Chapter 13 – Conflict, Power and Politics

Intergroup Conflict in Organizations

Intergroup conflict requires three things: employees who perceive themselves as part of a group, an observable group difference, and frustration. The frustration does not have to be severe and even the anticipation of one group getting their goals and the other does not, then it starts. Conflict, while similar to competition, is more severe. The conflict can be horizontal among the different groups in the organization or vertical between the layers of management.

Sources of Conflict

Goal Incompatibility

Goal incompatibility happens when one department’s goals conflict with another’s goals. Manufacturing and marketing are often two groups that will have conflicts in goals.

Differentiation

Differentiation is the differences in cognitive and emotional operations among managers in different functional departments. The department that you are part of will often influence what you values, attitudes and behavior will be like.

Task Interdependence

Task interdependence means that one department depends on another for materials, resources, or information. As it increases conflict will increase.

Limited Resources

When there are limited resources like people and money in an organization, one department may try to achieve its goals at the expense of other departments. Resources also indicate that a department had more power if it has more of them and will use that power to get still more.

Rational versus Political Model

When goals are in alignment, then a rational model of an organization can be used. This ideal cannot really be achieved though. When differences are great, then the political model comes in to play. Groups will push and pull for what they want. A pure political model is also something that cannot be reached. Instead, most organizations have a mix of the two and some will even flow between the two at various times.

Power and Organizations

Power is the ability by one part of the organization to influence another part of it to get the outcome that it wants. It must be between two or more people or organizational departments because one has some valued resources that the others need. Because of this the power holder gets compliance with his requests.

Individual versus Organizational Power

There are five sources of personal power:

v Legitimate power – authority granted by the organization

v Reward Power – authority granted by the ability to give rewards

v Coercive Power – authority give by the ability to punish

v Expert Power – authority granted because of the knowledge

v Referent Power - authority because of the charismatic nature of the person

In an organization power is the result of structural characteristics.

Power versus Authority

Anyone in an organization can exercise power to achieve desired outcomes. Authority is a force for prescribing outcomes but only as defined by the hierarchy and reporting relationships.

1. Authority is vested in organizational positions – it is where they are in the organization not who they are

2. Authority is accepted by subordinates – lower level employees comply because the believe that the upper level people have the authority to tell them what to do

3. Authority flows down from a vertical hierarchy – people at the top have more authority then those at the bottom

Power can be exerted in all directions including upward. Authority flows downward and is the same as legitimate power.

Vertical Sources of Power

Formal Position

The higher up the chain of command that you are, the more formal authority you have been given. Often senior management will use symbols or language to remind people underneath them that they have this power. The amount of power that middle and lower level management has in built into the structure of the organization and is necessary because without it they cannot do their jobs. The more access one has to higher level management the more power is bestowed, even though you may be on the same level with other managers. Designing positions for power assumes that there is a limited amount of power to be dealt out, but that is not necessarily the truth. Often to get power you have to give it away.

Resources

Resources are often allocated from the top down, giving those in authority more power over those underneath. They can use these resources to reward or to punish.

Control of Decision Premises and Information

In controlling how a problem is to be solved (resources, etc.) there is a control of decision premise and information. This allows for top level managers to make the big decisions while lower level managers make a lot of little decisions. Information is one of those things that can be hoarded or shared, and it tends to be more shared in learning organizations. Control of information is a source of power and it can be used to influence decisions the way one wants them to be even if they do not have the authority.

Network Centrality

Network centrality is being centrally located in the organization and having access to the organization that is critical and others may need. This is usually where top executives place themselves. Employees also have more power when there jobs are centered on places of concern and opportunity. They can also do this by becoming knowledgeable or taking on difficult or undesirable jobs in the organization.

People

Top people will often fill the areas around them with people that are loyal to them. Lower people can use this to there advantage and become loyal to higher ups and move up in the organization.

Horizontal Sources of Power

All Vice Presidents in an organization are on the same level. Does that mean they all have the same power in the organization? No, certain departments have more pull and therefore more power. Sales department is most commonly the one with more pull. Though difficult to measure, we can analyze horizontal power these ways:

Strategic Contingencies

Strategic contingencies are things that happen internally and externally to the organization that help it reach its goals. Departments can put themselves into places where they are needed strategically.

Power Sources

1. Dependency – power is received if you have something that someone else needs. Sometimes this is a lower department that has something that the higher department needs.

2. Financial Resources – the person with the gold makes the rules. Money generates dependency to the departments that generate it.

3. Centrality – where is the department in the organization. What ever is the focus of the organization is where the centrality usually is.

4. Nonsubstitutability – a department has a function that no other department can duplicate easily. Some of this is based on the skill set a person may have and as the market for those skills changes nonsubstitutability may change.

5. Coping with uncertainty – departments that can reduce uncertainty can increase their power. Ways that departments can cope:

a. Obtain prior information – helps to forecast events

b. Prevention – predicting and forestalling negative events

c. Absorption – a department takes action after an event to reduce negative consequences

Political Processes in Organizations

Politics is hard to measure and often it is hidden from view. Some things about it that managers believe:

1. Most managers thinks politics are negative and damaging

2. Managers think that it is fairly common in all organizations

3. Managers believe that politics happen at a higher level

4. Politics arises in some domains but is absent in others

Definition

Power is the available force to do a job. Politics is the use of power to influence decisions to get desired outcomes. It can be looked on as self-serving or a natural flow of the organization. If we look at it as self serving, then politics becomes dishonest and deceptive and this is the way many people look at politics. On the other hand if we look at politics as being the natural flow of give and take in an organization, then we have a better view of it. Organizational theory looks at it this way. Organizational politics involves activities to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain the preferred outcome when there is uncertainty or disagreement about choice.

When is Political Activity Used

The area where most political activity takes place in an organization is structural change, management succession, and resource allocation. When reorganization takes place many people will try to retain the power that they have by politicking. New management coming in will often cause people to try to work in ways to keep their position by using political activity. Lastly, when there are limited resources available, people will use the political process to get what they want.

Using Power, Politics, and Collaboration

Position and responsibility, more that personality and style, determine the use of political power. Individual managers will negotiate decisions and adopt tactics that will enable them to acquire and gain more power. To understand power in an organization you need to look at structural components and individual behavior. Some parts of the firm may not be as bold with their use of power but it is there.

Tactics for Increasing Power

1. Enter areas of high uncertainty – identify the uncertainty and then take steps to cope with it. Since trial and error is needed, learning will be taking place that another department will not be able to duplicate.

2. Create dependencies – just the simple act of doing a favor for an organization can put them in your dependency. Another way is to give your department skills that cannot be duplicated in other parts of the organization.

3. Provide scarce resources – if you have resources (money, information, etc.) you will also have power.

4. Satisfy strategic contingencies – find the element in the organization that is critical for its success.

Power is not allocated randomly. It can be easily understood and once achieved can be used to meet helpful outcomes

Political Tactics for Using Power

1. Build coalitions and expand networks – most decisions are made outside of formal meetings so take the time to work with others. Working with others rather than exploiting others is necessary. Also, cooption, or bringing a dissenter over into the group is a good way to expand your networks.

2. Assign loyal people to key positions – put people in authority that are sympathetic that the goals of the department to help achieve departmental goals.

3. Control decision premises – constrain the boundaries of the decision. Let others see the good side and not the bad side. One can also limit the amount of information others receive. Agenda setting, calling attention to specific problems is another example of this.

4. Enhance legitimacy and expertise – work with others to get mutual goals met.

5. Make a direct appeal – do not ask and you cannot receive. Bargaining for what you need and be explicit when presenting needs.

In all this, the use of power should not be obvious. Drawing attention to your power diminishes it. Power works best when it is used quietly.

Tactics for Enhancing Collaboration

1. Create integration devices – bring together people from different departments to jointly solve the problems. Labor-management teams are a good example.

2. Use confrontation and negotiations – there may be some risk, but if able to succeed then there will be new respect for each other. The most useful of this way of doing things is the win-win strategy. No one likes to loose so this is a good way to deal with things, find things that benefit both of you.

3. Schedule intergroup consultations – bring groups together so that they can see how the other group sees them.

4. Practice member rotations – move people around to different departments so that they have the advantage of seeing how the other groups work, operate, and what their values are.

5. Create shared missions and superordinate goals – when goals are linked together, employees will work together.

Summary and Interpretation