Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

362 G ARY YUKL
assignment or improve performance, especially when viewed as an attempt to “ gang up ”
on the target person. Most coalition tactics are not appropriate or necessary for infl uencing
subordinates except in special cases (e.g. asking a subordinate to move to a different
position in the organization, to pursue a promotion opportunity).
The effectiveness of an attempt can be increased by using more than one type of tactic
at the same time or sequentially (Falbe and Yukl, 1992 ; Yukl, 2006 ). When using tactics
together in the same influence attempt, the agent should select tactics that are compatible
with each other. In other words, select tactics that enhance each other ’s effectiveness and
are easy to use together. Rational persuasion is a very flexible tactic that is usually compatible
with any of the other tactics. Strong pressure tactics are not compatible with ingratiation
because they weaken target feelings of friendship and loyalty, which ingratiation is
intended to strengthen. When tactics are used sequentially, some types (e.g. ingratiation,
consultation) are more suitable for an initial influence attempt, whereas other types (e.g.
exchange, pressure) are more appropriate for a follow - up influence attempt (Yukl, Falbe,
and Youn, 1993 ).
Even though some tactics are generally more useful than others, success is not guaranteed
for any individual tactic or combination of tactics. The outcome of an infl uence
attempt depends on other things in addition to the influence tactics that are used, including
the agent ’s skill in using the tactics, the type of agent – target relationship, the type of
the request (e.g. task related, personal), and how the request is perceived by the target
person (e.g. legitimate, important, enjoyable). A tactic is more likely to be successful if the
target perceives it to be a socially acceptable form of influence behavior, if the agent has
sufficient position and personal power to use the tactic, if the tactic can affect target attitudes
about the desirability of the request, if it is used in a skillful way, if it is used for a
request that is legitimate, and if it is consistent with the target person’s values and needs
(Yukl and Tracey, 1992 ).
CASE EXAMPLES
The following case illustrates how important it is to develop an adequate power base and
select an appropriate influence strategy. The provost in a large university asked each academic
department with a graduate program to provide several students to participate in a
new fundraising campaign. The students would telephone department alumni, describe
the department ’s current activities and accomplishments, and then ask for donations to
help support the department. Assigning students to help with fundraising does not fall
within the scope of legitimate authority for department chairs, so it is necessary to ask for
volunteers. These students were overloaded with academic work, and they were reluctant
to perform extra tasks not directly related to this work.
Department X
The chairperson of Department X had strong referent power with the students who specialized
in the graduate program associated with his department. He was a supportive,
considerate teacher who interacted with students outside of the classroom and showed
strong concern for them as individuals. When he met with the students, he explained why
the fundraising was important to the university and how it would benefit the masters program