McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved1
Power and
Influence in the
Workplace
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
McShane/Von Glinow OB
5eCopyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Power, Influence & Politics in the RCMP
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) human resources director
Denise Revine and her boss Chief
Superintendent Fraser Macauley,
(see photo) had their careers
derailed when they reported that
pension funds had been
misappropriated. A Canadian
government report concluded the
RCMP suffered from the “absolute
power exercised by the
Commissioner.”
10-3
The Meaning of Power
Power is the capacity of a
person, team, or organization to
influence others.
• Potential, not actual use
• People have power they don’t
use -- may not know they
possess
• A perception
10-4
Power and Dependence
Resource
desired by
person B
Person B’s countervailing
power over Person A
Person A Person A’s control of resource valued
by Person B
Person B
Person A’s power over Person B
10-5
Model of Power in Organizations
Contingencies
of Power
Power
over others
Sources
of Power
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
Referent
10-6
Sources of Power
Agreement that people in
certain roles can request
certain behaviors of others
Based on job descriptions and
mutual agreement
Legitimate power range (zone
of indifference) varies across
national and org cultures.
Legitimate
10-7
Sources of Power
Ability to control the allocation of
rewards valued by others and to
remove negative sanctions
Operates upward as well as
downward
Reward
Legitimate
10-8
Sources of Power
Ability to apply punishment
Exists upward as well as
downward
Peer pressure is a form of
coercive power
Legitimate
Coercive
Reward
10-9
Sources of Power
The capacity to influence
others by possessing
knowledge or skills that they
value
More employee expert power
over companies in knowledge
economy
Legitimate
Expert
Reward
Coercive
10-10
Sources of Power
Occurs when others identify
with, like, or otherwise respect
the person
Associated with charismatic
leadership
Legitimate
Referent
Reward
Coercive
Expert
10-11
DeCourcy’s Trendspotting Power
Colleen DeCourcy has
developed a reputation as a
trendspotter, giving her
considerable information power
in the advertising industry. “Her
knowledge of the digital
landscape, grounded in
creativity, make her an
invaluable additional to TBWA,”
says DeCourcy’s boss.
10-12
Information and Power
Control over information flow
• Based on legitimate power
• Relates to formal communication
network
Coping with uncertainty
• More power to those who can
help firms cope with uncertainty
- Prevention
- Forecasting
- Absorption
10-13
Power Through Control of Information Flow
This person has high information control
These people individually have low information control
Wheel formation
All-channels formation
10-14
Contingencies of Power
Contingencies
of Power
Substitutability
Centrality
Discretion
Visibility
Power
over others
Sources
of Power
10-15
Increasing Nonsubstitutability
Few/no alternatives to the resource
Increase nonsubstituability by controlling the
resource
• exclusive right to perform medical procedures
• control over skilled labor
• exclusive knowledge to repair equipment
Differentiate resource from others
10-16
Centrality
Degree and nature of interdependence
between powerholder and others
Centrality is a function of:
• How many others are affected by you
• How quickly others are affected by you
10-17
Discretion and Visibility
Discretion• The freedom to exercise judgment
• Rules limit discretion, limit power
• Also a perception – acting as if you have discretion
Visibility• Symbols communicate your power source(s)
- Educational diplomas
- Clothing etc (stethoscope around neck)
• Salience
- Location – others more aware of your presence
10-18
Social Networking and Power
Cultivating social relationships with others to
accomplish one’s goals
Increases power through:
• social capital
• referent power
• visibility and centrality contingencies
10-19
Influencing Others
Influence -- any behavior that attempts to alter
someone’s attitudes or behavior
• Applies one or more power bases
• Process through which people achieve
organizational objectives
• Operates up, down, and across the organizational
hierarchy
10-20
Assertiveness • Actively applying legitimate and coercive power (“vocal authority”)
• Reminding, confronting, checking, threatening
Silent
Authority• Following requests without overt influence
• Based on legitimate power, role modeling
• Common in high power distance cultures
more
Types of Influence
10-21
Coalition
Formation
• Group forms to gain more power than individuals alone
1. Pools resources/power
2. Legitimizes the issue
3. Power through social identity
more
Types of Influence (con’t)
Information
Control• Manipulating others’ access to information
• Withholding, filtering, re-arranging information
10-22
Upward
Appeal• Appealing to higher authority
• Includes appealing to firm’s goals
• Alliance or perceived alliance with higher status person
more
Types of Influence (con’t)
Persuasion• Logic, facts, emotional appeals
• Depends on persuader, message content, message medium, audience
10-23
Types of Influence (con’t)
Exchange • Promising or reminding of past benefits in exchange for compliance
• Includes negotiation and networking
Ingratiation/
Impress. Mgt.• increaseliking by, or perceived similarity to
the target person
10-24
Consequences of Influence Tactics
people oppose the behavior desired by the influencer
motivated by external sources (rewards) to implement request
identify with and highly motivated to implement request
Resistance Compliance Commitment
10-25
Consequences of Influence Tactics
Resistance Compliance Commitment
Persuasion
Ingratiation &impression mgt
Exchange
Soft Influence Tactics
Hard Influence Tactics
Silent authority
Upward appeal
Coalition formation
Information control
Assertiveness
10-26
Contingencies of Influence Tactics
“Soft” tactics generally more acceptable than
“hard” tactics
Appropriate influence tactic depends on:
• Influencer’s power base
• Organizational position
• Cultural values and expectations
10-27
Organizational Politics
Behaviors that others perceive as self-
serving tactics for personal gain at the
expense of other people and possibly
the organization.
10-28
Conditions
Supporting
Organizational
Politics
Scarce
Resources
Complex and
Ambiguous
Decisions
Tolerance of Politics
OrganizationalChange
Conditions for Organizational Politics
10-29
Minimizing Political Behaviour
1. Introduce clear rules for scarce resources
2. Effective organizational change practices
3. Suppress norms that support or tolerate
self-serving behavior
4. Leaders role model organizational
citizenship
5. Give employees more control over their
work
6. Keep employees informed10-30
Power and
Influence in the
Workplace
10-31
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
McShane/Von Glinow OB
5eCopyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights
reserved.