DQ2 You can select A or B, you only have to address 1

1. Reference Chapter 12 Slide 24 and lecture notes, select one of the political influence tactics and describe how it was used based on an article, book, movie or actual situation you experienced (leave out names)?
2. Based the general dependency postulate, how will you use this concept to gain power in your job as a Manager?

The General Dependency Postulate:

• The greater B's dependency on A, the greater the power A has over B.

1. When you possess anything that others require but that you alone control, you make them dependent upon you and, therefore, you gain power over them.

• Dependency, then, is inversely proportional to the alternative sources of supply.

1. This is why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather using just one.
2. It also explains why so many of us aspire to financial independence.
3. What Creates Dependency?

• Importance

1. To create dependency, the thing(s) you control must be perceived as being important.
2. Organizations actively seek to avoid uncertainty.
3. Therefore, those individuals or groups who can absorb an organization's uncertainty will be perceived as controlling an important resource.

• Scarcity

1. A resource needs to be perceived as scarce to create dependency.
2. Low-ranking members in an organization who have important knowledge not available to high-ranking members gain power over the high-ranking members.
3. The scarcity-dependency relationship can further be seen in the power of occupational categories.
4. Individuals in occupations in which the supply of personnel is low relative to demand can negotiate compensation and benefit packages, which are far more attractive than can those in occupations where there is an abundance of candidates.

• Non-substitutability