...Bases of Power There are five bases of power in the given organization. The first base of power is reward power. Reward power is defined as being the opposite of coercive power and that “people comply with the wishes or directives of another because doing so produces positive benefits” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, pg. 471.) Employee 1 in the scenario wants to receive the bonus that he/she will be granted upon the successful completion of his/her annual evaluation. To ensure his/her tasks are finished and that they are correct, Employee 1 oftentimes works over his/her scheduled 40 hour work week by working late and on weekends at the encouragement of the marketing manager. The marketing manager often reminds the Employee 1 and his/her peers of the yearly bonus. The employee complying with the wishes of the marketing manager for he/she to work late so he/she will receive a good performance evaluation, thus resulting in the receipt of the desired bonus is an example of Employee 1 being affected by reward power. The marketing manager uses the second base of power, which is legitimate power. Legitimate power is defined as “the formal authority to control and use organizational resources” (Robbins & Judge, 2007, pg. 472.) The marketing manager being the person responsible for the evaluation of the employees, thus affecting whether or not Employee 1 receives the bonus he/she really wants is a demonstration of this power. The distribution of a bonus to an employee is an example of...
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...In Organizations, power is seen as tool that authority possesses to wield out instructions to their staff, ensure internal disputes are settled, fire staff if they are intolerable for various reasons and so forth. Therefore, one could deduce that those who possess leadership skills require a high level of responsibility amongst other attributes to be bestowed with power (varying amounts depending on what management level). Certainly, as mentioned in the first Spiderman movie (2002), ‘With Great Power comes Great Responsibility’ (Bolle & Vogel, 2011) This is certainly true in every organization that is successful. Leaders who responsibly use their power for the greater good of the organization tend to find success easier than those who don’t. For example, the most famous leaders of today, Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Windows) and Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) are all visionaries and managed to responsibly use their power to make their companies amongst the most successful and revolutionary in the world. This essay aims to provide a detailed understanding into the various bases of power as mentioned by French & Raven (1958): -Reward, Coercive, Legitimate (Positional Powers)-, -Informational, Referent and Expert (Personal Powers) - (Lo & Ramayah, 2011). It also aims to provide an analysis of the use of power by managers within an organizational setting. Finally, this essay will describe managers’ utilization of the various bases and use different examples. This...
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...The Five Bases of Power BCOM/230 The Five Bases of Power “Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. This definition implies a potential that need not be actualized to be effective, and a dependency relationship.” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, "A Definition of Power"). In total, there are five bases of power. They are coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, expert power, and referent power. Each power is different in some way which makes it unique. “The coercive power base is dependent on fear. A person reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that might occur if she failed to comply. It rests 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.” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, "Bases of Power"). Coercive power exists when people are frightened of what could happen to them if they do not give into the leader’s wishes. An extreme example of coercive power would be Hitler’s power in Germany when he ruled the country. He put true fear into people that did not agree with him, this made him gain followers whether those followers were really in agreement with him or not. “The opposite of coercive power is reward power. People comply with the wishes or directives of another because doing so produces positive...
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...Bases of Power Within a Company: Apple Incorporated Gena Baker-Smith Phoenix University Abstract This paper will outline and describe the bases of power within an organization. I will point out which powers are formal and ones that are personal. The five types of power are coercive, legitimate, referent, reward, and expert. These “Bases of Power” have been used since they were established in 1959 by two sociologists. There will also be a summary as to how these different types of powers are communicated within a company/organization. In Apple Incorporation, I am sure all five of the types of powers are present within the company. I hope to present you the reader of this paper how they are communicated throughout the company. When one thinks of power they think about having the ability to change things or the way people think or act. Some of these changes can be positive and some can be negative depending on the person and the situation at hand (Merchant 2010). In 1959, American sociologists John French and Bertram Raven established “The Bases of Power” that exist within companies (Merchant 2010). The five types of powers are legitimate, coercive, referent, reward, and expert; some of these are formal and others are personal (Merchant, 2010). According to referenceforbusiness.com, the bases of power are methods that managers and leaders of an organization utilize to influence their employees. Also stated on referenceforbusiness.com authority must be a factor...
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...Case Study: Velocity Cellular Case Study: Velocity Cellular Revenue Recognition in a Multiple-Element Arrangement Velocity Cellular Services is planning the rollout of a new prepaid phone service called Power Starterpack. Using the current, relevant accounting guidance, determine and support the appropriate method for recognizing revenue for this new product. Power Starterpack Details Velocity Cellular sells the Power Starterpack for $200. The Power Starterpack consists of two elements: a new activation card and a prepaid voucher for $50 worth of airtime. The new activation card allows the subscriber’s cellular phone to function and gives the subscriber additional features not available with the old activation card. Activation cards can be purchased separately from Velocity. Identical activation cards can be purchased from other vendors. The $50 prepaid airtime voucher must be used within 360 days or the remaining value is forfeited. If there is no activity for seven consecutive months, the subscriber’s account is closed and the phone number is deactivated. No refunds are given and the subscriber has no general rights of return for the Power Starterpack. Are the Deliverables Considered Separate Units of Accounting? Velocity Cellular adopted ASU 2009-13, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables” in the current fiscal year. The Update amends the criteria in Subtopic 605-25 for separating revenue in multiple-deliverable arrangements. The amendments...
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...conflict and frustration. Manager has the responsibility to understand different individual characteristics in order to determine whether he or she matches the requirement of the organization as well as for the purpose of rewards and punishments towards their performance. First of all, Individual can be differs in the form of personality, ability and intelligence. Other than that, some biographical characteristics also form individual differences. These different attributes and characteristics shape one’s values and performance in an organization. Biographical Characteristics Biographical Characteristics like age, gender, race and tenure are personal characteristics which can objective and easily obtained from personnel records. (Stephen & Timothy 2007) a) Age According to Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Malaysia retirement age had been raised from 55 years old to 60 years old. So, manager might have to pay attention of the...
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...Referent Power Information Expertise Expert Power Any individual person who has an expertise that is highly valued possesses expert power. Experts have power even though their status might be regarded as being low. An person may have expert knowledge about technical, administrative, or personal matters. The harder it becomes to replace an expert; the higher becomes the degree of expert power that they possess. Expert power is occasionally called information power and is frequently a personal trait of the individual. A personal assistant for example, who has lower status in the organisation may also possess a degree of high expert power because they have extensive knowledge of how the business operates such as knowing where everything is located or are able to deal with difficult situations. Lewicki et al. (1985:249) states that people and countries will act sensibly when they have used up all other available possibilities. In any negotiation situation, expert power is the most standard type of power that is applied. Expert power consists of the persuasive nature of the information itself. It pertains to the amassing of information and how it is presented and is used with the intent of changing of how a counter party views the issues. It is the contention of Lewicki et al. (1985:251) that expert power is a unique kind of information power. Information power can be applied by any individual who has studied and prepared their position prior to the start of a negotiation...
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...Velocity Cellular: Trueblood Case 09-1 Case Study: Velocity Cellular Case Study: Velocity Cellular Revenue Recognition in a Multiple-Element Arrangement Velocity Cellular Services is planning the rollout of a new prepaid phone service called Power Starterpack. Using the current, relevant accounting guidance, determine and support the appropriate method for recognizing revenue for this new product. Power Starterpack Details Velocity Cellular sells the Power Starterpack for $200. The Power Starterpack consists of two elements: a new activation card and a prepaid voucher for $50 worth of airtime. The new activation card allows the subscriber’s cellular phone to function and gives the subscriber additional features not available with the old activation card. Activation cards can be purchased separately from Velocity. Identical activation cards can be purchased from other vendors. The $50 prepaid airtime voucher must be used within 360 days or the remaining value is forfeited. If there is no activity for seven consecutive months, the subscriber’s account is closed and the phone number is deactivated. No refunds are given and the subscriber has no general rights of return for the Power Starterpack. Are the Deliverables Considered Separate Units of Accounting? Velocity Cellular adopted ASU 2009-13, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables” in the current fiscal year. The Update amends the criteria in Subtopic 605-25 for separating revenue in multiple-deliverable...
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...In this paper we will discuss the case study of Thomas Green, we will discuss how Thomas made got to the position he is in and what power bases were used to try and influence him. We will further discuss how these power bases could have been used better to gain compliance from Thomas. The use of power in the case study is apparent through the actions of Thomas’ boss, Davis and the division Vice President McDonald. Thomas Green holds the position of Senior Market Specialist with Dynamic Displays, a company that provides self-service options to many different organizations. Green was promoted to this position after six months of working for Dynamic Displays. Green was selected for promotion into this position by Shannon McDonald, the Travel Division Vice President. Green reports to the Marketing Director, Frank Davis, Davis has been with Dynamic Displays for 17 years. Davis was slightly upset by McDonald promoting Green into the Senior Market Specialist position, as he believed that he would be selecting the person to be promoted. When McDonald promoted Green she informed him that she was apprehensive because of his lack of managerial experience and his new position was very different from his past sales positions. Less than a month into his new position Green attended the 2008 Budget Plan meeting presented by Davis. This was Green’s first time seeing the planning and forecasting process. In the meeting Davis presented a growth for Green’s region that he did not agree with...
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...Does Disciplinary Power enforce good or bad behaviour from students in York University Accommodation? Introduction When looking at Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power, we looked at our own expectations compared with our actual experiences of living in university run accommodation. With most students coming to university, it is the first time that they will live on ‘their own’, without the rules and restrictions that they had when living at home with their parents, therefore a degree of freedom and independence was expected. However, we noticed that our actions were restricted by the rules imposed on us due to the acceptance of the university run accommodation. From our own experiences, we witnessed students displaying bad behavioural characteristics through resistance. This led our group to investigate the impact that the rules have on students’ behaviours and the universities use of disciplinary power to ‘control’ students’ behaviour. We also wanted to determine from the student’s perspective, the impact these controls had on their behaviour. Methodology There has been a lot of research conducted to study the behaviours of students and their resistance to authority, however they were not written in the students’ perspective. By investigating the behaviours of students from their perspective, it allows us to have a more accurate account of their experiences and the impact that the university’s restrictions has on them. It also enables us to determine why students either...
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...where doing what is right often can tarnish relationships and cause rift. There are those who are lost in the minefield of power and politics, some of these managers suffer not only a career crisis, often they fall on their sword in an act of career suicide. Managing the delicate balance of politics, power and influence can ensure that the manager survives their trip through the minefield. What can influence the way a manager or supervisor navigates this minefield, besides experiencing it firsthand, learning about the short comings of other managers and supervisors who share their story. During the course of the project, Tom Green and his experience at Dynamic Displays is a case study in which a student can see how to better apply power and influence to navigate the workplace and a chosen career. Where did the power players of Dynamic Displays appropriately use and miss use power and information? The Problem No two people are alike; Davis expected his replacement to be as much like he was and use his style when Green took on the promotion. It appears as though Green does everything but the expectations that Davis envisions; however, it is not evident that Davis ever clearly laid out the expectations to the subordinate. Davis having held this position prior to Green’s promotion, had expert power from his experience, skills and knowledge (French & Raven, 1959). With his experience from working many years in Green’s...
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...Thomas Green Paper Who is Thomas Green? Thomas Green graduated from college with his Bachelors in Economics he stared his career a t Dynamic Displays as an account executive with their south west division for travel and hospitality division. Green started his career there ad showed great promise to climb the adders of the company fast. Not only was Green good at his job he was promoted at the age of only 28 to Senior Marketing Specialist only after working for less than a year with the company. Actions of Green vs. Expectations of Davis When Green took the position of Senior Marketing Specialist his directives were to identify industry trends and develop new business opportunities and also establish sales goals Sasser & Beckham (2008). Davis expected him to communicate with him on his projects and travel schedule he also wanted his presentations to be back up with market data. Green on the other hand acted independently visiting prospective clients and not following any directives given to him by Davis to ensure that he used data as well in is meeting with clients. Individual agendas of Davis and McDonald Frank Davis was not happy with the promotion of Thomas Green and to Senior Marketing Specialist as he was not someone that he would have chosen for the position as he was only with the company one year prior to his promotion. Davis felt that Green lacked the experience for the job; however his concerns were over ruled by the vice president McDonald. Davis...
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...Analysis: Oracle’s Larry Ellison: A Profile of Power, Influence, and Dominance Saint Leo University Abstract: The purpose of this case study analysis is to examine how Larry Ellison uses power and has used his power in the past to create one of the largest software companies in the world. This analysis will examine the different forms of interpersonal power that Ellison uses, how the two faces of power relate to his actions, if he uses his power ethically, and the influence tactics that he demonstrates. This analysis will also explain if he uses his power effectively and if I would personally be able to emulate Larry Ellison’s behavior. Oracle has continued to grow over the years and this analysis will explain if Ellison’s power has been effective in the success of Oracle. Introduction: Oracle is a software company that was started in 1977 by Larry Ellison as well as its co-founders Bob Miner and Ed Oates. What makes Oracle so special is the fact that they were the first software company that was able to develop and utilize an application across its database, business applications, and application development and decision-support tools fully from the internet (Nelson & Quick, 2013). They mastered relational database technology and really broke ground for enterprise computing. Oracle has been so successful mostly due to their CEO Larry Ellison who believes that nothing is out of bounds. The CEO has really used his power and knowledge to help Oracle grow into one of...
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...How much position and personnel power do leaders need to be effective? Power has been the subject of much research. The purpose of this essay is to establish how much power leaders need to be effective. Although effective leaders rely more on personal power than on position power, some position is important in order to get the job done. The amount and type of power required depends on the situation, whether the influence is upward, downward or lateral, whether goal congruence exists, the size and make-up of the group as well as the targeted outcome (compliance or commitment). Too much position power should be avoided as it can lead to abuse of the power and hence negative outcomes, yet too little position power will limit a leader from being effective. Also research has found complex interrelations between power bases. Effective leaders need a moderate amount of position power to make decisions, implement changes and punish ongoing belligerent behaviour and they need fairly high level personal power to create relationships, trust and respect and persuade target persons of the benefits of undertaking a task or project and therefore obtain commitment rather than simple compliance. While effective leaders have great skills in influencing target persons, they must also be receptive to influence from others. Leadership is about influencing people to achieve the objectives and goals of the organisation, tasks or projects. Effective leaders influence subordinates to carry out their...
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...to which people perceive that they are treated fairly at work. There are three different components of organizational justice: i. Distributive justice – the perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are allocated ii. Procedural justice – the perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make allocation decisions iii. Interactional justice – the extent to which people feel fairly treated when procedures are implemented (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010) Bill Bailey’s concerns regarding the merger focus mainly on the financial stability and flexibility of the opera versus the symphony and the fear that the opera will lose its identity. According to Mr. Bailey, the opera has a reserve fund and is financially stable. In addition, as a result of the current business model, the opera has the flexibility to adjust the size of opera or eliminate projects if necessary, while the symphony has a 52-week orchestra without any flexibility. According to Kreitner & Kinicki (2010) there are six practical implications within the equity theory that Bill Bailey can utilize to gain support for the merger. The first implication is to determine the employees’ perceptions of what is fair and equitable. Second, it is important to involve employees in the decision making process and give them a voice. Third, employees should have...
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