Understanding
And
Managing
Organizational
Behavior
Chapter 13:
Power, Politics,
Conflict, and
Negotiation
4th Edition
JENNIFER GEORGE
& GARETH JONES
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Opening Case:
A Power Struggle at Gucci
 Domenico De Sole (CEO) hired Tom Ford
as head designer in1990
 Conflict over who should lead company in
2004
– Tom and Dom OR
– Serge Weinberg – head of parent
company PPR
 Tom and Dom left in March 2004
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The Nature of Power and Politics
 Power
– Principal means of directing and
controlling organizational goals and
activities
– Ability to get others to do something they
might not otherwise do
 Organizational politics
– Activities designed to increase power
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The Good Side of Power
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Improve decision making quality
Promote change
Encourage cooperation
Promote new organizational goals
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Figure 13.1 Sources of
Individual Power
 Formal power
– Legitimate power
– Reward power
– Coercive power
– Information power
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 Informal power
– Expert power
– Referent power
– Charismatic power
©2005 Prentice Hall
Figure 13.2 Sources of
Functional and Divisional Power
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Ability to control uncertain contingencies
Irreplaceability
Centrality
Ability to control and generate resources
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Tactics for Increasing
Individual Power
 Tapping the sources of functional and
divisional power
 Recognizing who has power
 Controlling the agenda
 Bringing in an outside expert
 Building coalitions and alliances
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Factors of Relative Power
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Sources of power
Consequences of power
Symbols of power
Personal reputations
Representational indicators
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What is Organizational Conflict?
Self-interested struggle that arises
when the goal-directed behavior
of one person or group
blocks the goal-directed behavior
of another person or group
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Sources of Conflict
 Differentiation
– Differences in functional orientations
– Status inconsistencies
 Task relationships
– Overlapping authority
– Task interdependencies
– Incompatible evaluation systems
 Scarcity of resources
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Figure 13.5 Pondy’s Model of
Organizational Conflict
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Stage 1 – Latent conflict
Stage 2 – Perceived conflict
Stage 3 – Felt conflict
Stage 4 – Manifest conflict
Stage 5 – Conflict aftermath
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Forms of Manifest Conflict
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Open aggression
Violence
Infighting
Sabotage
Physical intimidation
Lack of cooperation
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Negotiation
 Initial offer
 Counteroffers
 Concession
 Compromise
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Individual-Level Conflict Management
 Manager meets with employees in conflict.
All understand facts of conflict
 Manager summarizes dispute in written form
 Manager discusses facts in report with each
employee separately and works out a
common solution
 Manager gets commitment to resolving
dispute
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Group-Level Conflict Management
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Compromise
Collaboration
Accommodation
Avoidance
Competition
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Promoting Compromise
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Emphasize common goals
Focus on the problem, not the people
Focus on interests, not demands
Create opportunities for joint gain
Focus on what is fair
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Union-Management Negotiations
 Distributive bargaining
 Attitudinal structuring
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©2005 Prentice Hall