Chapter 12 Power, Politics and Ethics What is Power? - Power is the capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence. Power can flow in any direction in an organization. Power can be found in the position one occupies in an organization and the resources that one is able to command. Power applies to both individuals and groups The 5 Bases of Individual Power - Coercive - Legitimate - Reward - Referent - Expert Legitimate Power - Derived from a person’s position or job in an organization. - It is based on one’s formal authority and level in an organization’s hierarchy. - Legitimate power works because people have been socialized to accept its influence Reward Power - Derived from the ability to provide positive outcomes and prevent negative outcomes. It corresponds to the concept of positive reinforcement. Any organizational member can attempt to exert influence over others with praise, compliments, and flattery Coercive Power - Derived from the use of punishment and threat. Lower-level organizational members can also apply their share of coercion. When managers use coercive power, it is generally ineffective and can provoke considerable employee resistance Expert Power - Derived from having special information or expertise that is valued by an organization. Corresponds to difficulty of replacement Referent Power - Derived from being well liked by others. Stems from identification with the power holder. Available to anyone who is well liked. Permits influence to extend outside the usual channels of legitimate authority, reward, and coercion Employees Responses to Bases of Power - Coercive power → Resistance - Reward power → Compliance - Legitimate power → Compliance - Expert power → Commitment - Referent power → Commitment Empowerment - Empowerment means giving people the authority, opportunity, and motivation to take initiative and solve organizational problems - People who are empowered have a strong sense of self-efficacy. - Empowering lower-level employees can be critical in service organizations. - Empowerment fosters job satisfaction, organizational commitment, OCBs, and high performance - KEY COMPONENTS ➢ AUTHORITY ➢ OPPORTUNITY ➢ MOTIVATION Could Organizational Members Have Too Much Power - Empowerment should lead to effective performance when people have sufficient power to carry out their jobs. Excessive power can lead to abuse and ineffective performance. Excessive power has a tendency to make power holders inattentive to others, insensitive to their emotions, and unable to appreciate their perspectives Influence Tactics - Influence tactics convert power into actual influence over others. They are specific behaviours that people use to affect others and manage others’ impressions of them The use of an influence tactic is determined by one’s base of power and who they are trying to influence (subordinates, peers, or superiors). The use of rationality is viewed positively by others and it is frequently used. Subordinates are more likely to be the recipients of assertiveness Rationality and ingratiation is most likely to be directed toward superiors. Self-promotion seems universally employed A particularly ineffective influence style is a “shotgun” style that is high on all tactics with particular emphasis on assertiveness and exchange. Self-promotion and ingratiation are effective in job search (i.e. interview) situations but have mixed effects on job performance ratings Who Wants Power? - Need for power (n Pow) is the need to have strong influence over others. It is a reliable personality characteristic – some people have more n Pow than others. When n Pow is responsible and controlled, its negative properties are not observed. - The most effective managers use their power for the good of the organization. They are called institutional managers Controlling Strategic Contingencies - Subunits gain power by controlling strategic contingencies. Strategic contingencies are critical factors affecting organizational effectiveness that are controlled by a key subunit. The work other subunits perform is contingent on the activities and performance of a key subunit Conditions under which subunits can control strategic contingencies ➢ Scarcity ➢ Uncertainity ➢ Centrality ➢ Substitutability The Basics of Organizational Politics - Organizational politics refers to the pursuit of self-interest in an organization, whether or not this self-interest corresponds to organizational goals. Politics frequently involves using means of influence that the organization does not sanction or pursuing ends or goals that it does not sanction Political activity is self-conscious and intentional. It can be an individual or subunit activity. Political activity can have beneficial outcomes for an organization even though the outcomes are achieved by questionable tactics Machiavellianism - Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1500s) wrote about the benefits of power. He wrote: “It is much safer to be feared than loved”. Machiavelli's philosophy of power was seen by some to be “dangerous” & amoral. “Machiavellian” was coined to describe a cold selfishness Machiavellianism Characteristics - - Act in their own self-interest, even at the expense of others. Are cool and calculating. Have high self-esteem and self-confidence. Form alliances with powerful people to achieve their goals}Machiavellianism refers to a set of cynical beliefs about human nature, morality, and the permissibility of using various tactics to achieve one’s ends. It is a stable personality trait. High Machs are more likely to advocate the use of lying and deceit to achieve desired goals. High Machs assume that the ends justify the means High Machs are convincing liars and good at “psyching out” competitors by creating diversions. They are enthusiastic organizational politicians. They are cool and calculating rather than emotional - They insulate themselves from the negative social consequences of their tactics. They are able to identify situations in which their tactics will work Ethics in Organizations - Ethics can be defined as systematic thinking about the moral consequences of decisions. Moral consequences can be framed in terms of the potential for harm to any stakeholders in the decision Stakeholders are people inside or outside of an organization who have the potential to be affected by organizational decisions A large majority of managers agree that unethical practices occur in business. A substantial number of managers report that they have been pressured to compromise their own ethical standards when making decisions. Managers see themselves as having higher ethical standards than their peers and sometimes their superiors Top managers tend to see their organizations as being more ethical than do those lower in the hierarchy. Among business students, undergraduates have been found to be more ethical than MBA students. Women are marginally more ethical than men. Older people are marginally more ethical than the young Common Themes of Ethical Issues - Honest communication Fair treatment Special consideration Fair competition Responsibility to organization Corporate social responsibility Respect for law Bounded Ethicality - Bounded ethicality is the psychological process by which people come to engage in behaviour that violates their own ethical standards. People operating under bounded ethicality would probably act differently with more active reflection. Bounded ethicality means that people are prone to ethical blind spots They fail to see, focus on, or process information that signals that a course of action might be inappropriate. Big ethical failures often begin with small ethical lapses that are barely discernable but lead to a “slippery slope” of escalating misdeeds If things seems to be going well, we are disinclined to be alert for ethical violations. Bounded ethicality sets the stage for a number of factors to have a negative influence on ethical behaviour Causes of Unethical Behaviour - Personality Gain - Extreme performance pressure Role conflict Strong organizational identification Competition Organizational and industry culture Organizational and Industry Culture - Upper-level managers tend to be naïve about the extent of ethical lapses in those below them and this can contribute to a success-at-any-cost culture. Corporate codes of conduct can have an impact on ethical decision making. If such codes are specific, tied to the actual business being done, correspond to the reward system, and are rigorously enforced, they should bolster an ethical culture Whistle Blowing - - Whistle-blowing occurs when a current or former organizational member discloses illegitimate practices to some person or organization that may be able to take action to correct these practices. The whistle may be blown either inside or outside of the offending organization Sexual Harassment - Sexual harassment is “behaviour that derogates, demeans, or humiliates an individual based on that individual’s sex.” It could include touching, sexual force, and sexist jokes, comments, and materials. Harassment could be psychological (e.g., emotionally threatening), social (e.g., ridiculing), or legal (e.g., affecting ones livelihood). Sexual harassment is a form of unethical behaviour that stems, in part, from the abuse of power and the perpetuation of a gender power imbalance Many organizations are slow to react to complaints of sexual harassment. The deaf ear syndrome refers to the inaction or complacency of organizations in the face of charges of sexual harassment. The deaf ear syndrome contributes to the marked tendency for harassment to go unreported Measures to Deal with Sexual Harassment - Have top management commitment. Provide comprehensive education programs. Continuously monitor the work environment. Respond to complaints in a thorough and timely manner. Have clear policies and reporting procedures Ethical Guidelines - Identify the stakeholders that will be affected by any decision. Identify the costs and benefits of various decision alternatives to these stakeholders. Consider the relevant moral expectations that surround a particular decision These guidelines should help you recognize ethical issues, make ethical judgments, and then convert these judgments into behaviour. - Training and education in ethics have become very popular in business schools and organizations. Evidence indicates that such instruction does have a positive impact on moral reasoning and ethical behaviour
