Power and Organizational
Politics
Politics
• Politics refers to the use of power and
authority to influence organizational
outcomes.
Definitions
Power-- the capacity to ensure the
outcomes one wishes and to prevent
those one does not wish.
Influence-- the capacity to affect
others.
Authority-- the capacity to give
commands, enforce obedience, take
action, or make final decisions.
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Historical Views of Politics
• Maciavelli (early 1500s) “The Prince”
• Assume that people are “ungrateful, fickle,
and deceitful”
• The purpose of political leadership is to
secure and maintain power
• A good leader is independent and dominates
people
Historical Views of Politics
• Maciavelli (early 1500s) “The Prince”
• The End Justifies the Means
• The leader can be ruthless if necessary
• Machiavellian means “characterized by
cunning, duplicity, or bad faith”
Historical Views of Politics
• Weber’s forms of power
– Charismatic
– Traditional
– Legal-Rational
• The Iron Cage of Rationality
– Compulsion of Fairness
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Changing Perspectives on
Workers and Organizations
• A social-psychological view of power
– Power is not necessarily open coercion,
influence, or control
• Power is the perception of others that the
power wielder could exercise coercion,
influence, or control if he or she chose to do
so
– How much power you have is based on how
much power think you have! Power must be
granted
Questioning Power and Authority
• 1960s Radicals
• Organizational politics is outmoded and
unproductive
– Traditionally executive power is based on the
idea of ownership
• 1990s the idea of Servant Leadership and
Empowerment
Questioning Power and Authority
• Power is the opposite of dependency
– Organizations seek to minimize dependency by
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Seeking prestige
Engaging in cooperative strategies
Contracting
Co-opting
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Recognizing Organizational
Politics
• Use of power increases when structure is
decentralized, resources are scarce, there is
disagreement on goals, and there is
uncertainty about technologies
• In other words:
– When resources are limited, goals and
processes are unclear, Power Politics are very
likely
Recognizing Organizational
Politics
• Three Faces of Power
– First Face: Overt Coercion
– Second Face: Exclusionary Actions – avoid
challenges
– Third Face: Hegemonic control – convince me
that what you want is what I want
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Balancing Power
• Four styles to balance or equalize power
– 1 decrease needs or demands
– 2 increase alternative sources of getting what
you want
– 3 increase others needs or demands for us
– 4 decrease other people’s alternative sources
(special expertise)
• Options 1 and 2 create psychological distance
• 3 and 4 result in a stronger work commitment
Structural Aspects of Power
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Opportunity
Mobility
Perceived political power
Dependency
Influence
Rewards
Numerical Representation
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Power Politics
• Positive or Destructive Force?
– Power politics help organizations to adapt and interact
with the environment appropriately
– Managers are dependent upon workers
• Workers have limited time, energy, and talent
• Power is needed to manage these
• Some use power for personal and not organizational goals
– How to handle power
• Limit access to decision makers
• Alter decision criteria to performance
• Offer financial incentives to discourage political activity
Empowerment
• Empowerment is the development of
personal power of those in the organization
to achieve their goals
• Power is traditionally seen as a relational
construct (delegation or sharing power)
• Power as a motivational construct – creating
motivation and feeling of personal efficacy
Empowerment
Conditions of moving from Powerlessness to
Empowerment
1. Conditions leading to feelings of
powerlessness
2. Strategies to increase personal efficacy
(participative management)
3. Feedback
4. Reinforcement of empowerment
5. Persistence of new behavior
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Empowerment
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Empowerment cannot be granted but has
to be taken by the individual
The conditions for empowerment can be
fostered
Ways of Acting
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Consider all your sources of power
Make yourself indispensable
Take charge of your own empowerment
Use power constructively and effectively
Devote energy to clarifying goals
Support and foster empowerment of others
Be aware and think about how political
issues
8. Be nice
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