Thomas Greene Paper

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.

Power, a tool, a quality, an influence over others, in other words, a sense of control. In relation to this, those that are given or even earned a great amount of power should use it moderately. In the world we live in today, many “leaders” use their power negatively, resulting in unfairness to others.

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

Power and corruption are concepts that are difficult to fully understand. Several controversies occur within these topics. There are both conventional and unconventional ways of viewing power. In an attempt to make a claim contrary to common belief, David Brin stated, “It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible.” This statement is not accurate because power is the corrupting device responsible for a plethora of downfalls leaders have experienced.

Power can lead to a rise or a fall of a country, empire, or even a company. In most societies, people have a say in who rules them, and how, but the power of the leader is what makes the greatest difference. Power has a negative effect on others because it can be used to harm people or shut down people because of their beliefs. A harmful leader can use their power to affect other’s lives negatively.

Power is something that some people can handle, and some people cannot, too much of it can really hurt people. It can easily change who you are and the people you associate with. The character Macbeth in the novel Macbeth by Shakespeare betrays and hurts a lot of people who thought they were close with him, why? Because of power. Macbeth was a good guy who did not want to hurt anybody until one day he lets it all get to him and it completely changes who he is.

Having power is complex. It can make someone have a voice or sometimes can make people change for the worse. It all depends on how you use your power. Power influences people to make reckless decisions.

Dangers of Power in The Wrong Hands “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”- Abraham Lincoln. Power is a force to be reckoned with and everyone has it over something. Whether it be the power over a person, object, or animal there is the capability of transforming it into something else. A true individuals personality will be revealed given the The right amount of power because they have all the say, no one to have to respond to, and no one to limit their ideas, except the person itself.

I took something away from the different sources of power. Power is the capacity of potential to influence. Power can corrupt good leaders. Power, by its nature, it is powerful and tasteless like carbon monoxide. The more powerful one becomes, the more likely we are to overestimate our own mental virtue. There is position, power and personal power. Power can be more deadly than drugs. Many leaders allow power to go to their heads. They forget what and who was important to them. They allow power to consume them.

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 and politics have always been around but seldom openly discussed. Power is learned at an early age through family and schools. Ordinary people such as scholars hesitate to talk about power. It is often equated with force brutality, unethical behavior, manipulation, connivance, and subjugation.

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,

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

Organizations are faced with office politics on a daily basis. According to a study of U.S. workers, it is estimated that 60 percent of workers believe office politics is necessary to get ahead in the workplace (Conner, 2013). Therefore, understanding the strategies that people use to gain advantage over another is the responsibility of a strong leader. The environment in which politics are allowed can have both a positive and negative effect on an organization. While office politics may be a workplace fact of life, containing or controlling it is possible with the right direction from leadership (MindTools, 2015).