BUS603: Managing People

8a. Describe how power bases such as legitimate power, reward power, expert power, information power, coercive power, and referent power work and how they influence people in organizations

• What are the traditional power bases in an organization?
• What are some emerging power bases?
• How can we use power to influence people in an organization?

Researchers have identified six sources of power in an organization: legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, information, and referent. Legitimate power comes from one's role or position in an organization. Your boss, your boss's boss, and your CEO all have legitimate power over you. Reward power is the ability to grant an award. Most people with legitimate power also have reward power. Reward power is highest when the reward is scarce. Coercive power is the ability to take away or punish someone. Again, those with legitimate power might also have coercive power. Expert power comes from having knowledge and skills. Information power goes beyond expert power in that information power includes access to information. A boss who deliberately withholds information from decision-makers is exerting information power. Referent power is based on the characteristics of another person, so much so that we wish to be more like that person. Charismatic leaders have referent power. However, remember that there can be a dark or negative side to charismatic leaders.

Some additional power bases may also exist in relationships. Affiliation power is the power that is borrowed through association with a more powerful individual. Affiliation power can come from friendships, working with a powerful individual, or acting as a gatekeeper to a powerful individual. Many office support staff play this gatekeeper role; always respect support staff! Group power comes from solidarity and the weight of numbers. Larger groups can more easily influence others. Technology power is the ability to use technology or control access to technology. Millennials often have technology power. Bureaucratic power usually exists with career officials in large, structured organizations. Philosophical power is associated with values and world views that can be expressed and shared by others. Spiritual leaders often possess philosophical power

Leaders have many ways in which they can use power to influence others: rational persuasion, legitimating, personal appeals, exchange, ingratiation, pressure, coalitions, inspirational appeals, and consultation. Where would you place each of these influence tactics in the power bases? For example, rational persuasion might work best for someone with expert power.

To review, see Bases of Power and Influencing Tactics.

 

8b. Explain common power tactics in organizations and power-shifting strategies to effectively manage workplace politics

• What are common power tactics used in organizations?
• Are power tactics ethical?

Common power tactics include: controlling access to information, controlling access to persons, selective use of objective criteria, controlling the agenda, using outside experts, bureaucratic gamesmanship, and coalitions and alliances. While some might reason that all power sources are inherently bad, that is not true. In particular volatile situations, using these power tactics might be in the best interest of the individual and organization.

When looking at the power bases in an organization, which of these powers is ethical and which is not? All the power bases can be used ethically as long as standards are applied equally and uniformly. Providing a reward to a follower is fine as long as the reward is ethical, credible, and desired by the follower. Even coercive power can be used ethically when followers know the rules and penalties, a warning is given before punishing, punishments are administered consistently and uniformly, the punishment fits the infraction, and the punishment is done privately. Additionally, it's important that leaders with coercive power take the time to fully understand the situation before taking action.

To review, see Uses of Power.

 

8c. Evaluate methods to manage organizational politics by using rational processes, strategic leader power, reducing system uncertainty, breaking up political fiefdoms, and reducing competition for scarce resources to ensure appropriate and ethical behavior

• How do rational processes differ from political processes?
• How can a person use strategic leadership power to manage politics?
• What techniques are available to manage organizational politics?
• How can power be lost in an organization?

Rational processes are based on analytic processes. An analytical process is a process in which there are agreed-upon methods for generating alternative solutions to problems assigning values to the benefits and costs expected from each of the alternatives, and that computational methods are readily available for calculating benefits/costs ratios once these values are assigned. Trust is a major difference between rational processes and political processes. Political processes are not built on trust. A leader who uses information power would view valuable information as a commodity to be traded for influence. In the rationality frame, a leader trusts that others will also be logical in their decision-making.

At the strategic level of an organization, power is embodied through three fundamental elements: consensus, cooperation, and culture. When an organization has the ability to bring together the commitment of multiple constituencies and stakeholders in response to specific challenges and aspirations, the organization is high in consensus potential. Cooperative potential refers to an organization's capacity to develop cooperative interaction among individuals and groups. Cultural potential seeks to create a strong organizational culture that connects the destiny of the organization to the personal goals and aspirations of its members.

Techniques are available to limit the effects of political power/behavior in an organization: reduce system uncertainty, reduce competition, break existing political fiefdoms, and prevent future fiefdoms. To reduce system uncertainty, ensure you have fair standards for evaluation, that you differentiate rewards among high and low performers, and that rewards are immediate and related to performance. Competition can be reduced by minimizing resource competition among managers and working with managers to see externally oriented goals and objectives. Existing fiefdoms that have a negative impact on the organization should be split. Splitting or removing the most dysfunctional subgroups could stop political maneuvering. To prevent future fiefdoms, make an apolitical attitude a criterion for promotion, putting organizational ends ahead of personal power.

Power can be lost because of negative personal attributes that diminish a leader's capacity to effectively lead with power. Technical incompetence occurs when a leader lacks the conceptual skills to develop a vision and manage organizational change. Self-serving/unethical leaders abuse power by taking special privileges, exploiting peers, or taking credit for others' contributions. Self-serving leaders create an unethical culture that creates divisiveness. Micromanagement destroys individual and team motivation. Arrogant leaders are impressed with themselves and talk down to peers and subordinates. Explosive/Abusive leaders have inadequate control of their temper and abuse subordinates. They often cannot understand complex problems and may solve problems at only a surface level. Inaccessible leaders are not available to their peers and subordinates. They may not place great value on interpersonal relationships, may have weak interpersonal skills, or they may be too self-centered.

To review, see Limiting the Influence of Political Behavior and Leveraging Power and Politics.

 

8d. Summarize the models of change management in organizations, such as Lewin's Three-Step model, Kotter's Eight Step Plan, Nadler's System Model, and Action Research, as well as planned organizational development and crisis management

• Why is change the only constant?
• What models exist for change management in organizations?
• What are the impacts of organizational development?
• What happens when change is not planned?

Throughout this course, you have learned over and over that rapidly changing technology, rapidly changing workforces, rapidly changing external environments, and rapidly changing diversity and inclusion in the workplace is the new normal. Even organizations that exist in a relatively stable environment have to react to disruptors. Understanding how we can move an organization through a change is critical to the success of our people and our organizations.

Lewin's Three-Step Model includes the ideas of unfreezing, movement, and refreezing. Lewin's model has four characteristics: recognizing the need for change, acknowledging the resistance to change, focusing on people who are the source of change and learning, and the need to support new behaviors. In Kotter's Change Model, Kotter further expanded Lewin's steps into a more detailed 8-step model: Kotter's first four steps – create a sense of urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a strategic vision and initiatives, and enlist a volunteer army equates to the "unfreezing" step. Kotter's next three steps – enable action by removing barriers, generate short-term wins, and sustain acceleration – equate to Lewin's "movement" stage. Finally, the institute change step equates to Lewin's "refreezing" process.

Nadler's System Model states that to implement change successfully, a manager must consider four elements: informal organization elements, formal organizational elements, individuals, and tasks. As with any system, if a change impacts one area, it will create a ripple or domino effect in other areas. Action research is change based on collecting data and selecting a change action based on the analyzed data. Action research involves five steps: diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action, and evaluation. Action research is very problem-focused and engages people all along the process.

The entire area of organizational development deals with long-lasting change. Just as employees need to continually develop, so do organizations. Techniques that organizations can use include sensitivity training, survey feedback, team building, intergroup development, and appreciative inquiry.

Crisis management, in this context, happens when an organization unsuccessfully anticipates its competitor's next move. Organizations may incorrectly view the external environment. How many organizations had plans in place for a worldwide pandemic? You can help avoid crisis management in your organization by staying flexible, keeping innovation fresh, and bringing in new people with new ideas.

To review, see Change Management and Models of Change Management.

 

8e. Analyze how firms use agility to address change in a complex, turbulent, and uncertain business environment

• How do we define agile leaders?
• How can you be an agile leader?

An agile leader is someone who prepares for the unpredictable. Agile leadership is a style of leadership that is entrepreneurial. Phillips believes we need three things to be agile leaders: have an iterative process, build a tribe of resources, and get uncomfortable on a daily basis. The iterative process consists of building a problem statement, creating a hypothesis, proving or disproving the hypothesis, architecting a solution, reaching out to the tribe of resources anytime you have questions or need additional knowledge, and stepping back and refining your process. A tribe of resources are those people who help you and the people you help.

Agile leadership is related to the agile method of software development. His belief is agility is the ability to move quickly and easily or to think and understand easily. Ali believes in four values: choose individuals and interactions over processes and tools, choose a usable product over paperwork, collaborate over contracts, and be responsive to change rather than sticking to a plan. An agile mindset can lead to stakeholder success, teams doing better, a culture of support, better documentation, clarity in the work needs, and feedback – which leads to budget and time success.

To review, see Agile Leadership and Agile Culture.

 

8f. Develop processes to manage change, change mindsets, and instill a collaborative culture to solve business problems

• What are some key enablers to change?
• How can you develop the mindset of a leader?
• How can you be the best possible leader?

Transparency and effective communication are essential during an organizational change. Providing the reason for the change and the process for the change can help reduce resistance from employees. Effective education and training are also necessary. Employees who seem uncomfortable with or resistant to the change may need mentors or counselors to help them work through their anxiety. Monitoring the implementation of the change can be done through data or changes in productivity. Additionally, monitoring how the change is affecting employees is also crucial.

Dan Rockwell provides four tips on changing your mindset to a leadership mindset. First, monitor self-talk. When your mind wanders, call it back to a leadership mindset. Second, examine your assumptions and beliefs. Reflect on your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. Third, choose your leadership mindset. Train yourself to notice what's working in an organization, not solely what is not. Show up as an opportunity-thinker. Earlier, we discussed changing the word "conflict" to "opportunity". Approach conflicts as an opportunity. Fourth, examine your conversational trajectory. Based on your conversations, where are you going? What is the trajectory of your team based on their conversations?

As discussed throughout this course, our current business environment is characterized by turbulence, uncertainty, and rapid technological, social, and political change. The U.S. Military coined the phrase VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. As the U.S. Military recognized, "traditional" leadership styles fail to deliver the innovation and entrepreneurship that is required to remain competitive.

How can you reach your potential as a leader? First and foremost, build trust. Be humble, be confident, and be assertive. Use collaboration to empower others and to reach decisions that you, alone, could not reach.

The final paragraph of Barney Jordaan's article on Leading Organisations in Turbulent Times is not only inspirational but sums up this course:

Sustained change needs a shift in mindset away from competing to survive to collaborating to win; from silo mentalities to openness; from making decisions in small, elite circles to allowing employees a meaningful "voice" in decisions that affect them, including the creation of an environment that encourages their inputs and critique, from seeing conflict as bad to embracing it as a potential resource; from behaviors that destroy trust or prevent its development, to the active pursuit of behaviors that develop trust.

That is our challenge to you.

To review, see Changing Mindsets, Develop the Mindset of a Leader, and Strategies for Successful Organizational Change.

 

Unit 8 Vocabulary 

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

• action research
• affiliation power
• analytical process
• arrogant leaders
• bureaucratic power
• Coercive power
• consensus
• cooperation
• culture
• Expert power
• explosive/abusive leaders
• group power
• inaccessible leaders
• information power
• Kotler's Change Model
• legitimate power
• Lewin's Three-Step Model
• micromanagement
• movement
• Nadler's System Model
• philosophical power
• referent power
• refreezing
• Reward power
• self-serving/unethical
• technical incompetence
• technology power
• unfreezing
• VUCA