Exam 13: Power and Politics

Which of the following power tactics can be used most effectively for exerting lateral influence?

Expert power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits.

Rational persuasion is a power tactic that involves the use of ________.

Which of the following is a differentiating factor between power and leadership?

The more effort applicants put into highlighting their skills, motivation, and admiration for the organization, the more likely they are to be hired.

________ is the only tactic effective across organizational levels.

How does reward power contribute to sexual harassment?

Which of the following is a subtle form of sexual harassment?

What are defensive behaviors? Provide three examples of defensive behaviors and explain why an employee would engage in the behavior.

The low self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political behavior than the high self-monitor.

For a person to be recognized as having a high degree of political skill, he or she must have the ________.

Timothy Jenkins had been working for six years at Hartford Mills, a company that takes a strong stand against unionization. Though Timothy's designation was that of a production supervisor, as the company grew, he also took on additional duties like keeping a check on employee safety, ensuring that legal measures are followed, and implementing programs for labor welfare that the company planned. Many believed that Timothy was doing a great job for the company, and so it came as a surprise when Timothy was rumored to face severe disciplinary action, as he was encouraging the workers to join a union. However, he was let off with a mere warning. -Timothy argued that he was only doing his job-a job in which he had responsibility for improving the welfare of employees. Which of the following, if true, would help Hartford Mills avoid such situations in the future?

________ power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits.

Which of the following is an overt form of sexual harassment?

Carl believes that he is lucky to be working under a manager like Mr. Parker-conscientious, flexible and easy to work with. It was Mr. Parker who helped Carl learn the demands of the job, gave him opportunities to learn from the mistakes he made, and always provided sound advice. Mr. Parker, who has been in the field for over eighteen years, never made Carl feel like a novice and this only increased Carl's personal confidence in his work and his loyalty toward his manager. Carl, who is now doing very well on the job, aims to be a manager like Mr. Parker. From this scenario, which of the following conclusions can be drawn?

Mike Ford is a senior accountant at Coleman and Co., which is a financial management company. Mike has wanted to be on the board of representatives of his company for a long time, but the company stipulates a minimum number of years an employee must work at the organization before he or she makes it to the board. Mike is unwilling to work two more years to reach that stipulated experience and so he found a way to transgress this rule. He met up with one of the existing board members who was having problems accounting for allocated funds that went missing and offered to settle that for him in his department provided he nominate Mike to the board. Which of the following power tactics is being used here?

Discuss how power affects people and consider whether power is corruptive.

The Machiavellian personality is characterized by the will to manipulate and the desire for power.

List and discuss the bases of formal power.

________ occurs when people within organizations use whatever influence they can to taint the facts to support their goals and interests.