OB IS FOR EVERYONE
Have you ever wondered
how you might increase
your power?Do workplaces empower
people?Why do some people seem
to engage in politics more
than others?In what situations does
impression management
work best?ny Canadian, and many Americans,
watching the pairs figure skating
competition in the 2002 WinterOlympics seemed sure they had watched a
gold-medal performance when Jamie Salé
and David Pelletier gave their final bow.^1
Moments later, however, fans looked on in
horror as the gold medal was awarded to
Russian skaters Yelena Berezhnaya and
Anton Sikharulidze. North Americans were
shocked: What they remembered was a
flawed performance by the Russians, with
Sikharulidze shaky on a double axel and
Berezhnaya stiff in some of her landings, and
a perfect performance by the Canadian duo.
Figure skating has long been considereda political rather than an artistic event, in
which the Soviet Union influenced its allies to support
Russian skaters while Western judges tended to side
with US skaters. Thus it was not surprising that charges
of politics and abuse of power surfaced quickly.
A major theme throughout this chapter is thatpower and politics are a natural process in any group or
organization. Although you might have heard the saying
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely,” power is not always bad. Understanding
how to use power and politics effectively makes organi-
zational life more manageable, because it can help you
gain the support you need to do your job effectively.A
221A DEFINITION OF POWER
Powerrefers to a capacity that A has to influence the behaviour of B, so that B acts in
accordance with A’s wishes.^2 This definition implies that there is a potentialfor power if
someone is dependent on another. But one can have power and not impose it.
Probably the most important aspect of power is that it is a function of dependency.
The more that B depends on A, the more power A has in the relationship. Dependence,
in turn, is based on the alternatives that B perceives and the importance that B places on
the alternative(s) that A controls. A person can have power over you only if he or she con-
trols something you desire. If you are attending college or university on funds totally pro-
vided by your parents, you probably recognize the power that your parents hold over you.
You are dependent on them for financial support. But once you are out of school, have
a job, and are making a good income, your parents’ power is reduced significantly. Who
among us, though, has not known or heard of the rich relative who is able to control a
large number of family members merely through the implicit or explicit threat of “writ-
ing them out of the will”?
Jamie Salé and David Pelletier
Official Website
http://www.sale-pelletier.com/english/power A capacity that A has to
influence the behaviour of B, so that
B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
dependency B’s relationship to
A when A possesses something that
B needs.1 What is power?