Power, Politics and
Empowerment
Dr. Yu Fu
Email: yu.fu@heig-vd.ch
Learning objectives
• Power and influence in organisations
• Organisational politics and political
behaviour
• Empowerment
Organisational Behaviour 2
2
Definitions of Power
•
The intentional influence
over beliefs, emotions and
behaviors of people.
•
“A” has power over “B” to
the extent that “A” can get
“B” to do something that “B”
would otherwise not do.
Organisational Behaviour 2
3
Definitions of Power
•
The ability of those who possess power to bring
about the outcomes they desire.
•
The capacity to affect organisational outcomes.
•
“Pouvoir” stands for both the noun “power” and
the verb “to be able” in French.
Organisational Behaviour 2
4
Power and Influence
•
Power – the capability to get someone to
do something
–
•
It is the potential to influence
Influence – the exercise of that capability
–
It is a transaction in which person B is induced
by person A to behave in a certain way
– It is power in action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA64uAN-iU0
Organisational Behaviour 2
5
Faces of Power
•
Positive power
characterised by
socialised needs to
initiate, influence
and lead
→ Seeks to
empower self and
others
•
Negative power
characterised by
primitive,
unsocialised need to
dominate others
→Seeks to dominate
and control others
Organisational Behaviour 2
6
Faces of Power in Action
• Positive
–
–
–
–
Leading
Influencing
Selling
Persuading
• Negative
–
–
–
–
Coercing
Forcing
Hurting
Crushing
Organisational Behaviour 2
7
French and Raven’s Bases of Power
•
•
Formal power
Personal power
–
Coercive power
–
Expert power
–
Reward power
–
Referent power
–
Legitimate power
Organisational Behaviour 2
8
Coercive power
•
It depends on fear.
•
One reacts to this type of power out of fear
of the negative results that might occur if
one fails to comply.
•
It rests on the application (or the threat) of
physical sanctions.
Organisational Behaviour 2
9
Reward power
•
It is the opposite of coercive power.
•
People comply because doing so produces
benefits.
•
Anyone who can distribute rewards that
others value will have power over them.
Organisational Behaviour 2
10
Legitimate power
•
It represents the power a person receives
as a result of his or her position in the
formal hierarchy of an organisation.
•
Legitimate power is broader than the
power to coerce and reward.
•
It includes acceptance of a person’s
authority by members of the organisation.
Organisational Behaviour 2
11
Expert power
•
It is influence wielded as a result of
experience, special skill, or knowledge.
•
Expertise has become a strong source of
influence as the world has become more
technologically oriented.
•
As jobs become more specialised, we
become more dependent on “experts”.
Organisational Behaviour 2
12
Expert power
The pilots at Germany's
Lufthansa Airlines won 30 per
cent pay rises after staging two
24-hour strikes that grounded
hundreds of flights and cost
the airline more than US$23
million. Pilots are powerful
because they have low
substitutability (only other
pilots can replace them) and
high centrality.
Organisational Behaviour 2
13
Referent power
•
It is based on identification with a person
who has desirable resources or admirable
personal traits.
•
It develops out of an admiration for
someone and a desire to be like that person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhFqSlvbKAM
Organisational Behaviour 2
14
Consequences of power
Sources
of power
Consequences
of power
Expert
power
Commitment
Referent
power
Legitimate
power
Compliance
Reward
power
Coercive
power
Resistance
Organisational Behaviour 2
15
15
Which Power is Most Effective?
Personal Power!
•
Strong relationship to performance & satisfaction
•
Transfers vital skills, abilities, and knowledge
within the organisation
•
Employees internalise what they observe & learn
from managers they consider “experts”
Organisational Behaviour 2
16
What Creates Dependency?
Importance
of the
Resource
Scarcity
of the
Resource
Organisational Behaviour 2
Number of
Viable
Substitutes
17
Abuse of Power
•
Harassment – the abuse of a power position.
•
Great examples of abuse of power are in the recent Nortel,
Enron and WorldCom cases.
– Executives abused their ability to affect perceived
organisational performance through the use of financial
reporting tools
•
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome behaviour of a
sexual nature in the workplace that negatively affects the
work environment or leads to adverse job related
consequences for employees.
Organisational Behaviour 2
18
Using Power Effectively
•
•
•
•
•
Use power in ethical ways.
Understand and use all of the various types of
power and influence.
Seek out jobs that allow you to develop your
power skills.
Use power tempered by maturity and self-control.
Accept that influencing people is an important
part of the management job.
Organisational Behaviour 2
19
Organisational Politics
•
It focuses on the use of power to affect
decision making in an organisation, or on
self-serving and organisationally
unsanctioned behaviours.
Organisational Behaviour 2
20
Power in Action
Legitimate
Political
Behavior
Illegitimate
Limited Resources
The Reality
of Politics
Ambiguous Decisions
Organisational Behaviour 2
21
Political Behaviour
•
It 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 organisations.
Organisational Behaviour 2
22
Legitimate political behaviour
•
It consists of normal, every-day politics:
–
forming coalitions
– bypassing the chain of command
– complaining to your supervisor
– developing outside contacts through
professional activities
Organisational Behaviour 2
23
Illegitimate political behaviour
•
It is so extreme that it violates the rules of
the game
–
Sabotage
– whistle-blowing
– symbolic protests
Organisational Behaviour 2
24
Examples of political organisational
behaviour
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
withholding information
restricting output
attempting to “build empires”
publicising their successes
hiding their failures
distorting performance figures
engaging in similar activities at odds with
organisation’s goals, efficiency and effectiveness
Organisational Behaviour 2
25
Managing Political Behaviour
•
•
•
•
•
•
Maintain open communication
Clarify performance expectations
Use participative management
Encourage cooperation among work groups
Manage scarce resources well
Provide a supportive organisational climate
Organisational Behaviour 2
26
Sharing Power: Empowerment
•
The process by which managers help others to
acquire and use the power needed to make
decisions affecting themselves and their work.
•
Provides the foundation for self-managing work
teams and other employee involvement groups.
Organisational Behaviour 2
27
Empowerment
•
Traditional view
–
•
Power is relational in terms of individuals.
Empowerment view
–
Power emphasises on the ability to make
things happen.
–
Power is relational in terms of problems and
opportunities, not individuals.
Organisational Behaviour 2
28
Empowering others
•
Information sharing is important.
•
Empowered employees must have sufficient
information to be able to see the “big picture”.
•
Employees need to be trained to expand their
power and their new influence potential.
•
The key is to change from a view stressing power
over others to one emphasising the use of power
to get things done.
Organisational Behaviour 2
29
Empowering others
•
When you delegate responsibility, make certain
you are also delegating authority to go along with
it.
•
Be prepared to give up your managerial “parent”
role and assume a “partner” role.
•
Assure your subordinates through words and
deeds that it is OK to make mistakes.
Organisational Behaviour 2
30
Reasons Empowerment is not
Universally Embraced
•
•
•
•
•
Managers fear the loss of power, control, and
authority.
Employees are not able to make responsible
decisions.
Empowering employees was attempted before and
it failed.
Sharing proprietary information means leaking
ideas, plans, and knowledge to competitors.
Not everyone wants to be empowered.
Organisational Behaviour 2
31
Empowerment
•
Learning to leverage empowerment as a
means to strengthen the capabilities and
commitment of employees is one of the
most important challenges facing
managers today.
Organisational Behaviour 2
32