Power, Politics, And Decision Making

When looking into the ideas of political theorists it is important to the use of political concepts that may play an important role in what the theorists are suggesting and also how they may affect the relationship between to state and the individuals living within a state. The concepts that will be looked at within this essay are: power, authority and also accountability.

Power is a theme found in the world and in this story “The Crucible”. Just one example of the theme power in “The Crucible” is Abigail. Abigail is Parris’ niece and is having an affair with John Proctor. In order to get rid of his wife accuses her of Witchcraft. She uses the power of persuasion and has the other girls pretend to see spirits to convince the Judge that Mrs. Proctor is a Witch.

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

First, before I forget, I have to state how power can be powerful. Power could be used for many acronyms. Power could stand for leadership, power could stand for a higher standard over another person, whether they like it or not. Certain people have power, whether they like it or not, whether they want it or not. In a group of people there has to be a leader, and a

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

Physicists claim power is the capacity to do work; they are not entirely wrong. What power has evolved to in modern society is the ability to not do work. Through politics, religion, or economic prowess, those in power wield control over others to perform tasks. Power is a double edged sword, providing the the ability to do something or act in a particular way. The devolution of the traits which place an individual in control can be derived infinitely along the line of abusive Axis tyranny to the saintliness of Dr. King.

When looking at French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power in this situation, you can understand where the power comes from in this workplace (French, Raven, 1960). I see only four of the five forms being actively used in the RetailMax scenario. The CEO, who helped put the company back into a positive growth, has legitimate power since he believes that he has the right to make demands and get compliance from others in the organization. This can be seen as he authorizes another department to make an offer to Cam. Vince Mangini, Vice President of Professional Services (PS), has reward power and is able to compensate Cam for joining his department with a higher salary and a larger bonus. Cam Archer has the expert power and he wields is well. He has become a more-rounded team player and is continuing to gain credibility and experience in the company. And Regan Kessel has the referent power since he has gained the respect of other workers. With over twenty years of experience in the industry, he is a trusted leader. This has been shown by the relocation of the marketing team under his purview.

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.

Power has been addressed in academic literature in several ways but most commonly describing “power as the ability to control valued resources and administer rewards and

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,

Power is defined as the capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes (p.198). Being a collaborative organization, Stryker’s power resides in four key teams: accounting, human resources management, information technologies management, and a cross functional team known as the steering committee. Power resides within these teams because they control the things that the organization needs to function. The relationships that these teams have with the organization are based upon dependence, these departments can influence the distribution of resources in the organization. These teams exercise their power to help the organization generate a profit, respond to changes, to limit the number of errors,

Power is the ability to control others or one’s entity. Accordingly it can be defined as a kind of strength or as an authority. There are various theorisations about the meaning of this term in sociology thus it would be hard to give a comprehensive

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,

Power is defined as a political action coerced to exercise or to pursuit. It influences and controls the content of political power. The theory of power is argued by Niccolo Machiavelli, Hannah Arendt, and Karl Emil (Max) Weber. Machiavelli’s position stood that power is held by individuals. As for Arendt, she believed power was maintained within groups, while Weber believed power lied in institutions.

Have you ever wondered what role politics and power play in organizations? When used effectively they can be compatible in reaching the organizations goals. Power is defined as the ability to get someone to do something you want done or the ability to make things happen in the way you want them. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, Chap. 15). Power is important within organizations because it is the way in which management influences individuals to make things happen. When power and influence combine, most of the time 'politics' become involved in some manner which may pose some problems. Organizational politics is best described as management influenced by self-interest through the use