Define the following 12 key terms

DO POWER, POLITICS, AND ETIQUETTE APPLY GLOBALLY?

LO 9-9 Define the following 12 key terms

Select one or more methods: (1) fill in the missing key terms for each definition given below from memory; (2) match the key terms from the end of the review with their definitions below; and/or (3) copy the key terms in order from the key terms at the beginning of the chapter.

is a person’s ability to influence others to do something they would not otherwise do.

The seven bases of power are:

, based on threats and/or punishment to influence compliance.

, based on the user’s relationship with influential people.

, based on the user’s ability to influence others with something of value to them.

, based on the user’s position power.

, based on the user’s personal power.

, based on the user’s information being desired by others.

, based on the user’s skill and knowledge.

, the process of gaining and using power, is an important part of meeting organizational objectives.

involves creating obligations and debts, developing alliances, and using them to ac- complish objectives.

A(n) is the practice of being available to employees.

, often referred to as manners, is the code of behavior expected in work situations.

business etiquette 280 coercive power 268 connection power 268

expert power 269 information power 269 legitimate power 269

open-door policy 277 politics 275

power 268

reciprocity 275 referent power 269 reward power 268

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The following critical thinking questions can be used for class discussion and/or as written assignments to develop communication skills. Be sure to give complete explanations for all questions.

1. Some people say that power and politics can’t be used ethically. Do you agree?

2. Do you agree with the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that is important”? Is it ethical to use connection power to get jobs and other things?

3. When someone tries to influence you, which influencing tactic works best and why? Why doesn’t this same tactic work best for everyone?

4. How would you assess your political skill at using networking, reciprocity, and coalition building to

help you get what you want? What can you do to improve?

5. Describe your relationship with your current or past boss. Did you meet the five common expecta- tions of bosses? How can you improve your relationship with your current and/or future boss?

6. Describe your relationship with your current peers and members from other departments. How do you cooperate with them, compete with them, and criticize them? How can you improve your relationship with your current peers and members of other departments?

7. Review the list of etiquette tips. Which three tips that you don’t use often now might help you in the future? How will you change your etiquette?

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C A S E / / / Latoya Jefferson Use of Power and Politics

Latoya Jefferson is a tenured professor of business at a small teaching college in the Midwest. The Department of Business (DB) has nine faculty members; it is one of 10 departments in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS).

The business department chair is Beth Sweeny, who is in her first year as chair. Six faculty members, including Latoya, have been in the department for longer than Beth.

She likes to have policies so that faculty members have guides for their behavior. On the collegewide level, there is no policy about the job of graduate assistants. Beth asked the dean of the SAS what the policy was. The dean stated that there is no policy, and he had spoken to the

vice president for academic affairs. The vice president and the dean suggested letting the individual departments develop their own policy regarding what graduate assistants can and cannot do. So Beth put “use of graduate assistants” on the department meeting agenda.

During the DB meeting, Beth asked for members’

views on what graduate assistants should and should not be allowed to do. Beth was hoping that the department would come to a consensus on a policy. Latoya Jefferson was the only faculty member who was using graduate assistants to grade exams. All but one of the other faculty members spoke out against the use of having graduate

1. What source of power does Beth have, and what type of power is she using during the meeting?

2. (a) What source of power does Latoya have, and what type of power is she using during the meeting? (b) Is the memo a wise political move for Latoya? What may be gained/lost by sending it?

3. What would you do if you were Beth? (a) Would you talk to the dean, letting him know that Latoya said she would appeal the policy decision? (b) Which political behavior would that discussion represent? (c) Would you draft a policy directly stating that graduate assistants cannot be used to grade objective exams? (d) Would your answer to (c) be influenced by your answer to (a)?

4. If you were Latoya, (a) knowing you had no verbal supporters during the meeting, would you have continued to defend your position or agreed to stop using a graduate assistant? (b) What do you think of Latoya’s sending the memo? (c) As a tenured full professor, Latoya is secure in her job. Would your answer change if you had not received tenure or promotion to the top rank?

5. If you were Latoya and Beth drafted a policy and department members agreed with it, what would you do?

(a) Would you appeal the decision to the dean? (b) Again, would your answer change if you had not received tenure or promotion to the top rank?

6. If you were the dean of the SAS, knowing that the vice president does not want to set a collegewide policy, and Latoya appealed to you, what would you do? Would you develop a schoolwide policy for the SAS?

assistants grade exams. Other faculty members believed it was the job of the professor to grade the exams. Latoya made a few statements in hopes of not having to correct her own exams. She stated that her exams were objective;

thus, because there was a correct answer for each item on the exams, it was not necessary for her to personally correct the exams. She also pointed out that across the campus, and across the country, other faculty members were using graduate assistants to teach entire courses and to correct subjective papers and exams. Latoya stated that she did not think it would be fair to tell her that she could not use graduate assistants to grade objective exams when others could do so. She also stated that the department did not need to have a policy, and requested that the department not set a policy. However, Beth stated that she wanted a policy. She held a single minority view during the meeting. However, after the meeting, one other member of the department, Ted Brown, who had said nothing during the meeting, told Latoya that he agreed that it was not fair to deny her the use of a graduate assistant.

There was no department consensus, as Beth hoped there would be. Beth said that she would draft a department policy, which would be discussed at a future DB meeting. The next day, Latoya sent a memo to department members asking if it was ethical and legal to deny her the use of the same resources as others across the campus. She also stated that if the department set a policy stating that she could no longer use graduate assistants to correct objective exams, she would appeal the policy decision to the dean, the vice president, and the president.

Go to the Internet: This case actually did happen.

However, the names have been changed for confidentiality.

Thus, you cannot go to the college Web site where the case really happened. Therefore, go to your own college Web site and get information that you did not know about your college.

Support your answer to the following questions with specific information from the case and text, or with other information you get from the Web or other sources.

7. At what level (collegewide, by schools, or by departments within each school) should a graduate assistant policy be set?

8. (a) Should Ted Brown have spoken up in defense of Latoya during the meeting? (b) If you were Ted, would you have taken Latoya’s side against the seven other members? (c) Would your answer change if you were or were not friends with Latoya, and if you were or were not a tenured full professor?

Cumulative Questions

9. What is the role of perception (Chapter 2) and attitudes and values (Chapter 3) in this case?

10. What type of communications (Chapter 5) were used in this case? What was the major barrier to communications?

11. Which conflict management style (Chapter 6) did Beth and Latoya use in setting the policy? Which conflict management style would you have used if you were in Latoya’s situation?

12. Which situational supervisory business style (Chapter 7) was Beth using to set the policy?

13. Which motivation theory (Chapter 8) was Latoya using to defend her position to use graduate assistants?

C A S E / / / Exercise and Role-Play

Preparation: Read the case and think about whether you agree or disagree with using graduate assistants to correct objective exams. If you do this exercise, we rec- ommend that you complete it before discussing the questions and answers to the case.

In-Class Meeting: A person who strongly agrees with Latoya Jefferson’s position volunteers to play this role (can be male or female) during a DB meeting. A second person who also agrees with the use of graduate assistants correcting exams plays the role of Ted Brown (can be female). However, recall that Ted cannot say any- thing during the meeting to support Walker. One person who strongly disagrees with Beth Sweeny—who doesn’t want graduate assistants to correct exams, and who also feels strongly that there should be a policy stating what graduate assistants can and cannot do—

volunteers to play the role of the department chair who runs the DB meeting. Six others who are neutral or disagree with graduate assistants grading exams play the roles of other department members.

The 10 role-players sit in a circle in the center of the room, with the other class members sitting around the outside of the circle. Observers just quietly watch and listen to the meeting discussion.

Role-Play: (about 15 minutes) Beth opens the meeting by simply stating that the agenda item is to set a graduate assistants policy stating what they can and cannot do, and that he or she hopes the department can come to a consensus on a policy. Beth states her (or his) position on why graduate students should not be allowed to correct exams, and then asks for other views. Latoya and the others, except Ted, jump in anytime with their opinions.

Discussion: After the role-play is over, or when time runs out, the person playing the role of Latoya ex- presses to the class how it felt to have everyone against him (or her). Other department members state how they felt about the discussion, followed by observers’ statements as time permits. A discussion of the case questions and answers may follow.

O B J E C T I V E C A S E / / / Politicking

Karen Whitmore is going to be promoted in two months. She will be replaced by one of her subordinates, Jim Green or Lisa Fesco. Both Jim and Lisa know they are competing for the promotion. Their years of experience and quality and quantity of work are about the same. Below is some of the political behavior each used to help get the promotion.

Lisa has been going to night classes and company training programs in management to prepare herself for the promotion. Lisa is very upbeat; she goes out of her way to be nice to people and compliment them. She gets along well with everyone. Knowing that Karen was an officer in a local businesswomen’s networking organization, Lisa joined the club six months ago and now serves on a committee. At work Lisa talks regu- larly to Karen about the women’s organization. Lisa makes an effort to know what is going on in the organization. One thing Karen doesn’t like about Lisa is

the fact that when she points out Lisa’s errors, Lisa al- ways has an answer for everything.

Jim is good at sports and has been playing golf and tennis with upper-level managers for over a year now. In the department, especially with Karen, Jim re- fers to conversations with managers all the time. When Jim does something for someone, he expects that person to do a favor in return. Jim really wants this promotion, but he fears that with more women being promoted to management positions, Lisa will get the job just because she is a woman. To increase his chances of getting the job, Jim stayed late and made a few changes—errors—in the report Lisa was working on.

Jim sees nothing wrong with making the changes to get ahead. When Lisa passed in the report, without check- ing prior work, Karen found the errors. The one thing Karen doesn’t like about Jim is the fact that, on occa- sion, she has to tell him what to do before he acts.

Answer the following questions. Then in the space between the questions, state why you selected that answer.

1. We know that Karen has power.

a. position b. personal

2. To be promoted, Lisa is stressing power. Refer to the opening statement about Lisa.

a. coercive c. reward e. referent g. expert b. connection d. legitimate f. information

3. To be promoted, Jim is stressing power. Refer to the opening statement about Jim.

a. coercive c. reward e. referent g. expert b. connection d. legitimate f. information

4. appears to use reciprocity the most.

a. Lisa b. Jim

5. Lisa conducted unethical political behavior.

a. has b. has not

6. Jim conducted unethical political behavior.

a. has b. has not

7. Jim has committed behavior in changing the report.

a. Type I b. Type II

8. Jim’s changing the report did not affect:

a. supervisors c. peers e. other departments b. subordinates d. Karen’s department f. the organization 9. Lisa does not meet Karen’s expectation of:

a. loyalty c. initiative e. openness to criticism b. cooperation d. information

10. Jim does not meet Karen’s expectation of:

a. loyalty c. initiative e. openness to criticism b. cooperation d. information

11. In Lisa’s situation, she suspects Jim made the changes in the report, but she has no proof. What would you do?

12. In Karen’s situation, she suspects Jim made the changes in the report, but she has no proof. What would you do?

Note: Meetings between Lisa and Jim, Karen and Jim, or all three may be role-played in class.

Note: This exercise is designed for permanent groups that have worked together at least twice.

Objective: To better understand power and how people gain power.

AACSB: The primary AACSB learning standard skills developed through this exercise are reflective thinking and application of knowledge.

Preparation: You should have read and understood the text chapter.

Experience: Your group will discuss power within the group.

Procedure 1 (5–10 minutes)

Permanent teams get together and decide which member has the most power at this time (greatest ability to influence group members’ behavior). Power can change with time. Before discussion, all members select the member they believe has the most power. You may select yourself. Write the most powerful person’s name here:

. After everyone has made their selection, each member should state who was selected and explain why. Record the names of those selected below.

Procedure 2 (7–12 minutes)

Come to an agreement on the one person with the most power. Write the group’s choice here:

. Was there a struggle for power?

Why is this person the most powerful in the group? To help you answer this question, as a group, answer the following questions about your most powerful person:

1. Which of the 10 human relations guidelines (discussed in Chapter 1) does he or she follow: (1) be optimistic, (2) be positive, (3) be genuinely interested in other people, (4) smile and develop a sense of humor, (5) call people by name, (6) listen to people, (7) help others, (8) think before you act, (9) apologize, and (10) create win–win situations?

2. How does this person project a positive image? What type of image does his or her appearance project? What nonverbal communication does this person project that sends a positive image? What behavior does this person use that gains him or her power?

3. What is the primary source of this person’s power (position, personal)?

Who Has the Power?

In-Class Exercise (Group)

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4. What is the primary base for this person’s power in the group (coercive, connection, reward, legitimate, referent, information, expert)?

5. Which political behaviors does this person use (gets along with everyone, makes people feel important and compliments them, compromises and avoids telling people they are wrong)?

6. Does this person use ethical or unethical politics?

7. Does this person cooperate with, compete with, or criticize group members?

Overall, why is this person the most powerful? (Agree and write the reason below.) Share the feeling you expe- rienced doing this exercise. How did you feel about not being, or being, selected as the most powerful group member? Who wanted power and who didn’t? Is it wrong or bad to want and seek power?

Optional:

1. A spokesperson from each group tells the class which member was selected as the most powerful, and the overall reason why the person is considered to be the most powerful.

2. A spokesperson from each group does not tell the class which member was selected as the most powerful, but does state the overall reason why the person is considered to be the most powerful.

Conclusion: The instructor leads a class discussion and/or makes concluding remarks.

Application (2– 4 minutes): What did I learn from this exercise? How will I use this knowledge in the future?

Sharing: Volunteers give their answers to the application section.

Below are three situations. For each situation, select the most appropriate influencing tactic(s) to use. Write the tactics on the lines following the situations. At this time, don’t write out how you would behave (what you would say and do).

1. You are doing a college internship, which is going well. You would like to become a full-time employee a few weeks after you graduate.

Which influencing tactic(s) would you use?

Who would you try to influence? How would you do so (behavior)?

2. You have been working for six months. As you are approaching the elevator, you see a powerful person, one who could potentially help you advance in your career, waiting for the elevator. You have never met her, but you do know that her committee has recently completed a new five-year strategic plan for the company and that she plays tennis and is active in the same religious organization as you. Although you have only a couple of minutes, you decide to try to develop a connection.

Which influencing tactic(s) would you use?

Influencing Tactics

Preparation (individual and Group)

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Define the following 14 key terms

Define the following 16 key terms