Topic 14: Power

Question 1

What is power?

Answer 1

The capacity of a person, team or organisation to influence others.

Question 2

What is countervailing power?

Answer 2

“The capacity of a person, team or organisation to keep a more powerful person or group in the exchange relationship.”

Question 3

What are the 5 bases of social power?

Answer 3

• Legitimate: Based on a formal position.
• Reward: Based on capacity to deal rewards.
• Coercise: Based on capacity to deal punishment.
• Expert: Based on the clear compotence to make good decisions.
• Reference: Based on attractiveness in the eyes of others.

Question 4

What bases of social power are position derived?

Answer 4

• Legitimate
• Reward
• Coercive

Question 5

What bases of social power are person derived?

Answer 5

• Expert
• Referent

Question 6

Why does legitimate power work?

Answer 6

• Social conditioning
• Designation from somebody above who already has power.

Question 7

What are two explanations for compliance with authority figures?

Answer 7

Milgram: Willingness to obey -> legitimate power (from the model).

Conformity under uncertainty: The more uncertainty is the more people conform to views.

Question 8

What are outcomes of exercising power?

Answer 8

One of:

• Commitment.
• Compliance.
• Resistance.

Question 9

How do the 5 social power bases relate to outcomes?

Answer 9

Question 10

When will commitment be the more likely result?

Answer 10

• When people rely on consultation, rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, not preassure and coalition formation.
• Influence attempt involves something important and enjoyable and is based on a friendly relationship.

Question 11

What are the contingencies of power?

Answer 11

The conditions associated with an individuals control over resources that give power.

Strong when:

• Resource is nonsubstituable.
• Resource is central. (Non-avaliability effects many quickly.)
• Exercise of control is discretionary. (not constrained by rules.)
• Visable. (Everyone knows of the above.)

Question 12

What is organisational politics?

Answer 12

“Behaviors that others perceeive as self-serving tactics for personal gain at the expense of other people and possibly the organisation.”

Question 13

What are the uses of power in organisational politics?

Answer 13

• Personalised: Used to achieve ones own benifits.
• Socialised: Use of power to achieve benifits for others.

Question 14

What are Machiavellian values?

Answer 14

“The belief that deceit is a natural and acceptable way to achieve one’s goal”

Question 15

What is the individual differences explination?

Answer 15

Explains who uses power by refering to individual diferences between welders. Machiavellianist values are considered to be an important factor. It also states that power can and will be used by anyone (there is evidence for this).

Question 16

What is the social identity explination for power use?

Answer 16

• Coersive and reward power more likely to be used on out group members.
• Expert, referent and informational power are more likely to be used with in group members.

Question 17

What are the influence techniques?

Answer 17

• Reciprocation
• Scarcity
• Authority
• Consistency
• Consensus
• Liking

Question 18

Outline reciprocation as an influence technique.

Answer 18

• Works through exchange
• Person feels obligated to return a form of behavior after recieving one particular form of behavior.
• To use, get in early
• Basis of relationships and partnerships.
• Can apply to concessions.

Question 19

Outline scarcity as an influence technique.

Answer 19

• “Controlling information and supply”
• Scarcity in the case of commodities or resources.
• Exclusivity in the case of information.

Question 20

Outline authority as an influence technique.

Answer 20

• “Silent authority and upward appeal”
• Willingness to comply with directions in the area of experts knowledge
• Expertise must be known or signalled.
• Uncertainty should be reduced in the influence attempt.

Question 21

Outline consistency as a influence technique.

Answer 21

• “Persuasion”
• There is a willingness to comply with a request that is consistant with previous actions, beliefs or attitudes.
• Increase public statement of commitment to behavior. Get person to make statment of agreements. Cognitive dissonance then pulls them towards desired actions.

Question 22

Outline consensus as an influence technique.

Answer 22

• “Coalition formation”
• Willingness to comply with what other people do - conformity under uncertainty.
• Reduces uncertainty .
• So give the impression that other people are doing the desired action.

Question 23

Outline liking as an influence technique.

Answer 23

‘Ingratiation, impression management’

Willingness to comply with someone we like, based on:

• Similarities.
• Compliments.
• Cooperativeness.

Question 24

What are some conditions that encourage political behavior in organisations?

Answer 24

• Reallocation of resources.
• Low trust.
• Role ambiguity.
• Zero-sum reward practises.
• Democratic decision making.
• High performance pressures.
• Individual or group competition.
• Change of any kind.