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Attempts to define power have been traditionalistic, contentious and mundane despite the concept’s widespread use. Two salient features were presented for the controversial assumptions in defining power: power as domination and power as empowerment. In seeking to comprehensively reconcile the “contestedness” about power, Steven Lukes (2005) observes that how we conceive of power makes a difference to how we think and act in general especially in social contexts. The views of power can be a personal process where the interviews and the focus group served as helping the participants grapple with the controversy and discomfort surrounding the concept. During the in-depth interviews (see Appendix K), three power-holders who played information-worthy roles in the community issue were asked to provide their own meaning of power. These were the Punong Barangay and two Barangay Kagawads. It was intended to capture their constructs of power by asking them to provide power through their own words and how they associate the definition with their community. The focus group participants were also solicited of their presumptions in contextualizing their community (see Appendix K). The underlying belief is that the silenced people have the right to speak out and be heard. By sharing and constructing perception grounded in their lived experiences, the community members—quoted as stakeholders—were able to articulate their grievances and expose the hindrances to their capacity to be active participants in their own decision-making process. Since the research questions were explicated in Filipino, the term power was reworded as kapangyarihan to “indigenize” the language. I deemed that it is particularly important for language is sim... ... middle of paper ... ...Power-holder 3: Mag-isip ka bago ka gumawa ng desisyon… para maiwasan yung pagsisisi sa bandang huli… Hindi padalos-dalos. [You must think before making a decision… so that, in the end, there will be no regrets. Do not be abrupt.] In this perspective, power is viewed as the legitimate prerogative to make binding decisions. Power-holders are given the right to make decisions within a specific area of responsibility. It must be emphasized though that those decisions must not only rely on power alone because one would have to ensure that it would benefit the greatest number of people and that the best way to reach a decision depends on a number of factors such as structural, cultural, environmental and situational factors (Alfred & Scoble, 1968). It can also be shaped by predominant values and norms (Aiken & Mott, 1970) such as the discrimination against dayos.
establishes some valid points concerning power. He posits that power is something of a self-
Power is held and exerted or ignored by those with the ability to act upon other people or cause an event. The scientific community held power over hospitals, scientists, and scientific progress because it can deem work valid, scientific, ethical, and otherwise. John Hopkins held power over its patients not only because they were under its care, but also because many could not pay for medical care. Individual doctors at Hopkins held power over their specific patients for the same reasons although they held more extensive powers over the specific patient. Henrietta held power over whether or not she received treatment. Zakariyya held power over the boy he murdered because he h...
The definition of power is the ability to influence the behaviors of others or to change the course of events. Power can be gained through hard work or power can be given to you In a book published in 1937, this problem couldn’t be more prevalent. This book is Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. The story tells of two migrant workers, who are incredibly close friends. They goes place to place looking for a job during The Great Depression era. They eventually find a ranch in Soledad, California. Where they will face characters and incidents that will decide the fate of their dream. Powerful people are not as powerful as they seem, but is given power due to societal hierarchy or physical traits.
Power simply can be defined as control over resources. This control allows for individuals to bring about change. The influence of power typically has a negative impact on individuals. It has even been said that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Typically, as an individual gains power they tend to be less inhibited and act more based on their personal desires disregarding what is ethically right. Oftentimes, individuals lose sight of their morals in attempts to gain more power and exploit other people. Indeed, it is true that “with great power comes great responsibility” and whether an individual lets that responsibility corrupt them is a strong measure of their personal character (Ferguson and Peterson,
At this point, with an understanding of what power is, what it means, how it is created and the various means through which it is expressed, one can begin to conceptualise how it is that power functions within a given society. Symbolic, cultural, social and economic capital distribute and perpetuate power within a society, through a cycle of transformation whereby these capital resources can be interchanged and manipulated to the advantage of individuals who have
In no particular order, the first power type is called Expert power. Simply put, Expert power is a power based on the information that a leader knows, due to interacting with others who belong to familiar organizations. This type of power usually comes as the result of learning and growing within a particular role in an organization. Next, there is what is known as Referent power, which is the result of identifying with an individual or group. With Referent power, it is the outcome of the actions exhibited by a leader, that influences others to refer to him or her as an example. After Referent power is Legitimate power. Legitimate power comes from the titles, roles, or positions that people occupy (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015). For example, managers or supervisors will have Legitimate power over their subordinates due to the difference in their titles and authority levels. Following Legitimate power, there is Reward power. Reward power is when a leader or manager offers a source of tangible and intangible resources (Shockley-Zalabak, 2015). An example of Reward power is money, since it can be distributed based on one’s performance and can be a means of
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
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 structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. H. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Power is the ability to obtain, retain, and motivate people and to organize informational and material resources to accomplish a task( Leadership, n.d). Power is central to the leadership process in the development of a manager’s self-confidence and willingness to support staff members ( Schmidt & Wilkinson, 1990). The desire for power is universal. From this vantage point, power should be accepted as a natural part of any individual organization. Power is not evenly distributed among individuals or groups, but every individual has some degree of power.
Power use is around us whether noticed or not. Power in Discourse Analysis is a medium to achieve an end. The end is for stronger of the two sides of the discourse. Power in discourse analysis is the use of language in a discourse allowing the person who acquires knowledge and high status in the discourse takes control of the discourse thus having the higher power. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss nature of power argued in Discourse Analysis, attempts made to define ‘power’ in social research and discuss the different types of power.
Power is everywhere; in organizations, relationships, businesses, government, education, et cetera. Power is defined as a capacity that X has to persuade the behavior of Y so that Y acts according to X's wishes (Robbins & Judge, 2007). Power is essential because without it, organization and leadership effectiveness is eliminated within the confounds of the given relationship. A dependency is Y's relationship to X when X possesses something that Y requires (Robbins & Judge, 2007). In essence, there are five bases of power: Coercive power, Reward power, Legitimate power, Expert power, and Referent power (Robbins & Judge, 2007). The scenario exemplifies each power and how each is used. The scenario also illustrates the dependency relationship of each power for the parties involved.
Power is defined in the course study notes as the “ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition”. Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The county Registrar of Voters, who is my boss, is a perfect example. In running the local elections office, she can exercise the ultimate power. However, in a situation where she attempted to get the county selected for a desirable, statewide pilot project, she was powerless, completely at the mercy of the Secretary of State. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where “the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear” (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on soley hierarchical authority.
McShane and Von Glinow define Power as “the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others” (300). Furthermore, they state that power derives from five main sources and four main contingencies like the following figure illustrates.
Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others. The most important aspect of power is dependence; a person’s power increases if someone is dependent on them, or if they have something the other needs. Some people have power that they don’t use or may not even know they have.