The Influence of Power and Politics in Organization
Good leader must understand what, when, and how to use his power. When he or she uses the power, he or she has to apply it wisely. You have power over another person if that person has some interests or desires that only can be fulfilled by you. These interests or desires are the resources that only you can provide. In other words, the higher the dependency level, the greater the power you possess. Your power diminishes if other person dependency reduced. The level of dependency increases when the resources are important, scarce and nonsubstitutable. Hence, for a leader to become a good leader, he or she must know his or her followers’ dependency. He or she has to secure the resources that his or her followers are believing to be under his or her control.
There are two types of power; formal and personal. Bases for formal power are coercive, reward and legitimate. In order to understand the difference between these three bases of power, let us refer to some of the important characters in the court of law. The judge is the most important person in the court. He is considered as having legitimate power, as he passes a verdict. Based on the result received from the jurors and convincing statements by both the prosecutor and defense attorneys, he might sentence or release the accused person. The prosecutor has the coercive power on the plaintiff. This is held true as any information gathered will jeopardize the plaintiff’s chances of being released. The defense lawyer, however, has the reward power over the dependent as his arguments will save him from being punished wrongfully. Apart from the formal type of power is the power that is based on personal ability and trait. Expert and referent are two sources of personal power which are significantly recognized. In a computer manufacturing firm, a programmer is considered as having expert power. In any organization, those having expert power are small in number but they however are very influential and able to put aside groupthink. Referent power is characterized by the personality traits. These traits are unique that make the person as an icon or idol. In English Premier League, Wayne Rooney becomes the latest sensation who topples other English Premier League’s players. He is said to have referent power which is adored by all fans.
In influencing the followers, the leaders need to at least master three out of nine power tactics. The three power tactics are rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation. The remaining six are legitimacy, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalition. An example of rational persuasion is what the defense or prosecutor attorney has. Based on their coercive and reward power, they are able to expose accepted facts and evidences. The inspirational appeals can be seen when the political leaders deliver speeches. They always give motivational speeches that inspire their followers. In order to explain consultation tactic, let us apply the case of a trouble family. There is a tendency that when the father and mother want to get divorce, they look for lawyer and other people for consultation. Whereby, they ignore the power of their children. The couple should understand that their children have consultation power for them to refer to and to rely on.
By applying the right tactic of power, one can gain influence in the organization he or she is working at. However being too ambitious cannot secure a good career development. Such employees might end up being too much involved in illegitimate political behaviors. Illegitimate political behavior is an extreme political behavior that violates the implied rules of the game. Some of the common behaviors are sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest. Contrary to that is legitimate political behavior. Activities of normal everyday politics are complaining, bypassing, and obstructing. In brief, political behavior are the activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization.
In this era of globalization, it is important to understand the reality of politics in organization. Organization offers resources to its employees. These resources should not be specified in the form of materials only. Job promotion is one of the resources that is valued very much by employees. This resource however is very limited that it cannot satisfy everybody. As the result, an employee gains is an expense to other employees. Those unlucky employees might question the promotion given to that employee. This will lead to politicking. Thus, only good leadership and right use of power can curtail the widespread of politicking which is like a virus slowly attacking a computer programme. For those employees who have defensive behavior, even though they do not involve in politicking but they still have the capacity to improve the quality of work life. Being defensive might be helpful in the short run, but dangerous in the long run. Some examples of such behaviors are avoiding action like playing dumb, avoiding blame like scapegoating, and avoiding change by becoming self-protection.
by Jakaria Dasan,
School of Business and Economics
University Malaysia Sabah
There are two types of power; formal and personal. Bases for formal power are coercive, reward and legitimate. In order to understand the difference between these three bases of power, let us refer to some of the important characters in the court of law. The judge is the most important person in the court. He is considered as having legitimate power, as he passes a verdict. Based on the result received from the jurors and convincing statements by both the prosecutor and defense attorneys, he might sentence or release the accused person. The prosecutor has the coercive power on the plaintiff. This is held true as any information gathered will jeopardize the plaintiff’s chances of being released. The defense lawyer, however, has the reward power over the dependent as his arguments will save him from being punished wrongfully. Apart from the formal type of power is the power that is based on personal ability and trait. Expert and referent are two sources of personal power which are significantly recognized. In a computer manufacturing firm, a programmer is considered as having expert power. In any organization, those having expert power are small in number but they however are very influential and able to put aside groupthink. Referent power is characterized by the personality traits. These traits are unique that make the person as an icon or idol. In English Premier League, Wayne Rooney becomes the latest sensation who topples other English Premier League’s players. He is said to have referent power which is adored by all fans.
In influencing the followers, the leaders need to at least master three out of nine power tactics. The three power tactics are rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation. The remaining six are legitimacy, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation, pressure and coalition. An example of rational persuasion is what the defense or prosecutor attorney has. Based on their coercive and reward power, they are able to expose accepted facts and evidences. The inspirational appeals can be seen when the political leaders deliver speeches. They always give motivational speeches that inspire their followers. In order to explain consultation tactic, let us apply the case of a trouble family. There is a tendency that when the father and mother want to get divorce, they look for lawyer and other people for consultation. Whereby, they ignore the power of their children. The couple should understand that their children have consultation power for them to refer to and to rely on.
By applying the right tactic of power, one can gain influence in the organization he or she is working at. However being too ambitious cannot secure a good career development. Such employees might end up being too much involved in illegitimate political behaviors. Illegitimate political behavior is an extreme political behavior that violates the implied rules of the game. Some of the common behaviors are sabotage, whistle-blowing, and symbolic protest. Contrary to that is legitimate political behavior. Activities of normal everyday politics are complaining, bypassing, and obstructing. In brief, political behavior are the activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages or disadvantages within the organization.
In this era of globalization, it is important to understand the reality of politics in organization. Organization offers resources to its employees. These resources should not be specified in the form of materials only. Job promotion is one of the resources that is valued very much by employees. This resource however is very limited that it cannot satisfy everybody. As the result, an employee gains is an expense to other employees. Those unlucky employees might question the promotion given to that employee. This will lead to politicking. Thus, only good leadership and right use of power can curtail the widespread of politicking which is like a virus slowly attacking a computer programme. For those employees who have defensive behavior, even though they do not involve in politicking but they still have the capacity to improve the quality of work life. Being defensive might be helpful in the short run, but dangerous in the long run. Some examples of such behaviors are avoiding action like playing dumb, avoiding blame like scapegoating, and avoiding change by becoming self-protection.
by Jakaria Dasan,
School of Business and Economics
University Malaysia Sabah
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