Introduction

• Power is the ability to make things happen in the way an

individual wants, either by self or by the subordinates. The
essence of power is control over the behavior of others.
---- (French & Raven, 1962)

• Managers derive power from organizational sources (called

position power) and individual sources (called personal
power).
 Bases of Power
Bases of Power

Formal Power Informal Po r

Coercive power Information Expert Power Rational

Power Persuasion

Reward Power Legitimate Power Referent Power

 Cultural Aspect of Power.
• The concept of power involves how people
want to view their relationship to one
another.
for example Italy, Japan, India & Brazil are
among the nations where culture supports a
belief that power in organization should be
unequally distributed where power holders
are considered superior but country like USA
power is a subject to interest.
 Formal Power
• It is based on an individual’s position in an organization.
• It is derived from the person’s ability to force or reward
others or from the formal authority he has because of his
strategic position in the organizational hierarchy.
• For example, a manager may transfer, demote or fire a
subordinate who does not act as he wants.
• Formal power is of four types
– Coercive power
– Reward power
– Legitimate power
– Information power

4
 Coerecive Power
• This is the power due to fear.
• It is based on application or
threat of application of
– Physical pain
– Creating frustration by limiting
the movements
– Controlling basic physiological or
safety needs.
• In an organization, any person
who has the power to dismiss,
suspend, or demote another
person can use his power.
 Reward Power
• It is the opposite of coercive power.
• It is the degree to which a manager can use rewards to
control other people.
• Examples of rewards are
– Money
– Promotions
– Compliments
– Enriched jobs
• A manager’s success in utilizing rewards to influence others
depends on his skills.

Power and politics

 Legitimate Power
• It is the degree to which a manager can use
subordinate’s beliefs that the boss has a right
of command to control their behavior.
• This is the special power of a manager
because subordinates believe that it is
acceptable for a person at managerial
position to have the right to command.
• The elements of legitimate power are
– It is the power received due to a person’s
position in the hierarchy.
– Positions of authority include coercive
and reward powers.
– It includes the acceptance of authority of
a position by members of an
organization.
 Information Power
• This power is the result of access to and control over
information.
• When a person has information, others become dependent
on him. (For example, managers have data that
subordinates do not have).
• Higher the person in the hierarchy, more information would
be accesses by him.
 Personal Power(Informal)
• It is the power of an individual and does not depend on
his/her position.
• The bases of personal power are
– Expertise
– Rational
– Reference
 Expert Power
• It is the ability to control another person’s behavior through
knowledge and experience that the other person does not
have, but needs.
• A subordinate obeys his supervisor because the boss knows
better about what to do and how to do than the
subordinate.
• But in this hi-tech environment, the boss may depend on
juniors for technical support.
 Rational Persuasion
• It is the ability to control others’ behavior by making him
accept the attractiveness of an offered goal and a practical
way of achieving it.
• It involves
– Explaining the attractiveness of the expected results
– Showing how to achieve these outcomes
 Referent Power
• It is the ability to control others’
behavior because the person
wants to be like the person having
the power.
• A subordinate follows his boss
because he wants to become like
his boss.
• This may happen because the
subordinate likes the boss
personally and tries to do things
the way his boss wants him to do.
• The subordinate tries to avoid
anything that would harm his
relationship with the boss.
 Charismatic Power
• It is an extension of the referent power.
• It evolves from an individual’s personality and interpersonal
style.
• Others follow because they can
– Express attractive visions
– Take personal risks
– Demonstrate follower sensitivity
 Dependency: The Key to Power
• The general equation of dependency is
• The more B is dependent on A, the more power A has over
B. If a person has anything that the other person wants, then
he has more power over him.
• Dependency is inversely proportional to the sources of
supply. More the supply of resources, less is dependency
and vice versa. That’s why most suppliers have more than
one suppliers, rather than depending on a single supplier.
Factors Responsible for Dependency
Three factors are responsible for dependency:

• Importance: The more important a thing, more dependency it

creates.
• Scarcity: More scarce a resource, more dependency it creates.
• Non-substitutability: When a resource has no practical
substitute, the dependency on that resource increases.

Power and politics

 Power in Groups: Coalitions
• Individuals who lose power or are not able to increase their
power individually, they form a coalition.
• Coalition is an informal group, whose purpose is to achieve a
single purpose.
• The predictions about coalition formation are
– Coalitions in organizations try to maximize their size.
– More coalitions are likely to be created when there is more task and
resource interdependence.
– Coalition formation also depends on the actual tasks that the
workers perform. When the group performs routine tasks, chances
of formation of coalition are more.
 Politics: Power in Action
Politics are those activities that are not a part of an
individual’s formal role in the organization, but affect the
advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
Organizational politics is the influence to obtain results not
allowed by the organization or to obtain allowed results with
the help of means that are not allowed.
From the above definition, the following points are clear:
 Political behavior is not a part of an individual’s job requirements.
 It includes efforts to influence the goals, criteria or processes used for
decision making.
 It includes many political behaviors like refusing to give important
information to decision makers, spreading rumors, leaking confidential
information, etc.
 Factors Contributing to Political Behavior
1) Individual factors
• Some personality traits, needs and other factors are related
to political behavior. They are
• Employees who are high self-monitors, have an internal
locus of control are more likely to show political behavior.
• The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social signals and
is more skilled in political behavior than the low self-
monitor.
• Individuals with an internal locus of control try to
manipulate or control situation in their favor.
• The Machiavellian personality does not believe that politics
is an unethical action.
2) Organizational Factors
• Organizational factors responsible for affecting political
behavior are
• Cultures that have low trust, unclear performance
evaluation system, high pressure for performance, show
high degree of political behavior.
• When organizations cut back to improve efficiency, people
may take political actions to maintain their existing status
quo (the tendency of being in the same situation).
• Promotion decision also encourage political behavior.
• Political behavior is more when there is less trust within the
organization.
• If employees’ roles are not clear, it leads to political
behavior.
 Maccoby’s Four Political Types
• In his book "The Gamesman", Michael Maccoby describes four
types of organizational politicians. They are:
1. The Craftsman: Craftsmen are the least political. They are
technical specialists who like details and accuracy. The person
is usually quiet, sincere, modest and practical.
2. The Jungle Fighter: Jungle fighters are active politicians. They
believe employees should be used to get ahead in the
company. They want success at any cost. There are two types
of jungle fighters:
a) Foxes: The foxes make their nests in the organization and
plan from this safe base.
b) Lions: They capture others’ territories and build empires.
c) The Gamesman: The gamesmen are competent politicians.
They see business as a game and take calculated risks. The
gamesmen are charismatic, grow when there are challenges
and competition and motivate employees with enthusiasm.
d) Company men or women: These are traditional or moderate
people. They have a desire for affiliation and may not show
a lot of political behaviour. Such people are concerned for
humans. They are more involved with security than success
and may miss opportunities that arise.
 Organizational Politics
“Involves intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self-interest of
individuals or groups.”

Political Tactics:
 Attacking or blaming others.
 Using information as a political tool
 Creating a favorable image.
 Developing a base of support.
 Praising others (ingratiation).
 Forming power coalitions with strong allies.
 Associating with influential people.
 Creating obligations (reciprocity).
Winning at Office Politics
 What is Office Politics?
• Communicating indirectly
• Using covert tactics to advance
• Controlling other people through
psychological manipulation
• Being cautions about telling the truth ORGANIZATIONAL
POLITICS
“Involves intentional acts of
Influence to enhance or protect
The self interest of individuals
Or groups”
 What Creates Office Politics
• Scarcity of resources
• A too competitive work environment
• Subjective performance standards
• Unclear job definitions
• Emotional insecurity
 How Political Are You

• Answer the question with

your first impression
• Think most of the time
when answering
You can also use these questions to help identify
people in your office.
 About Political Types

• Corporate Shark
• Climber
• Survivor
• Straight Arrow
• Lamb for Slaughter
 Corporate Shark
• Score of 90 plus
• Tends to use others to enhance career
• Power-hungry, ruthless, and devious
 Example: Looking Good

• Ramesh is a supervisor who is ambitious to a

fault. Everything he does is for effect. One of
his ground rules is that only positive
information makes its way from him to his
boss. Negative news is totally ignored. He
makes it clear that anyone in his group who
says bad things about him or the organization
risks getting fired. If an employee openly
disagrees, he or she is labeled a non-
supporter. Everyone who reports to Ramesh
agrees the best practice is to fall into line and
be a “yes person
 Climber
• Score of 75 to 89
• Shrewd politician
• A moderate score (75-85) suggests you might
have a good chance of success
• Politics are everything - let’s campaign
 Example: Power by Association

• Mukesh is a young marketing manager. He

sees work as a game and compulsively seeks
to be a winner. He gets turned on by
challenging, competitive activities where he
can prove himself. He hates being pushed
around. His goal is to become more
powerful because power means freedom. To
expand his influence and to increase his
chances of advancement, he is developing
very strong relationships with major
customers who can make demands on his
company
 Survivor
• Score of 50-75
• Practices some office politics and is aware of
the political climate
• Ok, what do I have to do to survive
 Example: The Copywriters’ Clique

When Komal became a copywriter for a

newspaper in a large city, she was invited to
join her group for lunch her first day on the
job. She discovered the group met informally
once a week to gossip, to exchange inside tips,
and to get to know one another better. Komal
quickly learned the value of trading
information at these events. The message was
clear: lunch was political. A final note: It’s
important to remember that to be human is to
be political. Whenever people’s priorities,
values, and interests diverge, some type of
politicking usually takes place.
 Straight Arrow
• Score of 35-49
• Not perceived as office politician
• May neglect cultivating key people for career
advancement
• Honesty is the best policy
 Lamb for Slaughter
• Score of less than 35
• Doesn’t believe in office politics
• Commonly boasts of never practicing office
politics
• Easily eaten by sharks
 Winning Strategies

• Help your boss succeed

• Be loyal, avoid disloyalty
• Praise your boss to upper management
• Imitate your boss’ slogans
• Present options
• Be visible
• Teach your boss a skill
• Be different - not part of whining
masses
 Rising Above it All

• Shine at meetings
• Compliment influential people
• Talk big, outside the box
• Appear cool under pressure
• Display good corporate manners
• Learn new skills and sell them
• Be a team player