Week 4: Question 1 Group 2

A manager I know who turned power into influence was Steve Jobs. As the CEO of Apple Inc, Steve Job revolutionized the computer industry. He used an inspirational appeal to increase the enthusiasm of the other employees under him. This was his major tactic in the company. His idea was to empower the employees to be better people not only in the company but also in the society. The reason why Steve Jobs was effective is because he did not use his power for personal benefit. He used the power to influence other employees to be innovative for their own benefit and the benefit of the company. Donald Sterling the Ex-NBA owner did not use his power to influence people. With power, he became arrogant and racist.  Steve Jobs was very inspiring by how he handled himself as the CEO but Donald Sterling did the opposite.

Week 4: Question 2 Group 2

Some time back, I used to work in a beverage company as a supervisor in the production department. I supervised the employees who controlled the automated machinery that mixed and packed the beverages. I thus had the coercive power. I had the authority to withhold or give any punishment deemed appropriate to my subordinates. I gained this power by rising up the hierarchy. I started working as a salesperson in the company. However, with the skills I portrayed, I was moved to the production department in no time. After one year, I became the team leader among the employees in the department. When my former supervisor moved to another company, I was promoted to fill his position. I have used my power to transform the department and I have also influenced the other employees to be innovative and cooperative. In future, I want to be a CEO so that I can use power to transform a whole organization.

Week 4: Question 3 Group 2

A political tactic that I saw as I worked in the beverage company was tapping the functional power. This was used by the IT manager. He single handedly revolutionized the IT systems in the company. He developed a program that could detect any problems in the production system before it became worse. This was important to the company because breakdowns of the production system had caused a lot of losses. He had an influence in the company. This tactic was effective because it solved a persistent problem.  When the human resource manager tried to bring in an outside expert when there was leadership wrangles in the company, the attempt backfired and got him fired.  I have never been an organizational politician and I would not like to be one. This is because organizational politicians come in sometimes use their power for personal benefits. I like legitimate things.

Week 4: Question 4 Group 2

The major cause of conflicts in any organization is politics. The level of conflict in the beverage company I used to work in was not very high but there were conflicts. Organizational politics were not encouraged in the company. When the distribution department realized that some of the beverage bottles were easily cracking, they recommended that the type of bottle be changed. However, if the bottles were changed, the production department would have to change some machinery and also orient the employees’ on the changes. There arose a conflict as the two departments recommended different things. The source of this conflict was differences in functional orientations. There are no other types of conflict that I have observed that are not discussed in the book. Pondy’s model of organizational conflict rings very true. This is a perceived conflict since the production department feels the distribution department wants to interfere with its operations and goals.

 
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