...Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 49, No. 4 , 1993. pp. 227-251 The Bases of Power: Origins and Recent Developments Bertram H. Raven University of California, Los Angeles The history and background of the analysis of the basis of power is examined, beginning with its origins in the works of Kurt Lewin and his followers at the Research Center for Group Dynamics, particularly the early research by John R. P. French. The original French and Raven (1959) bases of power model posited six bases of power: reward, coercion, legitimate, expert, referent, and informational (or persuasion; Raven, 1965). Since then, as the result of considerable research, the model has gone through signiJicant developments. A more comprehensive model is presented here that reviews the following: various motivations of the influencing agent; an assessment of available power bases in terms of potential effectiveness, time perspective, personal preferences, values and norms; consideration of other strategies such as manipulation; utilization of various preparatory and stage-setting devices to strengthen olte’s power resources; implementation of the power strategies; assessment of effectiveness of influence attempt and its positive andl or negative aftereffects; use of various ameliorative devices; and review, reconsideration, and another round of influence strategies. The overall model is examined in terms of its applicability to various settings including hospital infection control, patient compliance...
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...Sources of Power by Roberta D. Harris An Assignment Submitted to the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Economics in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course of Management 5670 Webster University 2013 Abstract One of the highest concerns about power is its effects on those who use it. The more people use power, the more they tend to notice situations in terms of power relationships, the more they are motivated to use power for their own personal end result. This risk in this use of power is stated in the statement “Power tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lynch, 1985) Plato was convinced that power would continue to corrupt unless philosophers became rulers and rulers were philosophers. The five bases of power defined by French and Raven denote the classical reason why one person influences others as well as the foundation for most research on power. Recently, other sources of power have been defined, explaining other sources of influence. I discussed the five indicators for accessing power and identified the five sources of social power which includes reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power. (Frenche & Raven, 1968) Additionally, I discussed other sources of power such as information power, persuasiveness, charisma, and social versus personal power. Keywords: power, indicators, reward, coercive, legitimate, referent,...
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...Power and Politics : Chapter 19 Power and politics are among the most important concepts in the study of organization behavior. Both power and politics are dynamic concepts and are a function of the interaction between different elements in organizations. Power has been defined as "the ability to influence and control anything that is of value to others." It is the ability to influence the behavior of other people in the organization and to get them to do what they otherwise would not have done. Although the terms power, authority and influence are often used synonymously, there is a difference between them. Power is the ability to effect a change in an individual or a group in some way. Power may or may not be legitimate. That is, power need not correspond with a person's organizational position. Authority, on the other hand, is legitimate. It is the power which is sanctioned by the organization and is often the 'source' of power. Influence is a much broader concept than both power and authority. French and Raven, social psychologists, identified five sources of power - coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent. Coercive power is based on fear and is the ability to influence another person through threats or fear of punishment. Reward power is a positive power which refers to the ability to get things done through others on the basis of one's power to grant rewards. Legitimate power depends on organizational position and authority. It refers to the power conferred by...
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...AND ADMINISTRATION VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1, 2012 Power and Leadership: An Influence Process Fred C. Lunenburg Sam Houston State University ABSTRACT Power is the ability to influence others. One of the most influential theories of power comes from the work of French and Raven, who attempted to determine the sources of power leaders use to influence others. French and Raven identified five sources of power that can be grouped into two categories: organizational power (legitimate, reward, coercive) and personal power (expert and referent). Generally, the personal sources of power are more strongly related to employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance than are the organizational power sources. One source of organizational power—coercive power—is negatively related to work outcomes. However, the various sources of power should not be thought of as completely separate from each other. Sometimes leaders use the sources of power together in varying combinations depending on the situation. A new concept of power, referred to as “empowerment,” has become a major strategy for improving work outcomes. What comes to mind when you think of the term “power”? Does it elicit positive or negative feelings? In both research and practice, power has been described as a dirty word. Consider the Enron scandal (McLean & Elkind, 2003). Certainly it is easy to think of leaders who have used power for unethical or immoral purposes (Brown, 2006; Flynn...
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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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...The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Douglas E. Kronk Walden University Abstract Leadership’s role in shaping a healthy organizational climate has many facets. Both leadership and organizational culture are difficult concepts to define, as many researchers have chosen to define each in various ways. For the purposes of this paper, I examine leadership as a process that guides both leaders and followers to a common goal, that being a shared culture that binds the members together in a healthy and productive climate. I present several leadership factors that play an important role in shaping a healthy organizational culture. The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture One of the most critical roles of a leader is to create and maintain a healthy culture in his or her organization. This needs to happen at all levels of an organization, so the responsibility rests with all levels of leadership, from the most senior executives down to the first line supervisor. Culture represents the organization’s personality and has a critical influence on both employee satisfaction and organizational success. While every organization has a culture, it is often misunderstood by the members of the organization due to various interpretations between departments or divisions, both laterally and hierarchically. While some variation may be necessary to meet business demands in larger organizations, it is important for all organizations, both large...
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...Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels Who’s the boss? White paper | 4.10.12 Emily Durham Contents Executive summary Personal biography The effects of power within organisations Sources of organisational power Developing the personal power of supervisors Recruitment approaches Development approaches Minimising the drawbacks of organisational power Reference ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 9 1 Emily Durham | Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels Executive summary This paper highlights the influence of power within the workplace. Different sources of power are discussed, as well as the consequences of having employees who possess more informal power than their supervisors. Recommendations are made to increase supervisors’ levels of personal power, which can be implemented at both the recruitment stage and through development of supervisors. Personal biography Emily Durham has a BA, majoring in Psychology and English, and is currently working towards gaining a BA (Hons) with a focus in Industrial, Work and Organisational Psychology. 2 Emily Durham | Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels The effects of power within organisations Power can be defined as the ability to overcome adversity in the attempt to influence others’ behaviour and opinions, with the intention of obtaining...
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...theories which will describe the best leadership characteristics in terms of leadership style. We will discuss interpersonal forms of power, showing how the characteristics impact performance. Organizational stress will be examined to determine the likely impact on performance as well as how they can be addressed. Potential sources of conflict within the group or unit and communication barriers will be discussed to show how they impact the organization. Traditional, Contemporary, and Emerging Leadership Theories There are many different types of leadership styles from traditional, contemporary and emerging theories. The traditional styles of leadership are autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. An autocratic, is most typically a type of leader who has a negative stereotype of subordinates and perceives them as lazy, irresponsible, etc., tends to lead by control and coercion. The democratic leadership style is much different from an autocratic leader where a leader who has a more positive attitude toward subordinates will adopt a participative leadership style in such ways as they will collaborate with their employees. A democratic will receive team input and promotes group discussion. They encourage employees to work without restriction with each other in a group setting and give them the decision-making power. A challenge facing Democratic leaders is recognizing that not all tasks are popular...
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...Managing People Exam Code 5741/41 LEADERSHIP –THEORY AND PRACTICE This essay will review the theory of leadership from early in the last century and critically assess the most relevant areas under debate. Theory What is leadership? Leadership is of itself constantly in debate, what is it, do we need it and how does it work are just some of the questions in what remains a live and ongoing debate. Whilst there are many definitions available in the wide array of literature the one selected here is that of Rost[1] who said” leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes” having analysed the definitions of leadership used in the literature from 1900-1979 . At its most fundamental level there is a great deal of discussions about what is leadership and what is management with authors such as Kotter[2] who describes a leader as someone who creates an agenda through the establishment of a vision and gives direction to help align the followers to achieve a successful outcome , compared to his arguably less positive description of a manager as someone who prepares plans and budgets, organizes and staffs the team and monitors the results against a plan, hence the manager is seen to provide order, consistency and predictability. Rost on the other hand argues against this[3] “up with leaders and down with management” approach which he suggests Kotter’s approach describes and concludes this obsession with...
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...Many companies have embraced executive coaching and mentoring as their main approaches to promote development initiatives. But in today’s businesses these do not address the real-world, group dynamics that executives must contend with. Behavior within a group in the organization can be influenced by group dynamics, interactions, group cohesiveness, the work environment, social influences, and leadership. We will explore each of these elements of group behavior within an organization. Groups Dynamics “Group dynamics is the area of social science that focuses on advancing knowledge about the nature of group life” (Johnson & Johnson, 2009, pg.1). Understanding group dynamics in the business world allows companies to change their focus and production to meet the new challenges of a global market. Companies today, rely on teams of employees to help develop, design and initiate new products. Not only do these teams work together in the same location, they are able to work across the country or around the world. Group dynamics can also enhance leadership development. Group based leadership requires leaders to work in unison so they may develop executive skill sets, tackle real-world challenges in real time, provide one another with high-value feedback, and enhance their interpersonal communications. Achieving Mutual Goals through Positive Interdependence “Positive interdependence exists when one perceives that one is linked with others in a way that one cannot...
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...Chattanooga Case Analysis Jack Welch Management Institute JWI 510 25 July 2015 I. Abstract. In this paper we will explore the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division (CICC) case study (Sloan, HBR, 2003). We will review the significant changes that were taking place internally at the CICC and externally within their market. We will explore these internal and external variants that include: changes in key leadership positions on the CICC staff, internal alliances, customer demand for product diversification and competitor responsiveness to customer demands. All of these factors had a direct impact on CICCs bottom line and resulted in loss of market share. II. Introduction The CICC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chattanooga Food Corporation (CFC), was trending downward from 1991 thru 1996 and reported five consecutive years of decline. The bad news continued to grow; in 1996 the division president and general manager Charlie Moore learned that Stay & Shop a 6.5M account and their third largest customer was dropping CICC for the Sealtest line of ice cream products. Faced with losing more market share and a steady downward trend; immediate and major action had to be taken in order to turn the situation around. Charlie was given 120 days to accomplish the task of returning the CICC to the profitable division it once was. The CICC management team had varying degrees of experience in the market and all had their own opinions on the root causes that led to the loss...
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...Organisations Question 1: Do good managers need to understand how power and authority operates within organisations? Name: Surawich Channoi Student Number: 110490551 Course: E-business (Information Systems) Module Leader: Mr Ewan Mackenzie Due Date: 10.12.2012 Word Count: 1509 In every organisation, it is common that there are several groups of staff with different positions work together as a company. In order to manage enormous amount of people, it is necessary to have good managers, leader of each department in an organisation. They will have to use various management tools in order to control and motivate their subordinates to work loyally and effectively, one of the most important tool is power. Finkelstein mentioned that "Power is defined here as the capacity of individual actors to exert their will" (Finkelstein, 1992). However, despite the fact that using power can manipulate and sustain company success, it is also able to create unpleasant effects if the reckless managers overuse or unable to manage it correctly. While some experts agree that power is an essential criterion to managers, there are evidences which point out the negative effects when the managers do not understand their authorities and cannot use power appropriately. Although, mismanaged application of power might lead to significant crisis in an organisation, this essay will attempt to illustrate that professional managers can make a good use of power as a viable method to achieve subordinates cooperation...
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...Chapter 17: Managing Organizational Change and Innovation This chapter discusses what needs to be considered when changing an organization. Some of these changes would be the input and the technological aspect of the business. I retained the most information from this chapter in the section of change agents. There are three agents of change; external, internal and external-internal change agents. External agents of change are temporary. They are used in situations where an organization needs help individual and group behavior. External agents are usually professors or private consultants. Internal agents of change are already apart of the business. They already know how to change an organization. In most cases they are managers who have recently been brought into organization that needs help. External-Internal agents are the combination of both external and internal. An organization uses both approaches to change the problems that have arisen. Question My thought-provoking question is how effective are external and internal change agents? I want to know why because what would be the next step to take to get the company at a good performance level. I know this works in most cases because I have seen it happen. I am just curious. Personal Implication Internal change agents personally affect me the most. My dad is a general manager at Applebee’s and he usually gets sent to stores that have a poor performance. He knows how to run a restaurant successfully. My dad has to...
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...Abstract The use of power to influence others within a social group has evolved over centuries. Gaining dominion, wealth and social standing are central motives for gaining power over others within a communal group. Those with power can leverage off humans innate psychological leanings toward normative and informative influences to create the norms which others in society will accede to. Psychological experiments by Stanley Milgram and Solomon Asch demonstrate humans predisposition to obedience and compliance, in order to secure their acceptance within society, mean many can are influenced by those in power. It is an astonishing power, to influence another person or a whole society to buy into a reality created by another. To first understand how those in power can influence others, an understanding of ‘power’ is required. Power is a currency, a power currency, that’s desired by others which affords the holder the ability to exert both influence and dominion over people and surroundings. The ‘currency’ can be power of knowledge, love, charisma, wealth, fear, acceptance, social status, strength, or beauty to identify just a few. An individual or group possessing a power currency desired or feared by others ultimately holds a social balance of power and subsequently gains the ability to influence. Those in power use the media to tell others how they should look, who they should like, how they should act and what they should believe. The powerful use media to sell...
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...cashiers, which are all usually the hourly employees. Often in retail organizations, the upper managers are considered the leaders in the company. They tend to make sure that all of the employees are punctual and that the employees are finishing their tasks in a timely manner. Sometimes employees are late for work or absent. This usually is the point where management may have to warn or possibly write-up employees who are continuously late or absent. Typically, if an employee is late or absent consistently, they will be terminated by management. I am going to examine and discuss how motivational theories could be applied to absenteeism, while analyzing the role of organizational leadership in absenteeism as well as evaluating the role of power and influence in absenteeism. Motivational Theories There are four general areas of motivational theory: need-based theories, job-based...
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