Positional and Personal Power

The amount of legitimate power someone has depends on the importance of the position she or he occupies and the willingness to grant authority to the person in that position. The benefits of this type of power are that incorporates weight of the entire organization, effective for gaining obedience, helps large organizations function effectively. The costs are that lowers follower task performance, lowers follower task satisfaction, and may become less effective overtime.

The two major types of power are position power and personal power. Position power is power held by an individual due to the position they hold within an organization; whereas, personal power is power bestowed upon an individual due to their personal connection with (or likability) by their followers. power is divided “Position power includes legitimate, reward, and coercive power” (Northouse, 2010). “Personal power includes referent and expert power” (Northouse, 2010).

A manager needs to understand the interdependency of departments, internal partnerships, and the influence of power and politics to effectively manage across the organization. Effective managers use various political tactics to increase their power within the organization to coordinate and support the work of their peers and subordinates to meet company objectives. Managers regularly acquire and use power. Power-oriented behavior has an impact on managerial career progress, on job performance, on organizational effectiveness, and on the personal lives of employees (Obholzer, 1995). It involves the combined topics of power, influence, authority, and organizational politics. When running an organization, all these

Coercive power, reward power and legitimate power are all formal powers. A person’s position in a company can give him influence over others below him, thereby affording him formal power. Coercive power is dependent on fear. A person reacts to this power out of

Though reward power is not a bad way to exercise influence, it cannot be used too often because it will lose its persuasiveness. Potentially this shows a weakness between what I perceive of myself and what is actually done. However, this assessment does show my draw to relationships is a strength in building up the referent power base. Even though referent power takes time to build it still brings in the foundation of leadership, which is relationships are vital to successful influence which in turn leads to successful

There are two forms of power; personal and positional. As I look for promotion within my organization I am seeking more positional power, such as formal authority and autonomy. Over the years, I have successfully gained credence with my personal power through demonstration of my expertise and track record. "It is not just what they have done, but how they have done it. Those who have a positive track record have more power than those who do not (Hill, pg. 14)." I have also noticed

Power is the emphasis is an employment situation. While employed you have a certain amount of power, both over your work environment and your own life.

Interview: Marin Alsop, music director of the Bournemouth Symphony, discusses the power in music and the power in the position of conductor October 7, 2003

Power is commonly used to show one’s strengths and capabilities over others. As Kathryn Schulz would state based off of her work “Sight Unseen,” the powerful utilize scrutiny as a weapon to exert power, “punishing the powerless for any deviation.” This is especially present in societal standards. Those who own a company brand are to have more power over their employed workers. Being able to make company decisions and decide who to promote and demote for the better of the company grants power to the owners. The usage of power is as well present politically. Positions in the government are unique in its own ways and each position has its advantages and disadvantages in authority over others. Historically, power has transitioned through many eras of time. Well-known historical poet and playwright, Shakespeare displays the presence of power in his work of Othello wielded by his mastermind of a character, Iago.

In addition to power established because of organizational hierarchy or role, power is also established based on the level of influence or status one holds in an organization (Anichich, Fast, Halevy, Galinsky, 2016). “Status is the outcome of an evaluation of attributes that produce differences in respect and prominence” (Ketner et al, 2003 p. 266) They co-exists but are not co-dependent on each other. It’s possible to have status without power and power without status (Ketner et al, 2003). Whether one’s control comes through status or positional power, lauding control or significant influence over another inevitably leads to conflict.

Understanding the Role of Power in Decision Making- Pfeffer explores the advantages and limitations of power. Pfeffer states that if power is a force, a store of potential influence through which events can be affected, politics involves those activities or behaviors through which power is developed and used in organizational settings. Power is a property of the system at rest; politics is the study of power in action (Shafritz, Ott,

It is important for managers to understand the sources of power and influence as they must rely upon the cooperation of subordinates in order to be successful. Strong managers rely upon more than just authority they also use leadership skills and power to obtain the most productivity from their staff. According to French and Raven (1959) there are five sources of power. Referent power seems to be the most influential and the least affected by change. To quote Paul Argenti,

The second source of power that influences individuals and organizations behaviors is known as Personal Power. This power focuses more on the individual?s independent nature within the position that he or she has been placed. There are three sources under this power that are apparent in most organizations that are well managed. The first is expert power in which control is based on the knowledge or experience that the individual possesses in the position that he or she holds. Rational persuasion is the power to control behavior by being able

Coercive power: being able to punish others for not doing what needs to be done

| When leader use his power to punish or penalise his subordinate to control their behaviour it is known as coercive power. Such power is based on the extent to which a leader can punish in order to control his subordinate. This power varies from one leader to another (Wood et al, 2010).