social structures of individuals or social units [e.g., departments, organizations] that are connected to each other through one or more forms of interdependence
-Some networks are held together due to common interests, such as when employees who have dogs or other pets spend more time together.
-Other networks form around common status, expertise, kinship, or physical proximity. For instance, employees are more likely to form
networks with coworkers who have common educational backgrounds and occupational interests.
-exist everywhere because people have a drive to bond
-Social networking may be more of a central life activity in Asian cultures that emphasize guanxi, a Chinese term referring to an individual's network of social connections. Guanxi is an expressive activity because interacting with family and friends reinforces one's self-concept. It is also an instrumental activity for receiving favors and
opportunities from others. Guanxi is sometimes so pervasive, however, that several experts warn it can undermine the organization's effectiveness
-Social networks potentially enhance and maintain the power of its members through three resources: information, visibility, and referent power.
-When people feel empowered [high self-determination, meaning, competence, and impact], they believe they have power over themselves and freedom from being influenced by others. Empowerment tends to increase motivation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance. However, this feeling of being in control and free from others' authority also increases automatic rather than mindful thinking. In particular, people who feel powerful usually are more likely to rely on stereotypes, have difficulty empathizing, and generally have less accurate perceptions compared with people who have less power
-the other type of power is one in which an individual has power over others, such as the legitimate, reward, and coercive power that managers have over employees in the workplace. This type of power produces a sense of duty or responsibility for the people over whom the power holder has authority. Consequently, people who have power over others tend to be more mindful of their actions and engage in less stereotyping. Even when people feel empowered, they can shift their focus from self to others, so the power becomes viewed more as one of social responsibility than enjoyable for its own
the use of facts, logical arguments, and emotional appeals to change another person's beliefs and attitudes, usually for the purpose of changing the person's behavior
-most widely used and accepted influence strategy in organizations. It is a quality of effective leaders and, in many societies, a noble skill.
-The effectiveness of persuasion as an influence tactic depends on characteristics of the
persuader, message content, communication channel, and the audience being persuaded
-People are more persuasive when listeners believe they have expertise and credibility. Credibility is higher when the persuader does not seem to profit from the persuasion attempt, mentions limitations with the position being persuaded, and acknowledges minor positive features of the alternative choices.
actively shaping through self-presentation and other means the
perceptions and attitudes that others have of us
-occurs through self-presentation. We craft our public images to communicate an identity, such as being important, vulnerable, threatening, or pleasant. For the most part, employees routinely engage in pleasant impression management behaviors to satisfy the basic norms of social behavior, such as the way they dress and how they behave toward coworkers and customers.
-a common strategy for people trying to get ahead in the workplace. In fact,
as we noted earlier, career professionals encourage people to develop a personal "brand"; that is, to form and display an accurate impression of their own distinctive, competitive advantage
-Subcategory is ingratiation
-depends on a few contingencies
-one obvious contingency is the influencer's strongest sources of power. Those with expertise tend to have more influence using persuasion, whereas those with a strong legitimate power base may be more
successful applying silent authority.
-A second contingency is whether the person being influenced is higher, lower, or at the same level in the organization. As an example, employees may face adverse career consequences by being too assertive with their boss. Meanwhile, supervisors who engage in ingratiation and impression management tend to lose the respect of their staff.
-Finally, the most appropriate influence tactic depends on personal, organizational, and cultural values.71 People
with a strong power orientation might feel more comfortable using assertiveness, whereas those who value conformity would make greater use of upward appeals. At an organizational level, firms with a competitive culture might encourage more use of information control and coalition formation, whereas companies with a more collegial culture would likely encourage more influence through persuasion.
-The preferred influence tactics also vary across societal cultures.
-First,
organizational politics are triggered by scarce resources in the workplace. When budgets are slashed, people rely on political tactics to safeguard their resources and maintain the status quo. Although it is not easy to maintain or add resources, sometimes this action is less costly than the consequences of organizational politics.
-Second, political tactics are fueled by ambiguous or complex rules, or the absence of formal rules, because those tactics help people get what they want when
decisions lack structural guidelines. Consequently, organizational politics are suppressed when resource allocation decisions are clear and simplified.
-Third, organizational change tends to bring out more organizational politics, mainly because change creates ambiguity and threatens the employee's power and other valued resources.77 Consequently, leaders need to apply the organizational change strategies that we describe in Chapter 14, particularly through communication, learning, and
involvement. Research has found that employees who are kept informed of what is going on in the organization and who are involved in organizational decisions are less likely to engage in organizational politics.
-Fourth, political behavior is more common in work units and organizations where it is tolerated and reinforced. Some companies seem to nurture self-serving behavior through reward systems and the role modeling of organizational leaders. To minimize political norms, the organization
needs to diagnose and alter systems and role modeling that support self-serving behavior. They should support organizational values that oppose political tactics, such as altruism and focusing on the customer. One of the most important strategies is for leaders to become role models of organizational citizenship rather than symbols of successful organizational politicians.