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Questions and Answers
Power must always be used in order to have an influence on others.
Power must always be used in order to have an influence on others.
False
Coercive power is a form of formal power.
Coercive power is a form of formal power.
True
Referent power leads to higher employee dissatisfaction compared to legitimate power.
Referent power leads to higher employee dissatisfaction compared to legitimate power.
False
In power relationships, dependence is irrelevant to the power one holds over another.
In power relationships, dependence is irrelevant to the power one holds over another.
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Expert power is considered a personal source of power.
Expert power is considered a personal source of power.
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Rational persuasion is a power tactic preferred for both upward and lateral influence.
Rational persuasion is a power tactic preferred for both upward and lateral influence.
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Pressure is a preferred power tactic for upward influence.
Pressure is a preferred power tactic for upward influence.
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People in individualistic countries view power as a means of helping others.
People in individualistic countries view power as a means of helping others.
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Collectivistic cultures view power in social terms to aid communal objectives.
Collectivistic cultures view power in social terms to aid communal objectives.
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Politically skilled individuals are less effective at using influence tactics compared to others.
Politically skilled individuals are less effective at using influence tactics compared to others.
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A warm and supportive culture within an organization contributes positively to an individual's influence.
A warm and supportive culture within an organization contributes positively to an individual's influence.
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Power corrupts everyone in exactly the same way.
Power corrupts everyone in exactly the same way.
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Power increases overconfident decision-making among individuals.
Power increases overconfident decision-making among individuals.
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Consultation is a preferred tactic for downward influence.
Consultation is a preferred tactic for downward influence.
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Dependence is directly proportional to the number of alternative sources of supply.
Dependence is directly proportional to the number of alternative sources of supply.
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Scarcity is one of the key factors that creates dependence.
Scarcity is one of the key factors that creates dependence.
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Coercive power can sometimes be beneficial in power relationships.
Coercive power can sometimes be beneficial in power relationships.
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Rational persuasion is one of the most effective influence tactics when the audience is uninterested.
Rational persuasion is one of the most effective influence tactics when the audience is uninterested.
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Ingratiation can help lessen negative reactions from dictating outcomes.
Ingratiation can help lessen negative reactions from dictating outcomes.
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Pressure is always an effective tactic for influencing others.
Pressure is always an effective tactic for influencing others.
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Consultation is considered one of the lesser effective influence tactics.
Consultation is considered one of the lesser effective influence tactics.
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Sexual harassment is any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a friendly work environment.
Sexual harassment is any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a friendly work environment.
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Managers are responsible for both protecting their employees from a hostile work environment and safeguarding their own interests.
Managers are responsible for both protecting their employees from a hostile work environment and safeguarding their own interests.
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An active policy that defines sexual harassment must inform employees that they can be rewarded for sexually harassing another employee.
An active policy that defines sexual harassment must inform employees that they can be rewarded for sexually harassing another employee.
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Managers should investigate every complaint related to sexual harassment, incorporating the legal and human resource departments.
Managers should investigate every complaint related to sexual harassment, incorporating the legal and human resource departments.
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Political behavior in an organization is strictly defined by one's formal job requirements.
Political behavior in an organization is strictly defined by one's formal job requirements.
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Withholding information, spreading rumors, and leaking confidential information are forms of political behavior in organizations.
Withholding information, spreading rumors, and leaking confidential information are forms of political behavior in organizations.
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Organizations have made little progress in the past decade in limiting overt forms of sexual harassment.
Organizations have made little progress in the past decade in limiting overt forms of sexual harassment.
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Setting up in-house seminars can help raise employee awareness about issues surrounding sexual harassment.
Setting up in-house seminars can help raise employee awareness about issues surrounding sexual harassment.
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Political behavior includes only actions that are beneficial to the individual and do not affect others in the organization.
Political behavior includes only actions that are beneficial to the individual and do not affect others in the organization.
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Study Notes
Organizational Behavior Chapter 13: Power and Politics
- Power is the capacity of one person (A) to influence another (B) so B acts according to A's wishes.
- Power may exist but not be used.
- Power is a function of dependence. A person has power over you only if they control something you desire.
- Leaders use power to achieve group goals.
- Goal compatibility is not required for power, only dependence.
- Leadership emphasizes style.
- Formal power bases include: coercive power, reward power, and legitimate power.
- Personal power bases include: expert power and referent power.
- Personal power sources are typically more effective than formal power sources.
- Expert and referent power positively correlate with employee satisfaction, commitment and performance.
- Coercive power can be damaging.
- Dependence is inversely proportional to the number of alternative sources of supply.
- Importance, scarcity, and nonsubstitutability create dependence.
Learning Objectives
- Contrast leadership and power.
- Explain the bases of formal power.
- Explain bases of personal power.
- Explain the role of dependence in power relationships.
- Identify power tactics and their contingencies.
- Identify causes and consequences of power abuse.
- Describe how politics work in organizations.
- Identify causes, consequences and ethics of political behavior.
Define Power and Contrast Leadership & Power
- Power refers to the ability of an individual to influence another individual, so that the other person acts in accordance with the first person's wishes.
- Power may exist but not always be used.
- The crucial aspect of power is dependence, meaning a person has power over you if they control something you desire.
- Leaders use power to attain group goals, but power itself does not require goal compatibility, just dependence.
- Leadership research emphasizes style.
Explain Formal Power and Personal Power
- Formal power includes: coercive power (punishment), reward power (incentives), and legitimate power (formal authority).
- Personal power includes: expert power (knowledge), and referent power (desirability).
Explain the Role of Dependence in Power Relationships
- The General Dependency Postulate: When you possess something others need but that you alone control, those others become dependent on you.
- Dependence is inversely proportional to the number of alternative sources of supply.
- What creates dependence?: Importance, Scarcity, Nonsubstitutability.
Identify Power or Influence Tactics and their Contingencies
- Influence tactics: Legitimacy, Rational persuasion, Inspirational appeals, Consultation, Exchange, Personal appeals, Ingratiation, Pressure, Coalitions.
- Some tactics are more effective than others.
- Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation are most effective if the audience is interested in the outcomes.
- Pressure tends to backfire.
- Ingratiation and legitimacy can lessen negative reactions and the appearance of dictating from your role.
Identify Nine Power or Influence Tactics and their Contingencies
- Various tactics differ in effectiveness depending on the situation and context.
- People in individualistic cultures favor personal power tactics for advancing personal goals.
- Collectivistic cultures often see power in a social context focused on helping others.
Applying Power Tactics
- Political skill: the ability to influence others to meet personal goals
- Politically skilled individuals are more effective users of influence tactics.
- Cultural differences exist in organizational environments. Some are formal and supportive, which influence how and when specific power tactics are utilized.
Causes and Consequences of Abuse of Power
- Power can corrupt by leading individuals to prioritize their interests over the interests of others.
- Powerful individuals tend to react negatively to threats to their competence.
- Power can lead to overconfident decision-making.
- Effects of power vary across individuals, and some even experience positive outcomes.
- Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual activity affecting employment and creating a hostile work environment. Organizations are making progress limiting overt forms of harassment, but managers have responsibilities to protect their employees AND themselves.
- Managers should proactively create policies that explicitly identify and define sexual harassment and establish a resolution procedure.
- Establish policies that reassure employees there will be no retaliation for raising a complaint.
- Managers must investigate complaints seriously, including all legal and HR departments.
- They should ensure consequences for harassment ( discipline or termination).
- Provide in-house seminars to raise awareness of harassment issues.
Describe How Politics Work in Organizations
- Political behavior involves activities not formally part of one's role, but influence resource distribution within the organization.
- It includes actions outside of job requirements, impacting decision-making goals, criteria, and processes, and includes behaviors like withholding information, spreading rumors, and leaking confidential information.
- An OB poll shows that employees generally believe that politics plays a major role in getting ahead in organizations.
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior
- Several factors influence political behavior (Exhibit 13-3): individual factors (self-monitoring, locus of control, Machiavellianism, organizational investment, perceived job alternatives, expectations of success); organizational factors (reallocation of resources, promotion opportunities, low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluations, zero-sum, democratic decision making, high performance pressures, self-serving senior managers)
- Political behavior can lead to favorable outcomes (rewards, averted punishments), or unfavorable ones (Exhibit 13-4). Unfavorable outcomes include things such decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover, and reduced performance.
Defensive Behaviors (Exhibit 13-5)
- These involve actively avoiding action or blame.
- Scapegoating: blaming a neutral party
- Misrepresenting, Prevention, and Self-protection: misleading others and resisting change as well as protecting one's self-interest
Impression Management (IM)
- Impression management (IM) is the process of controlling how others perceive them.
- Mostly high self-monitors use IM tactics.
- Often, impressions do not need to be false, but they can still have high costs.
- The effectiveness of IM depends on the situation
The Ethics of Behaving Politically
- Questions to consider in evaluating the ethics of political behavior:
- Utility of engaging in politicking
- Balancing the utilities with potential harm to others.
- Conformity to standards of equity & justice
Implications for Managers
- Maximizing power: Increase others’ dependence by developing specialized skills or knowledge.
- Political savvy: Assessing political behavior allows for better prediction of others' actions and use of this information to gain advantages within the organization.
- Employees with poor political skills: Employees need support in understanding the importance of political savvy if they experience reduced job satisfaction, anxiety, and higher turnover because of organizational politics.
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Description
Explore the dynamics of power and politics in Organizational Behavior through Chapter 13. Understand the different bases of power including formal and personal power, and how they impact leadership and employee satisfaction. Learn about dependence and its role in power dynamics.
