Describe the bases of power
Power can be categorized into two types:
Formal and informal
A. Formal Power:
It is based on the position of an individual in an
organization. Formal power is derived from either one’s ability to coerce or
reward others or is derived from the formal authority vested in the individual
due to his/ her strategic position in the organizational hierarchy. For
example, a manager may threaten to withhold a pay raise, or to transfer,
demote, or even recommend the firing of a subordinate who does not act as
desired. Such coercive power is the extent to which a manager can deny desired
rewards or administer punishments to control other people. The availability of
coercive power also varies across organizations. The presence of unions and
organizational policies on employee treatment can weaken this power base
significantly. Formal power may be categorized into four types which are as
follows:
1. Coercive Power:
The coercive power base is being dependent on fear. It is
based on the application, or the threat of application, of physical sanctions
such as the infliction of pain, the generation of frustration through
restriction of movement, or the controlling by force of basic physiological or
safety needs. In an organization one can exercise power over another if they
have the power to dismiss, suspend, demote another assuming that the job is
valuable to the person on whom power is being unleashed.
2. Reward Power:
The opposite of coercive power is reward power. Reward
power is the extent to which a manager can use extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
to control other people. Examples of such rewards include money, promotions,
compliments, or enriched jobs. Although all managers have some access to
rewards, success in accessing and utilizing rewards to achieve influence varies
according to the skills of the manager.
3. Legitimate Power:
The third base of “position” power is legitimate power,
or formal authority .It stems from the extent to which a manager can use
subordinates’ internalized values or beliefs that the “boss” has a “right of
command” to control their behavior. For example, the boss may have the formal
authority to approve or deny such employee requests as job transfers, equipment
purchases, personal time off, or overtime work. Legitimate power represents a special
kind of power a manager has because subordinates believe it is legitimate for a
person occupying the managerial position to have the right to command. The lack
of this is legitimacy will result in authority not being accepted by
subordinates. Thus this type of power has the following elements:
· It
represents the power a person receives as a result of his/her position in the
formal hierarchy.
· Positions
of authority include coercive and reward powers.
·
Legitimate power, however, is not limited to the power to coerce and
reward. It encompasses the acceptance of the authority of a position by members
of an organization.
4. Information Power:
This type of power is derived from access to and control
over information. When people have needed information, others become dependant
on them. (For example, managers have access to data that subordinates do not
have). Normally the higher the level, the more information would be accessed by
managers.
B. Personal Power
Personal power resides in the individual and is
independent of that individual’s position. Three bases of personal power are
expertise, rational persuasion, and reference.
Expert power is the ability to control another person’s
behavior by virtue of possessing knowledge, experience, or judgment that the
other person lacks, but needs. A subordinate obeys a supervisor possessing
expert power because the boss ordinarily knows more about what is to be done or
how it is to be done than does the subordinate. Expert power is relative, not
absolute. However the table may turn in case the subordinate has superior
knowledge or skills than his/ her boss. In this age of technology driven
environments, the second proposition holds true in many occasions where the
boss is dependent heavily on the juniors for technologically oriented support.
Rational persuasion is the ability to control another’s
behavior, since, through the individual’s efforts, the person accepts the
desirability of an offered goal and a viable way of achieving it. Rational persuasion
involves both explaining the desirability of expected outcomes and showing how
specific actions will achieve these outcomes.
Referent power is the ability to control another’s
behavior because the person wants to identify with the power source. In this
case, a subordinate obeys the boss because he or she wants to behave, perceive,
or believe as the boss does. This obedience may occur, for example, because the
subordinate likes the boss personally and therefore tries to do things the way
the boss wants them done. In a sense, the subordinate attempts to avoid doing
anything that would interfere with the pleasing boss –subordinate relationship.
Followership is not based on what the subordinate will get for specific actions
or specific levels of performance, but on what the individual represents – a
path toward lucrative future prospects.
Charismatic Power is an extension of referent power
stemming from an individual’s personality and interpersonal style. Others
follow because they can articulate attractive visions, take personal risks,
demonstrate follower sensitivity, etc.