Seven Types Of Power In Yukl's Sporting Goods Store

Yukl (2012), Sporting Goods Store illustrated seven types of power: reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, expert power, referent power, information power, and ecological power. Bill Thompson exemplifies five of the seven types of power which are legitimate power, reward power, expert power, information power, and ecological power.

Legitimate power refers to when an individual conform to terms because he/she believes the agent has the right to make the request and that target individual has the obligation to comply (Yukl, 2012). Bill exemplifies legitimate power. He was just promoted from store assistant manager to store manager. As a store manager, he is taking on the task to increase profit performance through the sales activities

of his employees. Legitimate power is applicable as Bill has the authority to control work activities for the store through his managerial position. It is in Bill job descriptions to keep his employees satisfied and in return the customers are satisfied; essentially meeting the objectives of the organization. Although Bill shows a great deal of legitimate power, acceptance of his authoritative role also depends on whether his employees perceive him to be a legitimate occupant of his leadership position (Yukl, 2012). The amount of legitimate power works in relatance with one’s scope of authority and Bills employees do not know much about him simply due to the fact that he was just relocated there, previously from a position of a lesser role. Due to this, he might not be viewed as a legitimate occupant of his managerial position by his employees.

Reward power refers to an individual who complies in order to obtain rewards controlled by the agent (Yukl, 2012).

This individual believes the agent controls important resources and rewards desired by the individual (Yukl, 2012). Bill has little input when it comes to rewarding his employees as he is not able to increase their salary per say but he is able to suggest some sort of raise; essentially, his judgment could possibly help raise the salary of his employees. This would be considered an influence in the way of rewarding employees for good performances. Due to this factor, employees strive for personal

accomplishments.

Expert power is seen when an individual complies because he or she believes that the agent has special knowledge about the best way to do something (Yukl, 2012). As an individual recognizing and seeking the expertise of the agent because he or she is of a reliable source, it is of importance for the agent to possess this expertise. Bill possesses expert power which comes with his title as a store manager. Bill had previous managerial position which serves as knowledge and skills for managing, He possesses specialized knowledge, reliable source of information and technical skill as his employees would depend of these skills in times of need.

Information power is when another information source of power is controlled over information (Yukl, 2012), essentially where an individual possesses needed or wanted information. This is illustrated in Bill’s managerial role. He is titled the store manager, indicating he is well knowledge on the store information as well as having access to important and confidential information.

Ecological power is the control over the physical environment, technology, and organization which people work (Yukl, 2012).

As the store manager, Bill is responsible for controlling the environment amongst his employees, increasing the level of motivation, and influencing attitudes and behaviors in the workplace.

As noticed in this case, Sally spends too much time socializing (poor customer service) as opposed to keeping customers content. An influence tactic Bill could use is this situation would be proactive influence. “These tactics have an immediate task objective, such as getting the target person to carry out a task, change the procedures used for a current task, provide assistance on a project, or support a proposed change.” (Yukl, 2012). This could be seen in Sally’s situation because Bill was promoted to increase the profit performance of the ski department. Another tactic Bill can implement in this situation is the use of rational presentation. Rational presentation uses explanation, and logical facts and data to show that a request is relevant for attaining task objectives. Doing this, Bill can approach Sally, talking to her about how important customer service is, as it would keep customers satisfied rather than frustrated. Also, Bill can use the consultation tactics. This is carried out when the target person (Sally) is invited to participate in planning how to carry out a proposed change (Yukl, 2012). Bill should get Sally and team to implement ways to better

plan and improve customer service and sales; that way Sally would be less engaged in socializing.

One of the major problem affect profit performance of the organization is seen in the ski department. For changes to happen, Bill needs to start by tackling the ski department issue, making sure the department is able to reach its maximum potential. If Bill approaches Sally and the department regarding this situation with the right influence tactics, the situation can be fixed. With implementing this tactic to improve store performances, Bill would be getting the employees engaged in change, there would be a better work schedule and relationship with employees, and Bills power will continue to increase if these changes demonstrate effectiveness.