21: Organizational Power and Politics
- Page ID
- 172816
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- 21.1: Chapter Introduction
- This page explores the significance of power dynamics and political behavior within organizations, illustrated through General Electric's leadership changes. It underscores the influence of power on decision-making, motivation, and workplace behavior.
- 21.2: Power in Interpersonal Relations
- This chapter examines the dynamics of power in organizations, differentiating it from authority and leadership. It identifies three types of power (coercive, utilitarian, normative) and five bases (referent, expert, legitimate, reward, coercive), along with their effects on relationships and behavior. It highlights the significance of power dependencies and the often unrecognized influence of executive assistants, challenging common stereotypes.
- 21.3: Uses of Power
- This page explores the exercise of power in organizations, examining tactics, symbols of managerial power, and ethical considerations. It discusses various tactics like controlling information and forming coalitions while emphasizing ethical power usage. The page also highlights the importance of clear communication and fair punishment in coercive power, using the Challenger Disaster as a case study to illustrate the consequences of unethical behavior.
- 21.4: Political Behavior in Organizations
- This page explores the dynamics of organizational politics and power, highlighting the significance of political processes in management. It identifies five conditions that foster political behavior and outlines how subunits navigate uncertainty to gain influence. The impact of Adobe's continuous feedback model on performance reviews demonstrates improved communication and reduced bias.
- 21.5: Limiting the Influence of Political Behavior
- This page outlines strategies to identify and counteract unethical political behavior in organizations. It asserts that while politics is inevitable, its negative impact can be mitigated through proactive methods. Key strategies include clarifying roles, minimizing competition with impartial standards, reorganizing personnel to break political fiefdoms, and implementing training to prevent future issues. Establishing a fair organizational climate is crucial for reducing office politics.
- 21.6: Glossary
- This page explores the concept of power in organizations, detailing its various bases—referent, expert, legitimate, reward, and coercive. It discusses authority's role in ensuring compliance, along with bureaucratic tactics, coalitions, and counterpower dynamics. The significance of leadership and normative power is highlighted, alongside the influence of politics on resource allocation amid uncertainty.
- 21.7: Summary of Learning Outcomes
- This page discusses the dynamics of power in organizational relationships, detailing five types of power (referent, expert, legitimate, reward, and coercive) that influence behavior. It highlights the role of counterpower and the prevalence of political behavior in uncertain and resource-scarce environments. The page also presents strategies to manage organizational politics and reduce unethical behaviors by minimizing uncertainty and competition.
- 21.8: Chapter Review Questions
- This page explores power, authority, and leadership, defining five power bases: reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert. It discusses their organizational significance, the interplay between power dependencies, and the concept of counterpower. The distinction between political behavior and power is highlighted, alongside comparisons of resource dependence and strategic contingency models. The importance of ethical power use to uphold employee trust and morale is also emphasized.
- 21.9: Management Skills Application Exercises
- This page provides self-assessment exercises for evaluating personal power bases and political behavior in organizations. It encourages reflection on job experiences to assess one's influence and politics, accompanied by instructions and scoring guidelines for structured evaluation.
- 21.10: Managerial Decision Exercises
- This page outlines the challenges faced by a newly promoted president dealing with a subtly opposing VP of sales and marketing. After nearly a year of unresolved power struggles, the president is considering termination due to the detrimental effects on the sales and marketing department, which is vital for the organization. The conflict highlights broader concerns regarding organizational dynamics and employee morale.
- 21.11: Critical Thinking Case
- This page discusses Janey, an executive assistant experiencing bullying from her new manager after a positive prior work experience. Her manager misuses his authority to overburden her with work without extra pay, creating a toxic environment and hindering her personal life. Despite her compliance driven by fear of losing her job, the page highlights workplace power dynamics, the negative impacts of imbalanced power relationships, and provides suggestions for Janey to confront the issue.