Chapter 12: Power and Politics

Chapter 13: Conflict and Negotiation

POWER and POLITICS
A Definition of Power
• Power
– The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of
B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes
– Exists as a potential or fully actualized influence over
a dependent relationship
• Dependency
– B’s relationship to A when A possesses something
that B requires
– The greater B's dependence, the more power A has
Contrasting Leadership and Power

Leadership Power
– Focuses on goal – Used as a means for
achievement achieving goals
– Requires goal compatibility – Requires follower
with followers ( make they dependency
believe and follow their – Used to gain lateral and
goals ) upward influence
– Focuses influence
downward Research Focus
– Power tactics for gaining
Research Focus compliance
– Leadership styles and
relationships with
Bases of Power: Formal Power
• Formal Power
– Established by an individual’s position in an
organization
– Three bases:
• Coercive Power
» A power base dependent on fear of negative results
• Reward Power
» Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that
others view as valuable
• Legitimate Power
» The formal authority to control and use resources based on a
person’s position in the formal hierarchy
Bases of Power: Personal Power
• Power that comes from an individual’s unique
characteristics – these are the most effective
– Expert Power
• Influence based on special skills or knowledge
– Referent Power
• Influence based on possession by an individual of
desirable resources or personal traits
Dependency: The Key to Power
• The General Dependency Postulate
– The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B
– Possession/control of scarce organizational resources that others
need makes a manager powerful
– Access to optional resources (e.g., multiple suppliers) reduces the
resource holder’s power
• Dependency increases when resources are:
– Important ( m học môn ob vì thấy điểm môn này quan trọng )
– Scarce( nếu m muốn thành supervisor, rất ít ng đạt đc
– Nonsubstitutable
Power Tactics
• Power Tactics
– Ways in which individuals translate power bases
into specific actions
• Nine influence tactics:
– Legitimacy
– Rational persuasion*
– Inspirational appeals*
– Consultation*
– Exchange
– Personal appeals
– Ingratiation * Most effective
– Pressure (Pressure is the least effective)
– Coalitions
Preferred Power Tactics by Influence Direction

Upward Influence Downward Influence Lateral Influence

Rational persuasion Rational persuasion Rational persuasion

Inspirational appeals Consultation

Pressure Ingratiation

Consultation Exchange

Ingratiation Legitimacy

Exchange Personal appeals

Legitimacy Coalitions
Sexual Harassment: A Case of Unequal Power

• Sexual Harassment:
– Any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an
individual’s employment and creates a hostile work
environment
• Overt actions, like unwanted touching, are relatively easy to spot
• Subtle actions, like jokes or looks, can cross over the line into
harassment
• Sexual harassment isn’t about sex – it is about
abusing an unequal power relationship
– Harassment can damage the well-being of the individual,
work group, and organization
Managerial Actions to Prevent Sexual Harassment

• Make sure a policy against it is in place. ( make

documentary to guide how to against
• Ensure that employees will not encounter
retaliation if they file a complaint.
• Investigate every complaint and include the
human resource and legal departments.
• Make sure offenders are disciplined or
terminated.
• Set up in-house seminars and training.
Politics: Power in Action
• Political Behavior
– Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role
in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to
influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages
within the organization

– Legitimate Political Behavior

• Normal everyday politics - complaining, bypassing, obstructing
– Illegitimate Political Behavior
• Extreme political behavior that violates the implied rules of the
game: sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest
The Reality of Politics
• Politics is a natural result of resource scarcity
– Limited resources lead to competition and political
behaviors
• Judgments on quality of resource distribution differ
markedly based on the observer’s perception
– “Blaming others” or “fixing responsibility”
– “Covering your rear” or “documenting decisions”
– “Perfectionist” or “attentive to detail”
• Most decisions are made under ambiguous conditions
– Lack of an objective standard encourages political
maneuvering of subjective reality
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior
Employee Responses to Organizational Politics

Most employees have low to modest willingness to play

politics and have the following reactions to politics:
Defensive Behaviors
• Employees who perceive politics as a threat have
defensive reactions
– May be helpful in the short run, dangerous in the long run
• Types of defensive behaviors
– Avoiding Action
• Overconforming, buck passing, playing dumb, stalling
– Avoiding Blame
• Bluffing, playing safe, justifying, scapegoating
– Avoiding Change
• Prevention, self-protection
Impression Management (IM)
• The process by which individuals attempt to control
the impression others form of them
• IM Techniques
– Conformity ( SHOW the agreement , cổ vũ họ )
– Excuses( thông cảm )
– Apologies( biết nhận lỗi )
– Self-Promotion ( show your strength )
– Flattery ( give complement )
– Favors ( làm điều ng ta thích )
– Association ( tạo ra điểm chung
IM Effectiveness
• Job Interview Success
– IM does work and most people use it
– Self-promotion techniques are important
– Ingratiation is of secondary importance
• Performance Evaluations
– Ingratiation is positively related to ratings
– Self-promotion tends to backfire
The Ethics of Behaving Politically
• It is difficulty to tell ethical from unethical
politicking
• Three questions help:
1. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?
2. Does the utility balance out any harm done by the
action?
3. Does the action conform to standards of equity and
justice?
• Answers can be skewed toward either viewpoint
 Global Implications
• Politics Perceptions
– Negative consequences to the perception of politics seem to
be fairly widespread

• Preference for Power Tactics

– The choice of effective tactics is heavily dependent on the
culture of the country in which they are to be used

• Effectiveness of Power Tactics

– Still open to debate; too little research has been done
Summary and Managerial Implications
• Increase your power by having others depend on you
more.
• Expert and referent power are far more effective than is
coercion.
– Greater employee motivation, performance, commitment, and
satisfaction
– Personal power basis, not organizational
• Effective managers accept the political nature of
organizations.
• Political astuteness and IM can result in higher evaluations,
salary increases, and promotions.
CONFLICT and NEGOTIATION
Conflict Defined
• A process that begins when one party perceives that
another party has negatively affected, or is about to
negatively affect, something that the first party cares
about
– That point in an ongoing activity when an interaction “crosses
over” to become an interparty conflict
• Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people
experience in organizations
– Incompatibility of goals
– Differences over interpretations of facts
– Disagreements based on behavioral expectations
Transitions in Conflict Thought
• Traditional View of Conflict
– The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be
avoided
– Prevalent view in the 1930s-1940s
• Conflict resulted from:
– Poor communication
– Lack of openness
– Failure to respond to employee needs
Continued Transitions in Conflict Thought

• Human Relations View of Conflict

– The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable
outcome in any group
– Prevalent from the late 1940s through mid-1970s
• Interactionist View of Conflict
– The belief that conflict is not only a positive force
in a group but that it is absolutely necessary for a
group to perform effectively
– Current view
Forms of Interactionist Conflict
Functional
Conflict( improved
performance
• Conflict that supports the
goals of the group and
improves its performance

Dysfunctional Conflict
• Conflict that hinders group
performance
Types of Interactionist Conflict
• Task Conflict
– Conflicts over content and goals of the work
– Low-to-moderate levels of this type are FUNCTIONAL
• Relationship Conflict
– Conflict based on interpersonal relationships
– Almost always DYSFUNCTIONAL
• Process Conflict
– Conflict over how work gets done
– Low levels of this type are FUNCTIONAL
The Conflict Process
Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

• Communication
– Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, over communication and
“noise”
• Structure
– Size and specialization of jobs
– Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity
– Member/goal incompatibility
– Leadership styles (close or participative)
– Reward systems (win-lose)
– Dependence/interdependence of groups
• Personal Variables
– Differing individual value systems
– Personality types
Stage II: Cognition and Personalization
• Important stage for two reasons:
1. Conflict is defined
• Perceived Conflict
– Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions
that create opportunities for conflict to arise

2. Emotions are expressed that have a strong impact on

the eventual outcome
• Felt Conflict
– Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness,
frustration, or hostility
Stage III: Intentions
• Intentions
– Decisions to act in a given way
– Note: behavior does not always accurately reflect intent
• Dimensions of conflict-handling intentions:
– Cooperativeness
• Attempting to satisfy
the other party’s
concerns
– Assertiveness
• Attempting to satisfy
one’s own concerns
Stage IV: Behavior
• Conflict Management
– The use of resolution and stimulation techniques
to achieve the desired level of conflict
• Conflict-Intensity Continuum
Conflict Resolution Techniques
– Problem solving – Bringing in outsiders
– Superordinate goals – Restructuring the
– Expansion of resources organization
– Avoidance – Appointing a devil’s
– Smoothing advocate
– Compromise
– Authoritative command
– Altering the human
variable
– Altering the structural
variables
– Communication
Stage V: Outcomes
• Functional • Dysfunctional
– Increased group – Development of discontent
performance – Reduced group
– Improved quality of effectiveness
decisions – Retarded communication
– Stimulation of creativity – Reduced group
and innovation cohesiveness
– Encouragement of interest – Infighting among group
and curiosity members overcomes group
– Provision of a medium for goals
problem solving
• Creating Functional
– Creation of an environment Conflict
for self-evaluation and
change – Reward dissent and punish
conflict avoiders
Negotiation
• Negotiation (Bargaining)
– A process in which two or more parties exchange goods
or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for
them
• Two General Approaches:
– Distributive Bargaining
• Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of
resources; a win-lose situation ( trả giá đc giảm giá)
– Integrative Bargaining
• Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create
a win-win solution
Distributive versus Integrative Bargaining
Bargaining Characteristic Distributive
Bargaining Integrative Bargaining

Goal Get all the pie you can Expand the pie
Motivation Win-Lose Win-Win
Focus Positions Interests
Information Sharing Low High
Duration of Relationships Short-Term Long-Term

Integrative
Yours
Mine

Distributive
The Negotiation Process
• BATNA
– The Best Alternative To a
Negotiated Agreement
– The lowest acceptable value
(outcome) to an individual for a
negotiated agreement
• The “Bottom Line” for
negotiations
Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness

• Personality Traits
– Extroverts and agreeable people weaker at distributive negotiation
– disagreeable introvert is best
– Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness
• Mood and Emotion
– Ability to show anger helps in distributive bargaining
– Positive moods and emotions help integrative bargaining
• Gender
– Men and women negotiate the same way, but may experience
different outcomes
– Women and men take on gender stereotypes in negotiations:
tender and tough
– Women are less likely to negotiate
Third-Party Negotiations
• Four Basic Third-Party Roles
– Mediator
• A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using
reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives
– Arbitrator
• A third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an
agreement.
– Conciliator
• A trusted third party who provides an informal communication link
between the negotiator and the opponent
– Consultant
• An impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts to
facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis
 Global Implications
• Conflict and Culture
– Japanese and U.S. managers view conflict differently
– U.S. managers are more likely to use competing tactics while
Japanese managers are likely to use compromise and avoidance
• Cultural Differences in Negotiations
– Multiple cross-cultural studies on negotiation styles, for
instance:
• American negotiators are more likely than Japanese bargainers to
make a first offer
• North Americans use facts to persuade, Arabs use emotion, and
Russians use asserted ideals
• Brazilians say “no” more often than Americans or Japanese
Myth or Science?
• When Selling in an Auction, Start the Bidding
High
Summary and Managerial Implications
• Conflict can be constructive or destructive
• Reduce excessive conflict by using:
– Competition
– Collaboration
– Avoidance
– Accommodation
– Compromise
• Integrative negotiation is a better long-term
method
 Boss C.J.
2 years
Alex salary: $76k + 7-12k
Team salary range: 38.4k – 66.35k
Top 2 performers earn 59.2k and 66.35k, have been working
Alex for 3 & 4 years respectably
Supervisor
11 months
24 years old, master degree, $47.5k
Hard working, cooperative spirit, top 3 performer
Lisa
END.
• Group Assignment
– Record video
– Submit on Blackboard
• PPT file
• Video file
• Requirements are still the same
– Pick 1 side (point/counterpoint)
– 15 mins of presentation
– Everyone needs to present