MGMT20001 Study Guide - Final Guide: John Sculley, Jeffrey Skilling
17 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Power and Politics
Three Dimensions of Power
● Conscious strategies to reduce resistance
First Dimension
● Mobilising resources to defeat conflict
● Based on control of (scarce, valued) resources on which others depend
● If someone is dependent on you for a scarce and valued resource, then you (potentially)
have power over them
● Resources and Power
○ Reward Power: you tangible and intangible ways to reward - and punish - people
○ Coercive Power: you can injure or damage somebody
○ Authority Power: you have a formal position in a hierarchy
○ Referent Power: you can establish a personal rapport, charisma
○ Expert Power: you can do things that others cannot, you have credibility - a
record of valued achievements
○ Information Power: you have information that others do not
○ Affiliation Power: you are connected to powerful people (political access)
○ Group support: you have the support of many people
○ Budgets, equipment: you are able to allocate budgets, equipment to others
● Power use: relatively overt
Second Dimension
● Managing decision-making process to sideline conflict
○ Control of access to decision-making arena (not everyone attends)
○ What gets discussed (what is on the agenda)
○ When and how it gets discussed (at end of agenda, when people are tired)
○ Criteria for decision-making (some people don’t get a vote)
● Power use: less visible
Third Dimension
● Rests on managing meaning to prevent conflict
○ Meaning is created for desired outcomes so that they are seen as legitimate,
inevitable, natural beneficial
○ Often by associating outcomes with symbols and skilful use of language
○ There is no opposition because outcomes are accepted
○ By targeting what people think about outcomes, behaviour is influenced indirectly
● Power use: almost invisible
Why Power is Important
● Understand how as an employee, you will be affected by use of power by others
● Can be more or less coercive, can be more or less hidden
● Understand how you can exercise power responsibly
● Provide managers with more “tools” to manage complex organisations and the means to
understand the ethical implications of using those tools
Document Summary
Based on control of (scarce, valued) resources on which others depend. If someone is dependent on you for a scarce and valued resource, then you (potentially) have power over them. Reward power: you tangible and intangible ways to reward - and punish - people. Coercive power: you can injure or damage somebody. Authority power: you have a formal position in a hierarchy. Referent power: you can establish a personal rapport, charisma. Expert power: you can do things that others cannot, you have credibility - a record of valued achievements. Information power: you have information that others do not. Affiliation power: you are connected to powerful people (political access) Group support: you have the support of many people. Budgets, equipment: you are able to allocate budgets, equipment to others. Control of access to decision-making arena (not everyone attends) What gets discussed (what is on the agenda) When and how it gets discussed (at end of agenda, when people are tired)
