Power refers to the ability to influence others through control of resources. It is an exchange relationship between an agent with power and a target to be influenced. Politics in organizations involves using power and social networks to benefit individuals or the organization. Organizational politics arises due to limited resources, ambiguous goals and decisions, and changing environments. It can have negative consequences like low job satisfaction, high stress, and goal displacement if used for personal gain rather than organizational objectives. Managing politics involves clearly defining jobs and rules to reduce ambiguity and favoritism, and ensuring rewards are based on objective performance criteria rather than political behavior.

1. Power & Politics
Prof. Trisha
Asst. Professor, KIMDS

2. POWER
Power is the ability to influence other people. It
refers to the capacity to affect the behaviour of the
subordinate with the control of resources. It is an
exchange relationship that occurs in transactions
between an agent (person with power) and a target
(person to be influenced by power).

3. Difference between Power, influence & Authority
 Influence: Occurs when a person or a group affects
what another person or group does and/or thinks. (i.e.
New Senior manager had adopted new dress code
which had led to others in the organization starts to do
so).
 Power: The capacity of a person or a group to
influence other people or groups. ◦ (i.e. Manager may
decide to recognize the way tasks are allocated within
an organization, which will affect the on how the people
work).
 Authority: Is the power which is formally given to an
individual or group because of the position or rule they
occupy within an organization. (Authority is subset of

4. Bases/ Sources of Power
Formal Power
 Coercive Power (punishment power) - Power that is based on fear. It
is the ability to administer unpleasant consequences. The implied force
relates to threats and punishments. Some forms of coercive power
include verbal abuse, lack of support, and disciplinary actions.
 Reward Power- Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute
rewards that others view as valuable. ypical examples of rewards are
salary increases, bonuses, and promotions. In addition, praise can be
used as a reward.
 Legitimate Power- The power a person receives as a result of his or
her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. Legitimate power
is alike to authority, and is based on position and mutual agreement.
This form of power is provided to individuals by the organization. Some
managers resort to legitimate power if they are insecure with their ability
to influence employees using other forms of power.
 Information Power- Power that comes from access to and control over
information.

5. Bases/ Sources of Power
Personal Power
 Expert Power- Influence based on special skills or
knowledge. Followers must perceive the agent as an expert, and trust
that the expertise is valid and that the knowledge or skills are relevant
and useful to them.
 Referent Power- Influence based on possession by an individual or
desirable resources or personal traits. It is based on interpersonal
attraction. Followers identify with the leader and willing follow out of
admiration and respect.
 Charismatic Power- An extension of referent power stemming from an
individual’s personality and interpersonal style.

6. Power & Leadership
The concepts of power and leadership are very distinct,
diametrically opposed even. Three differences stand out:
 Power is a force that comes from on high, (from the hierarchy) and goes
toward the bottom (top- down), from the strong to the weak. Leadership,
on the other hand, comes from lower down (in the hierarchy) and goes
towards the top: one is ‘made’ or recognized a leader by one’s group.
 Power tends to ‘divide and rule’ as the saying goes. If this division is to
organize and assign tasks, why not? If this division is to limit all counter-
powers, it opens the door to power’s arbitrary exercise, its abuse, and
legitimized violence.
 Leadership, by contrast is built on the concept of cohesion and tends to
‘unite and rule.’ It includes instead of divides; is not afraid to see people
group together as this union is symbolic of everyone pulling together, of
diverse values, of a goal that the combined strength of a team allows us
to reach.

7.  Power gives orders and instructions, takes no time to
listen, deprives itself of the creativity of others except
for the execution of orders.
Leadership, on the other hand, consults, listens and
builds its authority on this synthesis of work. If work
must be assigned and directives given there remains
the freedom to express creativity and one’s own
identity, to make strong personal contributions,
implicitly expressing respect for the added value that
each person brings reinforces cohesion, the feeling
of belonging to a group, to a team paradoxically
varied… but united.

8. POLITICS
Workplace politics, (office politics or organizational
politics) is the use of power and social networking
within an organization to achieve changes that benefit
the organization or individuals within it. Influence by
individuals may serve personal interests without regard
to their effect on the organization itself.

9. WHY IS POLITICS REQUIRED?
 To come in the limelight and gain undue attention and
appreciation from the seniors.
 To obtain advantages which are beyond their control.
 Getting thing done at right time.

10. Causes of Politics
 Organizations are coalitions composed of varied
individuals and groups.
 There are enduring differences among individuals and
groups in their values, preferences, beliefs,
information, and perceptions of reality.
 The most important decisions in organizations involve
the allocation of scarce resources.
 Conflict is central to organizational dynamics, and
power is the most important resource.
 Organizational goals and decisions emerge from
bargaining, negotiation, and jockeying for position
among members of different coalitions.

11. Causes & Consequences of Political Behavior
Factors Contributing to Political Behavior
 Individual Factors
 Organizational Factors

12. Causes & Consequences of Political Behavior
Individual Factors
• High self-monitors
• Internal locus of control
• High personality
•Organizational investment
• Perceived job alternatives
Organizational Factors
• Reallocation of resources
• Promotion opportunities
• Low trust
• Role ambiguity
• Unclear performance
evaluation system
• Zero-sum reward practices
• Democratic decision making
• High performance pressures
• Self-serving senior
managers
Political Behavior
Low High
Favorable Outcomes
• Reward
• Averted
punishments

13. FEATURES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
Organizational Politics has the following features:
 It aims at personal benefit arising out of use of power
and not organizational benefit.
 It is a deliberate effort on the part of people to use
politics as a source of widening their power base.
 It is not part of a person’s job requirement. It is used to
benefit a person.
 It can be legitimate or illegitimate political behavior.
 It moves against rationality. Decisions are based on
compromises and bargain and not rational acts.
 Politics takes place when an individual recognizes that
achievement of his goals is influenced by behavior of
others.

14. CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
Though political behaviour has positive outcome for people who engage
in ethical politics, people who do not have political skills do not face the
positive outcomes. The negative consequences of political behaviour
are as follows:
 1. Low job Satisfaction: though personal gains are achieved, people
who achieve promotions or rewards not on the basis of their
performance on the job may have low job satisfaction. People who want
to achieve targets on the basis of merit but not politics are not satisfied
with their jobs if they have to adopt political behaviour as the
unavoidable couse of action.
 2. High stress: If a person does not engage in political behaviour on
the grounds of morality and ethics, but he loses promotion opportunities
because others surpass him through political behaviour, it increases his
job stress.
 3. Organisational Conflicts: It increases conflicts amongst individuals
because their behaviour is based on irrational, nonmeasurable
standards. Time and energy are wasted which add to neither
professional growth of the individual nor the organisation. This
negatively affects productivity.

15. CONSEQUENCES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 4. Goal Displacement: Organisational politics enhance
power base of some people who use it to promote personal
goals rather than organisational goals. This results in goal
displacement.
 5. Low performance: Political environment reduces the
motivation of people to work which negatively affects their
job performance
 6. High absenteeism and turnover: When low job
performance, low job satisfaction, conflicts and job stress
become too high for employees to handle, they start
absenting from work and may even leave the jobs. High
absenteeism and turnover increase personnnel costs of
recruitment, selection, training etc. and affect competitive
position of the organisation.


16. FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 Some prominent factors which contribute to political behaviour are as
follows:
 1. Competition for Power: Political behaviour emerges because people
want to derive power, that is, over and above the authority delegated to
them formally. They want to acquire power because it is satisfying to
them. Since amount of power like other resources is limited, often, there
is competition for acquiring power.
 2. Discretionary Authority: Organisations provide positions with
discretionary authority to use such powers in the case of special needs
like emergency in organisations. Such authority is used based on
individual judgement. Such discretionary authority then, becomes the
basis for organisational politics.
 3. Ambiguity in organisation: Ambiguity in organisation, particularly of
roles and authority, generates politics. The more ambiguous the formal
roles and authority of organisational members, more developed will be
internal system of political competition. Ambiguity puts people to settle
their roles through mutual interactions. In these interactions, people may
try to enact their roles suited to them so that they can show better
performance.

17. FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 4.Subjective Evalution of Performance: Subjective evaluation of
performance may also lead to political behaviour in many cases,
performance evaluation cannot be based on any concrete achievement,
and it is the judgment of superior which is taken as the basis for
performance evaluation. This may happen where performance cannot
be measured quantitatively. When subjective evaluation of performance
is taken and members may think some bias in superior’s evaluation,
they may be forced into dysfunctional political behaviour.
 5. Saturation in Promotion: People have a feeling that they have
reached saturation level of promotion. When they reach the maximum
level as per their talent and skills, they resort to political behaviour. This
what peter principles describes, that is, in a hierarchy, every employee
tends to rise to the levels of incompetence and he will have no other
business than to engage in politics that has undesirable consequences.
 6. Joint Decision Making: Large organisations emphasize on joint
decision making to solve common problems faced by various units. Joint
decision making generates conflict and politics. In order to get
favourable decision, peoplle involve in politics by forming coalitions and
associations through which they will be able to achieve their objectives.

18. CAUSES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 Ambiguous goals- When the goals of a department or
organization are ambiguous, more room is available for
politics. As a result, members may pursue personal gain
under the guise of pursuing organizational goals.
 Limited resources- Politics surfaces when resources are
scarce and allocation decisions must be made. If resources
were ample, there would be no need to use politics to claim
one’s “share.”
 Changing technology and environment- In general,
political behavior is increased when the nature of the
internal technology is nonroutine and when the external
environment is dynamic and complex. Under these
conditions, ambiguity and uncertainty are increased, thereby
triggering political behavior by groups interested in pursuing
certain courses of action.

19. CAUSES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 Ambiguous goals- When the goals of a department or
organization are ambiguous, more room is available for
politics. As a result, members may pursue personal gain
under the guise of pursuing organizational goals.
 Limited resources- Politics surfaces when resources are
scarce and allocation decisions must be made. If resources
were ample, there would be no need to use politics to claim
one’s “share.”
 Changing technology and environment- In general,
political behavior is increased when the nature of the
internal technology is nonroutine and when the external
environment is dynamic and complex. Under these
conditions, ambiguity and uncertainty are increased, thereby
triggering political behavior by groups interested in pursuing
certain courses of action.

20. CAUSES OF ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 Non programmed decisions- A distinction is made
between programmed and nonprogrammed decisions.
When decisions are not programmed, conditions
surrounding the decision problem and the decision process
are usually more ambiguous, which leaves room for political
maneuvering. Programmed decisions, on the other hand,
are typically specified in such detail that little room for
maneuvering exists. Hence, we are likely to see more
political behavior on major questions, such as long-range
strategic planning decisions.
 Organizational change- Periods of organizational change
also present opportunities for political rather than rational
behavior. Efforts to restructure a particular department, open
a new division, introduce a new product line, and so forth,
are invitations to all to join the political process as different
factions and coalitions fight over territory.

21. MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS
 Given below are some guidelines helpful in minimizing the
dysfunctional effects of organisational politics:
 Much of the political behaviour is caused because of lack
of clarity in job definitions, roles, rules, procedures, and
authority. Therefore, by prescribing these things clearly,
some dysfunctional behaviour can be checked. Clarity in
these aspects helps in minimizing favoritism, unfairness,
nepotism, and opportunity for people to advance
themselves at the expense of others and of the
organisation.
 When top people abuse the system, exploit opportunities
for their benefits, or reward non- performance criteria, other
organisational members will follow soon. Therefore, top
management should not get indulged in dysfunctional
politics but also discourage it by clearly stating that such a.
behaviour is to be penalized.

22.  Management can take direct action to curb political
behaviour. When politics deters the organisation
from the pursuit of its objectives, management action
is required. It can curtail offensive tactics when the
first signs become evident. Similarly, when people
play the politics of being indifferent to the decisions
made by them, they should be held personally
responsible or the decisions.
 As far as possible, there should be objective criteria
for setting objectives for individuals and
departments, and the rewarding of individuals should
be solely on attainment of these objectives. When
objectives are clearly specified, any deviations from
it will be obvious and it will be easier to control.
MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL POLITICS

23. Thank you