Change Management
BUS 442M
The Politics of Change
Ch. 5

Learning objectives
 Explain what is meant by organizational politics
 Distinguish between different sources of power and
ways of using power to influence change
 Define and discuss the links between power, politics and
conflict
 Identify different ways of resolving conflict & the
situations they can be applied to.
Organizational Politics
Definition of politics
Politics is the act of preventing people from taking part in affairs
which properly concern them
Definition of power
 … power influences who gets what, how and when
 The potential or actual ability to influence others in a desired
action.
Source of Power
 Positional power
Power of a person’s formal position, & it is the most obvious source
of power. i.e. power of boss
 Expert power
Drives from a person skills or knowledge. i.e. we credit doctors with
expert power when we see them in surgery
 Referent power
Power driving from charisma. i.e. the ability to attract others. This
type of power can cut across hierarchy
Source of Power
 Reward power
The ability to give some sort of reward. i.e. salary, promotion, time
off or access to resources
 Coercive power
The power of forcing someone to do something that they would
not want to do it. It s negative and based on the use of
punishment
Power source and change
 Resource power:
is the power associated with being able to distribute or
withhold valued rewards
 Invisible power:
control over resources such as budget, promotions, or the
power to hold information
 Controlling decisions:
the right to make certain decisions & is usually visible &
unquestioned because of the position
Power source and change
 Expert or knowledge power
Accepting the judgments of people who have particular knowledge,
understanding or skills
 Symbolic power
Widespread in political systems such as states of “great leaders”. i.e. Is
the power to manipulate & use symbols to create organizational
environment and the beliefs of others to suit one own purpose.
 Individual power
Is derives from personal characteristics & is potentially available to
anyone given its non-dependence on position
The politics of powerlessness
1) Gender & powerlessness

Perceptions of social roles that men & women should
perform although social attitudes are changing to lesson
these distinction

Placement of women in non strategic roles, so its harder
to progress to the top & exclusion of networks that
needed for career advancement

Child-bearing 7 child care, that limit the amount of time
available for work.
The politics of powerlessness
2) National culture & powerlessness

National cultural differences influence many aspect of
organizational life, however, practices in one culture
cannot be transferred into another culture.
For example:
Motivation & leadership style that can be effective in western
culture may not be effective in other countries
The politics of powerlessness
 National culture & powerlessness
According to Hofstede’s (1981) work about cultural differences,

In High power distance society managers tend to make most
decisions

In low power distance people who refer to others tend to make
decisions are considered as lacking ambition & not ready to take
responsibilities
For example: power in western society based on individual power,
whereas in East Asian society, power linked to the power of the
group
The politics of powerlessness
3) Position & powerlessness
Kanter (1979) identified 3 lines of organisational power, which related
to resources & position power:

Lines of supply

Lines of information

Lines of support
Also, there is a power that comes from connections with other part of
the organizations system
For example: power comes when one has relatively close contact with
sponsors (high level people)
Politics, Power & Conflict
 Politics has always been described as the use of power
 Political behaviors is observed in activities that are not
part of someone’s formal organizational role.
 Political behavior is to be expected, with its associated
tendency to generate both competition & cooperation (of
which conflict is a part)
 to ignore the role of conflict as positive or negative force in
the context of organization & change is to ignore the
realities of human nature and to get more understanding
of the source of conflict
Conflict in organizations
 The definition of conflict
Is a process that begins when an individual or group perceives
differences and opposition between him/herself & another
individual or group about interests, beliefs or values that
matter to him or her.
 Conflict can be considered as something that disrupts that
normal stability within an organization
The layers of organizational conflict
 Misunderstanding: getting the wrong end of stick
 Differences of values: let to the most serious disagreements,
which can be based on ethical considerations
 Differences of viewpoint: when different parties may share
the same value but have different views
 Differences of interest: is the competition between individual
about status, resources & advancement
 Interpersonal differences: is when some people find it
difficult to work with others, which called personality clashes
The layers of organizational conflict
 Interdependence: different organizational group depend
upon each other such as (marketing & sales) departments,
and the direction of dependences is related to power
balances between groupings.
 Organizational structure: conflict is likely because of the
power imbalances that presented in hierarchical structures.
 Rules & Regulations: conflict is more likely to be less in
highly formalized situations & in situations of overregulation, people can become frustrated and see rules as
an expression of low trust by management
The layers of organizational conflict
 Limited resources: in time when resources are available the
level of conflict is reduced.
 Cultural differences: conflict can arise from
misunderstanding or through inappropriate behavior when
working across national cultures.
 Environmental change: Shifts in demand, increased
competition, government integration, new technology and
changing social values are possible cause of conflict
Power, conflict & change
 Power, politics & conflict are indisputable aspects of
social systems and organizational change.
 Without the influence of (power) their would be no
cooperation& no society
 At the same time power, conflict & politics can have
negative effects.
 Therefore, organizational change management are
advised to use power & conflict constructively as
possible.
The two faces of power
 Positive face:
Derives from more socialized need to initiate, influence, lead &
recognizes other people’s needs to achieve their own goals as
well as those of the organization
Positive power seek to empower not only the self but also
others.
 Negative face:
Is about domination & control of others, socialized need to have
a dominance over submissive others .
Covert political action
 Covert political action
Is a phrase used to describe actions of the most
extreme kind witnessed during episodes of change
 Why dose covert political actions occurs?
Morrill et al (2003) gives the following reasons
Reasons for covert political action
 Declining control: if control held by organizations or groups falls
below a threshold level, then action is taken to restore control to an
acceptable level
 Identity: people who identify with& who try to influence powerful
groups are less likely to engage in covert action.
 Social networks: the extent for social networks in an organization
influences the extent of covert action since an individual is less likely
to take action against a target is a friend is concerned to the target, so
the more extensive networks are, the less the climate for covert
action
 Organization structure: how will they allow employee voice (speaking
out). If people feel unable to say what they want, they are feeling
there greater chance of covert action
The positive use of conflict & power
 Robbins (2005) defines four types of conflict, which are
Functional & dysfunctional, constructive & destructive
conflict
 The mechanism operating for managing conflict & power
Action on power, conflict & change
 There are four action steps proposed by Nadler
(1988)
1) To ensure& develop the support of key power
groups
2) Using leaders behaviors to generate energy in
support of change
3) Using symbols & languages to create energy
4) The need to build in stability, this is the use of
power to ensure things remains the same.
Assessing power
 This is to show the importance of power & conflict
as elements in the politics of change.
 Managers can assess how power is distributed &
the way in which it will be used & possible
consequences and actual conflict
 The following table represent one way of analyzing
the potential for action of individual & groups
according to their power to block change & their
motivation to do so
Assessing power
 First Step:
analyzing the potential for action, with or against
change by identifying who holds sufficient power to
assist change or block it.
 The second Step:
Is to compare the power of any individual or group to
block change with their desire or motivation to do so
Assessing power