Chapter 10
Power and
Influence in the
Workplace
Learning Objectives
10.1 Describe the dependence model of power and
describe the five sources of power in organisations
10.2 Discuss the four contingencies of power
10.3 Describe eight types of influence tactics, three
consequences of influencing others, and three
contingencies to consider when choosing an
influence tactic
10.4 Explain how people and work units gain power
through social networks
10.5 Identify the organisational conditions and personal
characteristics that support organisational politics,
as well as ways to minimise organisational politics
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
10-2
Managing Your Manager
Managing your boss is
the process of improving
the relationship with your
manager for the benefit
of both of you and the
organisation.
It includes developing
bases of power that
enable you to influence
the manager and thereby
achieve organisational
objectives
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
10-3
The Meaning of Power
Power is the capacity
of a person, team or
organisation to
influence others
– Potential, not actual
use
– People have power
they don’t use and
they may not know
they possess it
– A perception
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10-4
Power and Dependence
Person B’s
countervailing
power over
Person A
Person A
Person A’s
control of
resource valued
by Person B
Resource
desired by
Person B
Person B
Person A’s
power over
Person B
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10-5
Model of Power in
Organisations
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10-6
Sources of Power
Legitimate
• Agreement that people in
certain roles can request
certain behaviours of others
• Based on job descriptions
and mutual agreement
• Legitimate power range (zone
of indifference) varies across
national and organisational
cultures
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
10-7
Sources of Power continued
Legitimate
Reward
• Ability to control the
allocation of rewards valued
by others and to remove
negative sanctions
• Operates upward as well as
downward
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10-8
Sources of Power continued
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
• Ability to apply punishment
• Exists upward as well as
downward
• Peer pressure is a form of
coercive power
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10-9
Sources of Power continued
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
• The capacity to influence
others by possessing
knowledge or skills that they
value
• More employee expert power
over companies in knowledge
economy
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10-10
Sources of Power continued
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
Referent
• Occurs when others identify
with, like or otherwise respect
the person
• Associated with charismatic
leadership
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10-11
DeCourcy’s Trendspotting
Power
Colleen DeCourcy has
developed a reputation as a
trendspotter, giving her
considerable information
power in the advertising
industry. ‘Her knowledge of
the digital landscape,
grounded in creativity,
makes her an invaluable
addition to TBWA’, says
DeCourcy’s boss.
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
10-12
Information and Power
• Control over information
flow
– Based on legitimate power
– Relates to formal
communication network
• Coping with uncertainty
– More power to those who
can help firms cope with
uncertainty
 Prevention
 Forecasting
 Absorption
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10-13
Power Through Control of
Information Flow
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10-14
Contingencies of Power
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10-15
Increasing Non-substitutability
• Few or no alternatives to the resource
• Increase non-substitutability by controlling
the resource
– Exclusive right to perform medical procedures
– Control over skilled labour
– Exclusive knowledge to repair equipment
• Differentiate resource from others
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
10-16
Centrality
• Degree and nature of interdependence
between powerholder and others
• Centrality is a function of:
– How many others are affected by you
– How quickly others are affected by you
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10-17
Discretion and Visibility
• Discretion
– The freedom to exercise judgment
– Rules limit discretion, limit power
– Also a perception—acting as if you have discretion
• Visibility
– Symbols communicate your power source(s)
 Educational diplomas
 Clothing, etc. (stethoscope around neck)
– Salience
 Location—others are more aware of your
presence
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10-18
Influencing Others
• Influence—any behaviour that attempts to
alter someone’s attitudes or behaviour
– Applies one or more power bases
– Process through which people achieve
organisational objectives
– Operates up, down and across the organisational
hierarchy
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Types of Influence
Silent
authority
• Following requests without overt influence
• Based on legitimate power, role modelling
• Common in high power distance cultures
Assertiveness • Actively applying legitimate and coercive
power (‘vocal authority’)
• Reminding, confronting, checking,
threatening
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10-20
Types of Influence continued
Information
Coalition
formation
• Manipulating others’ access to information
• Withholding, filtering, re-arranging
information
• Reduces uncertainty
• Group forms to gain more power than
individuals alone
1. Pools resources/power
2. Legitimises the issue
3. Power through social identity
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10-21
Types of Influence continued
Upward
appeal
• Appealing to higher authority
• Includes appealing to firm’s goals
• Alliance or perceived alliance with higher
status person
Persuasion
• Logic, facts, emotional appeals
• Depends on persuader, message content,
message medium, audience
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10-22
Types of Influence continued
Ingratiation/
impression
management
Exchange
• Increase liking by, or perceived similarity to,
the target person
• Promising or reminding of past benefits in
exchange for compliance
• Includes negotiation and networking
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10-23
Consequences of Influence
Tactics
people oppose the behaviour desired by the influencer
motivated by external sources
(rewards) to implement request
identify with and
highly motivated to
implement request
Resistance
Compliance
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McShane, Olekalns, Travaglione, Organisational Behaviour, 4e
Commitment
10-24
Consequences of Influence
Tactics continued
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10-25
Contingencies of Influence
Tactics
• ‘Soft’ tactics generally more acceptable than
‘hard’ tactics
• Appropriate influence tactic depends on:
– Influencer’s power base
– Organisational position
– Cultural values and expectations
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Power and Influence Through
Social Networks
• Cultivating social relationships with others to
accomplish one’s goals
• Social networks are important foundations of
power for individuals and companies apply
social network analysis tools to discover who
has this power
• There are cultural differences in the norms of
active network involvement
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10-27
Social Capital and Sources of
Power
• Social networks generate power through
social capital: the goodwill and resulting
resources shared among members in a
social network
• Social networks can increase:
– Expert power (gaining knowledge from others)
– Visibility
– Referent power
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10-28
Understanding Networks
• Networks benefit individuals through access,
timing and referrals
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Strong Ties, Weak Ties, Many
Ties
• Breadth: number/diversity of people in
network
• Depth: frequency of interaction, strength of
attachment, members serve more than one
function
• Centrality: position within the network
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Network Centrality
• Person’s importance in a network
• Three factors in centrality:
– Shortest path between others: you control
interactions of others
– Direct access to others: less dependence on
others for connections
– Number of people connected to you: more social
capital resources
• Example: A has highest network centrality
due to all three factors; B has lowest
centrality
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Building and Maintaining
Networks
• We often build networks according to selfsimilarity and proximity
• However, it is more effective to build
networks according to shared activities and
apply strategic considerations (access to
additional networks, key persons etc.)
• We also need to consider the dark side of our
networks and how inclusive or unfairly
exclusive they are
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Organisational Politics
• Behaviours that others perceive as selfserving tactics for personal gain at the
expense of other people and possibly the
organisation
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Conditions for Organisational
Politics
Tolerance of
politics
Scarce
resources
Conditions
supporting
organisational
politics
Organisational
change
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Complex and
ambiguous
decisions
10-34
Minimising Political Behaviour
• Introduce clear rules for scarce resources
• Effective organisational change practices
• Suppress norms that support or tolerate selfserving behaviour
• Leaders role model organisational citizenship
• Give employees more control over their work
• Keep employees informed
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Summary
• Power is the capacity to influence others and
it can be based on five sources of power with
four contingencies
• People can also gain power through social
networks creating social capital
• There are eight types of influences tactics,
with soft ones more likely to result in
commitment
• Power is potential, influence is actual and
politics is a perception
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Chapter 10
Power and
influence in the
workplace