Organizational Power Dynamics

• Power represents the ability of an individual, team, or organization to influence others.
• It's not about the act of changing behavior, but the potential to do so.
• Power is based on the target's perception that the power holder controls valuable resources.
• A power holder isn't necessarily swayed by authority or norms.
• Power involves unequal dependence, where one party controls resources valued by the other.
• Countervailing power exists when the dependent party possesses skills or knowledge valued by the power holder.
• Trust is the expectation that the powerful party will provide the needed resource.

Sources of Power in Organizations

• Legitimate Power: Agreement that people in certain roles can request specific behaviors from others, stemming from formal job descriptions.
  • It is confined to a limited range of behaviors.
  • The Zone of indifference describes the set of behaviors someone will perform at another's request, and grows with trust in the power holder.
  • The norm of reciprocity makes people feel obligated to help someone who has helped them.
  • Information control involves the right to control information others receive, dependent on gatekeepers who can selectively distribute information.
• Reward Power: Ability to allocate valued rewards and remove negative sanctions.
• Coercive Power: Ability to apply punishment.
  • It can control coworker behavior in team settings.
• Expert Power: Influence based on possessing valued knowledge or skills.
  • It can address uncertainties in the business environment through prevention, forecasting, and absorption of changes.
• Referent Power: Power based on others' identification with, or liking of, an individual due to interpersonal skills.
  • Charisma can create strong trust, respect, and devotion.

Contingencies of Power

• Substitutability: Power is strongest when a monopoly exists over a valued resource.
  • It decreases as alternative sources increase.
  • Controlling access to a resource increases its nonsubstitutability.
• Centrality: Importance of the power holder depending on the nature and degree of interdependence with others.
  • Power increases based on how quickly and severely others are affected by the individual.
• Visibility: Being noticed by those in charge.
  • Power increases with face time and display of power symbols.
• Discretion: Freedom to exercise judgment.

Power of Social Networks

• Social networks are structures of interconnected individuals with common interests.
• Social capital represents goodwill and shared resources among network members.
• They share resources based on trust, support, and empathy.

Influence Tactics

• Influence is any behavior that attempts to alter someone's attitudes or behavior by applying one or more sources of power.
• It is crucial for coordinating efforts to achieve organizational objectives.
• Silent Authority: Compliance due to the requester's legitimate power and the target's role expectations.
• Assertiveness: Using legitimate and coercive power to influence others through persistent reminders and checks.
• Information Control: Withholding information and reframing situations to alter attitudes and behaviors.
• Coalition Formation: Creating a group that supports a proposed change.
  • This pools power and resources for greater collective influence.
  • It legitimizes issues by demonstrating broad support.
  • It uses the power of social identity processes to advocate new norms and behaviors.
• Upward Appeal: Seeking support from higher authority or expertise.
• Persuasion: Using facts, logical arguments, and emotional appeals to change beliefs and attitudes.
  • It is more effective when the persuader has expertise and credibility.
  • Acknowledging different points of view in the message is also more persuasive.
  • The inoculation effect makes listeners generate counter-arguments, reducing the impact of subsequent persuasion attempts.
  • It works best face-to-face or through media-rich channels.
  • It is more challenging to persuade those with high self-esteem or intelligence.
• Impression Management: Actively shaping others' perceptions and attitudes.
  • It involves self-presentation.
  • Ingratiation involves attempts to increase likability or perceived similarity to the target (e.g., complimenting the boss, agreeing with their opinions).
  • Excessive ingratiation can backfire.
• Exchange: Promising benefits in exchange for compliance, or reminding someone of past favors.

Consequences and Contingencies of Influence Tactics

• Resistance: Opposing the influencer's desired behavior, sometimes with poor performance or complaints.
• Compliance: Implementing the influencer's request for purely instrumental reasons, with minimal motivation.
• Commitment: Identifying with the influencer's request and being highly motivated to implement it, even without external motivators.
• Soft influence tactics rely on personal power (expert, referent) and build commitment.
• Hard influence tactics rely on position power (legitimate, reward, coercion) and produce compliance or resistance.

Contingencies

• Consider the strength of the influencer's power sources: experts use persuasion, those with legitimate power use silent authority.
• The relative position of the influencer and influenced (higher, lower, or same level) matters.
• Cultural, personal, and organizational values play a role.

Organizational Politics

• Influence tactics perceived as self-serving and contrary to the organization's interests.
• It results in lower job satisfaction, commitment, and citizenship, along with higher stress and intent to leave.
• Minimizing organizational politics requires:
  • Reducing scarce resources.
  • Creating clear rules and procedures.
  • Managing organizational change carefully.
  • Discouraging and not tolerating political behavior.
• Those with a strong need for personal power seek power for its own sake.