Non-Substitutable are when resources cannot be obtained anywhere other than from you.
Bass (1960) and Etzioni (1961) talk of the dichotomy between positional and personal power. Power comes about in part from the opportunities inherent in a person’s position in the organisation and in part from the attributes of the manager and manager-subordinate relationship. Research by Yukl and Flabe (1992) demonstrated that these two types of power are quite independent and each includes some distinct but partially overlapping components.
There are two dimensions in which a Managers power can be based in relation to their subordinates, peers and superiors. Personal power is what a manager holds by virtue of resources they have, like knowledge.
Positional power is derived from having access to or control over resources, which result from your position and role in the organisation. Examples of this can be having access to security to get people thrown out of the company, or having access to a database which holds vital information which is knowledge.
There are typologies of power resources, French and Raven (1959) identified the different bases of social power. Firstly reward power, where the individual complies to get benefits. Secondly, coercive power where a person complies to avoid any form of punishments. Thirdly, legitimate power where the individual feels obliged to agree because they accept power over them. Fourth is described as expert power, where the individual complies because they believe the other to have special knowledge or skills. Lastly, referent power where the person conforms because they admire and identify to superiors.
Raven (1965) later added to include informational power where the individual conforms in order to receive desired information. The problem with this typology regarding management power is that it is quite unclear and vague. It focuses only on reasons for compliance by individuals and it gives no indication of where power resources reside, in person or position.
Professor Hales (2001) has described four resources which bestow power, Physical, Economic, Knowledge and Normative: -
Physical is the capacity to do someone physical harm or restrict their movement. This can be due to personal or positional power a manager holds. This is the type of power people evidently do not like, as it is a physical bullying force. It still exists and there is evidence of this in the workplace. A prime example is forced slave labour in Burma, which has been going on for years. Entrepreneurs use their physical strength to get their own way.
Economic power is the money or material resources, which can be individual wealth. Managers have access to budgets and organisational money.
Knowledge is possessing the information know how and expertise. You therefore have power over people by virtue of that knowledge. This is further broken down into two sub types: administrative and technical. Administrative is how the organisation works. Technical is how things are done, knowledge of techniques.
Normative is the power of emotions, ideas, beliefs and values. If used effectively it is the most potent form of power. It is made up of affective and moral power. Affective draws on scarce resources which are attracted to appealing to other people however this can be used negatively. The manager would be looked up to because of who they are as they run the department.
Moral power is that which is bestowed on someone because of his or her command of scarce meanings. They promote a set of beliefs and values which others find attractive because it makes the world more understandable, therefore they have the power over people as they see you as a source of inspiration.
Influence is power in action, the actual use of power. It can get complex and difficult to see power in operation. You have to look for subtle ways in which influence is applied. It is not visible but exists. Influence can be positive or negative, the former providing resources offering bonuses and giving information or inspiring. The latter is withholding resources, concealing information and failing to inspire.
The use of power may also be actual when a resource is used or drawn upon. It can also take the form of provisional which could be threatening someone with force or disapproval or promising a reward, information, guidance or help. Overt use of power is explicit when you get threatened or the implication is there. Covert power is implied and invisible however you must not be misled, it is there and it is working.
This implies power and its use are not always obvious. Foucault (1977) has distinguished between sovereign power and disciplinary power. The first being power you can see it is occasional, dramatic and arbitrary. The second and most common form of power in an organisation is continuous, rational, invisible and cannot be argued with. It is the way people exercise power over themselves, nobody tells them. They feel a sense of obligation; they may feel obliged to dress or talk in a particular way or to stay longer.
Each type of power resource has an influence; physical power is coercion, actual force or an implied threat. Economic power is remuneration to give bonuses, rewards or to withhold them. Knowledge power uses influence as persuasion, giving information and trying explicitly to persuade them. Normative power uses the command of emotional resources, moral persuasion through inspiration and appealing to people’s values.
An example of exercising power in a negative way is that in an organisation is if a boss asks a rather timid worker to stay late, this is difficult for the worker as he/she has to such pick their child up from a childminder. However the boss uses the power given to him/her due to status and the employee reluctantly stays and ends up resenting the boss.
For the effective use of influence it must be consistent with available power resources, i.e. the power resource must be present and must be used appropriately (Hales, 2001). Power and influence have to be relative. The success of using power to influence others behaviour depends on how much power others have and how they respond to the attempts to influence their behaviour at work.
A manager has to recognise the three levels of response to power and influence. These are perception, evaluation and behaviour. People need to recognise they are being influenced, power and influence is effective when they see it as an undefined but inevitable force. People also evaluate the legitimacy of the power and influence a manager is trying to have over them and deem it to be acceptable or not. If it is acceptable people recognise the authority and comply. If it is not accepted, then it is labelled as crude power. Thirdly, the behaviour and commitment of a person to respond through reluctant obedience, compliance to gain a reward, being persuaded or a willing compliance.
The Behavioural response is emphasised further as coercion brings alienative compliance, people do not want to but have to do something as they fear the consequences, they are not happy. Calculation/instrumental compliance makes people decide whether or not it is worth their while. Calculation/cognitive commitment is through persuasion. Lastly, moral commitment response is one of willingness to conform and appeals to people’s beliefs
Managers need to identify and use power to influence behaviour and need to consider what power they have, i.e. knowledge, economical, physical or normative. Is it personal or positional, do they have the knowledge or have access to it and what is the most appropriate form of influence over people. How it will be perceived and what is the likely response from people are crucial factors.
Acquiring power requires considering a few things. Firstly access to scarce resources, secondly enhancing positional power by controlling strategic contingencies (Hickson 1980). This is the capacity to deal with others problems or uncertainties which come from knowledge and resources the manager may have. People could be very reliant on the IT department, which is seen to be powerful due to their expertise.
Kotter (1985) states Personal power can be enhanced by creating informal dependencies through building a reputation as an instant expert and source of power. Also by influencing others wants and convincing people that you can solve their problems. Another way is by fostering identification, by getting along with people well and getting them to like you. Lastly through favours, you can create a dependency on you because you have done something for them.
Managerial authority exists where the manager’s power or influence are perceived as legitimate and where the manager manages by consent. This is very important because it produces an enduring response, creates trust, encourages flexibility and evokes commitment, which is a prerequisite of work. It is bad to coerce people. It is far more effective to manage by approval. This will result in people being committed to you and will do what you ask for even when you are not there. People will trust you. Problems and complexities and obstacles will be solved. The overall quality of work improves.
Managerial power resources typically are positional economic power, personal knowledge power and positional knowledge power. The first can be having access to budgets and resources. The second can be technical knowledge, skills and experience and thirdly having access to information and expertise.
Management power however is problematic as it is often difficult to establish a manager’s authority. Whether it is economic or knowledge, calculative responses from people to offers of reward or attempts to persuade causes problems.
Resources are finite, they do not last forever. If you can generate emotional commitment that lasts longer. Fox describes the view that some see managers as non-legitimate. Countervailing power may be held by subordinates and they have the power to stop what they do.
To Conclude Managers have to build their authority and legitimacy. They can use their charisma and charms if possible or try to shape others perceptions and get people to believe it’s acceptable. Changing the way the organisation is run by giving people resources both knowledge and economic so they can do their job, empowering other people and give them resources so that they can do their job well will result in accomplishing something at work.
Power, influence and responses are multi dimensional. Effective use of power and influence requires awareness of power resources, influence and probable responses. Managers can accomplish something at work far better by sharing economic power, knowledge power and normative power and create trust amongst people and themselves which results in effective co operation and achievement of goals.
Power is not the capacity to get people to do things; it is the capacity to empower others with what they believed they could never do. This results in an effective and happy workplace. Managers authority cannot be taken for granted but needs to be built by reducing the reliance on individual power over others and giving greater emphasis to collective power to achieve something.
Instead of power over employees which has been used by managers in the past, it is far more effective to share with them economic power, knowledge power and normative power to meet the goals and create a system of institutionalised trust. It is unfortunately seen by many as a paradox that managers may strengthen their authority by sharing.
Bibliography
- Lukes, Steven: Power, A Radical View, Macmillan Press Ltd, 1974, Hampshire.
- Professor Colin Hales, University of Westminster, 18/02/03 Power and Politics Lecture.
- Jermier, J, Knights, D & Nord, W: Resistance and Power in Organisations, Routledge, London 1994.
- Yukl, Ary: Leadership in Organisations, Prentice Hall Inc, 1994.
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Hales, Colin: Managing through Organization, 2nd edition, Thomas Learning Business Press, 2001.
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Rosenfeld, Robert H & Wilson, David C: Managing Organizations 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1999.
- Power Lecture Handout (Organisational Behaviour) - University of Westminster-16/11/2000.
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Kramer, Roderick Moreland: Power and influence in organizations, Sage Publications, 1998.
- Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Managing with power, Harvard Business School Press, 1992.