According to the "Power and Leadership" essay written by Paula Braynion, "the first thing one encounters when trying to understand power is a difficulty in arriving at a concise definition, as there are many and varied definitions and perspectives seeking to explore and explain the concept." (Braynion, para 1) There are two main kinds of power to look at when figuring out how power and leadership relate. The first kind of power is formal power which is obtain by an individual from having a formal or privileged position in an organization's hierarchy, for example a VP or a CEO would have formal power over his or her employees. The second kind of power is known as informal power or influential power, this power is based on the ability to influence …show more content…
The first three sources of power are positional powers, meaning that in order to obtain those powers you must land a formal, privileged position in an organization. Chapter five explains that “in the case of legitimate power, most managerial or even supervisory titles in organizations provide the ability to influence others. People with formal titles also typically have access to both rewards and punishments. They can give raises and assign perks, and demote or fire. All three of these sources of individual power depend on the organization that grants them, not the person who holds them. Once the access to title, rewards, or punishment is taken away by the organization, a leader or individual relying on such sources loses power.” (Nahavandi, Ch. 5, para 17) Legitimate power is all based on the position held by the individual, reward power is based on a person’s access to rewards, and coercive power is based on a person’s ability to punish. The last two source of power are more person and are based on the person rather than the position held by the person. It is not necessary for an individual to have a formal position in order to be an expert. Additionally, an individual can be respected and looked up to be others without being in a position of power and still be able to influence others in the organization. Referent power
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. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
Power, which is described as ‘the ability that an individual or group has to manipulate or influence the behaviours of others’ or ‘holding authority over others’, and examples of power are seen commonly in everyday life, whether at home between families or politically. Examples of such power are essential throughout the movie ‘The Castle’ directed by Rob Sitch and written by Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, and Tom Gleisner. To what extent is this power portrayed throughout different areas of the film?
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
Power- an ability || physical strength || controlling influence || a person of great influence
All of us would love to have personal power, the power to manifest our dreams, the power to remain calm and loving in the face of fear, and the power to stay centered in ourselves in the face of attack.
Power, in this case, refers to the power of the teacher and the extent to which this person expresses this power. The teacher serves to regulate the activities of children. One of the most important things that he does is to foster the interest and learning of the pupils. In this way the teacher has infinite power over his subjects. He can assign work, manipulate exactly what the student has to know for his class, and alter his teaching styles for different subjects. Traditionally little power is given to the student in the classroom setting. Often times students regurgitate memorized information in order to perform in a well in a given class. Th...
Usually, the belief is that the managers, administrators, presidents or even the supervisors, have the greatest source of power, because they are at the top of the ladder in the hierarchy of the organization. The reality is that they need
The literature generally suggests that effective leaders express their needs and motives in ways that benefit the organization. These needs or motives, are considered to be; tenacity, power, drive and work ethic (DuBrin et al. 2006). The power motive is significant, as it plays a major role in the relations taking place within the organization. Power over others is an inevitable part of leadership, but it also carries with it the risks associated with the misuse or abuse of power (Wikipedia, 2008).
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.
Unfortunately, being inspiring to employees is not enough. These situations occur when employees face challenges in accomplishing goals. In such situations, a leader needs to exercise power and influence to push forth the desired goals. While the course identified five sources of power, I believe only three should be considered for an effective leader. The first is legitimate power (6), which is often considered the first source of power in the organizations I have worked in. The source of power comes...
Influence is defined as "as a force, one person exerts on someone else to induce a change in the target." (Hall, 2007). The level of influence is contingent upon the level of power and power is based on an individual’s role in the corporation. The higher the role, the more power that individual can exert and the more influential that person can become as “the person with the power has the influence” (Tardanico, 2011). There are several sources of power that leaders can exercise including legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, information, and referent ("13.3 The Power to Influence | Organizational Behavior", 2010).
When we work together in a team, or in a broader sense as a society, the leader takes on the most important role. It is the leader that helps prioritize activities and direct people’s thought process in the right direction. They are the ones who have the ability to bring the group together as a whole. Because of this, not anyone can be a leader. Only people with certain qualities and abilities are able to fill this role. So what makes a good leader? There is a defined path and specific characteristics that makes someone a good leader.
When power becomes legitimate, it is then recognized as authority (Denhardt et al, 2001). Power becomes authority when it is accepted and even desired by society. As stated by the course study notes, “authority refers to a situation where a person (or group) has been formally granted a leadership position”. An individual has authority when everyday norms and regulations support the exercising of power by that individual. In an organizational setting, “authority is hierarchal and vested in positions” (Week 9 Study Notes), which are defined by “organizational charts, positions and rules” (Week 9 Study Notes). Generally, power in authority also involves the possibility of rewards such as promotions and good performance reviews.
Power is the capacity or the ability for one to influence the behaviors of others in any given organization. In a business setting, those in control of the organization will always give instructions and directives to those in lower ranks when running of the business. Power is always accompanied with authority, control or even commands. Leadership is the process where by a person influences others to achieve certain objective and goals of a business and then guides the firm in a way that makes it more unified and comprehensible. Leaders directly affect the performance of any firm and good leaders are born and not made. There are leadership styles and leadership theories which are very vital in leadership of the organizations for they affect its success. For the success of business to be achieved there needs to be a group of experts and consultants in leadership for they will effectively and efficiently run the business as expected.