HANDNOTES
TOPIC 3: NATURE, FORMS AND CONSEQUENCES
OF POWER
Content Standards:
 The learners demonstrate an understanding of politics
and political science, governance, Political ideologies,
power, States, nations, and Globalization.
DISCUSSION:
A DEFINITION OF POWER
POWER
Is the ability to influence people and events?
Closely related to power is politics. Politics relates to the
ways people gain and use power in organizations. Political
activities in an organizations are inevitable and managers
should manage them carefully. Power and politics are
present in all organizations.
WHAT IS POWER AND ITS NATURE?
Abstract. Power is an inescapable feature of
human social life and structure. This paper addresses the
nature of power. The standard theory is that power is the
capacity for influence and that influence is based on the
control of resources valued or desired by others.
WHAT ARE THE NATURE OF POWER
Coercion, authority and influence are the three
main forms of power. Each of these three forms
of power emanates from different sources.
What are the dimensions and types of power?
The three dimensions of power. This theory
claims that power is exercised in three ways: decision-
making power, non-decision-making power, and
ideological power. Decision-making power is the most
public of the three dimensions. Analysis of this "face"
focuses on policy preferences revealed through political
action.
LET’S SCRUTINIZE
Five Types of Power
Expert:
Power derived from knowledge or skill.
Referent:
Power derived from a sense of identification
others feel toward you.
Reward:
Power derived from an ability to reward others.
Coercive:
Power derived from fear of punishment by others.
Legitimate:
Power derived from a perceived inherent right to
influence.
Power and Consequence
Power and consequence are often closely related.
The basic principle is that a person with power has the
ability to create consequences for the target person, who
takes these consequences into account when they are
deciding whether to comply with a request or refuse it.
Punishment
A very common attribute of power is that the
wielder of power has the ability to coerce the target into
compliance through the threat of some kind of punishment.
The basic transaction is hence 'Do as I say or else I will
harm you in some way'. The person is then faced with the
choice of obedience or suffering the consequences that the
powerful person can create.
Punishment
Can take many forms. In a business setting it can
be as direct as being sacked or less obvious in the way that
the target person may be given work that is less desirable
than that they might get if they complied with the request.
Prevention
Some people do not have the power to directly
punish, though they may have the ability to withhold
something or prevent the target person getting what they
want. The transaction here is 'Do as I say or else you will
not get what you want'.
Prevention
In business situations could be loss of cooperation
or stopping the person from getting promoted. It is also
seen in 'gateway' roles, for example a personal assistant
who has the power to allow others to speak with their
manager or turning the target person away.
Power loss
There is also consequence for the person wielding
the power. Sometimes use power of power leads to
gaining more power as the dominated person becomes
cowed and hence easier to persuade in future. Sometimes
the use of power has no effect on the balance of power in
the future. And sometimes there is negative consequences
for the person using the power, in that in using power it is
spent, like money, and may not be easy to regain.
An example of losing power when it is used is
where you have helped a person in the past and they feel
obliged to comply when you ask something of them in
return. When they agree to your request, they then feel the
obligation has been discharged and hence you have less
power over them.
Understand what ability you have when
attempting to wield power, particularly in terms of how
you can punish or prevent the other person from getting
what they want. When we forget this, we may not have in
practice the full power we could have. When we can
create consequences and the other person does not, then
there may need to be a learning cycle for them.
Also understand how your power is increased or
decreased when you use it. This may depend on your
attitude and that of the other person, and is not always
clear.
 WHAT ARE ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS
Attempts to influence others using discretionary
behaviors to promote personal objectives. Discretionary
behaviors neither explicitly prescribed nor prohibited.
Politics may be good or bad for organization.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF POLITICS

TECHNIQUES OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS

MANAGING POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR