OB: Power & Influence

The lecture explores the concept of power and influence, highlighting their sources and forms within organizations. Key sources of power include expert, referent, reward, coercive, and legitimate power, each emanating from personal attributes or positional authority. The discussion also covers influence tactics such as persuasion, ingratiation, and assertiveness, and their varying effectiveness in achieving compliance or commitment. Contingencies like centrality and discretion can amplify power, while organizational politics often arise from self-serving behaviors in complex or resource-scarce environments. The lecture emphasizes understanding these dynamics to navigate and utilize power effectively in organizational settings.

• Power is defined as the ability to change someone else's behavior, while influence is the act of changing that behavior.
• Power can originate from various sources and can take multiple forms, with its application being discretionary.
• Influence tactics vary in effectiveness based on the desired behavior, the person being influenced, and the influencer.

"Power is the ability to change someone else's behavior; influence is the actual act of changing that someone else's behavior."

• This quote highlights the distinction between having power and actively using it to influence others.

• Expert power comes from an individual's or a work unit's capacity to influence others through valued knowledge or skills.
• In a knowledge economy, employees gain expert power due to their expertise and abilities.

"People who have expertise in a certain thing have a particular amount of power."

• This emphasizes the value of specialized knowledge and skills in establishing expert power.

• Referent power arises when others identify with, like, or respect a person, often linked to charismatic leadership.
• Marketing strategies frequently utilize referent power by associating products with admired figures.

"The implication was if you drink Gatorade you'll be like Mike, and everyone wants to be like Mike."

• This illustrates how referent power is leveraged in marketing to influence consumer behavior.

• Reward power is the ability to control the allocation of valued rewards and remove negative sanctions.
• It operates in both upward and downward directions, allowing both supervisors and subordinates to provide rewards.

"Supervisors can provide rewards to subordinates, but subordinates can also provide rewards to supervisors."

• This quote explains the bidirectional nature of reward power within organizational hierarchies.

• Coercive power is the ability to apply punishment and can be exerted both upward and downward.
• Peer pressure is a common example of coercive power in everyday life.

"When our peers influence us to do something that we otherwise may not have done, they're coercing us to do something."

• This highlights how coercive power manifests in social situations, influencing behavior through pressure.

• Legitimate power is based on the agreement that individuals in certain roles can request specific behaviors from others.
• It is linked to one's position in the organizational hierarchy and can be lost if the position changes.

"Business owners of course have legitimate power over all employees; they can hire and fire at their own discretion."

• This quote underscores the role-based nature of legitimate power in organizational settings.

• Expert and referent power are considered personal powers, as they stem from the individual and transfer across roles and organizations.
• Reward, coercive, and legitimate power are positional powers, dependent on one's role within the organizational hierarchy.

"Expert power and reference power go with the person from role to role and from job to job and from organization to organization."

• This quote clarifies the distinction between personal and positional power, highlighting the portability of personal power.

• Contingencies can amplify the impact of power sources, enhancing the ability to exert influence over others.
• Centrality, or the degree of interdependence between the power holder and others, is one such contingency.

"Some of these things that expand upon or affect the nature of the relationship between a source of power and the use of power over others are contingencies known as centrality."

• This quote introduces the concept of contingencies that can magnify power, focusing on the importance of centrality.

• Centrality refers to the importance of a role within an organization's operations, particularly when a position is crucial for decision-making.
• The chief legal officer in a patent company exemplifies centrality due to their role in approving licensing agreements.
• Central figures in organizations often hold multiple types of power, including legitimate, coercive, and expert power.

"So if a salesperson wants to license the technology that the company has a patent on to another company, then they first have to get approval from the chief of legal operations."

• This quote highlights the central role of the chief legal officer in decision-making processes, emphasizing their power and influence within the company.

• Discretion is the freedom to make decisions without needing approval from higher authorities.
• High-level employees typically have more discretion compared to entry-level employees.
• Discretion allows employees to make on-the-spot decisions that benefit the company.

"New employees, entry-level employees, lower-level employees tend not to be given very much discretion."

• Entry-level employees have limited decision-making power, contrasting with higher-level employees who can exercise more discretion.

• Substitutability involves the availability of alternatives and affects the strength of one's power.
• Power is maximized when an individual has a monopoly over a valued resource.
• Methods to increase power through substitutability include controlling tasks, knowledge, and labor.

"Power is strongest when someone has a monopoly over a valued resource."

• This quote explains that having exclusive control over a resource enhances one's power within an organization.

• Controlling knowledge, such as withholding repair manuals, can make an employee non-substitutable.
• Labor unions enhance their power by limiting labor supply and enforcing collective bargaining.

"When workers hoard knowledge by, say, destroying repair manuals for machines, that would be making themselves non-substitutable."

• The act of hoarding knowledge increases an individual's indispensability, thereby strengthening their power.

• Visibility refers to how well-known and recognized one's efforts and credentials are within an organization.
• Displaying diplomas and certificates can enhance visibility and perceived expertise.
• Visibility can influence others' perceptions of an individual's competence and authority.

"Visibility is the degree to which one's efforts are known and recognized by others."

• This quote underscores the importance of visibility in establishing one's reputation and authority.

• Influence involves using one's power to affect others' actions and decisions.
• Silent authority is a form of influence where individuals comply with requests based on perceived power without direct intervention.
• Influence is often exercised through legitimate power and role modeling.

"Silent Authority is simply following the request of someone who has reward or coercive or expert power without them overtly influencing us."

• Silent authority illustrates how power can be exerted subtly, relying on perceived authority rather than explicit directives.

• Silent authority is the influence exerted by a figure of authority without verbal communication.
• Employees tend to improve their performance in the presence of their boss due to the boss's silent authority.
• The mere presence of a boss can motivate employees to work harder to avoid being perceived as lazy or unproductive.

"This is the boss you do not want to be seen as a lazy slacker an unproductive employee when the boss is standing right next to you."

• The presence of authority figures naturally encourages individuals to enhance their performance to avoid negative perceptions.

• Assertiveness involves actively applying legitimate and coercive power.
• It includes reminding, confronting, checking, or threatening individuals to ensure compliance.
• Assertiveness is exemplified by direct communication, such as threatening job termination for continued poor performance.

"A way of being assertive is to walk up to a subordinate and say you know you've been messing up a lot lately. If you mess up anymore, you will be fired."

• Assertiveness uses direct communication to express authority and ensure compliance, often involving consequences for non-compliance.

• Information control involves manipulating others' access to information, distinct from substitutability contingency.
• It includes withholding, filtering, or rearranging information to maintain power or control.
• In top-secret projects, individuals may withhold information to remain valuable to the team.

"Since everyone wants to remain a part of the top secret team and information has been given to each of them on a need to know only basis, these people will tend not to share their information with each other."

• Information control is a strategic approach to maintain power by limiting access to critical information, ensuring individuals retain their value within a team.

• Coalition formation is the expression of power by forming a group to gain more influence than one could alone.
• It involves pooling resources and power, legitimizing issues, and expressing social identity.
• Employees can collectively confront a boss to influence change, demonstrating the power of a united front.

"If every employee gets together and forms a coalition and they all go to the boss and they say if you don't stop treating us that this way we will all quit, now the boss has no choice."

• Coalition formation leverages collective power to influence change, demonstrating the strength of unity in confronting authority.

• Upward appeal involves appealing to a higher authority to exert influence.
• It is commonly used by individuals lacking direct power, such as children appealing to parents.
• Threatening to involve a higher authority can effectively influence behavior.

"By threatening to go to a higher authority they've expressed a source of power and they've influenced their sibling by using this upward appeal."

• Upward appeal is a strategic use of external authority to influence outcomes, often used when direct power is lacking.

• Persuasion uses logic, facts, and emotional appeals to gain acceptance of an idea.
• It is considered the best way to influence others but requires strong communicative skills and intelligence.
• Effective persuasion can replace other forms of influence and power expression.

"If you do, you can eschew all other forms of influence and expression of power in favor of this because this is the best way to influence others."

• Persuasion is a highly effective influence strategy, relying on strong communication skills to logically and emotionally appeal to others.

• Ingratiation involves increasing liking or similarity to a target by flattering, helping, and seeking advice.
• The classic example is Eddie Haskell from "Leave it to Beaver," who ingratiated himself with adults despite his true nature.
• Ingratiation can create a favorable impression, influencing perceptions and relationships.

"He influenced her to think that he was not such a bad kid when in reality he really, really was."

• Ingratiation is a tactic to create a positive impression, often masking true intentions to influence perceptions.

• Impression management involves actively shaping public image through appearance and behavior.
• It includes manipulating perceptions through dress, behavior, or resume padding.
• While effective in influencing others, deception in impression management can lead to negative consequences.

"Padding a resume can have a very negative impact in the 24/7 YouTube Facebook instant background check world we live in today."

• Impression management is a strategic approach to influence perceptions, but deception can lead to significant negative consequences.

• Exchange involves promising or reminding others of past benefits in exchange for compliance with requests.
• Negotiation is integral to the exchange strategy, emphasizing reciprocal benefits.
• This method relies on a history of mutual benefit to ensure compliance.

"In the exchange method of influencing others, we promise or remind them of past benefits in exchange for compliance with our request."

• Exchange leverages past benefits to negotiate compliance, emphasizing reciprocity and mutual advantage in relationships.

• Influence involves using past actions to elicit reciprocal actions from others, exemplified by the "Tit for Tat" exchange.
• Power dynamics are amplified through contingencies like visibility, discretion, and centrality.
• The use of power can lead to three outcomes: resistance, compliance, or commitment.

"Do this for me because I did something like this for you previously."

• This quote exemplifies the concept of reciprocal influence, where past favors are used to justify current requests.

• Resistance occurs when individuals are reluctant to comply with requests.
• Compliance is achieved when individuals agree to requests without enthusiasm.
• Commitment is the most favorable outcome, where individuals willingly and enthusiastically comply.

"Resistance is well all right I don't really want to do this for you."

• Resistance highlights reluctance and unwillingness to comply with a request.

"Compliance is uh okay I'll do it."

• Compliance indicates agreement to a request without enthusiasm or full endorsement.

"Commitment is heck yeah I'll do it."

• Commitment reflects enthusiastic and willing compliance, showing genuine support.

• Influence tactics are categorized into hard and soft tactics.
• Hard tactics (e.g., silent authority, upward appeal) often lead to resistance or compliance.
• Soft tactics (e.g., persuasion, ingratiation) are more likely to result in compliance or commitment.

"Silent Authority, upward appeal, Coalition formation, information control, and assertiveness tend to lead to either resistance or compliance."

• Hard tactics are often perceived as coercive, leading to resistance or minimal compliance.

"Persuasion, ingratiation, impression management, and exchange tend to more often result in commitment."

• Soft tactics are friendlier and less coercive, fostering a more positive response.

• Organizational politics involve self-serving behaviors perceived as benefiting individuals at the expense of others or the organization.
• Politics are prevalent in every organization, influenced by complex decisions, scarce resources, organizational change, and tolerance for political behavior.

"Behaviors that others perceive as self-serving and these are tactics that people use for personal gain."

• Organizational politics are driven by self-serving behaviors for personal advantage.

"The conditions which give rise to low, medium, or high levels of organizational politics include complex and ambiguous decisions, scarce resources, organizational change, and tolerance for politics."

• Various organizational conditions foster the emergence of political behaviors.

• Perceptions of politics vary among individuals within the same organization.
• Sensitivity to political behaviors differs, influencing how politics are perceived.

"Perceptions of organizational politics is in the eye of the beholder."

• Individual perceptions of politics are subjective and vary based on personal sensitivity and awareness.