Introduction to Organisational Behaviour and Application to Management

Introduction to Organisational Behaviour and Application to Management The Group – Power and Politics

What is power? Power • The capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes • Exists as either: a potential or actual influence over a dependent relationship Dependency • B’s relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires • The greater B's dependence, the more power A has

Difference between power and leadership Leadership • Focuses on goal achievement • Requires goal compatibility with followers • Focuses influence downward Power • Used as a means for achieving goals • Requires follower dependency • Used to gain lateral and upward influence Research Focus • Leadership styles and relationships with followers Research Focus • Power tactics for gaining compliance

Bases of formal power Established by an individual’s position in an organisation Three bases: Coercive Power • A power base dependent on fear of negative results (ie, losing job, demotion) Reward Power • Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable (ie, promotion, money) Legitimate Power • The formal authority to control and use resources based on a person’s position in the formal hierarchy (ie, manager, director)

Bases of personal power Power that comes from an individual’s unique characteristics – these are the most effective (ie, personality, skills) Expert Power • Influence based on special skills or knowledge (ie, doctor, specialist) Referent Power • Influence based on possession by an individual of desirable resources or personal traits (ie, respect, fame)

General Dependency Postulate Assume that: “The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B. ” • Possession/control of scarce organisational resources that others need makes a manager powerful • Access to optional resources (e. g. , multiple suppliers) reduces the resource holder’s power Dependency increases when resources are: • Important • Scarce (ie, rare) • Nonsubstitutable (ie, can’t swap with other things)

Activity Think about which people in your life have power over you • What sort of power do they have? • Why do they have that power?

Power tactics Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions Nine influence tactics: • Rational persuasion* • Inspirational appeals* • Consultation* • Legitimacy • Exchange • Personal appeals • Ingratiation • Coalitions • Pressure

Power tactics • Power tactics preferred depend on direction of influence and communication

Factors influencing power tactics Choice and effectiveness of influence tactics are moderated by: • Sequencing of tactics (ie, order) • Softer to harder tactics work best (ie, gentle to hard) • Political skill of the user • The culture of the organisation • Culture affects user’s choice of tactic

Activity Think about your group presentation and the discussions you have had within your team. • Which power tactics have you used and why?

Example – Sexual Harassment • Sexual Harassment is “any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment” • Overt actions, like unwanted touching, are relatively easy to spot • Subtle actions, like jokes or looks, can cross over the line into harassment • Sexual harassment isn’t about sex – it is about abusing an unequal power relationship • Harassment can damage the well-being of the individual, work group, and organisation

How to reduce sexual harassment • Make sure a policy against it is in place. • Ensure that employees will not encounter retaliation if they file a complaint. • Investigate every complaint and include the human resource and legal departments. • Make sure offenders are disciplined or terminated. • Set up in-house seminars and training.

Politics Political Behavior is: “Activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organisation, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organisation. ” Legitimate Political Behavior • Normal everyday politics - complaining, bypassing, obstructing Illegitimate Political Behavior • Extreme political behavior that violates the implied rules of the game: sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest

Why are there politics? Politics is a natural result of resource scarcity • Limited resources lead to competition and political behaviors Judgments on quality of resource distribution differ markedly based on the observer’s perception, eg: • “Blaming others” or “fixing responsibility” • “Covering your rear” or “documenting decisions” • “Perfectionist” or “attentive to detail” Most decisions are made under ambiguous conditions • Lack of an objective standard encourages political maneuvering of subjective reality

Activity Look at diagram 13. 2 “Politics is in the eye of the beholder” • Which of these have you experienced? • Did you realise at the time that there were two different ways to perceive the actions?

Factors that influence political behaviour

How do employees react to politics?

Defensive behaviours Employees who perceive politics as a threat have defensive reactions and change their behaviours May be helpful in the short run, dangerous in the long run Types of defensive behaviors • Avoiding Action • Overconforming, buck passing, playing dumb, stalling • Avoiding Blame • Bluffing, playing safe, justifying, scapegoating • Avoiding Change • Prevention, self-protection

Impression Management The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them IM Techniques • Conformity • Excuses • Apologies • Self-Promotion • Flattery • Favors • Association

Activity Look at diagram 13. 6 2 “Impression Management Techniques” • When have you used these techniques? • Which was most successful for you?

When to use Impression Management Job Interview Success • IM does work and most people use it • Self-promotion techniques are important • Ingratiation is of secondary importance (ie, don’t have to put yourself in total favour with the other person) Performance Evaluations • Ingratiation is positively related to ratings • Self-promotion tends to backfire (in some cultures)

Ethics of being political It is difficulty to tell ethical from unethical politicking (ie, when someone is purposely being politic) Three questions help: • What is the use of engaging in the behavior? • Does the use balance out any harm done by the action? • Does the action conform to standards of equity and justice? Answers can be skewed toward either viewpoint depending on your perception

Worldwide politics Perceptions • Negative consequences to the perception of politics seem to be fairly widespread Preference for Power Tactics • The choice of effective tactics is heavily dependent on the culture of the country in which they are to be used Effectiveness of Power Tactics • Still open to debate; too little research has been done

Summary • You can increase your power by having others depend on you more. • Expert and referent power are far more effective than coercion. – Greater employee motivation, performance, commitment, and satisfaction – Personal power basis, not organisational • Effective managers accept the political nature of organisations. • Political astuteness and IM can result in higher evaluations, salary increases, and promotions.

Introduction to Organisational Behaviour and Application to Management The Group – Conflict and negotiation

What is conflict? A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has been negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about • That point in an ongoing activity when an interaction “crosses over” to become an interparty conflict Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people experience in organisations • Incompatibility of goals • Differences over interpretations of facts • Disagreements based on behavioral expectations

Views of conflict Traditional View of Conflict • The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided • Popular view in the 1930 s-1940 s It was believed that conflict resulted from: • Poor communication • Lack of openness • Failure to respond to employee needs

More views on conflict Human Relations View of Conflict • The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group • Popular from the late 1940 s through mid-1970 s Interactionist View of Conflict • The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively • Current view

Interactionist View of Conflict Interactionist view believes that conflict can help keep a group viable and creative. There are two types of conflict: Functional Conflict • Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance Dysfunctional Conflict (ie, negative conflict) • Conflict that hinders group performance

Types of conflict Task Conflict • Conflicts over content and goals of the work • Low-to-moderate levels of this type are FUNCTIONAL Relationship Conflict • Conflict based on interpersonal relationships • Almost always DYSFUNCTIONAL Process Conflict • Conflict over how work gets done • Low levels of this type are FUNCTIONAL

Activity • Think about your presentation groups and tutorial exercises • Which types of conflict have you experienced so far? • Please give examples

The stages of conflict

Stage 1: Potential opposition or incompatibility Communication • Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, over communication and “noise” Structure • Size and specialization of jobs • Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity • Member/goal incompatibility • Leadership styles (close or participative) • Reward systems (win-lose) • Dependence/interdependence of groups Personal Variables • Differing individual value systems • Personality types

Stage 2: Cognition and personalisation Important stage for two reasons: Conflict is defined • Perceived Conflict – Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise Emotions are expressed that have a strong impact on the eventual outcome • Felt Conflict – Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility

Stage 3: Intentions are decisions to act in a given way (Note: behavior does not always accurately reflect intent) Types of conflict-handling intentions: • Cooperativeness – Attempting to satisfy the other party’s concerns • Assertiveness – Attempting to satisfy one’s own concerns

Stage 4: Behaviour Conflict Management is the use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict • Conflict-Intensity Continuum (diagram 14. 3)

Stage 5: Outcomes Functional • Increased group performance • Improved quality of decisions • Stimulation of creativity and innovation • Encouragement of interest and curiosity • Provision of a medium for problem solving • Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and change Dysfunctional • Development of discontent • Reduced group effectiveness • Stunted communication • Reduced group cohesiveness • Infighting among group members overcomes group goals Creating Functional Conflict • Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders

Conflict resolution techniques • Problem solving • Superordinate goals • Expansion of resources • Avoidance • Smoothing • Compromise • Authoritative command • Altering the human variable • Altering the structural variables • Communication • Bringing in outsiders • Restructuring the organisation • Appointing a devil’s advocate

Activity Give examples of situations when the following conflict resolution techniques would be most useful: • Avoidance • Compromise • Restructuring • Authoritative command

Negotiation (Bargaining) • A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them Two General Approaches: • Distributive Bargaining – Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation • Integrative Bargaining – Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create a win-win solution

Distributive v. Integrative Bargaining Characteristic Distributive Bargaining Integrative Bargaining Goal Get all the pie you can Expand the pie Motivation Win-Lose Win-Win Focus Positions Interests Information Sharing Low High Duration of Relationships Short-Term Long-Term Source: Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer, Negotiation (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1985), p. 280. Integrative Yours Mine Distributive Yours Mine

Activity • What examples of distributive bargaining do you know? • What examples of integrative bargaining do you know?

The negotiation process • BATNA = The Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement • The lowest acceptable value (outcome) to an individual for a negotiated agreement • The “Bottom Line” for negotiations

Effectiveness of individuals in negotiations Personality Traits • Extroverts and agreeable people are weaker at distributive negotiation – disagreeable introvert is best • Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness Mood and Emotion • Ability to show anger helps in distributive bargaining (sometimes!) • Positive moods and emotions help integrative bargaining Gender • Men and women negotiate the same way, but may experience different outcomes • Women and men take on gender stereotypes in negotiations: tender and tough • Women are less likely to negotiate

Third-party negotiations Four Basic Third-Party Roles (ie, someone negotiating on your behalf) Mediator • A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives Arbitrator • A third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an agreement. Conciliator • A trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent Consultant • An impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis

Activity • In what situations would a third party negotiator be useful?

Conflict across the world Conflict and culture • Japanese and U. S. managers view conflict differently • U. S. managers are more likely to use competing tactics while Japanese managers are likely to use compromise and avoidance Cultural Differences in Negotiations • Multiple cross-cultural studies on negotiation styles, for instance: • American negotiators are more likely than Japanese bargainers to make a first offer • North Americans use facts to persuade, Arabs use emotion, and Russians use asserted ideals • Brazilians say “no” more often than Americans or Japanese

Activity • How do Chinese people deal with conflict and negotiation?

Summary • Conflict can be constructive or destructive • Reduce excessive conflict by using: – Competition – Collaboration – Avoidance – Accommodation – Compromise • Integrative negotiation is a better long-term method