Exam 10: Power and Influence in the Workplace

Studies have found that people with power over others have more difficulty empathizing.

Upward appeal is not considered a type of influence tactic.

Which of the following is the LEAST forceful influence tactic?

People can gain power in organizations by knowing what the social networks around them look like.

Axel wants to punish a subordinate that he personally dislikes. However, the subordinate fulfils all his job duties and produces excellent work. Both Axel and the subordinate are governed by very comprehensive policies and rules negotiated by a union in a collective agreement. Which contingency does Axel lack that prevents him from arbitrarily punishing the subordinate?

Guanxi is an expressive activity because being part of a close-knit network of family and friends reinforces one's self-concept.

An area between two or more dense social network areas that lacks network ties is called a:

Referent power is associated with charisma.

Which three factors determine your centrality in a social network?

Is the knowledge and other resources available to people, teams, or organizations from a durable network that connect them to others.

Comment on the accuracy of the following statement and explain your answer: "Legitimate power isassigned by the organization to job holders".

Advanced Systems Ltd. (ASL), a high-technology company with 20,000 employees, has just acquired LiteForce Ltd., a 5,000-person company where you work as a photonics (fibre optics) engineer. ASL mainly acquired LiteForce to reduce its competitive threat in the marketplace, as well as to increase the number of engineers and researchers in lightwave technology. You and five other engineers and scientists at LiteForce were working on new technology that would dramatically improve lightwave transmission to communicate data across the Internet. Your team's discovery occurred just before the acquisition and was not well known in the organization. Also, the key executives who strongly supported your team's research have left the company through generous buyout packages during the acquisition. (ASL offered share options to encourage you and other engineers and researchers to remain.) The result is that only your team members and a few other people are aware of the potential benefits of the project. Your team has similar education and experience as many other engineers in the combined organization. Moreover, your team's authority is limited to expenditure within the existing project budget, which ends in a few months. Further support would require executive approval. Describe the sources and contingencies of power that you and your team have in this situation to continue the project.

The power that the dependent party has over the dominant party in order to maintain the exchange relationship is known as:

Which of the following is one of the five main sources of power?

Displaying one's diplomas and degrees on office walls is one way professionals increase their visibility.

A clothing manufacturer has been very successful in the marketplace because one of its designers has a keen ability to determine what styles young people will want to wear over the next year or two. The designer's ability to understand the fashion preferences of young customers is highly valuable because clothing tastes change quickly and manufacturing too much unwanted product can put the company out of business. In terms of power, this designer has organizational power mainly because she:

Negotiation is an integral part of which influence activity?

The most appropriate influence tactic depends on personal, organizational, and cultural values.

Legitimate power is created whenever the organization assigns a supervisor formal

Subordinates have some reward power over their bosses through 360-degree feedback systems.