ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE (4TH ED.)Barbara Senior & Stephen Swailes

Chapter 5: The politics of change

LEARNING OBJECTIVESBy the end of this chapter, you will be able to: explain what is meant by organizational

politics; distinguish between different sources of

power and ways of using power to influence change;

define and discuss the links between power, politics and conflict;

identify different ways of resolving conflict and the situations they can be applied to.

ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS Can organizational politics be eliminated? If so, how? If not, then what is the

alternative? Defining politics and power. Huczynski and

Buchanan (2007. p. 797) offer thatPower concerns the capacity of individuals to exert their will over others, while political behaviour is the practical domain of power in action, worked out through the use of techniques of influence and other (more or less extreme) tactics.

POWER AND POLITICS Power is the ability to make things happen

and to overcome resistance in order to achieve desired objectives or results.

Political behavior is the observable but often covert actions by which executives (and others) enhance their power to influence decisions.

Robbins (2005) says that political behavior is. . . those 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 and disadvantages within the organization. (pp. 400-401)

MORGAN’S (1997, p. 157) ORGANIZATIONS AND MODES OF POLITICAL RULE Autocracy. Absolute government where

power is held by an individual or small group and supported by control of critical resources, property or ownership rights, tradition, charisma.

Bureaucracy. Rule exercised through use of the written word, which provides the basis for a rational-legal type of authority or ‘rule of law’.

Technocracy. Rule exercised through use of knowledge, expert power and the ability to solve relevant problems.

MORGAN’S (1997, p. 157) ORGANIZATIONS AND MODES OF POLITICAL RULE Codetermination. The form of rule where

opposing parties combine in the joint management of mural interests, as in coalition government or corporatism, each party drawing on a specific power base.

Representative democracy. Rule exercised through the election of officers mandated to act on behalf of the electorate and who hold office for a specified time period or so long as they command the support of the electorate, as in parliamentary government and forms of worker control and shareholder control in industry.

MORGAN’S (1997, p. 157) ORGANIZATIONS AND MODES OF POLITICAL RULE Direct democracy. The system where

everyone has an equal right to rule and is involved in all decision making, as in many communal organizations such as cooperatives and kibbutzim. This political principle encourages self-organization as a key mode of organizing. (p. 157)

Morgan, G. (1997). Images of organizations. London: Sage.

WHAT IS “POWER”? Of the 4 definitions for “power” given on page

180, which do you prefer and why? Senior and Swailes (the textbook) summarize:

. . . power means being able to influence the behaviour of others, sometimes in a direction which the person or group would not, otherwise, have chosen. (p. 180)

What do the author’s mean when they say: “Power is a function of relationships?”

FRENCH AND RAVEN (1959)FIVE SOURCES OF POWER (P. 181)1. Positional (legitimate) power2. Expert power3. Referent power4. Reward power5. Coercive power

Can a person have more than one?Do multiple sources increase power?Would you add any other to this list?

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGEResource power : power associated with ability to distribute or withhold valued rewards.What kinds of rewards could this

be?Push strategy : imposing or

threatening to impost costs (stick)Pull or reward strategies : exchange

behavior for rewards (carrot)

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGEInvisible power : Control over resources that are invisible, such as the power to control information.Morgan says, “These people are often known as ‘gatekeepers’ who open and close channels of communication and filtering, summarizing, analyzing, and thus shaping knowledge in accordance with a view of the world that favors them.

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGEControlling power : Wilson refers to this type of power as ‘covert’ power saying: “Here power is exercised through ‘non-decision making,’ rather than by means of attempts to influence readily identifiable (and commonly known) decision topics. (Passive aggressive?)

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGEExpert or knowledge power : People who possess a particular know-how or understanding. Those who have specialist knowledge or expertise in scarce supply have a particular kind of resource power.

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGESymbolic power : The power to manipulate and use symbols to create organizational environments and the beliefs and understandings of others to suit one’s own purposes. For example: calling someone “boss” symbolizes their power in relation to one another.Symbolism comes in various forms: terminology, use of time, seating, etc.How is this important for change?

SENIOR AND SWAILS (2010)POWER SOURCES AND CHANGEIndividual power : that which derives from the personal characteristics of those wielding power, including: Energy, endurance and physical stamina; Ability to focus energy to avoid wasteful effort; Sensitivity and ability to read others; Flexibility and selecting varied means to

achieve goals; Personal toughness; willingness to engage in

conflict and confrontation; Able to “play the subordinate” and “team

member” to enlist support of others.

THE POLITICS OF POWERLESSNESSGender and powerlessness

Why do women, on average, do less well than men in terms of reaching equality in opportunities and pay?What potential qualities do women bring to the workplace that are beneficial and highlight the need to work toward gender equality?

THE POLITICS OF POWERLESSNESSNational culture and powerlessnessWhat cultural barriers may limit the power of one culture in another culture?

THE POLITICS OF POWERLESSNESS (P. 197)Position and powerlessness

Power is most easily accumulated when one has a job that allows what three things?Power also come when one has relatively close contact with what three groups of people?

POLITICS, POWER, AND CONFLICTConflict in organizationsThe nature of conflict

The layers of organizational conflict

MisunderstandingsDifferences of viewpointDifferences of interestInterpersonal differences

Interdependence: The direction

ANTAGONISTS IN THE CHURCH

Haugk, K. (1988). Antagonists in the church: How to deal with destructive conflict. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.

ANTAGONISTS IN THE CHURCH

Haugk, K. (1988). Antagonists in the church: How to deal with destructive conflict. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.

POLITICS, POWER, AND CONFLICTConflict in organizations

At the heart of most conflicts is competition for scarce resources (physical, emotional, time, promotions, power, rewards, etc.)

Conflict defined:

Conflict is best viewed as a process that begins when an individual or group perceives differences and opposition between him/herself and another individual or group about interests, beliefs or values that matter to him or her.

(De Dreu and Beersma, 2005)

POLITICS, POWER, AND CONFLICTConflict in organizationsOrganizational structures

Rules and regulationsLimited resourcesCultural differencesEnvironmental change

POLITICS, POWER, AND CONFLICTConflict in organizations Managing conflict

Accomodating – (high concern for people, low for production)Avoiding – (low/low)Competing – high production, low people)Collaborating (problem solving) – a more constructive approach of information sharing, trying to meet both sides, represented by high scores on both dimensions.Compromising – (moderate scores on both dimensions)

See textbook page 206, Illustration 5.11 for conflict resolution and situational appropriateness.

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGETwo faces of power The use of power

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGECovert political action Declining control Identity Social networks Organization structures

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGEThe positive use of conflict and power

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGEThe positive use of conflict and power

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGEGuidelines for dealing with conflict (Ill. 5.12)1. Encourage openness2. Model appropriate responses3. Provide summaries and restatements of the position4. Bring in people who are not directly involved5. Encouraged people to take time to think and

reassess6. Us the strengths of the group7. Focus on shared goals8. Use directions and interests to develop areas of new

gain9. Try to build objectivity into the process10. Adopt an enquiring approach to managing

POWER, CONFLICT AND CHANGEAction on power, conflict and change