Chapter 10 â Power and Influence in The Workplace
Chapter 10 – Power and Influence in The Workplace •
Power is the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others o
It is not the ACT of doing something, but it is the POTENTIAL to do so
o
Power involves unequal dependence of one party on another party.
•
A countervailing power is the capacity of a person/team/organization to keep a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship. In other words, the less powerful party still has some degree of power over the power holder, this is called countervailing power.
•
Legitimate Power is an agreement among organization members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviour of others. (Such as a boss telling an employee what to do) o
They can ask for a RANGE of behaviours from others; the ones that individuals are willing to engage in on request.
•
A more subtle form of legitimate power is the Norm of Reciprocity – a feeling of obligation to help someone who has helped you.
•
Reward Power is derived from the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued b others and to remove negative sanctions (i.e. negative reinforcement) o
For example; Manager’s formal authority gives them power over distribution of rewards such as pay, promotions, vacations, etc.
•
Coercive Power is the ability to apply punishment. For example, a manager threatening employees with dismissal, or an employee being sarcastic toward another co-worker, or threatening to exclude them
•
LEGITMATE, REWARD, AND COERCIVE POWER ALL ORGINATE FROM THE POWERHOLDERS POSITION
•
Expert Power originates from WITHIN the powerholder. It is the ability to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills valued by others. There are 3 types of expertise that cope with UNCERTAINTY, arranged in order of importance (1st being the most imp.)
•
o
Prevention – prevent environmental changes from occurring. Ex: financial company preventing organizations from experiencing a cash shortage or defaulting on loans
o
Forecasting – Predicting the environmental changes or variations (trend spotting and analysis)
o
Absorption – Gaining power by absorbing or neutralizing the impact of environmental shifts when they occur. Ex: The ability of a maintenance crew to come to the rescue when machines break down
Referent Power is the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with, and respect for, the powerholder o
It is closely associated with Charisma, a personal characteristic or gift that serves as a form of interpersonal attraction and referent power over others
The 4 Contingencies of Power Power only makes you influential under certain conditions. The four most important are outlined below: •
Substitutability refers to the availability of alternatives. Power is strongest when someone has a monopoly over a valued resource. As the number of alternative sources increases, the power weakens. o
•
For example, Labour unions are weakened when companies introduce technologies that replace the need for their union member. Technology is a substitute and consequently reduces union power
Centrality refers to the powerholder’s importance based on the degree and nature of interdependence between the powerholder and others. o
It increases with the number of people dependent on you, as well as how quickly and severely they are affected by that dependence.
o
For example, a transit strike during the busy holiday season when everyone needs to get around gives the union a high centrality
•
Discretion refers to the freedom to exercise judgment – to make decisions without referring to a specific rule or receiving permission form someone else. Consider frontline supervisors who have coercive, legitimate, and reward power, but are binding rules that prevent them from exercising whatever they want
•
Visibility refers to being known. Those who control valued resources/knowledge will yield power only when others are aware of these sources of power, or in other words, when they are visible.
The Power OF Social Networks •
•
Social Networks are social structures of individuals or social units (organizations, departments) that are connected to each other through one or more forms of interdependences. o
Some are connected to each other through common interests (Ex: Employees who love fancy cars spend more time together)
o
Others include common status, expertise, kinship, physical proximity, etc
Social Capital is the knowledge and other resources available to people or social units from a durable network that connects them to others o
SC tends to increase with the number of network ties. The more people connected to you, the more resources will be available
At the same time, the more people you know, the less time and energy you have to form “strong ties”. Strong ties offer resources more quickly and plentifully than are available in weak ties.
•
The contingency of centrality applies to social networks too (Social Network Centrality). The more central a person is located in the network, the more social capital and therefore more power he or she aquires
•
A Structural Hole is an area between two or more dense social network areas that lack network ties. When a person is a bridge between two social network circles, they gain additional power, and become the broker between to independent networks, controlling information flow between them
Influencing Others •
Influence is any behavior that attempts to alter someone’s attitudes or behaviour. The first 5 types of influence power are “hard” tactics because they force behaviour change through position power, and the last 3 (marked green) are “soft” tactics because they rely on personal sources of power o
Silent Authority – Someone complies with a request because of the requester’s legitimate power as well as the target person’s role expectations. (comply with your bosses request)
o
Assertiveness – Also called “Vocal Authority” because it involves actively applying legitimate and coercive power to influence others.
o
Information Control - Power translates into influence when powerholder selectively distributes information such that it reframes the situation and causes
others to change their attitudes or behaviour. (Ex: affecting board of directors by selectively feeding and withholding information) o
Coalition Formation – When people lack power alone to influence others in the organization, they might form a coalition of people who support the proposed change. They pool their resources and power together to influence others
o
Persuasion – The most effective influence strategy. It is the ability to use facts, logical arguments, and emotional appeals to change another person’s beliefs and attitudes, usually for the purpose of changing the person’s behaviour. It is not just acceptable to influence people in this way, in some societies it is a noble art and quality of effective leaders.
o
o
Persuasive people often us the inoculation effect – a persuasive communication strategy of warning listeners that others will try to influence them in the future and that they should be wary about opponent’s arguments
Ingratiation and Impression management
Ingratiation is any attempt to increase liking by, or perceived similarity to, some targeted person. For example, flattering their boss in front of others to demonstrate they have similar attitudes as their boss.
Impression Management is the practice of actively shaping our public images.
Exchange activities involve the promise of benefits or resources in exchange for the target person’s compliance with your request
Influence and Organization Politics •
Organizational Politics refers to behaviours that others perceive as self-serving tactics for personal gain at the expense of other people and possibly the organization. o
•
People are more likely to engage in certain conditions, such as when there are scarce resources. When budgets are slashed, people rely on political tactics to safeguard their resources and maintain status quo.
Machiavellian Values refers to the belief that deceit is a natural and acceptable way to influence others and that getting more than one deserves is acceptable
Power is the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others o
It is not the ACT of doing something, but it is the POTENTIAL to do so
o
Power involves unequal dependence of one party on another party.
•
A countervailing power is the capacity of a person/team/organization to keep a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship. In other words, the less powerful party still has some degree of power over the power holder, this is called countervailing power.
•
Legitimate Power is an agreement among organization members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviour of others. (Such as a boss telling an employee what to do) o
They can ask for a RANGE of behaviours from others; the ones that individuals are willing to engage in on request.
•
A more subtle form of legitimate power is the Norm of Reciprocity – a feeling of obligation to help someone who has helped you.
•
Reward Power is derived from the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued b others and to remove negative sanctions (i.e. negative reinforcement) o
For example; Manager’s formal authority gives them power over distribution of rewards such as pay, promotions, vacations, etc.
•
Coercive Power is the ability to apply punishment. For example, a manager threatening employees with dismissal, or an employee being sarcastic toward another co-worker, or threatening to exclude them
•
LEGITMATE, REWARD, AND COERCIVE POWER ALL ORGINATE FROM THE POWERHOLDERS POSITION
•
Expert Power originates from WITHIN the powerholder. It is the ability to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills valued by others. There are 3 types of expertise that cope with UNCERTAINTY, arranged in order of importance (1st being the most imp.)
•
o
Prevention – prevent environmental changes from occurring. Ex: financial company preventing organizations from experiencing a cash shortage or defaulting on loans
o
Forecasting – Predicting the environmental changes or variations (trend spotting and analysis)
o
Absorption – Gaining power by absorbing or neutralizing the impact of environmental shifts when they occur. Ex: The ability of a maintenance crew to come to the rescue when machines break down
Referent Power is the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with, and respect for, the powerholder o
It is closely associated with Charisma, a personal characteristic or gift that serves as a form of interpersonal attraction and referent power over others
The 4 Contingencies of Power Power only makes you influential under certain conditions. The four most important are outlined below: •
Substitutability refers to the availability of alternatives. Power is strongest when someone has a monopoly over a valued resource. As the number of alternative sources increases, the power weakens. o
•
For example, Labour unions are weakened when companies introduce technologies that replace the need for their union member. Technology is a substitute and consequently reduces union power
Centrality refers to the powerholder’s importance based on the degree and nature of interdependence between the powerholder and others. o
It increases with the number of people dependent on you, as well as how quickly and severely they are affected by that dependence.
o
For example, a transit strike during the busy holiday season when everyone needs to get around gives the union a high centrality
•
Discretion refers to the freedom to exercise judgment – to make decisions without referring to a specific rule or receiving permission form someone else. Consider frontline supervisors who have coercive, legitimate, and reward power, but are binding rules that prevent them from exercising whatever they want
•
Visibility refers to being known. Those who control valued resources/knowledge will yield power only when others are aware of these sources of power, or in other words, when they are visible.
The Power OF Social Networks •
•
Social Networks are social structures of individuals or social units (organizations, departments) that are connected to each other through one or more forms of interdependences. o
Some are connected to each other through common interests (Ex: Employees who love fancy cars spend more time together)
o
Others include common status, expertise, kinship, physical proximity, etc
Social Capital is the knowledge and other resources available to people or social units from a durable network that connects them to others o
SC tends to increase with the number of network ties. The more people connected to you, the more resources will be available
At the same time, the more people you know, the less time and energy you have to form “strong ties”. Strong ties offer resources more quickly and plentifully than are available in weak ties.
•
The contingency of centrality applies to social networks too (Social Network Centrality). The more central a person is located in the network, the more social capital and therefore more power he or she aquires
•
A Structural Hole is an area between two or more dense social network areas that lack network ties. When a person is a bridge between two social network circles, they gain additional power, and become the broker between to independent networks, controlling information flow between them
Influencing Others •
Influence is any behavior that attempts to alter someone’s attitudes or behaviour. The first 5 types of influence power are “hard” tactics because they force behaviour change through position power, and the last 3 (marked green) are “soft” tactics because they rely on personal sources of power o
Silent Authority – Someone complies with a request because of the requester’s legitimate power as well as the target person’s role expectations. (comply with your bosses request)
o
Assertiveness – Also called “Vocal Authority” because it involves actively applying legitimate and coercive power to influence others.
o
Information Control - Power translates into influence when powerholder selectively distributes information such that it reframes the situation and causes
others to change their attitudes or behaviour. (Ex: affecting board of directors by selectively feeding and withholding information) o
Coalition Formation – When people lack power alone to influence others in the organization, they might form a coalition of people who support the proposed change. They pool their resources and power together to influence others
o
Persuasion – The most effective influence strategy. It is the ability to use facts, logical arguments, and emotional appeals to change another person’s beliefs and attitudes, usually for the purpose of changing the person’s behaviour. It is not just acceptable to influence people in this way, in some societies it is a noble art and quality of effective leaders.
o
o
Persuasive people often us the inoculation effect – a persuasive communication strategy of warning listeners that others will try to influence them in the future and that they should be wary about opponent’s arguments
Ingratiation and Impression management
Ingratiation is any attempt to increase liking by, or perceived similarity to, some targeted person. For example, flattering their boss in front of others to demonstrate they have similar attitudes as their boss.
Impression Management is the practice of actively shaping our public images.
Exchange activities involve the promise of benefits or resources in exchange for the target person’s compliance with your request
Influence and Organization Politics •
Organizational Politics refers to behaviours that others perceive as self-serving tactics for personal gain at the expense of other people and possibly the organization. o
•
People are more likely to engage in certain conditions, such as when there are scarce resources. When budgets are slashed, people rely on political tactics to safeguard their resources and maintain status quo.
Machiavellian Values refers to the belief that deceit is a natural and acceptable way to influence others and that getting more than one deserves is acceptable
