Ethics of power & politics

1. Presentation By:-
Pawan Singh Raikhola

2. Organizational Influence, Power, &
Politics
 Social Influence refers to attempts (whether successful or
unsuccessful) to affect in a desired fashion.
 Power refers to the potential to influence another.
 Organizational Politics refers to uses of power that
enhance or protect one’s own or one’s group’s personal
interest.

3. Ethics of behaving politically
 Wrong to do right
 No clear cut ways to differentiate ethical from
unethical politicking.
 Often difficult to weigh the cost & benefit of political
action- need to consider equity and fairness.
 Powerful people can persuasively argue that unfair
actions are really fair & just, or in the best interest of
the organization.

4. Ethical decision criteria
 Personal liberty framework
 Distribution Justice Framework
 Utilitarianism(Greater Good)- Creating good
for greater no. of people.

6. Forces that shape
managerial Ethics

7. Good Politics & bad Politics
 Try to empower citizens.
 Improves system & institution.
 Always try to find out permanent
solutions of the problems.
 Believes in unity is strength.
 Promotes logic & scientific temper.
 Respect in love and respect for all
people.
 Try to empower politicians.
 Try to concentrate power in
individuals & criticize individuals
for problems.
 Try to deviate attention from the
real problems.
 Believes in divide & rule.
 Promotes in blind faith and
superstitions.
 Believes in creating hatred among
people on the basis of above
difference.

8. Organizational Power
 Power can be used to manipulate & corrupt.
Power
 Is a person’s ability to influence others to do
something that they would not do otherwise.
Properly used, it gives the ability to achieve goals.
Power provides strength to bring about change.
Skill in using power effectively & appropriately can be
developed.

9. Sexual Harassment and power
 Harasser stereotypes the victim as subservient &
powerless.
 Harasser threatens job security or safety through
coercive.
 Hostile work Environment harassment continues
when the victim lacks power to stop the behaviour.

10. Bases of Power Continued…
Position Power
 Comes from top
management.
 Is delegated down the
chain of command.
Personal Power
 Comes from your
personal style &
interpersonal skills.
 Is given to you from
those who choose to
follow you.

11. The Evolution of Power: From
Domination to Delegation

12. Organization Politics
 “Organization politics involves those activities by organizations to acquire, develop,
& use power & other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a situation in
which there is uncertainty.”
 It is informal or unofficial scenes efforts to sell ideas, influence an organization,
increase power, or achieve other targeted objectives.
 `
Political Tactics
 Controlling access to information
 Cultivating a favorable impression
 Development a base of support
 Blaming & attacking others
 Aligning oneself with more powerful other

13. Continued…
Playing Political Games in Organization
 Authority games
 Power base games
 Rivalry games
 Change games
Some Technique to Limit Political Behavior
 Clarify Job Expectation
 Open the Communication process
 Be a Good Role Model

14. Continued…
The Ethical Implication of Organizational Politics
Managerial values exist the undermine integrity, such
as:-
 Bottom-line mentality- a focus on short-term profit
maximization
 Exploitative mentality- selfishly using others for one’s
advantage
 Madison avenue mentality- convincing others that one’s
unethical action are actually moral

15. Employee response to organization
politics

16. Case study