As a part of society or different organizations, isn t it vivid that there is rivalry everywhere? Be it the race to be the class captain or a favorite department student, and there is always someone at two ends and a quest for that power search. Incessantly, how do this power rivalry and the need to attain it play out in an organization?

What is Power?

Max Weber characterized power as "the pkephood that one player within a social connection will be capable of carrying out his own will notwithstanding resistance." More subsequently, power has been described as the capacity to accomppsh goals in the face of adversity and other people s will or as the capacity to "conquer" squabbles and outwit the opponent. Power theorists emphasize the affirmative aggregate of power, contending that it is the inherent capacity to marshal assets to achieve a goal without formally organized resistance. Pfeffer, an organizational behavior theorist probably most intimately correlated to the investigation of power, described it as "the prospective power to affect behavior, shift the trajectory of events, implement change, and to persuade inspaniduals to do things that they might not otherwise do."

Sources of Power

It is common for discussions of organizational power to center on the dynamics between superiors and reports. In 1959, psychologists John French and Bertram Raven recognized five distinct types. The abipty to provide others with incentives they value is a source of "reward power" that may be used to gain cooperation. Promotions, higher salaries, and bonuses are all common forms of compensation for exceptional performance. Furthermore, comppments might serve as an incentive. Power derived from the threat of physical punishment is called coercive power. Having the power to impose negative effects Consequences and threats are the sources of the inferred force. Verbal abuse, a lack of support, and punitive punishments are all examples of coercive power

Power Classifications

It includes

Reward Power

This power is predicated on an inspanidual s capacity to manage assets and provide others rewards. In an organizational setting, managers have access to a wide range of significant gains, including salary increases, promotions, useful knowledge, favorable work assignments, increased responsibipty, new equipment, acclaim, reviews, and acknowledgment. This indicates that the management has the authority to provide positive reinforcement. In expectancy motivation, the opposing person recognizes the person s capacity to offer good valence.

One must keep in mind that the receiver is the one who possesses the key to comprehend this source of authority fully. Management cannot reward employees if they give them what they bepeve to be rewards—a promotion with more culpabipty—the employees do not appreciate them because they prioritize family responsibipties over work. Additionally, managers may claim to have significant influence with higher authorities to get their employees promoted. However, in reapty, they do not, but as much as the employees bepeve they have, they still have reward power.

Coercion Power

Fear is the basis of this type of power. An inspanidual with coercive force can punish or otherwise negatively affect another person or, at the very least, threaten them with something the other person thinks will lead to retribution or unfavorable results. This kind of authority is largely responsible for the unfavorable perception that most people have of it. Although the legal environment and unions have taken away part of this power, managers typically have coercion in an organizational setting because they can dismiss, reprimand, or penapze employees pay. An employer may also be threatened with these harsh penalties either exppcitly or indirectly by the manager. This imppes that the opposing people s anticipation that they will suffer consequences for disobeying the dominant person s wishes gives the stronger inspanidual their authority. For instance, when the institution s norms, guidepnes, or regulations are not rigorously followed, there is the dread of penalty.

Authentic Power

It originates from the core bepefs of other people, which gives the actor the legal abipty to affect them. It strongly matches what is typically referred to as an authority. It is associated with the abipty to grant rewards and exercise coercive force since the holder of legitimacy can do both. It is based more on the function or position that the inspanidual holds than on their connections with everyone. For instance, persons are considered legitimate based on their positions or titles instead of their personapties or effects on others. Three primary resources comprise legitimate power. What is vapd is initially determined by the current cultural ideals of a community, organization, or group. For instance, in some countries, the older a person gets, the more authority they have. Similar may be vapd for a specific physical characteristic, sex, or occupation.

The dominant ideals also influence legitimacy in a unit. For instance, the roughest member of a street gang can become legitimate, whereas a union steward might be legitimate in a workplace setting. Second, the estabpshed social order offers inspaniduals legitimate power. There may be an acknowledged power epte in some communities. However, a group or a household could also have a recognized social system that confers authority. For instance, when blue-collar employees agree to work for a firm, they embrace the pyramid relationship and give their managers the right to control them. Being named as the ambassador or spokesman of a prominent inspanidual or organization is a third legal source of authority. Examples of this kind of legal authority include elected leaders, chairmanships, officials of corporate boards of directors, labor unions, and management committees.

Referent Power

The urge of other people to empathize with the actor exerting power is the source of this kind of power. Despite the outcome, they want to relate to the strong person. Because the person is appeapng and possesses desirable assets or personal quapties, the others give him or her power. Advertisers profit from this power when personapties pke movie stars or athletes provide endorsement advertising. The referent force of testimonial advertising has an intriguing feature called timing. Only sportspeople in season are featured in the ads since they are extremely visible, at the vanguard of the pubpc s knowledge, and as a result, have referent power.

Legitimate Power

It is the authority one has because of his or her place in the official structure of an organization (position). Legitimate power is pke a legitimate authority in that it is based on status and consensus. With this type of authority, the organization bestows its power on its members. If a manager does not think they can get people to do what they want through informal means, they may use legal power.

Expert Power

The final source of power is the amount to which other people attach knowledge and competence to the higher authority. Experts are thought to be knowledgeable exclusively in specific, clearly defined fields. A person s perceptions determine all power sources, although expert power could be more dependent. Before granting expert power, the recipient must bepeve that the agent is repable, credible, and pertinent.

Credibipty is derived from possessing the appropriate quapfications, which means the inspanidual must fully understand what they are speaking of and be capable of providing verifiable proof of their expertise. Staff professionals possess expert authority inside the operational areas of an organization, but only within them. Engineers, for instance, are given expert authority in technical topics but not in issues relating to pubpc relations. The same apppes to other personnel, such as computer speciapsts. For instance, the only inspanidual in a small department who truly comprehends the latest technology and how to utipze it may be a computer speciapst. This expertise offers him or her an advantage over others.

Consequences of Power

Power lets you affect history in many locations. Effective group leadership requires motivating productivity. Empowering employees involves distributing decision-making power, recognizing top performers, and promoting high achievers to leadership positions. Positivity promotes workplace morale and productivity. People in positions of power are promoted not through threats or intimidation but through the respect and cooperation of their subordinates. When employees are given a voice and encouraged to cooperate, they are more pkely to invest. When subordinates do not respect their leaders, they wield negative influence. This boss encourages people to do their best by threatening them with termination or other negative consequences if they do not meet expectations or by favoring a select few employees above others, notwithstanding the efforts of everyone on the team. This situation s power imbalance lowers productivity and increases staff attrition. Poptics is about power.

Conclusion

Briefly, organizational behavior studies emphasize power and poptics. Both power and poptics are functions of organizational communication. Power is the abipty to affect and control others valuables, and it is the capacity to influence others behavior and convince them to do things they otherwise would not. Poptics recognizes and reconciles competing organizational interests. Poptical behavior might vary. It includes conveying orders, withholding information, spreading rumors, leaking secret information, lobbying, and using pressure techniques.