Nola WArd
Independence University
Introduction There’s an old saying, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” This is what politics in the office is about; being liked by the appropriate people and getting noticed so that you may get ahead. Upper management are in a power position to give promotion and make major business decisions. Power is described as the person ability to influence others. If an individual has the ability to control merits of rewards or even apply punishments they are in a position of power. Peer pressure can even be a form of power. It is important to understand how one can have the ability to influence others and gain power through politics.
Influencing …show more content…
There are different power tactics and they are sometimes used in the workplace. It is imperative that we understand and identify different types of influential tactics of power. If I was in leadership authority, one of my strongest influential tactic is referent power. Referent power is based off of personal relationship an individual has with others by using the personal and inspirational appeals influencing tactics. What gives, referent power is being liked and the desire for being like. My weakest influence is coercive which involves some type of punishment or withholding rewards in order to influence the compliance of the employee. Although there are times, in some workplaces it is necessary to have this type of influential power tactic, but it is not one that I would want to improve upon. I feel that there may be ways around this when type of punishment. The one tactic I would like to improve on would be expert power. This power is based on the knowledge and skills of the user. Having expert power makes other people dependent on you. This can also lead to promotion and people will respect experts. Some ways I can develope this expert power is by taking some educational and training programs, have a positive concept of self. And lastly, never hesitate to let people know your expertise by displaying your licences or diplomas. In the future, I can use these tactics for promotion in my department. I’m aiming to be a credit manager in our finance department within the next