Power and Influence
Power and influence go together because power is influence. There is no greater power than having the ability to influence an individual, group of people, or situation. Leaders, followers and the situation can have influence and obtain power at some point. There are five sources of leader power that are used. These sources have been used in situations that I have personally handled. I have also seen these used, by observing some of my leaders. I will review these sources and situations that I have handled throughout this paper. I will discuss the outcome and how effective they were in each situation (Bethel University, 2011).
Before I started working for Verizon, I worked as a Team Leader at Champion Homes in Dresden. Four years brought about a lot of change and lots of people to lead. When I was asked to become the lead over final I was filling some big shoes. The team leader that preceded me had done it for years, and had experience in all areas of the plant. People were used to her and responded well to her. I had the privilege of working for her and watching her lead our team. Observing her helped me understand the type of leadership I wanted to use and how I wanted people to see me. I wanted to be seen as fair, and someone who influenced the people to do their best.
Donna possessed expert power. She had been with the company for 20 years, and was very knowledgeable in every area. People followed her because they knew she had been in their shoes.
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic
The overall theme that has shown itself in all the textual artifacts is, Power is in people. In moving west for gold and exploration, growth in the literal Battle of the Sexes, or the building of a nation. Unity has brought power to the weak and made them great. Today, Americans have lost the unity that once built us. We seem to have opened the gates of hell as we let war consume us and let the People we had once been, crumble and blow away in the wind.
Have you ever wondered who has the authority to make laws or punish people who break them? When we think of power in the United States, we usually think of the President, but he does not act alone. In fact, he is only one piece of the power puzzle and for very good reason. When the American Revolution ended in 1783, the United States government was in a state of change. The founding fathers knew that they did not want to establish another country that was ruled by a king, so the discussions were centered on having a strong and fair national government that protected individual freedoms and did not abuse its power. When the new constitution was adopted in 1787, the structure of the infant government of the United States called for three separate branches, each with their own powers, and a system of checks and balances. This would ensure that no one branch would ever become too powerful because the other branches would always be able to check the power of the other two. These branches work together to run the country run the country and set guidelines for us all to live by.
Throughout history, there has been many leaders or individuals who have taken power over their followers and anyone else under them. They pick and choose what they want to do with the power they have and whether they want to use it for good or bad. More often than not it is utilized towards good and helping others. But when it is not, it can lead to the destruction of the person with the power and of the followers of the leader. Though having powers can be one of the best things in the world, it can also be the worst because it can drive people away from helping others, it makes them believe that they can change another persons thoughts and feelings, it makes them believe they can change their surroundings and the future, and ultimately in
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.
Power is usually described as “bad” and is mostly discussed by others about the abuse of power however this is not true, power can be used to help or protect individuals, which is exactly what the culture I had observed does. In this essay, I will examine the performances of power that is observed throughout the ritual ceremony, “chanting” in the Buddhism culture, displaying how the religion is used for concealing relations of power within this definite culture. Through this examination, I will use the theories of Karl Marx (religion as ideology) and Antonio Gramsci (hegemony being concept of power), to support the display of how the power distributes religion. By relating to the definition of power, I argue that, for the members of this community, ‘power’ is about ease and security- no inequality.
Arguably the most shocking show of power and the lack of the restrictions he faced in the original documentary was when Theroux discovers that Savile has his personal details including home address Savile simply states, “There is nothing I can’t do and nothing I can’t get”. Another showcase of this level of power is within the report of another victim who was in hospital for burnt hands. Savile climb in her window and whilst assaulting her, made comments about her past teen pregnancy, showing that he had seen her medical records and knew her room number.
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 role that power plays in conflict can be both constructive and destructive. Power differences shape the structure and dynamic of relationships. Imbalances and misuse of power,generates conflict and make it more difficult to resolve . People are suppose to resolve, or at least manage their conflicts in a civilized and rational manner by talking and negotiating their way through it. However, we all know how irrational and 'uncivilized ' people can become when they are in conflict, especially when it 's over something that is of importance to them. Conflicts can easily escalate and become power contests ( also called power struggles), or perhaps they were powers contests from the start and they just didn 't realize it, admit it, or maybe even hid it for the sake of appearances or as a tactile maneuver they can use to their advantage. Which ever it may be, there seems to be a turning point in most conflicts that one or both sides become aware of differences or attempts to influence the other, and it turns into a power contest. This usually happens when there is lack of consciousness around power and its use, or a lack of awareness, desire and skill in using alternatives to power contest. Research shows that a large number of children 's behavioral problems stem from not yet leaning how to solve problems effectively. In one of those “a-ha” moments came the realization that, when it comes right down to it, there are 5 basic life skills a child needs
Power means to be on top, that there is no competition against you. I personally believe power gets you respect. People follow a powerful person. A powerful person is someone who does anything that they please in any particular way without any restraints. Another the way of having power to be financially successful. Having financial power in my world is another way of being powerful because money has a huge value in today's society and can affect people’s decisions. Having power is important to me not only for the respect factor but because by being powerful I would have less financial worries.
The concept of power is present within various realms of all organizations. Power, however, is not something that should necessarily be looked at negatively. There are justifiable types of power that may be important to criminal justice organizations. The main role of power in criminal justice administration should be to gain compliance from subordinates of all types, and turn that power over time into acceptable forms of authority (Stojkovic et al., 2008). It is for this reason that power is an important attribute in criminal justice agencies.
The concept of power is an applicable leadership concept. Leaders use power to decipher whether they have the ability to acquire the commitment or obedience from their workers/officers. Leaders that are educated or trained under the old-paradigm, have low levels of expectations of others around them, and tend to use
they are under a power. I mentioned how this religion attempts to ignore those truths by conveying red herrings in detail they daily claim that one is in no way kept from many freedoms however this is in fact is a truth that because of this force and its possessions there are many freedoms that I am not able to undertake. Moreover because they are a religion and only desire to control and permeate their doctrine they claim that one somehow does not deserve freedoms they demonstrate that through their mocking etc. Claiming that one does not deserve those freedoms perhaps indicating that there is more important things in life. However that would be false since they under no circumstance can determine one’s life. Let me recall to your
Power and truth play different but equal roles in maintaining control in a nation. Modern societies create regimes of truth that are enforced by power structures such as government, discipline and laws. When it comes to power, the government, queen or dictator is in charge. They tell their citizens what the main expectations are and how to abide by them. Nevertheless, the government should uphold fairness and not abuse its power unless it is necessary. Power is something that is earned; it is not something that is granted by default. The proper qualities, such as integrity, assertiveness and truth, in government or person can benefit its leadership skill set. Sometimes truth can be manipulated by the government to influence its people so
can be seen that in the real world the system is composed of of various types of