...POWER AND POLITICS Power and politics play a important role in business or an organisation, from governing how decisions are made to how employees interact with one another. In a business big and small, the impact of power depends on whether employees use positive or negative power to influence others in the workplace. Politics may directly influence who has the power and determine whether the workplace encourages productivity. Positive power in an organization involves encouraging productivity. This includes giving employees the power to make decisions, rewarding employees for strong performance and appointing employees who perform strongly to supervise other employees. Positive power builds employee confidence and motivates employees to work harder. Negative organisational politics may be very destructive for an organisation.Negative politics includes the use of subversive methods to promote a personal agenda which may undermine organisational objectives, distract away from organisational goals and compromise the interests, cooperation and fulfilment of other employees. Such tactics may include filtering or distortion of information, non-cooperation, allocating blame,dishonesty, obstructionism and threats. In the case of Thomas Green, Frank Davis had a negative politics and power over Green which landed him in trouble over his job and he was not able to perform to his potential. Green failed to maintain a positive relationship with Davis , which he had with Mc Donald to...
Words: 299 - Pages: 2
...The principle for both politics and power is the extent of an interconnection between individuals. As individuals pursue their own goals in a firm, they must also deal with the interest of others. Managers may see a power gap. The power gap and its associated political dynamics are twofold. One is that power and politics represent a closure of organizational life. Organizations are not equally comprised of individuals with the same power. Some people have a lot more clot than others. There are winners and losers in the battle of resources and rewards. Another is that politics and power are essential means of the organization and used in getting the work completed by managers. Many more organizational members can win when managers isolate the situations in which the individual and interest alike in the organization (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Compare and Contrast Power and Politics in Organizations. Within each organization a manager's power is in large part determined by his or her position and personal power and by his or her ability to build upon combinations of these sources. An essential source of power accessible to a manager derived only from his or her position in the organization. Specifically, position power derived from roots joined with the position. The essential perspectives of position power: legitimate, representative, information, coercive, reward, and process power. Position power enhances whereas a manager capable of demonstrating to others...
Words: 1120 - Pages: 5
...Running Header: Power and Politics Power and Politics Paper Wanda F. Carter Power and Politics A collective group of people with general goals is how organizations are first established and built. In order the goals to be achieved people will need to work together and behave in a way that is governed by rules, regulations, policies and other methods that have been established by the organization. This is normally accomplished through the process of influencing behaviors. Power is a task of ties of give-and-take and politics is the establishment and process of the application of power. “Power can be defined as the capacity of one party to influence the other parties and to act as first party desires. Power can influence the behavior through compliance, identification and internationalization.” (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2006, pg. 2, ch. 12) Politics is “the constitution and procedure of the application of power, to affect the various parameters such as definitions of goals, directions, etc. It is the behavior of self serving that outside the normal legitimate system of influences may become illegitimate.” (Tushman, 1977, pg. 217) Power and politics have been on the forefront of organizations for centuries, and is essential to people in positions of authority. Typically, people in position are the ones who typically have the power because it is a function that is necessary to ensure they can effectively play their role as the top or figure head...
Words: 913 - Pages: 4
...Power and Politics An individual sets out in life, and in work, to achieve his or her own goals, and to promote his or her own interests. Therefore, in a hierarchal setting of an organization, individuals will naturally contend for their own interests. Aided by the use of personal power, politics, influence, and empowerment, many individuals achieve their goals within organizations. Through analyzing power and politics in the workplace and organization, one may understand the organizational behavior that is touched by power and politics in the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Leadership Practices that Influence Organizations A key organizational management and leadership practice that influences an organization is the exhibition of power and the resulting influence that exhibit of power has on organizational behavior. According to Schermerhorn, et. al., “Power is the ability to get someone else to do something you want done, or the ability to make things happen or get things done the way you want. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others” (p. 214, 2008). In contrast to power, which is the energy behind making people behave in a certain way, “influence is what an individual has when he or she exercises power, and it is expressed by others’ behavioral response to that exercise of power” (Schermerhorn, et. al, p. 215, 2008). Together, power and influence in an organization or workplace are fundamental behavioral practices that influence an organization...
Words: 1105 - Pages: 5
...of Contents Contents | Pages | The concept of power | 2 | Sources of power | 2 | Political strategies and tactics | 8 | What is political Behavior | 9 | What are the factors contributing to Political behavior | 9 | POLITICS: Power in action: | 11 | What are the Reality of Politics | 11 | What is Organizational Politics | 12 | What is Power? Power is the capacity to influence the behavior of others.3 The term power may be applied to individuals, groups, teams, departments, organizations, and countries. For example, a certain team within an organization might be labeled as powerful, which suggests that it has the ability to influence the behavior of individuals in other teams or departments. This influence may affect resource allocations, space assignments, goals, hiring decisions, and many other outcomes and behaviors in an organization. Definitions of power abound. German sociologist, Max Weber defined power as "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance." Along similar lines, Emerson suggests that "The power of actor A over actor B is the amount of resistance on the part of B which can be potentially overcome by A." Power appears to involve one person changing the behavior of one or more other individuals -- particularly if that behavior would not have taken place otherwise. Contrasting Leadership and Power Leadership focuses on goal achievement. It requires...
Words: 4019 - Pages: 17
...POWER & POLITICS TAKE AWAY POINTS • Power is the actionable capacity to get others to do what you want. • A deeper notion of power: power is the actionable capacity to get others to want what you want. • Three faces of power: position power (where you are); expert power (what you know); relational power (who you know) • Relational power in its lesser form is networking power (who you know) and in its most exalted form, it is referent power (who looks up to you) • Power is a convertible currency; paucity in one form can be made up with abundance in another. PP((EP ((RP ((PP • Power can also be freshly minted. Look for holes in the structure (the lack of fit between strategy and structure) and fill them in with your expert power and/or referent power to create fresh bases of power. • Politics arises out of diverging goals. Politics leads to conflict the resolution of which is always political. Politics is not a flaw in design but part of the human condition. • Even with apolitical managers, when each department is given in its own goal, conflict will arise. Such functional conflict cannot be designed away. There are no structural solutions but only political resolutions. • A common culture is a great conflict –reducer. But culture takes years to fully flower. • Position power is the lord of the rings when the markets and technologies are stable and predictable. In placid times, position power is where real power is. • When...
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...Power and Politics In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence the behavior of people. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. In the corporate environment, power is often expressed as upward or downward. With downward power, a company's superior influences subordinates. When a company exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of the leader (Greiner & Schein, 1988). The use of power need not involve coercion (force or the threat of force). At one extreme, it more closely resembles what everyday English-speakers call influence, although some authors make a distinction between power and influence – the means by which power is used (Handy, C. 1993 Understanding Organisations). Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the enabling nature of power. A comprehensive account of power can be found in Steven Lukes Power: A Radical View where he discusses the three dimensions of power. Thus, power can be seen as various forms of constraint on human action, but also as that which makes action possible, although in a limited scope. Much of this debate is related to the works of the French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926–1984), who, following the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), sees power as "a complex...
Words: 8519 - Pages: 35
...Power can be defined as the ability to get a person to do something wanted by another person. Power can be seen as exerting control or influencing people. Power puts people in position of authority that controls and affects the employees of an organization (Brown, 2010). People use power on people for different purposes to guide and direct their employees for higher purposes and to conform to the values of the organization; but also to achieve the goals of the organization. Power can be viewed from different aspects, power based on reward purposes, in situation where employees exert their power by rewarding their employees based on their performance whether good or bad. There is coercive power that a manager uses to deny or administer punishment simply to exert and control people in the organization although depends largely on the organization and the scope of the manager’s power. Legitimate power, this kind of power is the authority normally vested in a manager to control the behavior of the employees, based on the values, beliefs and structures of the organization. These three forms of power briefly discussed above played out itself in the case of Enron. Where Enron could have exerted influence or control for the overall interest of the organization, they started pursing personal interest by diverting into business transactions that was of unquestionable nature which resulted in loss. The interests of the employees were threatened if they have in possession information...
Words: 935 - Pages: 4
...Special articles Power Politics Process of Power Sector Reform in India Power sector policy in India appears to have locked itself into adverse arrangements at least twice in the recent period. The first was when agricultural consumption was de-metered and extensive subsidies were offered; the second when Independent Power Producer contracts with major fiscal implications were signed by the State Electricity Boards. A third set of circumstances, with the potential for equally powerful forms of institutional lock-in, appears to be in the making with the reproduction of the Orissa model on the national scale. This paper provides an analysis of the social and political context in which power sector reforms have taken place in India. While a state-led power sector has been responsible for substantial failures, is the design of the reformed sector well aimed at balancing efficiency and profit-making on the one hand and the public interest on the other? The discussion of the forces and actors that have shaped the reform processes is intended to contribute to an understanding of how the public interest can best be served in the ongoing effort to reshape the power sector. NAVROZ K DUBASH, SUDHIR CHELLA RAJAN I Introduction he electric power sector in India is in a state of upheaval. Over the decade of the 1990s, the long-held belief in public ownership and operation of this critical sector has been eroded. In its place has emerged a growing vision of the sector organised around...
Words: 27705 - Pages: 111
...Power and Politics Paper Thomas Baniel MGT/307 Organizational Behavior and Group Dynamic December 19, 2009 George Beaini Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals. The source of this influence may be formal, such as that provided by the possession of managerial rank in an organization (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Because management positions come with some degree of formally designated authority, a person may assume a leadership role simply because of the position he or she holds in the organization. Leaders establish direction by developing a vision of the future; then they align people by communicating this vision and inspiring them to overcome hurdles (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Throughout history strong leaders have been described in terms of their traits, trait theories of leadership differentiate leaders from non-leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics. Different studies identified nearly 80 leadership traits, but only 5 of these traits were common in 4 or more studies (Robbins & Judge, 2009). A breakthrough of these studies came when researchers began organizing traits around the Big Five personality framework. It became clear that most of the dozens of traits emerging in various leadership reviews could be submitted under one of the Big Five and that this approach resulted in consistent and strong support for traits as predictors of leadership (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Extraversion is...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...corporate world and it`s power and the intertwining between the corporate community and the upper class. To gain insight how one class can dominate the other we must define the terms social class and power. “They (social scientists) begin with a crucial analytical distinction between economic classes, which consist of people who have a common position in the economic system, such as ‘business owners’ or ‘employees’ and social classes, which consist of people who interact with each other, develop in-group social organizations, and share a common lifestyle” (Domhoff, 4). According to the author the most dominate social class in America is the upper class. This group can be defined as less than one percent of the population yet owns 34.3 percent of all marketable assets. As a group this class is very private, elite and secretive. They attend selected schools; they are members of private clubs and possess the most wealth in America. The upper class consists of networks which are created through social circles, alumni groups and club memberships. “This network-based way of thinking about a social class as a duality of persons and groups fits well with earlier definitions of social class” (Domhoff, 6). This group`s networks are the basis for shared interests. In an ideal world no class or group has power over another. For this reason those who have the power always refute. According to social scientists power has two dimensions; which...
Words: 1245 - Pages: 5
...Power And Politics In Organizations One of the most desired human wants is power. In the business world, power and politics, to a large extent, determine the growth, stability and continual success of companies. Before comparing and contrasting power and politics in organizations it would be beneficial to define each term. For the purpose of this paper, power is defined as the exercise of influence or control over another’s behavior, while politics is defined as the tactics used to obtain a desired goal, position or status in a company. Two examples of the abuse of power and politics, as it relates to management and leadership in an organization, is the failure of the management of some companies to give credit where it is due and the underhanded practices used by others for career advancement. Power and politics are the top two elements used in a company that either can cause the downfall or success of that company. Knowing the positions of power and politics and the role they play in a company is critical to the awareness of organizational ethics and leadership practices. The organizational management and leadership practice of a company depend largely on power and politics. Power and politics within an organization involves resources, money, people, time and authority. Power is established by social responsibility, control, behavior, organizational culture, and empowered management teams. Politics is established by a personal structure surrounded by traditional and non-traditional...
Words: 718 - Pages: 3
...Power and Organizational Politics Outline * Power……………………………………………………………… pg 3 * The Influence of Power in Organization…………… pg 3-4 * Sources of Power…………………………………………….. pg 5 * Organizational Politics…………………………………….. pg 6 * Ethics of Power and Politics…………………………….. pg 6-7 * Empowerment………………………………………………… pg 7 * Reference……………………………………………………….. pg 8 Power What is power? In the organization, power of a person can be derived from interpersonal, structural and situational bases. Basically, interpersonal power is vested in a person as prescribed by the organization (ie; legitimate, reward and coercive) and by the person’s qualities (i.e.; expert and referent). While structural and situational powers (i.e.; resource, decision making and information powers) normally go by the hierarchy of the organization’s structure. The higher the position of a person as structured by the organization, the greater is his/her power in accessing to resources, making decisions and having access to important information. People in the organization must be aware that the misuse of power can bring the disadvantages to their organization and the workplace. Most of the problems of power faced by the organizations are because of the improper use of power by the managers. There are cases where the managers made in charge of businesses are lack in the required knowledge and skills which can contribute towards reducing the performance of the organization. There are also...
Words: 1573 - Pages: 7
...Discuss the concept of power and organizational politics using a situation you are familiar with, describe how power and politics have manifested itself. Introduction There is no accepted definition of politics and power but many scholars have attempted to define it and what is commonly among them is that, politics is ubiquitous in nature. Politics is indeed human, and one cannot separate politics from human activity. This means that whatever we do we are simply exercising the concept of politics whether in our organization, the economy, the family, the school, the media and finally in the political arena. Politics is to be found both vertically and horizontally in our society that is, from all the socio-economic and political angles of the society. This is universal in nature since it was captured in the works of a classical writer Aristotle, it is Aristotle that argues “man is not only a social animal but political in nature”. It is according to this statement that we engage in politics for the desired end to be achieved, “seek ye the political kingdom and shall be added unto it, for a man without politics there is no beatitude”. This line of thinking was also coined to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the former president of Ghana. The aforesaid line of thinking signify that, we only engage on our organizational matters and other aspects of our life with a clear mind set of politics so that we can achieve the goals and the objectives that are a target to the relevant organization. The...
Words: 5194 - Pages: 21
...INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS POLITICS Power is the capacity to influence others through the control of instruments of reward and punishment – which can be tangible or intangible. Definitions of power abound. German sociologist, Max Weber defined power as "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance." Along similar lines, Emerson suggests that "The power of actor A over actor B is the amount of resistance on the part of B which can be potentially overcome by A." Power appears to involve one person changing the behavior of one or more other individuals – particularly if that behavior would not have taken place otherwise. Sources of Power are: (vi) Legitimate power – derived from the position e.g. kingship, managerial (vii) Reward Power – derived from control of resources e.g. promotion, recommendation, training etc (viii) Referent power– derived from association with powerful people (ix) Coercive power – uses the ability to force other people to act against their wishes through the fear of punishment. (x) Expert power – derived from the possession of expert knowledge or information that others need but have no alternative access. Politics is also the study of influence and the influential • Influence is measured on the basis of the number of shares one or a group has in the preferred values or attributes • The more values or attributes shared...
Words: 3129 - Pages: 13
