiff competition for scarce resources leads to unethical behaviour
Examples of:
Personality
Being unethical is part of the person’s personality
Example of :
Org Industry and Culture
There is a sliding scale on what is considered to be ethical
3 Types of Power Users
Personal
Affiliative
Institutional (Best)
Personal Power Users
They use power for personal gain
Affiliative Power Users
They use power to be liked
Institutional Power Users
Using power for the good of the institution & not for self gain
McClelland says that Institutional Managers are the most effective
Characteristics of Institutional Managers
Have high N-Pow
Use their power to achieve organizational goals
Adopt a participative or “coaching” leadership style
Are relatively unconcerned with how much others like them
Scarcity of resources
Subunits
Subunit that has time, budget, human resources
Uncertainty
Subunits
Subunits that can deal with uncertainty will get power
Centrality
Subunits
The core of decision making will get power if they have answers to the critical problem
Substitutability
Subunits
Subunits will have little power if ppl inside or outside can do what you do
What are the 4 contingencies that allow subunits to have power
Scarcity of Resources
Uncertainty
Centrality
Substitutability
Political Skills
Ability to understand others at work
Organizational Politics
The pursuit of self interest in an organization, whether or not this self-interest corresponds to organizational goals
Political activities are self-conscious and intentional
Observable Characteristics of Political Skills
Social Astuteness
Interpersonal influence
Apparent Sincerity
Networking Ability
Social Astuteness
Political Skills
Tuned in to other ppl’s needs & motives and how one can use it to their advantage
Being careful observers
Interpersonal Influence
Political Skills
Good at convincing & persuading
Apparent Sincerity
Political Skills
Good politician comes as sincere and genuine
Exhibit high integrity which gets others to believe in them
Skills to beware of
Political Skills
Machiavellianism
Defensiveness
Machiavellianism
Political Skills
Not an influence tactic; it’s a style
High machiavellianism : Very cynical w humans; they think they can manipulate humans; convincing liars
Defensiveness
Political Skills
Self serving bias; reactive politics, big on defending & protecting himself; good at committing self serving bias
Developing Political Skills- Networking
Developing Political Skills
Establishing good relationships w/ critical key stakeholders both inside & outside the organizations
All abt getting ur goals accomplished
- Involves developing informal social contacts
Aspects of Networking
Maintaining
Socializing
Engaging in professional activities
Participating in community activities
Increasing internal visibility
Maintaining
Aspects of Networking
Maintain contacts inside and outside
Socializing
Aspects of Networking
You’re really good at social events
Engaging in professional activities
Aspects of Networking
Strategic
You do ur research on all of the important activities
Participating in community activities
Aspects of Networking
Like ribbon cutting
Ur out in ur local community; being in clubs, etc
Increasing internal visibility
Aspects of Networking
Doing the right thing & being seen
Ethics
Systemic thinking about the moral consequences of decisions
Goal of morals and ethics
Have my morals = my ethics, or morals become greater than my ethics
Business Ethics
The official bodies that code into the ethics thats in the organization :
Industry code, associations, society
Systemics thinking
What you say you believe in/live by “above the water line”
Ethics / Business Ethics
- An acceptable set of standards/behaviours
- Established by a body
- Standards of conduct/standards of right vs wrong in business settings
Moral/Business Morals
Embedded and personal/your “internal compass”
Morals
How u actually behave “below the water line”
Ethical Conduct
Themes and associated behaviours
Behaviour seen over again where ppl follow the rules
Ethical Misconduct
Issues covered in corporate codes of ethics
0 tolerance items
Examples of Ethical Misconduct
- Abusinve behaviour in workplace
- Falsifying report
- Violation and environmental regulations all around our sustainable role. There is a point of which goal challenge can be so extreme as to induce unethical behaviours.
Examples of Ethical Conduct
- Honest / truthful communication
- Fair / equatable treatment
- Special consideration
Bounded Ethicality
The psychological process by which ppl engage in behaviour that violates their own ethical standards
Says we aren’t perfect
Ethical blind spots
Ppl are prone to it
They fail to process info that signals that a course of action might be unethical
Ppl operating under bounded ethicality would likely act differently upon further reflection
