Chapter 15 - Making a Good Impression

Constantly I would hear the same advice before I went to an interview. "Dress to impress. It is better to overdress than underdress. A firm handshake and eye contact will take you far." Are all these techniques proven to give off a good first impression? Or are these formalities overplayed?

In chapter fifteen, impressions, influence, and empowerment are discussed. I was most interested in the section that talked about how much an impression can affect one's work life. There are three types of impression tactics:

Job Focused: manipulating information about ones performance

Supervisor Focused: praising and doing favors for one's supervisor

Self Focused: presenting oneself as polite and kind

It seems as most of these focus around the art of deceiving. I think the best way to make a good impression is by taking the initiative and going above and beyond, like that which was suggested in an excerpt on page 454. One should not try to go out of their way to look as if they deserve recognition when they could spend that time doing something that would ultimately bring them recognition.

Power Corrupts

“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This has been proven throughout history and is the reason the word power evokes passionate reactions. “Power must be used because managers must influence those they depend on. Power also is crucial in the development of manager’s self-confidence and willingness to support subordinates.” By accepting this reality that power is necessary to our way of life, it is important that we understand how to avoid abusing power. If a manager lacks power, the department’s efficiency will be impacted and the same is to be said if they apply too much pressure.

Five Bases of Power

Chapter 15 discusses the five bases of power social power, as presented by the work of John French and Bertram Raven. The five bases of power are reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent. A person can obtain compliance from another person by exerting these types of social influence, and sometimes people don't even know they are doing it. Knowledge of these types of social influences that lead to power can help one to behave morally or immorally, and can help one to further their progress in an organization. The exertions of these types of power can also be beneficial or hurtful to an organization's objectives, depending on how they are used by an individual to gain power. For example, reward power can be detrimental to the effectiveness of teamwork because a reward system might increase competition among individuals and make others feel left out. The organization of the reward system is crucial in this regard. Another example is coercive power, which can cause an individual to feel manipulated, or simply used as a stepping stone for another's benefit. Each type of social influence leaves a lasting imprint on the relationships between individuals in every organization.

Social power is about influence. "When we're involved with other people (children, bosses, IRS agents) our ability to satisfy our desires (freedom) has a lot to do with how successfully we influence those people or resist their efforts to influence us in ways we don't want." Social power has an effect on how people feel in work settings and job satisfaction. Social power is not only power that comes from formal authority, but also sources which we do not always acknowledge, and has a large effect on how people move through organizations and relate to others. Even those who are not in formal positions can exert social influence and gain a lot of power over relationships and decisions made within an organization.

Atlee, John S. "Democracy: A social power analysis." The Co-Intelligence Institute. http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_democSocPwrAnal.html. 1952. Date Accessed: 06 May 2010.

Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.

Delegating Trust

An interesting topic in Chapter 15 is the empowerment that comes with delegation. In this section, Kreitner describes a study conducted by the State University of New York in which researchers found that a greater delegation of tasks given from managers was associated with trust as the key component: “Managers prefer to delegate important tasks and decisions to the people they trust ... it takes time and favorable experience to build [it]” (Kreitner 441). Since much time is invested into building and developing trust, it is therefore, fitting that important jobs are assigned to those that are trusted the most.

The article, “Power and Trust in Global Virtual Teams,” by Panteli and Tucker explore the power balances and shifts within groups that internally ranged from high-trusting to low-trusting. Results showed that high-trusting teams shared the following: the members had similar goals in mind, the leaders prioritized the team’s success as their primary role, and the power did not disappear among members, but rather shifted throughout as the job progressed (Panteli and Tucker 2).

Trust, is therefore, necessary for organizational leaders, managers, and team members to be able to create, hone, and maintain in order to be successful and efficient within the workplace. Although it may be easily destroyed, trust is a vital component in how an organization can prosper.

Source: Panteli, Niki, and Robert Tucker. "Power and Trust in Global Virtual Teams." Communications of the ACM 52.12 (2009): 113-115. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.

CH15

Out of chapter 15, the most interesting topic, in my opinion, was the section on influence tactics. I think this section was interesting for most people, I mean who doesn't want to get their way and influence people? This section focused on the best approach to get people to carry out your wishes. Research done by David Kipnis in the 1980s, provides us with a list of nine influence tactics:
-Rational persuasion
-Inspirational Appeal
-Ingratiation
-Personal Appeals
-Exchange
-Coalition
-Pressure
-Legitimating tactics

As one can see, they are ranked in diminishing order of use in the workplace. The first five are considered "soft tactics" because they are friendlier than the last four which are considered "hard tactics".
I have found that in real world situations, if someone really wants something they rarely start out with a “hard tactic”. They always start with kind reasoning and logic, and then if they don’t get their way, they will move down the list to harder tactics.
When you are the persuader and use your favorite tactic to try and get your way there is normally 3 influence outcomes
-Commitment
-Compliance
-Resistance
In the workplace, the only acceptable one is commitment, compliance and resistance will not sit well with your boss.
I found an article on careerbuilder.com which is titled “How to get your way at work”. This had a more condensed and simpler list of three which was comparable to Kipnis’ nine.
-Be realistic
-have a plan
-ask for feedback
Honesty plays a big key in getting your way, if you’re a slimball and nobody trusts you, rarely will they do what you want.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1013-Getting-Ahead-How-to-Get-Your-Way-at-Work/?ArticleID=1013&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=475864f7070d4b53b1b19e55e5678966-324912372-VE-4&ns_siteid=ns_us_g_how_to_get_your_way

Power in the office

I don't have too much time for a post today, seeing as how I'm producing music for a feature film, and I have an appointment to headbutt grizzly bears at 3:30 (only one of those is a blatant lie).

Anyways, I want to talk about office power today. While reading our incredibly fascinating book, I came across the part in chapter 15 about the bases of power. I remembered talking about this in-class. If Mr. Miyagi is involved, you bet your ass I'll remember it.

So there are 5 kinds of power bases: Reward, Coercive, Legitimate, Expert, and Referent. For this post, I'm going to use my imagination to paint a picture of what a manager adhering to each of these power styles would look like.

Reward power, according to the book, is one who "obtains compliance with promised or actual rewards." Let's take Mark, a manager slaving away at a mid-level cardboard box supplier (they exist, trust me). He has noticed that his numbers are down, and he needs to get people in gear to start earning more money. He doesn't want to lose the monthly sales numbers contest to the Lodi branch again. So he tells his employees that, in addition to him throwing a badass picnic (badass picnic? What?), he'll make sure that they will each receive a bonus as a reward if they win two monthly sales contests.

Coercive power is the kind of power wielded by assholes. As stated in the book, "obtaining compliance through threatened or actual punishment." Let's look at Howard, a short fat guy who just got promoted to a management position. Unfortunately for everyone working underneath him, he is a man filled with spite, and takes sadistic pleasure in punishing people. Someone yawned once during one of his meetings. They were never seen again. He gets people to work hard by constantly hovering punishments over their heads. One time, he saw one of his subordinates at a bar with a hot date. In a fit of jealousy, he fired him the following Monday. This guy is cold-blooded.

Legitimate power is a little more formal and clear-cut. It's simply respecting the chain of command. If a guy occupies the position of "manager," then he gets to "manage" you. It's pretty simple. Obviously, someone with legitimate power can turn into a douchy coercive or nice rewarding manager, but legitimate power seems to be almost more passive and in the middle. You have authority because of your title. Case in point, Ron, who works for Boring Industries, a company that makes springs for printer cartridges. He just got promoted to a management position, but he's still totally the same guy that he was before. He just has management authority now. People listen to him and complete tasks that he requests of them. He sees it as the same job he had before, and he only gets to manage because of what his job title says.

Expert power is the most badass kind of power. Mr. Miyagi falls into this category. He knows his shit, and that's why he's practically bursting with awesome. If someone commands respect simply by what they know and what skills they have, then they are simply better than everyone else. Let's consider the case of Paul, a manager who has been in his industry (the fake vomit manufacturing business) for fifteen years. He knows his industry and workers inside and out, and he studies Krav Maga in his spare time (Krav Maga is the martial arts used by Israeli special forces). On top of that, he is a professional base jumper, expert chef, and has a respectable credit score. He commands respect by simply being an expert in the things he does. When he talks, people tend to listen because there is a good chance this man knows what he is talking about. Also, Krav Maga.

Referent power is, to put it lightly, the kind of power wielded by people who are just good with other people. It's all about charisma and raw appeal. Let us consider Gunther, a new manager who didn't go to college, doesn't have any particularly good skills, doesn't really focus on rewarding or punishing people, and doesn't know Krav Maga. But people LOVE him. Why? He gets people. Never underestimate this power. Upper management is populated almost entirely by human beings, and you can be the most qualified and knowledgeable person out there, but if you don't get people, forget about it. Gunther just gets people, and that's why he got promoted and you didn't.

Political Tactics in the Workplace

There are eight common political tactics in organizations. First one tactic is attacking or blaming others by avoiding or minimizing association with failure. This usually happens when scapegoating occurs. Second, people often use information as their political tool by purposely withholding or distorting information. Often they obscure an unfavorable situation by overwhelming superiors with all sorts of information. Thirdly, creating a favorable image by dressing for success and impression management occurs. Also this happens when people take credit for others’ accomplishments. Fourth, people develop a base of support prior to decision making by building others commitments. Fifth, praising others is tactics by making influential people feel good. Sixth, business people tend to form power coalitions with strong allies to gain success and results. Seventh, associating with influential people is often a behavior by networking inside and outside of the organization that they are with. Lastly, people create obligations and social debts.

In the article “Workplace Etiquette: The Political Savvy Individual” it addresses that in order to successful in today’s evolving workplace, you need talent, hard work, good job performance, a share of good breaks as well as political savvy. “Political savvy means ethically using office politics to your advantage.” People must think of this as to practice sensible and ethical office politics. This article addresses that office politics were played by supervisors and managers attempting to climb the ladder of success. Office politics are omnipresent, which means they are everywhere all the time. The last thing that this article stressed was if someone was “to ignore office politics is to ignore those underlying forces that account for the success between equally talented people.”

"Workplace Etiquette: The Political Savvy Individual (identify the Characteristics of Successful Teams in a Workplace with Etiquette)." Famous Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Young, Successful, Women, Toronto Resources. Web. 17 Apr. 2010. .

Chapter 15: Three Possible Influence Outcomes

In chapter 15, the authors, Kreitner and Kinicki, explain that there are three possible influence outcomes, which are commitment, compliance, and resistance. It is defined as enthusiastically agreeing and demonstrating initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. The best outcome in an organization is commitment because the target person’s intrinsic motivation will energize good performance. According to laboratory studies mentioned in the textbook, commitment occurs when people rely on consultation, strong rational persuasion, and inspirational appeals, and do not rely on pressure and coalition tactics. In addition, commitment is also more likely when the influence attempt involves something important and enjoyable and is based on a friendly relationship.

In a research study conducted by Robin K. Dreeke, his article reports on the significant role played by self-motivation and self-improvement in becoming effective leaders. It explores how self-motivation has helped a special agent pursue his dreams and not give up easily when he comes across challenges. On the other hand, through his self-motivation he is willing to commit to any task he is faced with. By committing to difficult moments when also failing, he discovers his strengths and weaknesses and develop effective solutions to problems which result in accomplishments.

Source: Dreeke, Robin K. "Leadership Spotlight: Self-Motivation and Self-Improvement." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 77.8 (2008): 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.

Influence Outcomes

In today's workplace, at times it may get a little hectic and you may feel like you need some help. You may have multiple projects in your hand and need a little help from a co-worker. You finally get up the nerve to ask for help but how do you ask. The book provides nine generic influence tactics. They are:
1)Rational persuasion
2) Inspirational appeals
3) Consultation
4) Ingratation
5) Personal Appeals
6) Exchange
7) Coalition tactics
8) Pressure
9) Legitimating tactics

You look at this list and choose the tactic that oyu believe will work the best and you go ask for help. There are 3 possible outcomes that can occur.The first being commitment. This is when your friend enthusiastically agrees and will demonstrate initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. The second is compliance. This is when your friend grudgingly complies and will need prodding to satisfy minimum requirements. The last is resistance. This is when your friend will say no, make excuses, stall, or put up an argument. The best possible outcome is obviously commitment but most people have to settle for compliance in today's workplace.

I also read an article that discussed the use and outcomes of influence tactics while working in a hospital. This is the link to the article.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html


Journal of Managerial Issues. "Hospital Professionals' Use Of Upward Influence Tactics." Entrepeneur.
2000. http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html

Chapter 15

Impression management is the process of attempting to control or manipulate how others view your image or ideas. This involves manipulating attributes, how you talk, how you look, and how you behave. People who are high self-monitoring tend to use impression management more than those who are low self-monitoring. Upward impression management tactics are:
• Job-focused means that you manipulate information about your performance
• Supervisor-focused is when you praise or do favors for your supervisor
• Self-focused is presenting yourself as a nice and polite person
A problem with making a good impression is that it can possibly lead to unethical things, such as, the story from Stewart Friedman where people faked looking busy. Another problem is that you may be labeled as ‘phony’ or a ‘pet’ if you use too much impression management. It is important that everyone uses some impression management tactics because it helps to get you noticed in the work place. If you don’t use it at all, supervisors may overlook your contributions when deciding on promotions. Using upward impression management tactics is all about balance. Some people purposely want to make a bad impression because they want to:
• Avoid work, stress, burnout, or an unwanted transfer/promotion
• Obtain a pay raise or a desired transfer, promotion, or demotion
• To get laid off, fired, or suspended, and to collect unemployment/workers’ compensation
• To control, manipulate, or intimate others, get revenge, or make someone else look bad
Five unfavorable upward impression management tactics are:
• Decreasing performance, be less productive, making more mistakes than usual, lowering quality of work, and neglecting tasks
• Not work to potential by pretending to be ignorant
• Displaying a bad attitude by complaining, getting upset and angry, act strange, and purposely not getting along with others
• Broadcasting limitations by letting others know about your physical problems and mistakes
Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal calls this “strategic incompetence,” where a successful failure strategy helps to deflect unwanted work without having to own up to it. To avoid such problems, challenging work, greater autonomy, better feedback, supportive leadership, clear and reasonable goals, and a less stressful work environment can be implemented in a company.

In the article, “Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career” by Mercedes Alfaro, she points out that a lot of times people might be creating a bad image of themselves without knowing it. People are unaware that their personal appearance and attitude help to define who they are as a person. Alfaro stresses that having good socializing skills are key to making a good impression. She gives the following tips:
• Set goals
• Take a look at yourself or ask someone for their opinion on your image
• Committ to the change you want to make by constatly practicing the new skill
• Dress appropriately for the occasion and for the way you want people to see you
• Learn how to properly shake hands
• Keep your body language open by not fidgeting or not making eye contact
• Fake it until you feel that you’ve achieved your desired image
This article brings up an important point that sometimes people are unaware of the image that they’re giving off. Before it’s too late, everyone should assess their current image and necessary adjustments to reach their desired image goal.

Works Cited
Alfaro, Mercedes. Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career. 11 April 2010 .

Office Politics

There is no avoiding office politics. Even an employee who 'avoids' politics, doesn't speak up and does not network, is taking a part in office politics, that of the 'naive' employee, as expressed in Chapter 15. A sensible employee will learn to work the system and realize that politics can actually be beneficial if handled correctly. If politics is abused, then corruption occurs. Employees that view the politics of their company as an opportunity, but do not balance their acts with morals, then they are called 'sharks' and are not well liked by other employees.

An article I found talked about how to win at office politics. The most important thing is to network and build relationships- not just with the people above you who can get you promoted, but with those below you. You want to be able to get along with everyone. One of the metaphors the author used was of high school. A good student would do what they were told and complete assignments, however the students that became the teacher's 'pet' and whose names their teachers remembered the next year were those that went above and beyond what was expected of them on projects and spoke up in class discussions or asked for extra help after class. It is the same principle in the business world. You cannot be afraid of 'using' people. You have to go in with your whole attitude and energy and put yourself up there (for the better or the worse). A naive person to how politics works and keeps their head down will never climb the corporate ladder. It is all about who you know and how you present yourself.

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 talked about Influences, Empowerment, and Politics in the workforce. One of the things that really stood out to me was about Participative Management. According to our textbook, Participative Management was when the employees became involved in the decision making process of the company. The authors of the book said that it could be something positive because it promotes qualities, such as autonomy in the workplace. On the other hand, it could be something negative because the company would not be able to move up if everyone was more interdependent on one another.

This led me to research more about the subject of participative management. I found a study that correlated participative management to job satisfaction and strategic planning. According to the research, “This study examined the positive relationship between participative management and job satisfaction in local government agencies. It also demonstrated a positive relationship between a participative strategic planning process and job satisfaction.” (Kim)To me, it was interesting because of how much it worked in a government center. I also liked how she incorporated participative planning. I do agree with this article. I believe that the more that employees are involved with the planning, the better decision makers they would be, and the more it would benefit the company.

Source:
Kim, SoonHee. "Particpative Management and Job Satisfaction: Lessons for Management Leadership." Public Administration Review (2002): 231-241.