Abstract
This research proposal has been designed in the interest of exploring the construct of power motivation and how it ultimately affects employee behavior in the workforce. Motivation for power refers to an individual 's desire to have an impact on and exert influence over others (McClelland, 1970). There are two high level facets of motivation for power including personalized and socialized power motivation. The construct has been largely ignored by researchers in recent decades due to the absence of a quality measurement tool, however a new self-report scale has been developed and validated using item response theory techniques (Deuling et al., n.p.). Organizational commitment has been shown in many studies to be related to a range
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As stated by McClelland, everyone has some desire for power, however that need is much stronger in some than in others, and therefore individuals have different motives for achieving power (McClelland et al., 1953). Over the decades, several studies have been published on the topic of power motivation, resulting in mixed findings where some have found power motivation in leaders to have a positive influence on organizational success and others demonstrating a negative impact. Specifically, past research has shown that power motivation is an important factor in predicting business success (McClelland et al., 1953), organizational effectiveness (McClelland & Boyatzis, 1982; McClelland & Burnham, 1976), political leadership (Winter, 1987), and prosocial decision making (Magee & Langner, 2008). On the other hand, previous studies have also found positive correlations between motivation for power and negative work-related behaviors, including aggressive behavior (Winter, 2000), increased threat in conflicts (Magee & Langner, 2008), and increased risk-taking (McClelland & Watson, 1973). To supplement these negative findings, another study found that need for power predicted further negative work-related
What is power? Very simply, power can be defined as a person’s ability to do something. The connotation of power, however, has developed it to mean the ability that one person has to dictate what someone else does; essentially, for one to have authority or dominance over another. This type of power is a recurring theme in literature and oftentimes it is associated with corruption, and this correlation exists for a good reason. He who seeks power is naturally led to corruption at some point on his path to achieve power, and even though this is seen as a bad thing, it is very common and natural to happen to people because of their inherent animal instinct to be the alpha male. Attempting to achieve power can be summed up as a multistep process
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.
If there is one word in leadership that gets leaders both excited and worried it is the word “power”. Leaders are excited by the word because it means they have to ability to make decisions and get things done. On the other hand, they are scared by this word because it has a negative connotation and there are many examples of leader who used their power for the wrong purposes. To use power correctly, one needs to examine the positives and negatives of power, as well as find a few ways to use power in a healthy, productive manner.
From what I know about motivation I can make a connection between power and influence to job performance and organizational commitment. When used correctly power can positively influence and motivate employees to be more committed to their jobs and tasks they have to perform. On the other hand, the ineffective usage of power can lead to employee's loss of trust in their leader and organization, as well as lower levels of organizational commitment and higher levels of stress in employees
The power in the office is not undefined, the leader is still monitored and controlled the rules of the organization (Grimsley). Loyalty is a big part of this power. If the loyalty is not shown in the company, then the employees may not comply with what the company demands. A president or manager may look for different to supplement their power. Such as charismatic
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
However, in view of this, this paper will present a synthesized meaning of conflict and power, determine how power can constrain or exacerbate conflict and discuss ways for leaders to integrate conflict mediation into organizational culture with examples of scenarios in each analysis.
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
Performing a power analysis on this situation will lead to applying strategies and tactics in relationship to power. This analysis assists in identifying the power and influence of those in the organization. (DuBrin, 2009). This is achieved by answering questions such as hierarchy of authority, what drives people, what are the important roles, identifying factors tied to people, and where does one fall in terms of the hierarchy of
In society power is the most valuable possession a person can have. When people have power they feel like they can do anything and nothing can stop them. Peer pressure to have what other people have sometimes driven people to do crazy things. People often get caught up in becoming powerful for their own selfish needs. In the quest for power people should not abuse their authority or it can cause consequences.
Power is greatly influenced by intelligence, and social status, but not solely dependent on these factors. Power is not the same in every situation, and not used in the same way by all that hold it. With power comes confidence and the ability to influence the opinions of others. Not all power is used for good, and not all is used for bad. A person who holds power is the person who chooses how and what the power shall be used.
Discuss the motivation for power. Which characters in the novel are seeking it, and for what reason?
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.
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 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