2) There are five conflict-handling styles. What types of power/influence tactics would be best suited for each conflict-handling style? Justify your answer.
CONFLICT HANDLING STYLEs: Avoiding, Accommodating, Competing, Compromise, collaborating.
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PART THREE SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES
This vignette illustrates the main themes of this chapter-power, politics, and ethics.
First, we will define power and discuss the bases of individual power. Then, we will examine
how people get and use power and who seeks it. After this, we will explore how organiza-
tional subunits, such as particular departments, obtain power, define organizational politics,
and explore the relationship of politics to power. Finally, we will look at ethics in organiza-
tions and sexual harassment.
LO 12.1
WHAT IS POWER?
Power is the capacity to influence others who are in a state of dependence.2 First, notice that
power is the capacity to influence the behaviour of others. Power is not always perceived or
exercised. For example, most professors hold a great degree of potential power over students
in terms of grades, assignment load, and the ability to embarrass students in class. Under
normal circumstances, professors use only a small amount of this power.
Define power, and
review the bases of
individual power.
Power. The capacity to
influence others who are in
Second, the fact that the target of power is dependent on the power holder does not
imply that a poor relationship exists between the two. For instance, your best friend has
power to influence your behaviour and attitudes because you are dependent on him or her
for friendly reactions and social support. Presumably, you can exert reciprocal influence for
a state of dependence.
similar reasons.
Third, power can flow in any direction in an organization. Often members at higher
organizational levels have more power than those at lower levels. However, in specific cases,
reversals can occur. For example, the janitor who finds the president in a compromising posi-
tion with a subordinate might find himself in a powerful position if the president wishes to
maintain his reputation in the organization!
Finally, power is a broad concept that applies to both individuals and groups. On the
one hand, an individual marketing manager might exert considerable influence over the staff
who report to her. On the other hand, the marketing department at XYZ Foods might be
the most powerful department in the company, able to get its way more often than other
departments. But from where do the marketing manager and the marketing department
obtain their power? We explore this issue in the following sections.
PIA
PERSONAL INVENTORY ASSESSMENT
Learn About Yourself
Personal Empowerment
Assessment
THE BASES OF INDIVIDUAL POWER
If you wanted to marshal some power to influence others in your organization, where would
you get it? As psychologists John French and Bertram Raven have explained, power can be
found in the position that you occupy in the organization or the resources that you are able to
command. The first base of power–legitimate power-is dependent on one's position or
job. The other bases (reward, coercive, referent, and expert power) involve the control of
important resources.
Legitimate Power
Legitimate power derives from a person's position or job in the organization. It constitutes
the organization's judgment about who is formally permitted to influence whom, and it is
often called "authority." As we move up the organization's hierarchy, we find that members
possess more and more legitimate power. In theory, organizational equals (e.g., all vice-
presidents) have equal legitimate power. Of course, some people are more likely than others
to invoke their legitimate power-“Look, I'm the boss around here." In the RCMP, one's
legitimate power corresponds to one's rank in the organization's hierarchy.
Organizations differ greatly in the extent to which they emphasize and reinforce legiti-
Legitimate power. Power
derived from a person's
position or job in an
organization.
mate power. At one extreme is the military, which has many levels of command, differen-
tiating uniforms, and rituals (e.g., salutes), all designed to emphasize legitimate power. On
Transcribed Image Text: CHAPTER 12 POWER, POLITICS, AND ETHICS
433
the other hand, the academic hierarchy of universities tends to downplay differences in the
legitimate power of lecturers, professors, chairpeople, and deans.
When legitimate power works, it often does so because people have been socialized
to accept its influence. Experiences with parents, teachers, and law enforcement officials
cause members to enter organizations with a degree of readiness to submit to (and exercise)
legitimate power. In fact, employees consistently cite legitimate power as a major reason for
following their boss's directives, even across various cultures.5 This is one reason why juries
often fail to believe that top executives are "out of the loop" in ethical scandals.
Reward Power
Reward power means that the power holder can exert influence by providing positive out-
comes and preventing negative outcomes. In general, it corresponds to the concept of posi-
tive reinforcement discussed in Chapter 2. Reward power often backs up legitimate power.
That is, managers are given the chance to recommend raises, do performance evaluations,
and assign preferred tasks to employees. Of course, any organizational member can attempt
to exert influence over others with praise, compliments, and flattery, which also constitute
Reward power. Power
derived from the ability to
provide positive outcomes
and prevent negative
outcomes.
rewards.
Coercive Power
Coercive power is available when the power holder can exert influence using punishment
and threat. Like reward power, it is often a support for legitimate power. Managers might
be permitted to dock pay, assign unfavourable tasks, or block promotions. Despite a strong
civil service system, even US government agencies provide their executives with plenty of
coercive power. In the RCMP, some more senior male officers have abused their legitimate
power and engaged in sexual coercion.
Of course, coercive power is not perfectly correlated with legitimate power. Lower-level
organizational members can also apply their share of coercion. For example, consider work-
to-rule campaigns that slow productivity by strictly adhering to organizational procedures.
Cohesive work groups are especially skilful at enforcing such campaigns.
In Chapter 2, we pointed out that the use of punishment to control behaviour is very
problematic because of emotional side effects. Thus, it is not surprising that when manag-
ers use coercive power, it is generally ineffective and can provoke considerable employee
resistance.
Coercive power. Power
derived from the use of
punishment and threat.
Referent Power
Referent power exists when the power holder is well liked by others. It is not surprising that
people we like readily influence us. We are prone to consider their points of view, ignore
their failures, seek their approval, and use them as role models. In fact, it is often highly dis-
Referent power. Power
derived from being well
liked by others.
sonant to hold a point of view that is discrepant from that held by someone we like."
Referent power is especially potent for two reasons. First, it stems from identification with
the power holder. Thus, it represents a truer or deeper base of power than reward or coer-
cion, which may stimulate mere compliance to achieve rewards or avoid punishment. In this
sense, charismatic leaders (Chapter 9) have referent power. Second, anyone in the organiza-
tion may be well liked, irrespective of his or her other bases of power. Thus, referent power
is available to everyone from the janitor to the president.
Friendly interpersonal relations often permit influence to extend across the orga-
nization, outside the usual channels of legitimate authority, reward, and coercion. For
example, a production manager who becomes friendly with the design engineer through
participation in a task force might later use this contact to ask for a favour in solving a
production problem.