Amity Business School

POWER AND POLITICS

Nitika Aggarwal

Vishal Bengani

Jagneet Mand

Ramneek Kaur

Shilpa Sharma

Sourjyo Roy

Amity Business SchoolPOWER

Power refers to a capacity that A has, to influence the behavior of B in accordance with A’s wishes.

Power may exist but may not be used. It is therefore a capacity or potential. Someone may have power but may not impose it.

Amity Business SchoolDifference – Power &

LeadershipBASIS POWER LEADERSHIP

Goal Compatibility No YES

Direction of Influence

Allows upward and lateral development

Downward influence on

followers 

Research Emphasis Style Focus on tactics for gaining compliance

Involves Groups or individuals both

Only groups

Amity Business SchoolBASES OF POWER

Can be both individual as well as in a group

Two types of Powers-

1.Formal Power- Based on individual’s position in an organisation.

They can come from the ability to coerce or reward

Amity Business SchoolFORMAL POWERCOERCIVE POWER REWARD POWER LEGITIMATE POWER

Dependent on fear.

One reacts out of fear of the negative results that occur if one fails to comply

As a result of frustration through restriction of movement, or the controlling by force

It rests on application or the threat of application

It is the opposite of Coercive Power.

People comply with the wishes because it results in positive benefits

Rewards can be either financial- pay rates, raises, bonuses OR non financial- recognition, promotions, etc

The most frequent accessed power

Represents formal authority to control and use organisational resources

It includes both Coercive and Reward powers

It is a more broader concept

Amity Business SchoolPERSONAL POWERPower that comes from an individual’s unique characteristic One need not be in a formal position to exert these powers Two types of Personal Power-

1. Expert Power 2. Referent Power

Amity Business School

Expert Power

1. Influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill or knowledge.

2. One of the most powerful sources of influence

3. Specialised job leads to increased dependency on experts

4. Experts vary from physicians to tax accountants, computer specialists, etc

Referent Power

1. Based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits

2. Develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that person

3. Charisma is the way by which one acquires referent power

4. Charismatic people are able to exert influence over others as they are more dynamic and likeable

Amity Business SchoolMOST EFFECTIVE POWER?

Research shows personal type of power is most effective

Expert and Referent Power are positively related to employees satisfaction

Reward and Legitimate Power seem to be unrelated to the employees

Coercive Power can backfire

Amity Business School

Dependency – Key to Power

Importance - The things you control must be important.

Scarcity - A resource must be perceived as scarce.

Nonsubstitutability – The resource can not be substituted with something else.

Amity Business School

Increasing Dependency

To increase the dependency of others on you, you need to•Control things viewed as important

•The resources must be viewed as scarce

•The resources must have few or no substitutes.

Amity Business SchoolPOLITICS

It refers to the way people gain and use power in the organisation.

Political Behaviour-No formal role in organisation.

1.Legitimate political behaviour- eg,Complaining to supervisors

2.Illegitimate political behaviour- eg.sabotage,whistle blowing

Amity Business SchoolEssence of Politics

1. Disagreement

2. Diversity

3. Scarcity

4. Interest-Defined as positions people want to protect or goals they seek to achieve.

Amity Business School

Factors influencing Political Behaviour

Organisational Behaviour Reallocation of resources

Promotion Opportunities

Role ambiguity

Unclear performance evaluation System

High performance pressures

Self Serving Senior Managers

Amity Business School Individual Behaviour1.High Self Monitors

2.Internal Locus of Control

3.High Mach Personality

4.Organizational Investment

5.Perceived Job alternatives

6.Expectations of success

Amity Business School

• “Politics is not striking every time or striking hard but knowing when to strike.”

3 questions you must ask yourself!• What is the advantage of indulging in

politicking?• Are you sure you are not hurting other’s

interests?• Does your politicking conform with the

ethical and social standards?

Ethics of behaving politically

Amity Business SchoolGlobal Implications

• Politics Perceptions.

• Preference for power tactics.

• Effectiveness of power tactics.

Amity Business SchoolSummary and Implications for Managers…

• If you want things done your way u got to have power.• Power attainment through skills is a two way street.• When the manager is powerful and is confident about

himself then his words carry weight and he doesn’t need to always use his official title to get work done. His words alone carry the day.

• Enjoy and use politics to your advantage and to the advantage of your department or organization.

• When in Rome do as the Romans. Use politics let not others use you.

Amity Business SchoolCASE STUDY

The Power of Bill Fowler at Blackmer/Dover Resources

Amity Business SchoolCASE FACTS Blackmer/Dover Resources’ plant makes heavy-duty pumps designed to move commodities such as refined oil and chocolate.

The management assigned employees to operate the same machine for months And employees used their expertise to earn

more money.

Earlier the company paid its employees on the basis of Piece wage System but now it changed its payment plan to straight

hourly wage.

. To make the plant more flexible, management encourages workers to learn a variety of jobs and accept moves to different

parts of the factory floor.

Amity Business School

One of the employees was Bill Fowler who worked in the company for 24 years.

Fowler does not like changing jobs and he does not like telling anyone anything about what he does.

Fowler is outstanding at what he does an The Management would love to incorporate Fowler’s know-how into the manufacturing process, but he refuses to share his secrets even with fellow workers.

Amity Business School1. Explain Bill Fowler’s behavior in power terms?

Bill Fowler’s Behaviour can be explained by illustrating Expert Power. Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special

skill or knowledge. Expertise has become one of the most powerful sources of influence in the world has become more

technologically oriented. Bill Fowler has all the expertise about his work but is not ready to share with anyone in the organization. He thinks that if he does so his importance in the organization will be

lost and he will be not be needed anymore.

Amity Business School

2. What, if anything, does this case say about trust and power?

This case basically highlights the lack of trust amongst the employees and the management of the Blackmer/Dover Resources’ plant. The lack of trust in this case negatively impacts the working of the employees . Fowler is not willing to give out his secret tricks and his expert know how to the management or to his fellow employees. Although Fowler has been working at Blackmer/Dover Resources Plant for 24 years he has no trust or faith in the Organization or the in the management of the Organization. Bill Fowler is not ready to delegate power because he is insecure about his importance to the company .

Amity Business School

3. What, if anything, can management do to change Fowler’s behavior?

There are many tactics that the management can use to change or influence Fowler’s behavior. The most popular and effective ones are stated below:Rational Persuasion: the management can try using logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate that a request is reasonable.Inspirational Appeals: the management can find out the wants, values, needs, hopes and aspirations of Fowler and use them to inspire and convince him to share his technical know how.Consultation: the management can try to increase the motivation level of Fowler by involving him in decision making and consulting him in various issues.Personal Appeals: they can also try asking compliance based on loyalty towards the organization in the last 24 years.

Amity Business School

THANK YOU