Copperbelt University

Directorate of Distance Education and Open Learning

Master of Science Project management.

Organizational Behavior

The Influence of Power and Politics in Decision Making

By
Kasaro Trevor Chulu
SIN: 20900441

Lecturer: Dr. Ayansola Ayandibu

28th May, 2021

Almost all organizations are political structures that function by authority distribution and stage
setting for the display of power. Although considered as dirty words, Politics and power play a
very significant role in organizational decision making and their influence cannot be ignored as
they set the atmosphere that controls decision making (Jonas et al., 2001; White, 2014). This
assignment discusses Decision Making, Power and Politics, it also establishes the relationship
between the three and how politics and power can influence decision making.
Decision Making
Managers are constantly faced with the responsibility of making decisions and organizational
decision making as defined by Dane & Pratt (2007) is the ability to make choices from two or
more choices in reaction to a presented problem. This is very important because the problems
that arises requires decision makers to be able to interpret and evaluate information. This is
achieved through the use of one or a combination of the following models, rational decision
making model, Bounded rationality decision making model and Intuitions (Kahneman, 2003)
The Rational decision making Model which is a six step decision making criteria describes how
decision maker ought to make decisions in an ideal world, Decision Makers through this model
expected to be rational and make consistent value maximizing choices with given constraints
(Kahneman, 2003).The model works on the assumptions that the decision maker has complete
information, able to recognize in an unbiased manner all the vital alternatives to the problem and
choose the option with the highest utility .However, all things being equal ,the assumptions of
the rational decision making model cannot always be met usually due individual bounded
perception, bounded rationality and bounded awareness (Jonas et al., 2001).Decision Makers
engage in bounded rationality which is a model that describes how managers make decisions in a
real world, this allows decision makers to reduce the problem by presenting it in to bits and
pieces that are admissible to the mind and the solution can be found through the process of
satisficing (Kahneman, 2003).Finally the least most rational way of making decision is through
Intuition ,this is an unconscious process that is created from filtered information and because it
happens outside the mind, (Kahneman ,2003) this is because the process happens depends on
holistic interactions and it is a quick and emotionally charged way of making decisions.
Power
Power which is defined as the ability to influence others behaviors and decisions with or without
resistance, it also describes the level of influence one individual has over the decisions of another
due to the former’s dependency on the latter (Torelli & Shavitt, 2010).The display of Power can
either be in form of Personal or Formal Power. Formal power is the type of power one individual
exerts on other due to the their position in an organization and is house to three power bases
namely Coercive, Reward and Legitimate Power bases (Krackhardt & Mintzberg, 1985).The
coercive power base is power that is employed capitalizing on the victim’s fear of the negative
consequences of noncompliance .In contrast, Reward power base makes people comply because
of the positive benefits it produces. However, more common than these two, in organization set
up is Legitimate Power ,this is the delegated authority an individual has to use and control the
resources of an organization based on the structural position that person has in the organization
(White, 2014). Personal power which power a person wields over others due to his or her unique
characteristics ,it is displayed either as expert power base or referent power base (Krackhardt &
Mintzberg, 1985).The expert power base is a person’s power over others because they poses a
scarce or rare expertise ,special skill or knowledge (White, 2014). This causes members of an
organization to be dependent upon that person .the second way a person expresses personal
power is through peoples admiration or respect of that person ,it is based on peoples need to
identify with a person for their desirable resources or personal traits.
Politics
Organizational politics as defined by Drory and Romm (1990) is a set of activities that are not in
tandem with an individual role but influence the distribution of advantages and disadvantages
with an organization play a very important role in understanding and improving organizational
culture. Because organizations are made up of individuals and groups of different values and
interests the use of politics in organizations is justified as a necessary evil that is both ethical and
useful to have thing done especially those with personal interests attached as long as no one is
harmed in the process (Andrews et al., 2009). The reality of politics in organizations is largely
fueled by conflicting views that arises especially in allocation of limited resources when
everyone’s interests cannot be satisfied. The nature of these politics is caused by individual or
organizational factors. Whereas the individual factors causing politics arise from an individual’s
personality traits and needs, for instance a person with high self-monitor and an internal locus is
likely to engage in political behavior due to high need for power, on the other hand,
organizational factors that influence politics are usually seen in structural pattern for limited
resource division (Andrews et al., 2009)..
Relationship between Decision Making, Politics and Power.
The relationship that exist between Decision Making, Power and Politics is such all the three
subjects have an individual personality aspect and organizational aspect that influence them
(Anderson et al., 2008).

 All three subjects are influenced by an inherent human inclination that provokes their
expression, for instance ,Decision making is highly influence by Heuristics ,Ease of
Recall, retrievablity Representativeness etc. these are all internal attributes that will play
an important role in the decision making process as they will influence the decision
maker’s choice (Staw, 1981). During the display of Power these internal attribute will
manifest as overconfidence or charisma exerting power over others due to the possession
of a specific expertise to make others dependent on the person with these attributes.
Finally in Politics these personality attributes manifest as internal locus or high self-
monitors ,these have the propensity to cause a person to engage in organizational politics
for selfish reasons (Andrews et al., 2009)
 The three subjects Decision making, Power and Politics also are highly influenced by
organizational structure .In his Study, Kahneman (2003) observed that if an organization is
highly autocratic, decisions are passed from the top to the bottom while the people at the
bottle have little influence in the decision making process. This same organizational
 effect is seen in the display of power, an organization structure strong on Legitimate
power will establish structures that allows for control of the resources of an organization
by an individual on the merits of his or her position, such structures does not take in to
accounts the views or feelings of other members of the organization ( Andrews et al., 2009).
Finally, the effect of organizational structure is also seen influencing politicking, for
instance, organizations cultures with low trust, role ambiguity, Zero sum up allocation
practices provides a supporting atmosphere for organizational politics.
The Influence of Politics and Power on Decision Making
Power and politics have a tremendous impact on organizational decision making largely due
forceful nature of power and Politics (Krackhardt & Mintzberg, 1985).
 The general dependency postulate of Power state that the greater dependency an
individual has on other, the more power the latter has over the former .The nature of this
dependence is such a way that firstly, it increases the supposed importance of an
individual or thing, it magnifies the necessity of the indispensability and scarcity of either
the knowledge or skill of an individual and finally paints a picture of nonsubstitutability
of such an individual (Dane & Pratt, 2007). This dependency increases an individual’s
decision making power because such an individual is considered important and
nonsubstitutable and their decisions are usually followed even when they are not accepted
by the other members of the organization.
 The influence of Politics in decision Making is overtly seen in an organization as
allocation of limited resources is the chief trigger of political behavior in an organization
(Drory & Romm, 1990).This is usually true because those on top of the management will
make decisions with their greatest interests served especially when there is no clear
structure that stipulates how resources are to be distributed.in additions ,people with traits
with the propensity for high need of power such as Machiavellian personality will most
use political behavior in an organization especially among those they have influence to
make decisions that further their self-interest (Krackhardt & Mintzberg, 1985).
In Conclusion, though distinct phenomenon Decision Making, Power and politics have
similarities that makes them appear intertwined and inherent in any organization. As observed all
three have both a personality aspect and organizational influence, the intrinsic attribute of a
person will affect a person’s decision making, their desire for power and possibility of engaging
in political behavior and the organizational structure has the same influence. Finally, the
influence of Power and politics on decision making cannot be over emphasized as both use
decision making largely as a means to achieve their interest.
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