The Sources Of Power In Organizations

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Power means many different things to different people. For some, power is seen as corrupt. For others, the more power they have, the more successful they feel. For even others, power is of no interest at all. 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.

Power is a natural process in the fabric of organizational life. Getting things done requires power. Every day, managers in public and private organizations acquire and use power to accomplish organizational goals. Given that, you need to understand how power is acquired, know how and when to use it, and be able to anticipate its probable effects. The concepts of power and leadership are closely linked. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals. By learning how power operates in organizations, you will be better able to use that knowledge to become a more effective leader. In its simplest terms, power is the ability to influence someone else.

The concept of power can be use in a scientific non-social way as energy - an electric company calls itself powergen - clearly no social dimension here. In relationships, however, we might speak of constructive power (e.g., to build, create, give life, save life and nurture) or destructive power (to tear down, destroy). Usually the former is slow working overtime whereas destructive power can be quick and immediate. What might have taken years to build can be destroyed in seconds. The immediacy of destructive power can give a person a very strong sense of their influence and energy - even their aliveness. The child builds the tower of blocks and then smashes it - with a smile. In all of us there exist impulses to create and destroy. And these can share complex relationships. We might create armies and weapons of destruction in order to destroy - but they can also be used to protect.

Sources of Power in Organizations

ORGANIZATIONAL POWER:

Coercive power: Coercive power is a person’s ability to influence others’ behavior by punishing them or by creating a perceived threat to do so. For example, employees may comply with a manager’s directive because of fear or threat of punishment. Typical organizational punishments include reprimands, undesirable work assignments, withholding key information, demotion, suspension, or dismissal. Coercive power has negative side effects and should be used with caution, because it tends to result in negative feelings toward those who use it.

The availability of coercive power varies from one organization and manager to another. Most organizations now have clearly defined policies on employee treatment.

Clearly defined rules and procedures that govern how coercive power is used prevent superiors from using their legitimate power (formal authority) arbitrarily and unethically.

The presence of unions also can weaken coercive power considerably. One need not be in a position of authority, however, to possess coercive power. Employees also have coercive power, including the use of sarcasm and fear of rejection, to ensure that team members conform to group norms. Many organizations rely on the coercive power of team members to control employee behavior. Coercive power is conveyed through fear of losing one’s job, being demoted, receiving a poor performance review, having prime projects taken away, etc. This power is gotten through threatening others. For example, The Vice President of Sales who threatens sales persons to meet their goals or get replaced.

Reward power:

Now a day’s Reward power plays an important role in an organization, every employees wants their work to be valued, Reward power is a person’s ability to influence others’ behavior by providing them with things they want to receive. These rewards can be either financial, such as pay raises or bonuses or nonfinancial, including promotions, favorable work assignments, more responsibility, new equipment, praise, and recognition. A manager can use reward power to influence and control employees’ behavior, as long as employees value the rewards. For example, if managers offer employees what they think are rewards (a promotion with more responsibility), but the employees do not value them (i.e., they are insecure or have family obligations that are more important to them than a promotion), then managers really do not have reward power. Reward power can lead to better performance, as long as the employee sees a clear link between performance and rewards. To use reward power effectively, therefore, the manager should be explicit about the behavior being rewarded and should make clear the connection between the behavior and the reward. Employees also have reward power over their managers through the use of 360-degree feedback systems. Employee feedback affects managers’ promotions and other rewards, so managers tend to behave differently toward employees after 360-degree feedback is introduced into the organization.

Legitimate power

Legitimate power is a person’s ability to influence others’ behavior because of the position that person holds within the organization. Legitimate or position power, as it is sometimes called, is derived from a position of authority inside the organization, often referred to as "formal authority." That is, the organization has given to an individual occupying a particular position the right to influence—direct—certain other individuals. Those with legitimate power have the understood right to ask others to do things that are considered within the scope of their authority. When a manager asks an employee to work late to complete a project or to work on one task instead of another, he or she is exercising legitimate power. Managers can enhance their position power by formulating policies and procedures. For example, a manager might establish a requirement that all new hires must be approved by said manager, thus exercising authority over hiring

Legitimate power comes from having a position of power in an organization, such as being the boss or a key member of a leadership team. This power comes when employees in the organization recognize the authority of the individual. For example, the CEO who determines the overall direction of the company and the resource needs of the company.

Personal Power

Expert power:

As the title suggests a leader has expert power when the followers believe that the leader has "expert" knowledge or skills that are relevant to the job or tasks they have to complete. Often an experienced member of the team or staff in an organization can have expert power even though they are not a supervisor or manager.

Expert power comes from one’s experiences, skills or knowledge. As we gain experience in particular areas, and become thought leaders in those areas, we begin to gather expert power that can be utilized to get others to help us meet our goals. For example, the Project Manager who is an expert at solving particularly challenging problems to ensure a project stays on track.

Referent Power

This is created when the followers believe that the leader possess qualities that they admire and would like to possess. The followers identify with their leader and attempt to copy their leader. As referent power is dependent on how the follower views the personality of their leader, a leader will not have referent power over every follower they lead. Some leaders will have referent power over just a few, whilst others such as Gandhi, Anna Hazare have lead millions through their personality and charisma.

Referent power comes from being trusted and respected.  We can gain referent power when others trust what we do and respect us for how we handle situations. For example, the Human Resource Associate who is known for ensuring employees are treated fairly and coming to the rescue of those who are not.

LEADERSHIP

"At the age of seven, a young boy and his family were forced out of their home. The boy had to work to support his family. At the age of nine, his mother passed away. When he grew up, the young man was keen to go to law school, but had no education.

At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk. At 23, he ran for state legislature and lost. The same year, he went into business. It failed, leaving him with a debt that took him 17 years to repay. At 27, he had a nervous breakdown.

Two years later, he tried for the post of speaker in his state legislature. He lost. At 31, he was defeated in his attempt to become an elector. By 35, he had been defeated twice while running for Congress. Finally, he did manage to secure a brief term in Congress, but at 39 he lost his re-election bid.

At 41, his four-year-old son died. At 42, he was rejected as a prospective land officer. At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. Two years later, he lost the vice presidential nomination. At 49, he ran for Senate and lost again.

At 51, he was elected the President of the United States of America.

The man in question: Abraham Lincoln."

Many of us are acquainted with this eloquent example of persistence and determination in achieving victory. We read it, stop for a moment and then sigh and say: "Wow! That's the stuff real leaders are made off."

And in saying this, it's all too easy for us to think about leaders like Lincoln almost as "mythological creatures", separate from the rest of humanity and empowered by some mysterious quality that smoothes their path towards inevitable success. This is the view of leadership that many people have traditionally taken: That leaders are marked out for leadership from early on in their lives, However, that's not the way we see it now. The modern view is that through patience, persistence and hard work, you can be a highly effective leader.

Leaders vary in style and basic psychology. But they are also shaped and given access to leadership positions/roles via their cultures and social relationships Leadership power is the primary cause of successful outcomes, great achievements and evolutionary progress. Leadership power is much more than the use of force...it is influencing others to truly WANT to achieve a goal. Plain power forces others to achieve a goal.

Most people think only executives, presidents and generals possess any leadership power but the facts reveal another truth - power is held by those who know where to obtain it and how to share it with others. Some leaders are elected by those they will lead, others are imposed (as in the military) by superiors. Some leaders are encouraged to adopt certain styles and do certain things because of what is expected of them. Leadership behaviors can be expressed in many contexts and at many different social positions. It involves various combinations of power such as directing the attention of others, and the ability/power to control, guide, influence, encourage or coerce the behavior and values of others. Nearly all humans have the ability to adopt leadership behaviours. Even in simple two-some's one may be more the leader than the other, although they may swap roles from time to time. Thus, leadership behaviours can emerge in just about any social relationship; e.g., playground, street gang, terrorist group, church fete society, local cricket team, the hospital ward, business organisation, and government.

Once out of the family there are other groups and social relationships in which we must find our place. Leadership roles can be ascribed and defined by social groups and one passes some entrance test or exam to enter them (e.g., lawyer, doctor) which legitimises the use of power. As we saw in chapter five, in some societies obtaining the recognition of manhood legitimises the use of certain types of power and authority (e.g., over women). Historically, leaders could be given their roles `as of right' (e.g,. by an institutionalised class or caste system). In fact many leadership positions (Kings, Emperors, and so forth) were family determined. Even today the family of origin and the social rank of the family can significantly influence a person's chances and aspirations to leadership positions. Top leaders of social institutions are rarely those who have risen through the ranks, but usually begin their claims from class-bestowed privileged positions. But the importance of the rank of one's family is also noted in many non-human primates. Females especially, usually obtain their rank from their mother's and aunt's rank. As it has been for millions of years, we leave the family and emerge into the social world where rank is everywhere.

EXERCISING POWER

People often seek out leadership positions from which to use power and once there, their personality will influence how that power and position is exercised. So even though a social group may legitimise the use of power, and select an individual(s) for leadership roles, the way power is exercised depends on complex interactions between the person exercising it and those on whom it is exercised. Some may become leaders even against their wishes, via their popularity or the personal values they express. John Lennon, for example, along with other pop groups of the time, had an enormous effect on the values of the young. However, he consistently denied that he wished to be seen as any kind of leader. He wanted fame for his music

There is a certain magic which happens when our words accomplish their purpose. To create the Universe, God said, "Let there be light", and there was light!

Our words have the power to create or destroy - we must understand that the words we speak have the ability to bring life or death to the situation. Ideas, procedures, opinions, facts and dreams are reflections of our thoughts. We think therefore we are who we are. Leaders use the language of meanings, beliefs and feelings to connect with and compliment the hearts and minds of people. Studies on motivation reveal humans are hungry for recognition and acceptance. The easiest way to motivate a person is based on your continual, sincere and realistic show of appreciation for their talents, achievements, good-faith efforts and positive attitude.

There is something off-beat, brittle and frail about a building that is missing key parts of its structure - a broken roof, steel bars sticking out of the walls, crumbling foundation can make you wonder how or why the building is still standing.

A LEADER SHOULD BE CONGRUENT, CONSISTENTN, and COOPERATIVE:

Congruency is the state effective leaders try to maintain in their actions –

They line-up their actions with their words,

They link their values to their behaviors,

Their attitudes are in-sync with their conversations

Consistency is judged by your performance over time –

Do you always apply the same standards to everyone?

Do you usually make your decisions based on all the available facts?

Do you appear to act and behave in the same ways you do when facing similar kinds of situations?

Cooperative people know that using honey captures more flies! To win over people to your point of view, your history of respecting, valuing and working with their desires, differences and decisions goes a long way in gaining their cooperation with your plans.

Great leaders have always cooperated with people by

=> Asking for their opinions, thoughts and experiences

=> Listening to them, showing understanding by summarizing their statements

=> Incorporating their ideas, beliefs and meanings into the leader's statements (using the more powerful pronoun, "we" to express those ideas and decisions)

CONCLUSION:

As can be seen each of the powers is created by the followers belief, if the follower does not hold the requisite belief than then the leader is not able to influence them.

Reward power needs follower to believe leader will reward them.

Coercive power needs follower to believe leader will punish them.

Legitimate power needs follower to believe leader has right to instruct them.

Referent power need follower to believe leader has desirable qualities.

Expert power need follower to believe leader is an expert.

Whether the follower’s beliefs are correct is irrelevant, the beliefs alone will determine the type of power, a leader has over the follower.

Each of the leadership powers can be used by themselves or combined so that the leader has maximum influence. The leader will therefore need to think carefully about which power to use.

The use of one power could lead to a decrease in another for example coercive power (which necessitates the use of punishment) may decrease the leaders referent power , if it causes the followers to belief that the leader has qualities that aren’t admirable.