5 power, politics and ethics

BUSM4185
Introduction to Management
Power, Politics and Ethics in
Management.


What is power?
• Power is the capacity to influence others who are in a state of
dependence.
• It is not always perceived or exercised.
• It does not imply a poor relationship between the power holder
and the target of power.
• Power can flow in any direction in an organization.
• Power applies to both individuals and groups.

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Employee responses to power

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Influence Tactics.
Influence tactics convert power into actual influence over others.
They are specific behaviors that people use to affect others and
manage others’ impressions of them.
 Assertiveness



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

Ingratiation
Rationality
Exchange
Upward appeal
Coalition formation.

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Organizational Politics
The pursuit of self-interest in an organization, whether or
not this self-interest corresponds to organizational
goals.

• Political activity is self-conscious and intentional
• Political activity can have beneficial outcomes for an
organization even though the outcomes are achieved
by questionable tactics.
• Political activity can be an individual or subunit activity

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Political skills
The ability to understand others at work and to use that
knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance
one’s personal or organisational objectives.

• Comprehending others
• Translating this comprehension into influence.

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Organizational Politics
• There are four facets to political skill:
Social Astuteness
Interpersonal Influence
– Social astuteness

–
influence •
• Good politiciansInterpersonal
are careful observers
A convincing and persuasive
Apparent
who are tuned– in
to others’sincerity
needs and
interpersonal style that is employed
flexibly to meet the needs of the
motives.
– Networking ability
• They can “read” people and know how
to present themselves to others.

Networking Ability

situation.
• They put others at ease.

Key political
skills
Apparent Sincerity

• Networking involves establishing good
relations with key organizational members
or outsiders to accomplish one’s goals.
• An effective network enhances one’s
organizational reputation, thus aiding

influence attempts.

• A good politician comes across as
genuine and exhibits high integrity.

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Ethics?
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of
philosophy that involves defending and recommending
concepts of right and wrong behaviour
Ethics is the systematic thinking about the moral
consequences of decisions.
Moral consequences can be framed in terms of the potential
for harm to any stakeholders by the decision.

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Ethics in the global context
• Are ethical standards universal?
• Social and cultural differences between countries are
important factors that determine ethical and unethical
behaviour.
• Example: Should Japanese business executives

operating in Vietnam adhere to the ethical standards of
Japan or should they follow local standards of acceptable
Gifts of officials?

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Activity - What is Ethical Dilemma?
An ethical dilemma is a complex situation which involves
mental conflict between different ways of action.
1. Together with your team members choose three of the five
ethical questions and analyse them as follow:
2. Each team member will state personal choice and explain why
he / she choose so?
3. For each question the team should write an explanation of
what is the ethical dilemma in this case (why is it a dilemma?)
4. What social values are represented in this dilemma?
5. The team will agree on the right choice according to the right
social values for each case

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Ethical Dilemma Activity: A
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You are walking down the street when a person in front of you drops a

VND 500,000 note on the ground and doesn’t notice (the person is
wearing luxurious clothes and getting into Maserati car). You…
A. pick up the note, put it in your pocket and quickly walk away
B. tell your friend to pick it up, then both of you quickly walk away
C. pick up the note, run after the person and return the note

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Ethical Dilemma Activity: B
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You have just been hired to do your 4 month RMIT internship at a
company you are mildly interested in (Your uncle made a strong
recommendation letter to this company which is one of his suppliers).
You are with the company for 2 weeks when the company you really
want to work for offers you a job starting immediately. You….
A. Tell the second company you already have a job and can’t work for them
B. Quit your job and start at the company you really want to work for.
C. Tell the second company you would really like to work for them but you
feel obligated to finish yo.ur internship first

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Ethical Dilemma Activity: C
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You work in the accounting department of a large company. One day
your supervisor tells you to change some numbers in a report you
completed. You know that changing these numbers will benefit your
supervisor financially. You could lose your job if anyone else finds out.

You…
A. Tell your supervisor you will not change the numbers.
B. Change the numbers immediately and don’t tell anyone.
C. Talk to your supervisor’s boss about this incident.

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Ethical Dilemma Activity: D
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
You are at a coffee shop one night and you notice your friend’s
girlfriend/boyfriend in a corner flirting with another man. You…
A. Don’t let the girlfriend/boyfriend see you, then tell your friend about it the
next day
B. walk over to the man and start yelling at him to leave your friend’s
girlfriend/boyfriend alone
C. Wait until the man goes to the toilet and then go and tell the
girlfriend/boyfriend to go home immediately or you will tell your friend
about this.

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Ethical Dilemma Activity: E
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Your ITM lecturer forgets his USB flashdisk in the classroom. You
realize that it contains the final exam questions and answers. You…
A. Take the USB and prepare the questions by yourself, no one will know
you had the questions in advance.
B. Tell your friends you have the USB with exam and share the content to

prepare the final exam.
C. Return the USB to your lecturer without looking at the content

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Questions?

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