Topic 14: Power Flashcards
What is power?
The capacity of a person, team or organisation to influence others.
What is countervailing power?
“The capacity of a person, team or organisation to keep a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship.”
What are the 5 bases of social power?
- Legitimate: Based on a formal position.
- Reward: Based on capacity to deal rewards.
- Coercise: Based on capacity to deal punishment.
- Expert: Based on the clear compotence to make good decisions.
- Reference: Based on attractiveness in the eyes of others.
What bases of social power are position derived?
- Legitimate
- Reward
- Coercive
What bases of social power are person derived?
- Expert
- Referent
Why does legitimate power work?
- Social conditioning
- Designation from somebody above who already has power.
What are two explanations for compliance with authority figures?
Milgram: Willingness to obey -> legitimate power (from the model).
Conformity under uncertainty: The more uncertainty is the more people conform to views.
What are outcomes of exercising power?
One of:
- Commitment.
- Compliance.
- Resistance.
How do the 5 social power bases relate to outcomes?
When will commitment be the more likely result?
- When people rely on consultation, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, not preassure and coalition formation.
- Influence attempt involves something important and enjoyable and is based on a friendly relationship.
What are the contingencies of power?
The conditions associated with an individuals control over resources that give power.
Strong when:
- Resource is nonsubstituable.
- Resource is central. (Non-avaliability effects many quickly.)
- Exercise of control is discretionary. (not constrained by rules.)
- Visable. (Everyone knows of the above.)
What is organisational politics?
“Behaviors that others perceeive as self-serving tactics for personal gain at the expense of other people and possibly the organisation.”
What are the uses of power in organisational politics?
- Personalised: Used to achieve ones own benifits.
- Socialised: Use of power to achieve benifits for others.
What are Machiavellian values?
“The belief that deceit is a natural and acceptable way to achieve one’s goal”
What is the individual differences explination?
Explains who uses power by refering to individual diferences between welders. Machiavellianist values are considered to be an important factor. It also states that power can and will be used by anyone (there is evidence for this).
What is the social identity explination for power use?
- Coersive and reward power more likely to be used on out group members.
- Expert, referent and informational power are more likely to be used with in group members.
What are the influence techniques?
- Reciprocation
- Scarcity
- Authority
- Consistency
- Consensus
- Liking
Outline reciprocation as an influence technique.
- Works through exchange
- Person feels obligated to return a form of behavior after recieving one particular form of behavior.
- To use, get in early
- Basis of relationships and partnerships.
- Can apply to concessions.
Outline scarcity as an influence technique.
- “Controlling information and supply”
- Scarcity in the case of commodities or resources.
- Exclusivity in the case of information.
Outline authority as an influence technique.
- “Silent authority and upward appeal”
- Willingness to comply with directions in the area of experts knowledge
- Expertise must be known or signalled.
- Uncertainty should be reduced in the influence attempt.
Outline consistency as a influence technique.
- “Persuasion”
- There is a willingness to comply with a request that is consistant with previous actions, beliefs or attitudes.
- Increase public statement of commitment to behavior. Get person to make statment of agreements. Cognitive dissonance then pulls them towards desired actions.
Outline consensus as an influence technique.
- “Coalition formation”
- Willingness to comply with what other people do - conformity under uncertainty.
- Reduces uncertainty .
- So give the impression that other people are doing the desired action.
Outline liking as an influence technique.
‘Ingratiation, impression management’
Willingness to comply with someone we like, based on:
- Similarities.
- Compliments.
- Cooperativeness.
What are some conditions that encourage political behavior in organisations?
- Reallocation of resources.
- Low trust.
- Role ambiguity.
- Zero-sum reward practises.
- Democratic decision making.
- High performance pressures.
- Individual or group competition.
- Change of any kind.
