Power and politics

POWER AND POLITICS
Definition :
Power as the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance.
Max Weber
Power as a potential ability to influence behaviour, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do.
Pfeffer

POWER AND POLITICS
Meaning of Power: Power is the capacity of a person, team or organization to influence others. Power is not the act of changing others’ attitudes or behaviour its only the potential to do so. The most basic prerequisites of power is that one party believes he or she is dependent on the other for something of value.
Person A
Person B
Person B’s Goal
Power
Counter Power
FIG: Dependence in the Power Relationship

POWER AND POLITICS
Power dependence Power is often characterized as ‘zero-sum’. That is, power is something that A has over B, such that if A gains in power B correspondingly loses. However, the notion of power dependence suggests that power is also a relational concept, such that the power of A is dependent on B. The exercise of power is an exchange of resources and so A needs B—is dependent on B—in order to exercise power. An example is evident in Britain, where the power of the Prime Minister is dependent on the Cabinet recognizing his or her authority, and implementing his or her decisions.
Person A
Person B
Person B’s Goal
Power
Counter Power
FIG: Dependence in the Power Relationship

Power and Dependence
Person
B

Power and Dependence
The premises of dependency theory are that:
Poor nations provide natural resources, cheap labor, a destination for obsolete technology, and markets for developed nations, without which the latter could not have the standard of living they enjoy.
Wealthy nations actively perpetuate a state of dependence by various means. This influence may be multifaceted, involving economics, media, control, politics, banking and finance, education, culture, sport, and all aspects of human resource development (including recruitment and training of workers).
Wealthy nations actively counter attempts by dependent nations to resist their influences by means of economic sanctions and/or the use of military force.

POWER AND POLITICS
Distinction Between Power, Authority & Influence:
Power is the ability to get an individual or group to do something – to get the person or group to change in some way. The person who possesses power has ability to manipulate or change others.
Authority is the right to manipulate or change others. Power need not to be legitimate.
Influence : It involves ability to alter other people in general ways, such as by changing their satisfaction and performance. Influence is more closely associated with leadership than power is, but both obviously are involved in the leadership process.
Thus authority is different from power because of its legitimacy and acceptance, and influence is broader than power, but it is so conceptually close that the two terms can be used interchangeably.

Bases of power in organization.
1.Formal (positional).
2.Informal (personal) .

1.Formal (positional).
Power is frequently classified according to whether it stems from the organization or the individual
Power, Politics and Leadership

1.Formal (positional).
Reward power.
Coercive power.
Legitimate power.
Process power.
Information power.
Representative power.

Four bases of power :
Legitimate Power - the lawful right to make a decision and expect compliance .
Reward Power – the authority to give employees rewards for compliance
Coercive Power is the power to punish non compliance ; it is based on fear.
Information power is power stemming from formal control over the information people need to do their work.

2.Informal (personal) .
This power is derived from the person rather than the organization
Power, Politics and Leadership

2.Informal (personal) .
Expert power.
Rational persuasion.
Referent power.

Types of Personal Power
Expert power is the ability to influence others through specialized knowledge , skills or abilities.
Referent power is the ability to influence others through one’s desirable traits and characteristics
Prestige power stems from one’s status and reputation
Power, Politics and Leadership

Consequences of Power
Reward
Power
Legitimate Power
Coercive
Power
Expert
Power
Referent
Power
Sources of Power
Consequences of Power

POWER AND POLITICS
Sources of Power:
Social psychologist John French and Bertram Raven identified five categories of sources of power.
Expert
Referent
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
The first three power bases are derived from the power holder’s position i.e. the person receive these power bases because of the specific authority or roles he or she is assigned. Last two originates from the power holder’s own characteristic. In other words, people bring these power bases to the organization.

POWER AND POLITICS
Contingency Approaches To Power:
Pfeffer Simply says that power comes from being in the “right” place. He describes the right place or position in the organization as one where the manager has:
1. Control over resources such as budgets, physical facilities, and positions that can be used to cultivate, allies and supporters.
2. Control over or extensive access to information about the organizations activities, about the preferences and judgement of others, about what is going on, and who is doing it.
3. Formal authority.

POWER AND POLITICS
Contingency Conclusions (Research Supported) :
1. The greater the professional orientation of group members, the greater relative strength referent power has in influencing them.
2. The less effort and interest high ranking participants are willing to allocate to a task, the more likely lower-ranking participants are to obtain power relevant to this task

POWER AND POLITICS
Reward
Coercive
Means & Control
Compliance
Process of Power
Required Sources of Power
Referent
Attractiveness
Expert
Legitimate
Credibility
Identification
Internalization
FIG: An Overall Contingency Model of Power based on the French / Raven and Kelman Theories.

POWER AND POLITICS
Political Implication of Power: “Organizations, particularly large ones, are like governments in that they are fundamentally political entities.To understand them, one needs to understand organizational politics, just as to understand governments. One needs to understand governmental polices”.
Pfeffer
The political perspective of organization departs from the rational, idealistic model. For e.g. Waiter Nord dispels four postulates of power in organization that help focus on political realities:

POWER AND POLITICS
1. Organizations are composed of coalitions which compete with one another for resources, energy and influence.
2. Various coalitions will seek to protect their interests and positions of influence.
3. The unequal distribution of power itself has dehumanizing effects.
4. The exercise of power within organizations is one very crucial aspect of the exercise of power within the larger social system.

Political Power for Organiztions

POWER AND POLITICS
“Organizational Politics consists of intentional acts of influence undertaken by individuals or groups enhance or protect their self-interest when conflicting courses of action are possible”
Research on organizational politics has identified several areas that are particularly relevant to the degree to which organizations are political rather than rational. These areas are summarized as:
1. Resources
2. Decisions
3. Goals
4. Technology and External Environment
5. Change