Organizational Behavior: Power and Workplace Politics
Within organizations, power distribution is usually visible. Power is the ability to influence other people. In our case, in the workplace. It is the capacity and expertise of an individual to change the behaviour of their subordinates with resources control. However, power is not something that you get to inherit, keep or hold. It is rather something that you create. In the workplace, how an individual chooses to exercise power over others can shape the outcome and dynamics of an organization. Power is not to be confused with influence and authority. Authority is the legitimate right to exercise such powers over people. Influence, on the other hand, is the ability to affect the behaviour, thoughts and feelings of individuals. Power is an efficient tool that can lead an organization to positive and negative outcomes depending on how it is used. Those in authority have the power simply under their position. Workplace politics is thus the process which involves human interactions and how they relate to authority and power. It is also known as organizational politics or office politics. It tends to relate to how the use of social networking and the use of power within an organization to achieve positive changes. Workplace politics are self-serving behaviours that employees in an organization apply so that they try and improve the organization’s general output. Sometimes influence by other individuals may serve as examples. It includes access to some of the tangible assets that the company has or intangible benefits. Examples of positive politics include portraying a positive and professional image, helping and complimenting others and praising one’s accomplishments.
Every employee in an organization exerts a certain form of power. How an individual decides to exert in the workplace largely depends on an employee’s personality and the position that they hold in the organization. However, power is mostly exercised by leaders. In any organization, leaders who do not use their power effectively and responsibly risk losing it. Different types of power affected an individual’s ability to exercise power (Cranston). They are separated into five bases, as identified by John French. These are Legitimate, Expert, Reward, Coercive and Referent. These bases also form the types of powers that may be exercised over people.
- Legitimate power is a more traditional form of power in which an individual has earned the role of being a leader, especially in an organization. It can also result from formal positions from an organization such as being appointed manager. It can be positive or negative, depending on how the individual handles it.
- Expert power is a type of power that can be achieved by an individual is justified by an individual’s education level, specific talent or work experience. Such professions include doctors, engineers and other highly-trained specialists in their respective fields. It is, therefore, a type of power that is greatly cherished in many leadership roles.
- Reward power is a type of power that tends to revolve around an individual’s ability to impact certain changes that can spark motivation among employees. It includes salary increase, promotion, bonuses and access to certain information.
- Coercive power is more like a dictatorship. It involves working with threats that are above the norm and forces someone to act against their own will because of consequences. It is a form of power that can be destructive and tends to promote a hostile working environment and negatively impacts the reputation of the organization.
- Referent power is a form of power that is acquainted with people because they have relationships, connections and contacts with others. It is also referred to as charisma power. It is developed through the admirable characteristics and may occur through a certain period for someone if they become successful or have a clean track record.
Different people tend to react differently to different forms of power. Most individuals have three major responses to power. The first response is resistance. It includes being aggressive and ignorant to the instructions posted by the individual in power. These individuals also show signs of sabotaging and low-interest levels. The second reaction that most individuals exhibit is compliance. It happens when the individuals comply and agree to what is required and in fact, put no extra effort to follow the instructions. The third reaction is commitment. Individuals also tend to be self-driven to the orders due to either intrinsic or internal commitment. The different power bases and types described above affect several factors in the organization. Such factors include general turnover, job satisfaction of the individuals and overall job performance. For the powers, it is evident that certain types of powers have a positive effect on the organization. These include Referent and Expert power. Coercive power harms the organization.
Empowerment is a set of measures that are designed to increase the level of self-determination in people. A leader should effectively enhance their employee performance, positive attitudes and wellbeing. It includes giving the employees a greater sense of influence in the running of the organization. In this modern era, empowerment is becoming very necessary for managers. Actions such as clear communication, making the employee a priority, utilizing the right technologies and taking the required steps to improve their morale. A leader in power can also follow several steps to manage employees and get the best out of them. Psychological empowerment also raises the competence of the employees and makes a significant difference in their efforts. It is because the main goal and aim are to increase the productivity and competitiveness of an organization.
Leadership requires moving people between different levels and motivating them to be better while exploring their full potential. Leaders have to use certain tactics to easily influence others to change or move in a certain direction. Here, soft and hard tactics can be used. Soft tactics are those who support the autonomy of the target and tries to get someone to act or behave in a certain way to others (Sisti). These tactics include inspirational methods, consultations, personal appeals and rational tactics. Hard tactics, on the other hand, tend to threaten the autonomy of the individuals in an attempt to get someone to do something. These tactics include coalition tactics, pressure tactics and legitimating tactics. These tactics that are used have several outcomes. Since they rely on rational persuasion and inspirational appeals, they tend to be much more effective. They are also credible, and they apply the authentic values and beliefs to them. They are also legitimate and are effective for both long and short term strategies.
Workplace politics always influences intentional acts regarding influence. They may either be positive or negative. Nevertheless, workplace politics is a key factor that influences the functional and dysfunctional capabilities of employees in organizations. Frequently used political tactics that guarantee positive feedback include building a concrete support network. Making friends with powerful connections, impression management and committing to initiatives are also forms of positive political tactics. In the chapter, we also get to see methods in which individuals may use to support their ideas and keep them motivated throughout their line of duty. It includes forming allies in all the right places, getting your ideologies on the list and looking for ways to make it a priority and being flexible to anything life throws at you.
We tend to engage in impression management daily. Most of the time, it takes only a few moments for someone to evaluate you for the first time. It is an attempt to control the perception of other people towards you. It includes working on one’s appearance, speech and behaviour. It also includes working on factors such as setting achievable intentions and goals and keeping in checking your body language. Always being on time also contributes to a good first impression. Bad impressions can also be created by using such actions as doing the bare minimum, taking no extra initiatives and having a negative mindset. First impressions do matter. Positive impressions lead to positive social cohesion, while bad impressions lead to biased decisions and social prejudice.
As a manager, you must consider each employee’s ideas and opinions to be valuable. It enhances the effectiveness of the organization and contributes to the overall effective organizational functioning. They also organize, set objectives, and help develop people. The management process involves guiding the maintenance, development of resources to attain the intended organizational goals. Management is a very dynamic process that evolves to meet the specific requirements of the environment in which the company operates (Martin and Sims). As earlier seen, in a global marketplace, the planning, leading, organization, and controlling of the company is all in the hands of the manager. From this perspective, the manager is thus very crucial in organizing decisions for the company to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Hence, all these functions are essential for the running of the company smoothly and in the right direction. Also, the key inputs to empower an organizations employee includes a combination of individual differences, structural empowerment, proper leadership and adequate organizational support.
Works Cited
Cranston, Jane. “Workplace Power — What is It? How to Use It?” Executive Coach NY, 8 Mar. 2018, www.executivecoachny.com/workplace-power-what-is-it-how-to-use-it/. Accessed 29 July 2020.
Martin, Norman H., and John H. Sims. “Thinking Ahead: Power Tactics.” Harvard Business Review, hbr.org/1956/11/thinking-ahead-power-tactics. Accessed 29 July 2020.
Sisti, Kimberly A. “Influence Tactics.” Penn state Leadership, 2 Mar. 2017, sites.psu.edu/leadership/2014/03/02/influence-tactics-2/#:~:text=Hard%20tactics%20such%20as%20exchange,not%20to%20accept%20the%20influence%20(. Accessed 29 July 2020.