| Course | MGT 530 Leadership Theory and Practice |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | MBA power and politics paper |
| Length | About 1,058 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 530 Module 6
Sell or Stay: Power, Political Skill and a Vice President Caught in a Family Manufacturer's Succession
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Aspen University
MGT 530: Leadership Theory and Practice
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Sell or Stay: Power, Political Skill and a Vice President Caught in a Family Manufacturer's Succession
Maumee Precision Components, a composite family-owned manufacturer in Toledo, Ohio, makes brake and suspension parts for automakers and their suppliers. It employs 480 people and has about $140 million in sales. The founder's son, now 74 and chairman, has run the company for thirty years and has not named a successor. The chief financial officer, hired eight years ago, has been meeting privately with a private equity firm that has offered to buy the company and has shared projections suggesting a sale now would maximize the family's value. The founder's grandson, vice president of sales, wants to keep the company independent and lead it. Both have approached the vice president of operations, who runs the plants and is respected by employees, asking for support. She has asked how to act.
Power as a Normal Part of Organizations
Pfeffer (1992) argued that managers often avoid thinking about power, treating it as unseemly, and as a result fail to get things done. He described power as the potential to influence behavior, change events and overcome resistance. Its sources include formal position, control over resources and information, being central in networks of allies and the ability to frame issues. He emphasized that power must be used to accomplish anything significant in organizations, and that those who understand it are more effective.
Mapping the Players
| Player | Sources of power | Current use |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Ownership, formal authority, history | Undecided; avoiding the question |
| Chief financial officer | Control of financial information, relationship with buyer, credibility with banks | Framing the sale as the rational choice; meeting privately |
| Grandson | Family membership, customer relationships, future ownership | Lobbying family shareholders |
| Vice president of operations | Knowledge of plants, employees' trust, information on capital needs | Not yet used |
| Employees | Skills, union contract | No voice in the process |
Political Skill
Ferris et al. (2005) developed and validated a measure of political skill with four dimensions: social astuteness, understanding others and situations; interpersonal influence, adapting one's approach to influence others; networking ability, building useful relationships; and apparent sincerity, appearing honest and genuine. Political skill predicted performance and influence beyond personality. The chief financial officer shows strong social astuteness and networking but declining apparent sincerity, as employees notice the private meetings. The grandson has sincerity and customer networks but little astuteness about the chairman's concerns. The vice president's sincerity and plant networks are strengths she has not yet used.
How Power Reinforces Itself
Magee and Galinsky (2008) reviewed research on social hierarchy and argued that power, control over resources, and status, respect in others' eyes, tend to be self-reinforcing. Those with power gain access to more resources and information, and those with status receive deference that strengthens their position. In this case, the chief financial officer's control of financial information gives him a growing advantage: his projections shape how others see the options.
What Each Option Means for the Company
The choice is genuinely hard. A sale could bring capital for automation the plants need and a fair price for family shareholders, but private equity owners often cut costs and might move work from Toledo. Remaining independent preserves the company's character and jobs but requires a successor and capital the family may not have. The vice president's knowledge of the plants is directly relevant: two of three plants need about $18 million in equipment within five years, a fact neither side has emphasized because it complicates both arguments.
Why Neutrality Fails
Pfeffer's warning applies to the vice president herself. If she declines to engage, the decision will be shaped by whoever controls the information and the chairman's attention, currently the chief financial officer. Neutrality in a political contest is not the absence of influence; it is a choice to let others decide.
How the Vice President Should Act
Staying neutral would leave the decision to whoever controls information. Instead, the vice president should use her power to improve the process. She will tell both the chief financial officer and the grandson that she will not take a side privately, and ask the chairman to have the board consider the decision openly with independent financial advice. She will prepare an assessment of the plants' condition and capital needs, information neither side has presented, and share it with all parties at the same time. And she will ask that employees' interests, including the union contract and jobs in Toledo, be part of any evaluation.
Using Information Fairly
The vice president's plant assessment is a source of power, since it contains facts both factions need. Magee and Galinsky's account of self-reinforcing advantage suggests that whoever holds such information can tilt a decision. By releasing it to all parties at once and to the board, she uses her power to correct an imbalance rather than to create a new one.
Building Allies Without Taking Sides
Pfeffer stresses that power comes partly from networks. The vice president can build allies for a fair process rather than for an outcome: two independent board members, the plant managers and the union president all have reasons to want the decision made openly. Speaking with each about process, not about which side should win, strengthens her influence without making her part of a faction.
If the Chairman Decides Privately
The chairman may still decide without a board process. If he does, the vice president will ask to present her plant assessment directly to him before he signs anything, so the decision rests on full information. Whatever the outcome, she will tell employees honestly what she knows once the decision is public.
Integrity and Risk
This approach risks displeasing both factions. But apparent sincerity is her greatest political asset, and it depends on acting the same way in public and private.
The Board's Role
A family board that lets a succession contest play out in private conversations invites exactly the politics this case shows. The independent directors should insist on a formal succession and strategic review, with a timeline, independent valuation and a hearing for each option.
Conclusion
Pfeffer's view of power, Ferris and colleagues' dimensions of political skill and Magee and Galinsky's account of self-reinforcing hierarchy show why the vice president cannot simply stay out. Using her credibility and information to insist on a transparent process lets her influence the outcome while serving the company and its employees.
References
Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C. J., Douglas, C., & Frink, D. D. (2005). Development and validation of the political skill inventory. Journal of Management, 31(1), 126-152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206304271386
Magee, J. C., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Social hierarchy: The self-reinforcing nature of power and status. The Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 351-398. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520802211628
Pfeffer, J. (1992). Understanding power in organizations. California Management Review, 34(2), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166692
Reading the MGT 530 Module 6 assignment instructions
Power and organizational politics are the subject of Module 6 in Aspen's MGT 530. Expect to analyze a situation where power shapes outcomes and recommend how a leader should act effectively and ethically within it. Use your classroom's instructions for this module; the example examines one company's succession contest. Describe the situation and the parties' interests. Explain research on the sources and use of power and on political skill. Map each party's sources of power, including those with none. Assess the political skill involved. Recommend how a leader should act, with attention to integrity, to the organization's interests and to the risks the leader runs.
Inside the MGT 530 Module 6 example
The paper opens with Maumee Precision Components, which makes brake and suspension parts for automakers, with 480 employees and $140 million in sales. The founder's son, now 74, has not named a successor. The chief financial officer has been meeting with a private equity firm, while the grandson, head of sales, wants to keep the company. Pfeffer's California Management Review article argues that power comes from position, control of resources and information and networks of allies. Ferris and colleagues' Journal of Management article validated four dimensions of political skill: social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability and apparent sincerity. Magee and Galinsky's Academy of Management Annals review explains how power and status reinforce themselves. A table maps each player's sources of power. The plan has the vice president insist on a transparent board process and present an operations assessment to all parties at once.
Reading the MGT 530 Module 6 grading rubric
Credit in a politics paper goes to a precise map of who holds power and on what basis, research applied without distortion and advice that would both work and survive scrutiny. This example treats politics as normal, as Pfeffer does, while insisting on integrity. Ferris and colleagues' dimensions help assess each player's political skill, including the vice president's own untapped strengths. Magee and Galinsky's review explains why early advantages may compound. The power map makes the analysis concrete, the paper explains why neutrality would hand the decision to others and the plan gives the vice president a path that serves the company rather than a faction.
MGT 530 Module 6 help: mistakes that cost marks
Politics papers often treat power as bad or describe it only in general terms. Map who holds power, from what sources and how they are using it. Another weakness is recommending that a leader stay out of politics; research suggests avoiding politics often means losing influence. Use research on political skill. Consider how power reinforces itself over time. Recommend actions that are effective and ethical, such as insisting on transparent processes. Finally, consider the interests of those affected but not at the table, such as employees. Explain why staying neutral is itself a choice with consequences.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More MGT 530 and Master of Business Administration sample papers
- MGT 530 Module 1: Leadership and Its Major Theories
- MGT 530 Module 2: Traits, Skills and Behaviors
- MGT 530 Module 3: Situational and Contingency Leadership
- MGT 530 Module 4: Transformational, Servant and Authentic Leadership
- MGT 530 Module 5: Leading Teams
- MGT 530 Module 7: Leading Sustainable Change
- MGT 530 Module 8: A Personal Leadership Philosophy
- MGT 647 Module 1: Agile Values and Fit
- MGT 570 Module 5: Corporate-Level Strategy
- MGT 645 Module 1: Projects, Value and the Performance Domains
- MGT 514 Module 4: Working Relationships With Supervisors and Coworkers
MGT 530 Module 6 questions, answered
What does MGT 530 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 530 covers power, influence and politics in this module, so an MBA paper analyzing a political situation and recommending how a leader should act is typical. Look at your classroom prompt.
Where does power in organizations come from?
Pfeffer pointed to structural position, control over resources and information, and networks of allies, along with the skill to use them.
What is political skill?
Ferris and colleagues describe it as social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability and apparent sincerity.
Where can I find a free MGT 530 Module 6 sample paper?
The example above analyzes succession politics at a family manufacturer and recommends how an operations vice president should act.
Why does power tend to grow?
Magee and Galinsky explain that power and status tend to be self-reinforcing, as those who hold them gain resources, attention and deference that help them keep and expand them.