This presentation describes power and political behaviour in organisations

1. Power
Anup K Singh, PhD
The Ignored Leadership Field

2. Leadership is About
 Diagnosing the problem effectively
 Making decision
 Implementing decision
 Living with consequences and going
past them

3. Implementing Decision is Difficult
Because
 Leaders are interdependent
 Leaders face diversity of views and
personalities
 Leaders do not have all power to
implement their solutions
 There are always limited resources
 Business reality is dynamic
 People also look for the gratification of
their self-interest

4. Towards Power, Some Managers
Have
 Ambivalence
 Naivety
 Cynicism
 Helplessness
 Conflict avoidance tendency

5. Incidence of Power and
Politics
 Top management – highest
 Middle management – moderate
 Lower management – low
 Sales and marketing – high
 Board – high
 R&D – low
 F&A - low

6. Influence
 The process of changing the behaviour
of A by B in the desired direction

7. Power
 The ability of A to influence the
behaviour of B

8. Politics
 Interaction among different players
wielding the power and pursuing their
goals and interests

9. Ethics
Consideration of right and wrong, public
and private good, fair and foul, truth and
deception

10. Power, Ethics and Politics (PEP)
The use of influence by leaders to
execute decisions and understanding of
underlying organisational dynamics while
maintaining high ethical standards

11. Metaphor
All the world's a stage, And
all the men and women
merely players; They have
their exits and their
entrances

12. Going Beyond Metaphor
 It means that the ideas are
presented not as metaphors useful
for descriptions but also for
explanation, prediction and norm
setting

13. Network

14. Political System
 Interests and rights
 Power
 Hidden agendas
and back room
deals
 Authority
 Alliances
 Party-line
 Censorship
 Gatekeepers
 Leaders
 Conflict
management

15. Prison

16. Psychic Prisons
 Conscious &
unconscious
processes
 Repression &
regression
 Ego
 Denial
 Projection, coping
& defence
mechanisms
 Pain & pleasure
principle
 Dysfunction
 Workaholics

17. Instruments of Domination
 Alienation
 Repression
 Imposing values
 Compliance
 Charisma
 Maintenance of
power
 Force
 Exploitation
 Divide and rule
 Discrimination
 Corporate interest

18. Values
Cliques
Commitment
Roles
StructurePolicies
Conflicting Interests
Systems
Beliefs
Self-Interest
Emotions
Team Spirit
Targets
Attitudes
FORMAL
INFORMAL

19. Two Models Of Organisational Life
ORGANI SATI ONAL
CHARACTERI STI CS
RATI ONAL MODEL POLI TI CAL MODEL
GOALS CONSISTENT ALONG
MEMBERS
PLURALISTIC,
INCONSISTENT
POWER &
CONTROL
CENTRALIZED COALITION AND
INTEREST GROUPS
DECI SI ON MAKI NG LOGICAL, RATIONAL PULL & PUSH,
BARGAINING
RULES AND NORMS NORMS OF
OPTIMIZATION
CONFLICTING
I DEOLOGY EFFICIENCY,
EFFECTIVENESS
STRUGGLE,
WINNERS AND
LOSER