Legitimate & Coercive Power Both legitimate and coercive power are socially dependent and to a certain extent rely upon the target’s ability to be affected by the attempt or influence. Conformity is vital. Both can require lower levels of cooperation from the target than the other types of bases of power. According to French and Raven, the target’s personal attraction to the agent can also affect their power depending upon which type of power is utilized. (French & Raven, 1958) Coercive power uses the force of an agent upon their target in order to ensure obedience or compliance. Compelling the target to comply out of fear of the consequences or non-compliance. In other words, coercive power gambles on the target’s understanding that the agent has the power to act on them in either a positive or negative manner, most likely negative, resulting in a suffering of some kind. Coercive power can either be personal or impersonal with an indifference as to the consequences to the target if it lies outside of their agenda- original use for the coercion. (French & Raven, 1958) Legitimate power is dependent …show more content…
In addition, the importance of surveillance differs as well, as information power’s surveillance should be considered negligible. Social norms dictate the importance and level of legitimate power in both formal and information structures in society. Legitimate power relies on the idea that one adheres to the social norm of providing those in positions of power your good behavior or submissiveness. This is not necessary for informational power. In a hierarchical organization, the importance places on legitimate power is palpable and can rarely go unnoticed. When it comes to those in higher positions of power, depending upon the person and environment, your response to their requested is significant can be either detrimental or influential. (French & Raven,
Raven, Bertram, and John French. Jr. "Legitimate Power, Coercive Power, and Observability in Social Influence ." Sociometry Vol. 21.No. 2 (1958): 83. Web. 2 Aug 2010. .
various forms that power may take, such as money and coercion, which are negated as valid forms
When somebody abuses a great amount of power, that individual can lose all of their power. The struggle against someone who abuses power is perfectly depicted in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. When someone abuses their power, they can impose certain feelings and actions on others. If someone tries to conceal their personality. Finally, if someone abuses power and is constantly challenged by another individual who is trying to take the power abuser’s power away from them, the power abuser will always be frightened of his or her challenger.
Power can be defined as the ability to influence or outright control the behavior of people. A variety of different things can drive power, including both knowledge and experience. Power in most cases is needed to establish authority. In today’s country, the United States government has a lot of power. It has so much power that even American citizens are beginning to complain about it. Having all this power and authority has allowed the government to make decisions quicker. However, by making decisions faster, some mistakes can be made and innocent people can be convicted. This point is directly exemplified when using two New Yorker articles, “Surviving Solitary” and ‘A Shot to The Heart.” Both articles consist of results produced quite
C. Wright Mills in his article “ The Structure of Power in American Society” writes that when considering the types of power that exist in modern society there are three main types which are authority, manipulation and coercion. Coercion can be seen as the “last resort” of enforcing power. On the other hand, authority is power that is derived from voluntary action and manipulation is power that is derived unbeknownst to the people who are under that power.
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.
McShane and von Glinow determine that the first three powers - legitimate, reward, and coercive power - are granted to persons through the organization or co-workers, whereas the two other powers – expert and referent power - depend on the “power holders own characteristics” (301). The first source of power that can be assigned to members of the organization is Legitimate Power, which is defined as an “agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behavior of others” (302). This source of power generally results from different roles in the organization (hierarchy). Like the manager can expect his or her employees to do what he or she requires. Another source of power that can be given to employees is Reward Power, which is defined as “the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sections” (302). Reward power offers incentives and is the opposite of the third source of power, which is Coercive Power. Coercive power is the last source of power that is assigned to people and involves “the ability to apply punishment” (303). The fourth source of power is Expert Power, which does not originate from the position but rather from within the person. Expert power is “the capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that others value” (303). For instance, an employee can develop expert power when gaining important knowledge for the organizations that others would also like to have. The fifth source of power that does not depend on the role or position of an employee, but on the person’s own characteristics is Referent Power, which is defined as “the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with and respect for the power holder” (303).
Reward power is the reverse of coercive power. It is based on the capability to allocate rewards th...
Growing up in a heavily influenced Mexican household, I was raised differently than most of the children in the neighborhood. All my life I saw the prosaic behavior of my father. The kind of Mexican machismo behavior that rose out of a man who spent his life chasing his own impromptu desires. His mindset exemplified the belief that men were supposed to provide for every physical mean, and the lady of the house should not work, but stay at home and perform her motherly duties. I don't blame the senile man, because that was the way he was raised and it became his way of life. My mother allowed this behavior because she was raised under the same principle and was never able to leave that antediluvian mindset. As I got older, I began to realize that in contrast to my father and mother, who are close-minded individuals, I am open-minded. A characteristic forged from my parents mistakes, and one that would help me survive the modern world.
They are not only its inert or consenting target; they are always also the elements of its articulation” (Foucault, “Two Lectures” 34). Power may take various forms, all of which are employed and exercised by individualsand unto individuals in the institutions of society. In all institutions, there is political and judicial power, as certain individuals claim the right to give orders, establish rules, and so forth as well as the right to punish and award. For example, in school, the professor not only teaches, but also dictates, evaluates, as well as punishes and rewards.
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.
The oxford dictionary has attempted to define power as the “ability to influence people or control the behaviour of people”. Power has been related to different forms such as political economic, military and even psychological. Power has widely been considered to be the classic determinant of conflict between interstates. Realists view power as a source of state preference. Animosity is constantly caused around power relations which in turn determine why states go to war and why politicians emphasize the role of power in conditioning distance. There is a non-linear relationship of power between the plural perspectives of realism. Realists consider states to be the principal actors in international relations as they are deeply concerned with the security of their own nation especially for the pursuit of national interest. However with this perspective there has been some scepticism with regards to the relevancy of morality and ethi...
To compete in a global economy, organizations of all types are focusing on improving productivity, quality, and service. In each of these areas it is important to tap the talents of the available human resources in these organizations. Effective leaders must understand and depend on the interrelationship among organizational structure such as power, authority, influence and leadership. In addition how it abides in organizations and how it move others to accomplish the organization goals.
Although they are very closely related, power and authority are two different concepts. Power is needed in order to establish authority, yet it is also completely distinct from authority (Week 9 Study Notes).
Coercive Power- The power that comes from being able to punish and intimidate a follower.