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| Objective [1] Name five “soft” and four “hard” influence tactics, and summarize the practical lessons from influence research. Five soft influence tactics are rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation, ingratiation, and personal appeals. They are more friendly and less coercive than the four hard influence tactics: exchange, coalition tactics, pressure, and legitimating tactics. According to research, soft tactics are better for generating commitment and are perceived as more fair than hard tactics. Objective [2] Identify and briefly describe French and Raven’s five bases of power. French and Raven’s five bases of power are reward power (rewarding compliance), coercive power (punishing noncompliance), legitimate power (relying on formal authority), expert power (providing needed information), and referent power (relying on personal attraction). Objective [3] Define the term empowerment, and explain how to make it succeed. Empowerment involves sharing varying degrees of power and decision-making authority with lower-level employees to better serve the customer. According to Randolph’s model, empowerment requires active sharing of key information, structure that encourages autonomy, transfer of control from managers to teams, and persistence. Trust and training also are very important. Objective [4] Define organizational politics, explain what triggers it , and specify the three levels of political action in organizations. Organizational politics is defined as intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect the self-interests of individuals or groups. Uncertainty triggers most politicking in organizations. Political action occurs at individual, coalition, and network levels. Coalitions are informal, temporary, and single-issue alliances. Objective [5] Distinguish between favorable and unfavorable impression management tactics. Favorable upward impression management can be job-focused (manipulating information about one’s job performance), supervisor-focused (praising or doing favors for the boss), or self-focused (being polite and nice). Unfavorable upward impression management tactics include decreasing performance, not working to potential, withdrawing, displaying a bad attitude, and broadcasting one’s limitations. Objective [6] Explain how to manage organizational politics. Although organizational politics cannot be eliminated, managers can keep it within reasonable bounds. Measurable objectives for personal accountability are key. Participative management also helps, especially in the form of open-book management. Formal conflict resolution and grievance programs are helpful. Overly political people should not be hired, and employees who get results without playing political games should be publicly recognized and rewarded. The “how-would-it-look-on-TV” ethics test can limit political maneuvering. |