© 2008The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

ChapterChapter 15 15

Influence, Empowerment,

and Politics

Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Ch. 15 Learning Objectives

1. Explain the concept of mutuality of interest2. Name at least three “soft” and two “hard”

influence tactics, and summarize the practical lessons from influence research.

3. Identify and briefly describe French and Raven’s five bases of power, and discuss the responsible use of power.

4. Define the term empowerment, and explain why it is a matter of degree.

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Ch. 15 Learning Objectives

5. Explain why delegation is the highest form of empowerment, and discuss the connections among delegation, trust, and personal initiative.

6. Define organizational politics and explain what triggers it.

7. Distinguish between favorable and unfavorable impression management tactics.

8. Explain how to manage organizational politics.

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The Tug-of-War between Self-Interest and

Mutuality of Interest

Influence tactics

Organizationalcontributors• Individuals

• Groups

Self-Interest

Political

tactics

Mutuality ofInterest(organizationaleffectiveness)

Empowerment

Motivation

Team building

Communication

Leadership

Climate of Destructive

Competition and Suspicion

Climate of Openness, Cooperation, and

Trust

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“Soft” Influence Tactics

Rational persuasion: Using logical arguments and facts to persuade another that a desired result will occur.Inspirational Appeal: Arousing enthusiasm by appealing to one’s values and beliefsConsultation: Asking for participation in decision making or planning a changeIngratiation: Getting someone to do what you want by putting that person in a good mood or getting him or her to like you.Personal appeal: Appealing to feelings of loyalty and friendship before making a request 15-5

“Hard” Influence Tactics

Exchange:: Promising some benefits in exchange for complying with a request.Coalition Building: Persuading by seeking the assistance of others or by noting the support of others.Legitimating: Pointing out one’s authority to make a request or verifying that it is consistent with prevailing organizational policies and practices.Pressure: Seeking compliance by using demands, threats, or intimidation.

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Commitment - a strong positive response• The person will agree and carry out the

request because they truly believes it is the right or best thing to do

Compliance – completion of request• The person will agree only because there is

something positive in it for him/her or something negative will happen if they don’t

Resistance - a strong negative response• Request will be disregarded, influence attempt

is unsuccessful

Outcomes of Influence Attempts

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Test Your Knowledge

1. Consultation2. Rational

Persuasion3. Inspirational

appeals4. Ingratiation5. Pressure6. Coalition

A. CommitmentB. ComplianceC. Resistance

For each influence tactic identify the most likely outcome.

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Power Concepts

Social Power: The ability to get things done with human, informational, and material resources

• Power is not power OVER others• Power is the ability to GET THINGS DONE

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Personalized Power

• used for personal gain

Socialized Power•used to create motivation•used to accomplish group

goals

Power Concepts

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Test Your Knowledge

Jarrett has a strong need for power. He enjoys the challenge of making difficult decisions that have a major impact on the organization. At times he makes decisions that have negative consequences for himself and his team but are good for the larger organization. Jarrett….

a. Plays politics to get what he wantsb. Has personalized powerc. Demonstrates socialized power and mutuality of

interestd. Is driven to protect his self-interests

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Sources of Power

Position – derived from one’s position and status within the organization

•Reward: If you do it I’ll give you something

•Coercive: If you don’t do it something bad will happen

•Legitimate: Do it because the boss asks you to•Can be positive or negative

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Sources of Power

Personal – derived from one’s personal characteristics, relationship with others, and behavior towards others

•Expert: Do it because I know a lot about this subject

•Referent: Do it because you like me

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Test Your Knowledge

Which strategy would be most effective in each situation?1.Upward influence2.Peers3.Downward

What is the best combination of strategies?

a.Reward b.Coercivec. Legitimated.Experte.Referent

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EmpowermentEmpowerment sharing varying degrees of power with lower-level employees to tap their full potential

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The Evolution of Power: From Domination to Delegation

None

High

Deg

ree o

f Em

pow

erm

en

t

Domination Consultation Participation Delegation

Influence Sharing

Manager/leader consults

followers when making

decisions

Power Sharing

Manager/leader and followers

jointly make decisions

Power Distribution Followers are

granted authority to

make decisions

Authoritarian Power

Manager/leader impose decisions

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Participative Management

Participative Management the process whereby employees play a direct role in:

• Setting goals• Making decisions• Solving problems• Making changes in the

organization

Participative Management can promote: (name three OB concepts)

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Delegation

Delegation granting decision-making authority to people at lower levels

How can delegation be used effectively?

Why are managers often reluctant to delegate? 15-18

DelegationBarriers to Delegation include:• Belief in the fallacy “if you want something done

right, do it yourself”• Lack of confidence/trust in lower levels• Low self-confidence• Fear of being called lazy• Vague job definition• Fear of competition from those below• Reluctance to take risks involved in depending

on others• Lack of controls that provide early warning of

problems with delegated duties• Poor example set by bosses who do not delegate 15-19

Personal Initiative

Levels of Action

Decreasing time

to action tosolve a problem

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Randolph’s Empowerment Model

The Empowerment Plan

Share Information

Create Autonomy Through Structure

Let Teams Become the Hierarchy

Remember: Empowerment is not magic; It consists of a few simple steps and a lot of

persistence

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Organizational PoliticsOrganizational Politics intentional enhancement of self-interest…but the self-interest should be aligned with the org’s interests

“Politics isn’t about winning at all costs. It’s about maintaining relationships and getting results at the same time.” --John Eldred, MGMT Professor & Consultant, Kingston U. UK.

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Uncertainty Triggers Political Behavior

Sources of Uncertainty:

1) Unclear objectives2) Vague performance

measures3) Ill-defined decision

processes4) Strong individual or

group competition5) Any type of change

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Test Your Knowledge

Given what we know about causes of political behavior, who would be most likely to engage in self-interested politics?

a. A new, relatively young employee starting out her career or

b. An older, more established employee.

a. Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on their manager’s rankings of them

b. Employee’s whose pay and promotion are based on an established, known set of standards

1.

2.

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Levels of Political Action in Organizations

Network Level

Coalition Level

Individual Level

Distinguishing Characteristics

Cooperative pursuit of general self-interests

Cooperative pursuit of group interests in specific issues

Individual pursuit of general self-interests

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Political TacticsFor each tactic, estimate the effectiveness of using this tactic to promote organizational objectives

1. Highly unlikely to be effective

2. May or may not be effective

3. Highly likely to be effective

1) Attacking or blaming others

2) Using information as a political tool

3) Creating a favorable image (impression management)

4) Developing a base of support

5) Praising others (ingratiation)

6) Forming political coalitions with strong allies

7) Associating with influential people

8) Creating obligations (reciprocity)15-26

Are You Politically Naïve, Sensible, or a Political Shark?

Bully; misuse information,

cultivate and use “friends” and other contacts

Manipulate; use fraud and deceit when necessary

Self-serving and predatory

Politics is an opportunity

Sharks

Negotiate, bargain

Network; expand connections; use system to give

and receive favors

Further departmental

goals

Politics is necessary

Sensible

None—the truth will win out

Tell it like it is

Avoid it at all costs

Politics is unpleasant

Naïve

Favorite tactics

Techniques

Intent

Underlying attitude

Characteristics

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How to Keep Organizational Politics Within Reasonable Bounds

Screen out overly political individuals at hiring timeCreate and open-book management systemMake sure every employee knows how the business works and has a personal line of sight to key resultsHave nonfinancial people interpret periodic financial and accounting statements for all employeesEstablish formal conflict resolution and grievance processesAs an ethics filter, do only what you would feel comfortable doing on national televisionPublicly recognize and reward people who get real results without political games

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