Authority in the public services
Authority means the right or power to enforce rules or give orders. To do this they need legislations to enforce their laws, to function properly the uniformed pubic services need to have legislations.
The extent of authority relates to the limit of control held by an individual or organisation. The limit of control is governed by the job description of the role, as well as the jurisdiction, with authority coming either from statute or company policy.
An example would be Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons who has the authority under the Ministry of Justice to inspect and report to the Government on the treatment and conditions for all prisoners in England and Wales. The authority of the
…show more content…
* Referent power – we do what we are asked because we can identify with the source of influence; we may be attracted to them or respect them.
Position
When we talk about someone being in a position of authority we usually mean that they hold a certain rank or status within society or within an organisation such as the public services. There are several ways in which a person could find himself or herself in a position of authority. For example, a priest has the authority of the church while a mother or father has parental authority over children. In the uniformed public services, positions of authority come with promotion. An officer may be promoted because of certain achievements and special attributes, such as experience in the service, good character, knowledge of the job, dedication, self-discipline and the respect of one’s colleagues. If you join the uniformed public services and are placed in a position of authority, you may lawfully command team members, who recognise your authority and their duty to obey those legitimate commands. When authority is legitimate, there is no need to influence or use power. Indeed, if a senior officer were unable to gain the respect of a team member by command alone, then there would be no recognisable authority.
For someone to be placed in a position of authority they should have power and
When I think of the differences between power and authority, I immediately think of the presidential cabinet. His cabinet has the authority to provide information and advice to the president but at the end of the day, the President has the power to make the final decision. The government does not have complete power over the people in part due to our civil liberties but they do have authority over us when we make mistakes. The traits of authority sometimes comes along with intimidation. When a police officer pulls us over we have our Miranda rights that can protect us from self incrimination, but once we are in trouble the law has the power to determine our punishment. The benefits of having power is that no one can tell you what to do and
According to Stojkovic, Kalinich, and Klofas (2015), power can be defined as “A construct that underscores that importance of how compliance among subordinates is achieved” (p. 288). Power can be at both a person and organizational level and there are five forms, including coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, referent power, and expert power (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). In contrast, authority is “demoting the compliance with particular directives essential for achieving a common or shared goal” (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015, p. 290). The three forms of author include, traditional authority, charismatic authority, and legal authority (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). Power can become authority over time and authority is useful for when individuals must be supervised within an organization (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). I believe the foundation of criminal justice organizations is authority because everyone is trying to attain the same goal and be successful (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). If power is distributed among too many employees, then that could lead to role conflict (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015). It is important to have supervisors with authority over
Authority represents the power that lies within a managerial position and that gives the manager the right to assign the jobs to his subordinates and to expect that the assigned jobs would be completed by the subordinates. By the virtue of authority, the superiors are empowered to make their juniors and subordinates work. The organizational structure should clearly define the line of authority so that the overlapping actions might be avoided (Mahida).
With many occupations, power and authority go hand in hand. To better explain, individuals who have some form of authority are normally given some type of power so they are able to manage their job more efficiently. That being said, Power as a definition, according to the textbook, Criminal Justice Organizations Administration and Management, Power can be considered more as a tool that is used to get subordinates to do something (Stojkovic, Kalinich, & Klofas, 2015, p. 288-290). Power can
The exercise of authority; direction and restraint exercised over actions of men in communities, societies or states; the administration of public affairs, according to established constitution, laws and usages, or by arbitrary edicts. (gov)
Authority is the ultimate battalion captain assessing matters from a perspective of order and rigid reform and manufacturing a powerful sway over the masses. It seems to be captivated in power trips and self centered control, totally oblivious to the bigger picture of reality beyond
(4) INFORMATION POWER: Employees have a perception that the supervisor has access to or at least possesses useful reformation. Recall that old adage: Information is power.
Power and authority are different concepts; however, the terms function reciprocally in the bureaucratic structure of an organization. The organization’s power is centered at the top and the authority flows from the top down through ordered levels of management: from senior executives to regional managers to departmental managers and supervisors who work with the frontline employees. Authority and control from different levels of hierarchy within a bureaucratic structure are defining to the entire purpose of the organization. All departments have organizational charts, and everyone understands who is in charge and their responsibilities. Job descriptions are detailed and specialized and management monitors outcomes, which in turn
abuses of authority can make a big difference in preventing officers from abusing their authority”
Unelected high-ranking officials, regardless of rank, position, or public facade must be held to the highest level of scrutiny, simply because they wield the greatest degree of authority that can be used for both good and evil!
Authority is using the statements of someone or an institution that holds a position of authority to support your statements. The World Heath Organization states that the definition of health is: The state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This is an example of using the Authority of the World Health Organization
The management can use this power to demote, transfer, fire or deny raises to their employees. The third power base of Position is legitimate power. This power stems from the level of hierarchy in which the subordinates report directly to the authority over them for decisions. Process Power controls the input and output of organizations to make sure that the processes are carried out efficiently and effectively within. Information power is the control of information or access to it within an organization. Information can be controlled to a ?need to know? basis and/or just limited to the upper management. This type of power compliments the legitimate power. Finally, there is Representative power in which an organization uses an individual to be there spokesperson both within the organization and when dealing with people outside of the organization.
fairness within any level of government. Therefore, public administrators are seen to uphold integrity within government, be liable to the public and
Describe the responsibilities and scope of authority for each of the following government organizations. You may need to review the discussion on the ITU from chapter one:
Authority is fundamental to a business structure as it provides individuals in senior positions to make decisions and give orders to employee’s orders to fulfil the requirements of the organisation (Mar, 2013). The role of any individual in a managerial position cannot be under-estimated, firms cannot forecast or execute plans without a strong authoritative manager.