Power
Capacity to influence the behavior of others in accordance with one's wishes; the most important aspect of power is that it is a function of dependence
Goal compatibility (contrasting leadership and power)
Leadership: requires goal congruence
Power: only needs dependence
Direction of influence (contrasting leadership and power)
Leadership: focuses on downward influence
Power: concerned with influence in all directions
Research emphasis (contrasting leadership and power)
Leadership: emphasizes leadership style
Power: broader topics; focuses on tactics used by individuals and groups
Formal power
based on an individual's organizational position
Coercive power
a type of formal power; complies from fear and negative results
Reward power
type of formal power; complies due to desire for positive benefits
Personal power
stems from an individual's unique characteristics
Expert power
type of personal power; influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge
Referent power
type of personal power; based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits, i.e. charisma
Effective power bases
Expert and referent power are positively related to performance and commitment; reward and legitimate power are unrelated to organizational outcomes; coercive power is negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment
Power tactics
used to translate power bases into specific actions that influence others; some are more effective than others
Nine influence tactics
legitimacy, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure
Influence tactic effectiveness
Most effective: rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation
Least effective: pressure
Combining tactics increases effectiveness
Direction, sequencing, individual skill, and organizational culture modify effectiveness
Preferred power tactics by influence direction
Upward influence: rational persuasion
Downward influence: rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, pressure, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, legitimacy
Lateral influence: rational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, legitimacy, persona
Global implications
culture affects preference for power tactics
Individualistic cultures
see power in personalized terms and as a legitimate means of advancing personal ends; engage in more self-enhancement behaviors
Collectivist cultures
see power in social terms and as legitimate means of helping others
Political skill
ability to influence others to enhance one's own objectives; politically skilled are more effective users of all the influence tactics, more effective when the stakes are high, those with political skill can exert their influence without others detecting
People with power
put their interests ahead of others; objectify others; react to threats against their competence, tend to be overconfident
Positive effects of power
depends on personality
Political behavior
consists of activities that are not required as part of an individual's formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization
Reality of politics
Politics arise in organizations because of conflicting interests, limited resources, ambiguity in decision making
Politicking
Twisting facts to support one's own goals and interests
Traits that encourage political action
high self-monitors, internal locus of control, high need for power
Situational influences leading to illegitimate political actions
lower organizational investment, greater number of perceived alternatives, greater expectations of success
organizational factors contributing to political behavior
organizational resources declining or distribution shifting, opportunity for promotion exists, organizational culture issues
Organizational culture issues
Low trust, role ambiguity, zero-sum reward allocation, democratic decision making, high performance pressures, leading by poor example, unclear performance evaluation systems
Responses to organizational politics that may threaten employees
decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover, reduced performance
Qualifiers to responses to organizational politics
Politics-performance relationship is moderated by individual's understanding of who makes decisions and why they were selected; political behavior at work moderates the effects of ethical leadership; when politics are perceived as a threat, people respond
Impression management
the process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them; people may misrepresent themselves in situations of high uncertainty or ambiguity; misrepresentations may discredit the individuals, seen as insincere or manipulative
using impression management
IM and interviews: self-promotion and ingratiation work well
IM and performance evaluations: ingratiation positively related; self-promotion negatively related
Ethics of behaving politically
what is the utility of engaging in politicking? how does the utility of engaging in political behavior balance out any harm it will do to others? does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice?