Exam 5: Influencing: Politics, Power, Negotiation, and Networking

Influencing tactics. Your company is profitable and gives merit raises (between 0 to 7 percent). You met with your manager for your annual review and thought things went very well. Although the manager never stated a specific percentage pay increase, the way he talked, you were expecting a 6 percent pay raise starting next month. When you got your next paycheck, you realized that the raise was only 3 percent, so you contacted the payroll department. Payroll stated that your manager put in for a 3 percent pay raise. You know that some of your peers got 5 percent and they are not as productive as you. You believe you earned the 6 percent and have decided to talk to your manager to try to get it. A. What are some of the things that you should consider in planning your talk with the manager? B. Which influencing tactic(s) will you use to help persuade your manager to give you the 6 percent raise? C. What behavior will you use (what will you do and say)?

The company has a monthly newsletter and asks employees to submit information about themselves and their accomplishments to be printed. Julio sends in information regularly. Which type of political behavior is this?

Politics:

Reciprocity and networking are commonly used to achieve ongoing objectives, whereas coalitions are developed for achieving a specific objective.

Leaders use information power when making rational persuasion.

To maintain discipline or enforce rules, you should use coercive power.

What are the seven types of power?

Gaining recognition is a good way to develop political skills.

When negotiating, one thing to remember is that when the other party becomes resistant to making the agreement, a hard sale is generally the best tactic.

Once an agreement has been made, you should do which of the following?

Coercion involves making rash threats.

A sales rep is making a sales call to a potential corporate customer. The sales rep is explaining how the product will help the customer increase productivity using facts and figures from prior customers. Which individual tactic is the sales rep using in this situation?

Referent power is appropriate for people who have no position power.

A recent college graduate is trying to get a job with IBM. Her uncle works at IBM and she asked him to give her a recommendation for an open position. The college graduate is using which type of power to get the job?

Because you have taken a leadership course, you know that, being a manager, coercive power is effective when

Giving employees praise, recognition, pay raises or bonuses are examples of reward power.

Is power good or bad for organizations?

What type of situation (win/lose) is the goal of negotiation?

1. Think of a present or past manager. Which type of power does (or did) the manager use most often? Explain. 2. Which one or two suggestions for increasing your power base are the most relevant to you? Explain.

You, as an employee and not a manager in your organization, can have ____ power while your manager can potentially have both types of power.