Power and Politics I: Power in relationships

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Power and Politics IPower in relationships

• (coffee hour today)

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(No Transcript)
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Power and politics

• Power defined
• Ability to influence another
• Getting someone to do something they wouldnt
  otherwise do
• Ability to get things done
• Not necessarily status
• Politics
• Asserting power
• Get things done through informal channels

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Individual model of power

• Bases of social power
• Reward
• Coercive
• Referent
• Expert/Information
• Legitimate

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Relational Model of Power

• Power (A-B) Dependence (B-A)
• Power (B-A) Dependence (A-B)
• Increase mutual dependence, increase mutual power
• 2 dimensions of power
• Intensity value of resources
• Equality Power (A-B) Power (B-A)

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Problem scenario 1

• Serious inequality
• D (w-m) gt D (m-w)
• P (m-w) gt P (w-m)
• Balancing operations
• W decrease dependence on M withdraw, find
  alternative resources
• Increase M dependence on W Form coalitions

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Problem scenario 2

• High intensity
• Resources very valuable
• No alternatives
• High emotional investment
• Power struggle
• Solution division of power domains

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Strategic Contingency Model

• Uncertainty
• Changes over time
• Manufacturing, Marketing, Finance, HR?
• Criticality
• Centrality in workflow
• Centrality in informal relationships
• Scarcity
• High dependency
• Low substitutability

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Examples

• French cigarette company
• Uncertainty breakdowns of machines
• Maintenance engineers
• Say in scheduling, quotas, personnel
• Research university
• Scarcity Grants
• Grants predict budget (regardless of other
  contributions)

• Insurance company
• Coding department codes for policies and
  contracts
• Criticality high, but not powerful
• United 173
• High criticality Frostie
• Power not acknowledged

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Why Strategic Contingency?

• Contingency
• Criticality, scarcity, and uncertainty is
  externally defined
• Strategic
• Visibility coding manager
• Flexibility
• Define environment CBS News

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Implications of Strategic Contingency Model

• Power resides in activities, not individuals
• Power is necessarily shared
• Power aligns the organizations with the
  environment

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Relationships 2D Space
Self presentation
Social influence Motivation
Power
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Key themes

• Where power comes from
• Individual characteristics
• Relational properties
• Activities
• Skills networking as a tool for gaining power
  and exercising politics