Power

 Definition: A capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, so

that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
 The definition implies a potential that need not be actualized to be
effective and a dependency relationship. Power may exist but not be
used. It is, therefore, a capacity or potential.

Contrasting Leadership and Power

Essentially, leaders achieve goals, and power is a means of facilitating their

achievement
 Leadership involves the goals of the leaders and followers - Power
does not
 Leadership focuses on downward influence (leader - subordinate) -
Power does not

Bases of Power

Formal Power

 Coercive Power
Power that is based on fear.
 Reward Power
Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that
others view as valuable.
 Legitimate Power
The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in
the formal hierarchy of an organization.
 Information Power
Power that comes from access to and control over information

Personal Power
 Expert Power
Influence based on special skills or knowledge.
 Referent Power
Influence based on possession by an individual or desirable
resources or personal traits.
 Charismatic Power
An extension of referent power stemming from an individual’s
personality and interpersonal style.
So, does a person have one or more of the bases of power listed above?
Affirmative (“YES”) responses to the following questions can answer this
question:

 The person can make things difficult for people, and you want to avoid getting
him or her angry. [coercive power ]

 The person is able to give special benefits or rewards to people, and you find it
advantageous to trade favors with him or her. [reward power]

 The person has the right, considering his or her position and your job
responsibilities, to expect you to comply with legitimate requests. [legitimate
power]

 The person has the experience and knowledge to earn your respect, and you
defer to his or her judgment in some matters. [expert power]

 You like the person and enjoy doing things for him or her. [referent power]

Dependency: The key to power

"The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B"

What creates dependency?

 Importance, scarcity, nonsubstitutability

Power Tactics
 Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions:
1) Legitimacy
2) Rational persuasion
3) Inspirational appeals
4) Consultation
5) Exchange
6) Personal appeals
7) Ingratiation
8) Pressure
9) Coalitions

Power in groups: Coalitions

 Coalition – an informal group bound together by the active pursuit of a
single issue
 Coalitions seek to maximize their size = “strength” in numbers
Sexual Harassment
 Unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or
physical conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is about power.

POLITICS
Politics: Power in action

Political behavior are those activities that are not required as part of one’s
formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the
distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.

Legitimate and illegitimate political behaviors are common in

organizations. Politics is a fact of life in organizations.

Factors contributing to Political Behavior

Individual factors (e.g., personality traits, needs)

Organizational factors (e.g., when organizational resources decline,
resources change, low trust exists, high performance pressures, and the
opportunity of promotion exists = political behavior is likely)

How do People Respond to Organizational Politics?

 Decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety, increased turnover, and reduced

performance

 Defensive Actions: Reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame, or

change

Impression Management
 The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression
others form of them. Techniques include conformity, excuses,
apologies, self-promotion, flattery, favors, and association.

What is a group?
In short, a group is a number of people who work together. They have
individual goals that they work toward collectively. While groups work toward
separate goals, they have a related interest or identity that brings them
together.

ere are two types of groups: informal groups and formal groups. Informal
groups are formed naturally around common interests, identities, or social
goals. Formal groups are created by company leaders to perform a specific
task for an organization.

Group advantages

There is some debate about whether groups or teams are better. The reality
is, both have advantages and disadvantages, and it’s up to you to decide
which one is best for your needs. Here are some advantages of groups:
 Groups build temporary relationships: Since groups focus on individual members
working in parallel to one another, they build temporary working relationships such as
short-term external projects or temporary internal consulting.
 Groups are great for efficiency: While teams work to create efficiency for the greater
good, groups focus on individual efficiency. This can improve effectiveness when
looking at individual work and larger group objectives.
 Groups focus on individual growth: Since groups support individual work, they also
focus on individual growth. This can be seen in the form of individual experts rather
than a team of experts.

While working in a group environment has its advantages, it also has some
disadvantages, too. Let’s look at some reasons why working in a group might
not be right for you.

Read: Efficiency vs. effectiveness in business: Why your team needs both

Group drawbacks

While groups support individual work and career growth, they don’t share all
of the advantages of working in a team setting. These disadvantages include
not connecting work to goals and the lack of team bonding.

Here are some disadvantages of working in a group:

 Groups can alienate individuals: Since groups work individually, there isn’t as much
time spent on team building. This lack of teamwork can alienate individuals and cause
communication issues.
 Groups don’t support organizational goals: Likewise, this lack of teamwork can cause
a gap in organizational clarity. This makes it difficult to connect work to
organizational goals and objectives.

These disadvantages are why some organizations prefer working in teams.

That’s why it’s important to also understand the advantages and
disadvantages of teams.

What is a team?
A team is a number of people who work together to accomplish a shared
purpose or goal. Each team is the sum of its parts, which means members of
the team rely on one another to accomplish the outcome.
 Teams work together to solve problems, create new products, and other
functions such as aligning passions and purpose. There are a few different
types of teams, including cross-departmental teams, process teams, and self-
managed teams. Each of these differs slightly but shares similar advantages
and disadvantages.

Team advantages

Working in a team environment has many advantages that all come back to
working toward the same goals and supporting members in a shared
experience. Many organizations work in a team setting vs. a group setting as
they prefer the advantages of collaboration. These include improved
productivity and quicker problem solving.

Here are some advantages of working in a team:

 Teams build on collaboration and synergy: Teamwork can increase collaboration and
synergy. These help support the overall goal and can aid in communication and
organizational transparency.
 Teams encourage group productivity: While groups aid in efficiency, teams have the
advantage when it comes to productivity. This is because team members support each
other’s work and help solve the overall problem, making the actual work more
productive.
 Teams are better for problem solving: It’s true that the more people brainstorm
together, the better. This is why teamwork can help solve problems quicker and more
effectively the first time around.
 The advantages of working in teams can help organizations thrive thanks to
teamwork and communication. That said, there are some disadvantages you
should consider as well.

Read: Beyond the buzzword: How to build team synergy

Team drawbacks

While teams have a variety of advantages, they also have some

disadvantages. These disadvantages include struggling to support individual
growth and efficiency issues.

Here are some disadvantages of working in a team:

 Teams don’t always focus on individual growth: While not always the case, some
teams struggle with fostering individual growth. This is because results are most
commonly focused on the greater good than what’s best for each person.
 Teams may struggle with efficiency: Teams have the advantage of productivity,
though they can struggle with efficiency if the right organizational processes are not
put into place. This can cause work to take longer than expected and deadlines to be
missed.

While teams might struggle with these disadvantages, there are ways to
minimize the effects with the right processes and leadership. The key is to
facilitate organizational clarity that supports both teams and individuals.
How to lead groups vs. teams
Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of groups vs. teams,
you may be wondering how each translates into an organization. This is an
important question to consider when gauging how to lead a group or team in
your current organization.

Group-focused organizations:

When it comes to group organizational behavior, there is a lot to consider

based on functionality and group dynamics. Group dynamics describe the
interactions, attitudes, and behaviors between a set of people. These can
negatively and positively affect teamwork depending on how they’re set up.

Healthy group dynamics consist of fluid collaboration and transparency.

Unhealthy group dynamics might consist of a lack of teamwork which results
in individual isolation. To prevent unhealthy group dynamics, implement a
team-focused strategy that focuses on breaking down communication
barriers.

Group leadership tip: To prevent communication issues, organize team building

games to encourage group collaboration and healthy dynamics.
Team-focused organizations:

Organizations that are focused around team dynamics tend to have more
transparency and fewer communication issues. This is because teams work
together toward a shared goal and focus on problem solving together.
This leads to a healthy organizational behavior and positive interdependent
relationships. To take this one step further, keep collective goals in sight, and
empower your team to rely on one another to meet those objectives.

Team leadership tip: Communicate both project goals and business goals to create
transparency and align work with relevant objectives.

Spark collaboration by transitioning

from group to team
The dynamic that’s right for your team won’t be the same as everyone else.
That said, team dynamics can help empower collaboration in the workplace and
interdependent relationships.

Whether you lead groups vs. teams, always remember to keep individual
growth in sight and encourage communication to improve productivity.

Looking for additional ways to increase productivity? Asana helps keep track
of task management and keeps everyone organized in a shared workspace.

Group vs. team

A group is a collection of individuals who coordinate their efforts, while a team
is a group of people who share a common goal. While similar, the two are
different when it comes to decision-making and teamwork.

In a work group, group members are independent from one another and have
individual accountability. On the other hand, in a team, team members share a
mutual accountability and work closely together to solve problems. These
dynamics inform the way tasks are handled and overall collaboration.

Group Dynamics: it’s

characteristics, stages, types and
other Details |
Group Dynamics: it’s characteristics, stages, types,
factors ,team building and other Details!
People may underestimate the importance of society and
group memberships on their lives. Whilst people sometimes
undertake solo journeys yet by and large much of our
experiences of life involves being engaged with others and
groups.

Within an organization we do find number of groups.

Individuals joining group (s) is a reality – may be formal or
informal groups. People work in groups quite frequently and
in many different areas of their life e.g. at work,
school/college, sport, hobbies. The managers need to
understand Group Dynamics that can enable managers to
adopt the right approach of interacting with them.

What is Group Dynamics?

Group dynamics deals with the attitudes and behavioral
patterns of a group. Group dynamics concern how groups are
formed, what is their structure and which processes are
followed in their functioning. Thus, it is concerned with the
interactions and forces operating between groups.

Group dynamics is relevant to groups of all kinds – both

formal and informal. If the UPA government has set up Group
of Ministers for every governance issue, the Supreme Court of
India has 27 Group of Judges committees overseeing all
manner of non-judicial work in the apex court. In an
organizational setting, the term groups are a very common
and the study of groups and group dynamics is an important
area of study.

What is A Group?
Every organization is a group unto itself. A group refers to two
or more people who share a common meaning and evaluation
of themselves and come together to achieve common goals. In
other words, a group is a collection of people who interact
with one another; accept rights and obligations as members
and who share a common identity.
Characteristics of a Group:
Regardless of the size or the purpose, every group
has similar characteristics:
(a) 2 or more persons (if it is one person, it is not a group)

(b) Formal social structure (the rules of the game are defined)

(c) Common fate (they will swim together)

(d) Common goals (the destiny is the same and emotionally

connected)

(e) Face-to-face interaction (they will talk with each other)

(f) Interdependence (each one is complimentary to the other)

Process/Stages of Group
Development/Evolution:
Group Development is a dynamic process. How do groups
evolve? There is a process of five stages through which groups
pass through. The process includes the five stages: forming,
storming, forming, performing, and adjourning.
Forming:
The first stage in the life of a group is concerned with forming
a group. This stage is characterized by members seeking either
a work assignment (in a formal group) or other benefit, like
status, affiliation, power, etc. (in an informal group).
Members at this stage either engage in busy type of activity or
show apathy.
Storming:
ADVERTISEMENTS:

The next stage in this group is marked by the formation of

dyads and triads. Members seek out familiar or similar
individuals and begin a deeper sharing of self. Continued
attention to the subgroup creates a differentiation in the
group and tensions across the dyads / triads may appear.
Pairing is a common phenomenon. There will be conflict
about controlling the group.
Norming:
The third stage of group development is marked by a more
serious concern about task performance. The dyads/triads
begin to open up and seek out other members in the group.
Efforts are made to establish various norms for task
performance.

Members begin to take greater responsibility for their own

group and relationship while the authority figure becomes
relaxed. Once this stage is complete, a clear picture will
emerge about hierarchy of leadership. The norming stage is
over with the solidification of the group structure and a sense
of group identity and camaraderie.
Performing:
This is a stage of a fully functional group where members see
themselves as a group and get involved in the task. Each
person makes a contribution and the authority figure is also
seen as a part of the group. Group norms are followed and
collective pressure is exerted to ensure the Process of Group
effectiveness of the group.

The group may redefine its goals Development in the light of

information from the outside environment and show an
autonomous will to pursue those goals. The long-term
viability of the group is established and nurtured.

Adjourning:
In the case of temporary groups, like project team, task force,
or any other such group, which have a limited task at hand,
also have a fifth stage, This is known as adjourning.

The group decides to disband. Some members may feel happy

over the performance, and some may be unhappy over the
stoppage of meeting with group members. Adjourning may
also be referred to as mourning, i.e. mourning the
adjournment of the group.
The readers must note that the four stages of group
development mentioned above for permanent groups are
merely suggestive. In reality, several stages may go on
simultaneously.

Types of Groups:
One way to classify the groups is by way of formality – formal
and informal. While formal groups are established by an
organization to achieve its goals, informal groups merge
spontaneously. Formal groups may take the form of command
groups, task groups, and functional groups.
1. Command Groups: