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The literature on
power is full of terms we are all familiar with but which are difficult to
define, including power itself. Power
can be defined simply and informally as the potential to get someone to do
something, usually that they don't want to do, and influence can be
defined as the ability to do so.
Remember when discussing issues of differences in power, that power
problems do not occur only at the very top of the hierarchy. A woman
on the assembly line may be abused by the foreperson immediately
above her in the chain.
Types of power can be described in terms of how widely the power is
exercised.
|
Type of Power |
Examples |
| Personal |
feeling in control of yourself and your
environment; feeling good about yourself |
| Interpersonal |
one-on-one; getting someone to do something |
| Organizational |
how you interact with your environment; getting
things done |
from Vinnicombe, Susan and Nina L. Colwill (1995) The
Essence of Women in Management. London: Prentice Hall International.
 |
Exercise
Types of Power
- 1 |
Give us
some examples from your workplace or school
of these three different kinds of power as related to
management.
Post your answer in the
Moodle
Discussion Group. |
|
Types of power also can be described in terms of how it is obtained.
|
Type of Power |
Obtained
By |
Examples From
Marketing |
| Legitimate |
Contract |
Mr. Submarine can require its
franchisees to use only one kind of bread dough because they
signed a contract agreeing to do this when they bought the
franchise |
| Coercive |
Force |
WalMart has strict requirements
for suppliers and can enforce them because of the huge size of
a WalMart order |
| Reward |
Giving something to encourage doing it |
A manufacturer in Vancouver gives its distributors a
discount of 5% on all orders they place before the manufacturer starts
their inventory count |
| Expert |
Having more experience |
A new distributor in New Brunswick
agrees to process orders in the same way as the two other
dealers do who have been working there successfully for 40 years |
| Referent |
Appealing to a common goal |
The V.P. in General Motors head
office convinces a dealer in Calgary to improve her service
because it will not only give GM a better reputation but improve
the dealer's profit |
| Information |
Knowing certain things |
The soft drink distributor looking
for a sale gets to the small-town grocery store early because he
knows that the manager is an early riser and is often in the
store by 7 a.m. and at his friendliest |
|
|
Exercise
Types of Power
- 2 |
Give us
some examples from your workplace or school
of these six different kinds of power as related to
management.
Post your answer in the
Moodle
Discussion Group. |
|
Remember too, as a recent student pointed out, these types of power can
all be used in combination.
Power issues are rampant in all organizations. Sometimes they are
obvious, as when a boss tells an employee to finish typing a proposal by
noon or she's fired (Legitimate Power). Or a supervisor might tell the
clerk that if she types the proposal by noon she can have two hours for
lunch (Reward Power), or might prevail upon the clerk's goodwill to
convince her that if she gets the proposal done by noon, the whole
department will look good in the eyes of the big boss (Referent Power).
Often, power issues are subtle, as in the ways we introduce ourselves.
|
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Exercise
Subtle Power |
A man greets a woman from his department with these words,
"Hello Janet, I'm Mr. Smith; we're going to be working together on
this project." What kind of
power is Mr. Smith using and what is wrong with his
approach? What can a manager do who encounters this kind
of language in his/her work area?
Post your answer in
the
Moodle
Discussion Group. |
|
As to who opens the door for whom,
it's either who gets there first or who is carrying less. There
is a story of Napoleon Bonaparte who, when walking with a
society matron on the street, encountered servants carrying
heavy bundles. The society matron angrily ordered the servants
to make way for Napoleon, but he stepped aside to let them pass,
saying, "Respect the burden, Madame."
|
 |
| For more on types of power see
Transactional vs Transformational in the section on
Leadership. These two topics are unavoidably intertwined. |
|
Sheryl Sandberg's Book Lean
In
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Exercise
Sandberg Power |
How does
Sheryl Sandbert's book Lean In help you further
understand the topic of this unit?
Post your answer in the
Moodle Discussion
Group. |
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