Dependency: The Key to Power PDF

234 Part 3 Interacting Effectively Compliance Resistance BM (; Bases of Leader Power Commitment Most likely employee response Coercive Reward Legitimate Expert Referent Source: R. M. Steers and J. S. Black, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), p. 487. Reprint...

234 Part 3 Interacting Effectively Compliance Resistance BM (; Bases of Leader Power Commitment Most likely employee response Coercive Reward Legitimate Expert Referent Source: R. M. Steers and J. S. Black, Organizational Behavior, 5th ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), p. 487. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Exhibit 7-3: Continuum of Responses to Power Franchisees are at the heart of Tim Hortons' business model.19 To acquire a store, an owner pays a start- up fee of nearly a half-million dollars. Owners buy alt of their supplies from the company (which ensures that products taste the same throughout the country). They also pay a percentage of yearly sales to cover How does dependency "rent, royalties and advertising." Franchisees have very limited autonomy in running their franchise. For affect power? example, when the company introduced its "Always Fresh" baking system, franchisees had no choice but to buy the pre-baked products soid by Maidstone Bakeries in Brantford, Ontario. The purchased donuts cost more than the donuts baked in-store, There was no other supplier, and thus no real way to force the company to lower its charges for supplies. What factors might lead one entity (a person or an organiza- tion) to have greater power over another? In this section, we show how an understanding of dependent is central to furthering your understanding of power itself. Let s begin with a general postulate; The greater B s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B. When you possess anything that others require but that you alone control, you make them dependent upon you and therefore you gain power over them. ° Another way to frame dependency is to think about a relationship in terms of "who needs whom?" The person who has the most need is the one most dependent on the relationship. Dependency is inversely proportional to the alternative sources of supply. If something is plentiful, possession of it will not increase your power. If everyone is intelli- gent, intelligence gives no special advantage. Similarly, in the circles of the super rich, money does not result in power. But if you can create a monopoly by controlling information, prestige, or anything that others crave, they become dependent on you. Alternatively, the more options you have, the less power you place in the hands of others. Chapter 7 Power and Politics 235 This explains, for example, why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather than give their business to only one. Dependency is increased when the resource you control is important, scarce, and cannot be substituted. If nobody wants what you have, there is no dependent. To create dependency, the thing(s) you control must be perceived as important. In some organizations, people who control the budget have a great deal of importance. In other organiza- tions, those who possess the knowledge to keep technology working smoothly are viewed as important. What is important is situational. It varies among organizations and undoubtedly also varies over time within any given organization. As noted previously, if something is plentiful, possession of it will not increase your power. A resource must be perceived as scarce to create dependency. Scarcity can help explain how low-ranking employees gain power if they have important knowledge not available to highranking employees. Possession of a scarce resource—in this case, important knowledge—makes those who don't have it dependent on those who do. Thus, an individual might refuse to show others how to do a job, or might refuse to share information, thereby increasing his or her importance. Because Xerox Corporation has staked its future on development and innovation, Sophie Vanderbroek is in a position of power at Xerox. As the company's chief technology officer, she manages Xerox's 4000 scientists and engineers at the company's global research centres. The group's mission is "to pioneer high-impact technologies that enable us to lead in our core markets and to create future markets for Xerox." Xerox depends The fewer substitutes for a resource, the more power comes on Vanderbroek to make that mission a reality. from control over that resource. During his tenure as CEO, the common belief at Apple Computer, for example, was that Steve Jobs was not replaceable. His passing in October 2011 meant that Apple had to contend with replacing the company's charismatic figurehead (inevitably, new CEO Tim Cook has been scmtinized not only for his ability to manage Apple but also for how he compares with Jobs). The unanswered question at the time of his death was whether Apple could continue to be innovative and edgy without Jobs at the helm. In another exampie, when a union goes on strike and management is not permitted to replace the striking employees, the union has considerable control over the organization's ability to carry out its tasks. People are often able to ask for special rewards (higher pay or better assignments) because they have skills that others do not. Tim Hortons' management used a number of influence tactics to persuade its franchisees to adopt the What tactics can be "Always Fresh" baking system in their stores.23 Management started with a taste test at the 2000 annual used to increase convention, an inspirationa! appeal that convinced some of the franchisees that the taste was much better. power? Management then used rational persuasion to convince owners that the increased cost was worth the gain in convenience. Under the in-house baking system, franchise owners were paying about 5 to 9 cents to make one donut. According to some franchisees, they were told that the new process would result in donuts that cost about 11.5 cents to produce. "We ail knew that that was more than we were paying to bake 238 Part 3 Interacting Effectively in-house, but we all felt the same," Ottawa franchisee Greg Gilson said. "The convenience of it would be worth the offset of the three to four cents." Thus, management further influenced the decisions of the franchisees by emphasizing convenience. However, when the final cost turned out to be about 18 cents per donut, head office used its legitimate power to require the owners to buy the "flash frozen" donuts from Maidstone Bakeries. So how and why do influence tactics work? How do individuals translate their bases of power into specific, desired actions? Research indicates that people use common tactics to influence outcomes. One study identifies the nine influence tactics managers and employees use to ,|| increase their power: ||| 1. Rational persuasion. Using facts and data to make a logical or rational presentation of ideas. *|| 2. Inspirational appeals. Appealing to values, ideals, and goals when making a request. ®':cl|ill??^ 3. Consultation. Getting others involved to support one s objectives. 4. Ingratiation. Using flattery, creating goodwill, and being friendly prior to making a request. 5. Personal appeals. Appealing to loyalty and friendship when asking for something. 6. Exchange. Offering favours or benefits in exchange for support. 7. Coalitions. Getting the support of other people to provide backing when making a request. 8. Pressure. Using demands, threats, and reminders to get someone to do something. 9. Legitimacy. Claiming the authority or right to make a request, or showing that it supports organizational goals or policies. Some tactics are more effective than others. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective, especially when the audience PERSONAI. INVENTORY ASSESSMENT is highly interested in the outcomes of a decision process. Pressure tends to frequently backfire and is typically the least effective of the nine tactics. You can also increase Learn About Yourself Gaining Power and Influence your chance of success by using more than one type of tactic at the same time or sequentially, as long as your choices are compatible.2 For instance, using both ingra- tiation and legitimacy can lessen the negative reactions that might come from appearing to "dictate" outcomes, but only when the audience does not really care about the PERSONAL INVENTOCT ASSESSMENT Learn About Yourself Using Influence Strategies outcomes of a decision process or the policy is routine. 8 The effectiveness of some influence tactics depends on the direction of influence.2 Studies have found that rational persuasion is the only tactic that is effective across organizational levels. Inspirational appeals work best as a downward-influencing tactie with subordinates. When pressure works, it's generally only to achieve downward influence. The use of personal appeals and coalitions is most effective with lateral influence attempts. In addition to the direction of influence, a number of other factors have been found to affect which tactics work best. These include the sequencing of M.t K:F tactics, a person's skill in using the tactic, and the culture of the organization. You are more likely to be effective if you begin with softer tactics that rely on B,l BB personal power such as personal and inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation. If these fail, you can move to harder tactics (which emphasize formal influence tactics Ways that indi- power and involve greater costs and risks), such as exchange, coalitions, and pres- viduals translate power bases into sure.30 Interestingly, it has been found that using a single soft tactic is more effective specific actions. than using a single hard tactic, and that combining two soft tactics or a soft tactic and