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Organizational Power
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LECTURE 10Meaning of Organizational Power
In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence or control the behavior of people.
The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power
can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as
social beings. In the corporate environment, power is often expressed as upward or downward.
With downward power, a company's superior influence subordinates. When a company exerts
upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of the leader.
The use of power need not involve coercion (force or the threat of force). At one extreme, it
more closely resembles what everyday influence.
Sources of Social Power
Power may be held through:
Authority
Delegated authority (for example in the democratic process)
Social class (material wealth can equal power)
Resource currency (material items such as money, property, food)
Personal or group charisma (including public opinion)
Ascribed power (acting on perceived or assumed abilities, whether these bear testing or
not)
Expertise (ability, skills) (the power of medicine to bring about health; another famous
example would be "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" –
Persuasion (direct, indirect, or subliminal)
Knowledge (granted or withheld, shared or kept secret)
Force (law) (violence, military might, coercion).
Moral persuasion (including religion)
Operation of group dynamics (such as public relations)
Social influence of tradition (compare ascribed power)
, Bases of Power in Organizations
Power refers to the possession of authority and influence over others. Power is a tool that,
depending on how it's used, can lead to either positive or negative outcomes in an organization.
In 1959, American sociologists John French and Bertram Raven published an article, "The Bases
of Power," that's regarded as the basis for classifying power in organizations. They identified
five bases of power, namely: coercive, referent, legitimate, expert and reward power.
Legitimate Power
Legitimate power is also known as positional power. It's derived from the position a person holds
in an organization's hierarchy. Job descriptions, for example, require junior workers to report to
managers and give managers the power to assign duties to their juniors. For positional power to
be exercised effectively, the person wielding it must be deemed to have earned it legitimately.
An example of legitimate power is that held by a company's CEO.
Expert power
Knowledge is power. Expert power is derived from possessing knowledge or expertise in a
particular area. Such people are highly valued by organizations for their problem solving skills.
People who have expert power perform critical tasks and are therefore deemed indispensable.
The opinions, ideas and decisions of people with expert power are held in high regard by other
employees and hence greatly influence their actions. Possession of expert power is normally a
stepping stone to other sources of power such as legitimate power. For example, a person who
holds expert power can be promoted to senior management, thereby giving him legitimate
power.
Referent Power
Referent power is derived from the interpersonal relationships that a person cultivates with other
people in the organization. People possess reference power when others respect and like them.
Referent power arises from charisma, as the charismatic person influences others via the
admiration, respect and trust others have for her. Referent power is also derived from personal
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