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    Unit-4 Power

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    Unit-4 Power

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    power

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    power

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    5 views7 pages

    Unit-4 Power

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    rishabh0402jain
    power

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    the term ‘power is defined as the ability to exert influence Q others. If, a power it means thache is able to change the behaviour or attitudes of they. teas supervisor a manager's power may be seen asthe ability 10 cause subordin what the manager wishes him to do, Thus, power is an important tool with the man, influence the behaviour of subordinates for the accomplishment of organisationg ¢"® ‘That is why, study of types, sources and bases of power is essential to have deep inighs x organisationa! behaviour. 25.1 DEFINITION OF POWER AND RELATED TERMS Generally, power is defined as the capacity of a person to exert influence over othr person has power, it means he is able to influence the behaviour of other individuals "The of powerlies in having control over the behaviour of others. A manager's power may be mea in terms of his ability to : (@) give rewards, (ii) promise rewards, (iii) threaten to withiry current rewards, (iv) withdraw current rewards, (v) threaten punishment, and (vi) punish, WHAT IS POWER ? “Power is the potensial ability to influence behaviour, to change the course of events, 1 ovrcone resistance and to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do.” —Pefine “Power is the ability to influence people or things, usually obtained through the control important resources,” —White and Blendet Power, Authority and Influence In day-to-day usage, the term ‘power’ is used synonymously with ‘authority’. But authoti denotes the right of manager to decide and command. For example, a manager has righ assign tasks to subordinates and require satisfactory performance from them, But, the min may not have the means (or power) available to enforce this right. Thus, whether a manage’ enforce his rights is a question of power. Similarly, there may be a situation where a persons! power to do something, but lacks authority to do it. Such situations may cause conflicts # organisations. Therefore, for organisational stability, power and right to do should bee" “When power and authority fora given person or position are roughly equated, we have acon we may call legitimate power.” In other words, authority is one type of power, and it is bas the recognition of the lawfulness of the attempt to exert influence, This power o* sight ai from the formal position in the organisation, “ ‘erm influence’ is often used in conjunction with either terms ch as powes ui conformity. Some people ry to distinguish berween influence and oer ©, : "as an all inclusive concept that covers any and all modes by " joveRAND POLITICS ancrol ivan Gttiemie Porm cPinRlsS Dae pave ina certain way but also enforces in ee agent not only influences the target to rgomorethan just influence divers to slow down, Inordertgachion for sttenee taken “movement, they enforce both maximum and minimum sp achive heir objcves of fey iheabectve ofinfluence—the yielding ofthe target tothe ee ued to indicate that the target has ccumbed tothe influence of «group or orgenisaton. Gonformity implies a notion that the target changes his behaviour to go one wit it BORD 3 onistion or behaves differently from the vay he would havein the absence of iat Negative and Positive Power David McClelland? has identified two faces of power as follows: 1. Negative Face. The negative face of power is usually expressed in terms of dominance- submission. Or in other words, “I win, you lose”. Leadership which is based on negative face of power teats people as pawns to be used or sacrificed as the nee arises. Tis face of powers self defeating, People who are treated like pawns will ether resist the leadership or they will become passive. In both ways, their value to the organisation would get reduced. 2. Positive Face. The positive Face of power involves exerting influence on behalf of others sather her ves others, The leaders who exercise their power positively encourage ther subordinates to develop the strength and the competence they need f0 succeed as human beings as well as members of the organisation. ¢ McClelland found that successful managers have a greater need to influence others for the ‘Managers who use their power positively benefit of the organisation than for selfaggrandisement. t 1 i pa ; sein a negative way and just to dominate the orhers. wile more effective chan those who use er with rena on behalf of others, M led d managers exercise ‘ ha c Clelland concluded thas good Dart jbordinaes by encouraging am ss rewarding Such ii the mo! managers improve the A ee theachievements and supporting the s CEPT Al THORITY 252 CONCEPT AND SOURCES oF AU : y snted to a position in an insticusion, I includes right to take ee the subordinates. ‘The rights enjoyed by a position are execult ¥ exten .t and limits iry of a position are S| fied in advance. The ae eee The posiion-holdet is expected to use itas BH ices and norms of the ‘organisation. ing to “Authority as the sum of the powers and rights ent, Louis A. Allen, According to eT ee aunty make posible the performance ofthe work delegate: He has classified authoring categories namely, (i) Authority of knowledge, (ii) Au oe be i: dey (ti) La authority. According him authority ofknowledgeis posessed generally bythe saan appointed by the company. They more often influence the actions of persons inline by vr. their knowledge, Some persons acquire authority by virtue oftheir postion inthe organi Legal authority isthe authority which is entrusted toa person by the law ofthe land, Foringas™ 2 company is a legal person and has aright to sue others according to the provisions of Companies Act. i Authority is an important concept in organisational theory and behaviour, Authority ig, key to the manager's job, The hierarchical structure of an organisation is based upon the Noy authority. No manager can discharge his functions and get the job done unless he has the n, authority. Organised managerial action requires authority. Authority is also the suprem, coordinating power or binding force in an organisation. The features of authority are as under : @ Authority ofa manager is the right to takes decisions and regulate the behaviour of subordinates. This right enables him to decide and command, (i) Authority is granted to a manager by his superior or the organisation. He exercise his ty is g ger by his sup Bal rights by virtue of his formal position in the organisation, (Git) The right to give orders is legitimate, ie, itis socially and ethically acceptable concerned. Unless subordinates accept the superior’s command, authority cannotbe meaningful and operational, (i) The objective behind the use of authority is to influences the behaviour of the subordinates in the right direction. : ©) Authority of a person is not absolute. It is limited by several internal and extemal factors including the willingness of subordinates to accept the rights of the manag (vi) Authority in isclfis an objective ching bur its exercise is always subjective. The wed! authority is determined by the personality factors of its Possessor and the people over whom it is exercised. Distinction Between Power and Authority Sometimes, the terms ‘power’ and ‘authority’ are used synor separate though closely related, concepts. Henri Fayol ce eee ee and the power to exact obedience. He distinguished between « manager's official authority of posto" (formal authority) and his personal authority, which derives fons knowledge and experiea Power on the other hand, isthe ability to exert influence bywhich a manager directs the actio™ of others.” The term ‘power’ Bee Veet ity to do something or to get in' results. A person may trave influence on other’ s behaviour. n without any legal sanction. gs Vass -ceampanies the use of authorityin the contol rive authority from beter knowledge fo BY eeor withhold strategically, or from pa jected towards others. Themain points of distinction between authority and power cr areas under: 1, Source. There are several sources ot information power eens such 3s rsa power, coercive pow referent Poiee von, kaowleloe a ettse Power etc. A person may be powerful by virtue of his postion, knowledge, expertise, ete. But authority has only one source the posit in the organisational hierarchy. Therefore, power isbroaderthanauthority. Nature. Authority is associated with the formal organisat -~ rganisation and, therefore itis a formal. But power can be both formal and informal. Authority is fepeaseal and objective, but power can-be personal and subjective. Fe ecion oF utlsation of resources.” Persons Tre ices £0 vital information that they ean chological forms of dominance and aggression Pervasiveness. Power is all pervasive, Authority is vested in a position whereas power may be found in the lowest level also. For example, a trade union leader may have more power than the general manager. . Responsibility. Authority i always elated to responsibility. Authority and responsibility balance each other. But in case of power, there is no such balancing factor. Persons wielding power might have no specific responsibilities to discharge. Flow, Authority has a downward flow from superior to subordinate, A subordinate cannot exercise authority over his superior. Power, on the other hand, can flow in all dlnections, Ie is not the exclusive prerogative of superiors, even subordinates can possess ix, 6, Delegation. Authority can be delegated 0 the subordinates, Bursome forms of power eg. expertise power, can never be delegated. Inshort, authority is a downward flowing concept whereas Authori Teaver levels in the organisation. The lower we go down Se eee ee Bur jeis nots0 in case of over which has been defined as che igurof others Ifa worker sable influence ea aio che worker has exercised power over the departmental ee ee may be able to influence the behaviour of his powerflowsin ll directions. 5 = power flowsinall directions. 0 er a 25.3 SOURCES OF POWER Based on interpersonal relationships, five categories as follows ‘ee Fenchand Ravan ave clsfed ours, 1. Reward Power ee 1 Tedepends upon the extent to which one has control over rt that o Valued by ay Pe The greater the perceived value of such rewards, greater will be the power. People conph SI the wishes or directives of others because doing so produces positive benefits. These rea wt be extrinsic in nature with tangible values or these can be subjective and intrinsic reward 4° ” recognition and praise. Inthe organisational context, different forms of rewards can be ex eof promotions, favourable performance appraisal, preferred shifts, etc. Pe nelt 2. Coercive Power The opposite of reward power is the coercive power, ie., the ability to influence punithn Fear of punishment may make the subordinate execute the instructions of the boss, Coeniy power reflects the extent to which a manager can deny desired rewards or administer punishes to control other people, The more punishments a manager can impose upon the subordinag the stronger is his coercive power. The coercive power may consist of reprimanding, demotion firing the subordinates for unsatisfactory performance. 3. Expert Power Expert power is based on the perception or belief that the influencer has some ree expertise or specialized knowledge that others do not have, It is more of a personal power: than organisational power. If the subordinates view their leaders as competent, they would flix their leader. For example, we follow doctor's advice because of our faith in his knowledge: competence. 4. Legitimate Power Ie corresponds to the term ‘authority’. It exists when an influencee acknowledges thatt# influencer is lawfully entitled to exert influence, It is also implied that the influencee hs obligation co accept this power. Legitimate power is also known as ‘positional power bec authority inherent in the position. It represents the power a person perceives as a result position in the formal hierarchy of the organisation, Legitimate power includes powet °& rewards and impose punishments. 5. Referent Power This power is known as charismatic power and is ion exerted by indivi ea eaeeee te eet nae Pe aden hl that person. Reference power is more ofa personal nature than the positional nature. This is not acquired because ofa position but because of personal charisma so that the follove's"” like to associate themselves with the leader. The stronger the association, the strons®*', power. In the organisational setting, the subordinate would obey his senion, because he, bechavein the same manner asthe supetiorand the subordinate identifies himself with the" _axp POLITICS ‘aion among Sources of Power 259 pe sources of power discunsed shore Im eagent ses certain pov are not completely in occas cana ey independenc fone ant: ge of TO Ha ene ‘d rent power as people ‘other powers. For instance, the ae ef ear power specing died eh ple like those who reward them. The sce eps pverby ghia ere rewarding it when it occurs The we of oercve power tends co dese ref is pescelvedcriblity aid fomledge* spe administer punishments or withhold referent power, in that peopl tend to ao

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