Organisational Behaviour Essay

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Lauren Canning

“Drawing on appropriate theory and examples, identify the sources of power that enable managers to exercise authority or influence over others within an organisation. What skills and attributes does a manager need to have, in order to use such power effectively?”

Name: Lauren Canning

Student no: 15010789

Date: 17/04/07

Tutor: Rory Ridley Duff

Word Count: 3196

It is fair to say that power is a complex concept and for this reason there are many ways in which to define it. “At a broad level, power can be interpreted in terms of control or the influence over the behaviour of other people with or without their consent” (Mullins, 2005, p843). However a more specific and detailed definition is by Morgan (1986, p 158), who describes power as “the medium through which conflicts of interests are ultimately resolved. Power influences who gets what, when and how.” If power is understood and used correctly within a workplace it can be very advantageous as it affects both the employees and the productivity of the business. If the incorrect type of power is used or is misunderstood it can result in low productivity, high labour turnover and many other negative outcomes. For this reason power and the knowledge of how it works are important to all organisations, especially those who are trying to improve performance.

Many theorists have written about their various opinions of power. Farrell (1988) suggested that there are five components to power. The first of these components was external rewards such as income, followed by internal rewards such as positive self-image. He suggested that further components were interpersonal contact such as attention, physical health and sexual fulfilment. Another theorist who has written on power is Steven Lukes (1974), who suggested that there are three aspects of power, one dimensional, two-dimensional and finally three-dimensional. The first of these focuses on the “behaviour in the making of decisions, over issues in which there are an observable conflict of interests”. In this case it focuses on decision-making, behaviour and observable conflict. The two dimensional view is that of decision-making and the setting of agendas. It measures the extent of informal influences and the techniques used by this type of power structure are often persuasion, manipulation, authority and direct force. Finally, the three-dimensional power structure includes aspects of the first two but includes values, norms and ideologies, for example religion.

Whilst Lukes theory focuses on the theory of power in collective groups, there are others that focus on the individuals. One of the earliest and most useful interpretations of sources of power is based on the theory by French and Raven (1968). They suggest that there are five main sources of power in organisations, reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power and expert power.

The first of these sources of power, reward power, is based on an employee’s perception that “the leader has the ability and recourses to obtain rewards for those who comply with directives.” (Mullins, 2005, p306). This means that an employee complies with manager’s wishes in order to receive rewards, which can be in many forms as long as employees find them desirable, such as promotion, recognition and increased responsibility. An example of this is an employee working hard to achieve performance goals set by a leader in hope of getting a positive performance review and a large pay rise. This is the case in Mc Donald’s, where employees are frequently given performance reviews in which they are rewarded with stars to reflect their performance. These stars are then added to their name badge and a pay rise is given based on the number of stars an employee has. In order to use the form of power effectively a manager needs to be able to offer desirable, fair and ethical rewards and must also explain why an employee is being given this reward so as they know what to do again. It is also vital for this source of power to work that rewards are given as promised so this sort of manager needs to be true to his word. If not employees will have no faith in the system and will not be motivated to work for rewards. This type of power can however, have negative effects. Occasionally employees can become too heavily focused on rewards they do not want to do any activities that do not contribute towards these rewards and occasionally past rewards become insufficient to continue motivating an employee.

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The second source of power that French and Raven refer to is coercive power and can be looked upon as the opposite of reward power. It is “based on the fear and the subordinates perception that the leader has the ability to punish or bring about undesirable outcomes for those who do not comply with directives” (Mullins, 2005, p 306). However, this source of power should be used carefully as it can result in an unhappy workforce. An example of this is of a manager implementing a policy for absenteeism that punishes any employees that are not present for work, without good reason. Further examples are prevention of pay rises and in extreme cases dismissal. In order to be effective at using this source of power a manager needs to make employees aware of what the penalties and rules are as they will not fear them if they do not know about them. They also have to ensure that the system of implementing punishments is fair. To do this they must give ample warning to employees and also listen to an explanation and understand a situation before giving a punishment. A manager who uses coercive power needs to be a calm and helpful type of person who is willing to encourage employees to improve rather than a hostile person who has the desire to punish.

The third source of power is legitimate power and this idea is based on “the perception that the leader has the right to exercise influence because of the leaders role or position in the organisation” (Mullins, 2005, p 306). An example of this would be in Burger King, if a supervisor tells an employee there to sweep the floor, he does it because he has to obey the authority of his boss. Legitimate power is often referred to as position power as it is very much focused on a person’s position in the hierarchical structure of the organisation rather than on personal relationships. In order to effectively use this source of power it is vital a manager makes polite clear request to his subordinates, and must also explain the reason for this request.

The next source of power that French and Raven discuss is Referent power. This power is based “on the subordinates identification with the leader” (Mullins, 2005, p 306). It is the power of charisma and suggests that even though a supervisor may not be able to give reward or punishment, they still have power because they are perceived to have attractive personal characteristics. An example of this is that young ambitious managers often copy and want to be like wealthy, successful executives. This could be the case in a company such as Amstrad where top executives may aspire to be like Alan Sugar due to his phenomenal success and wealth. In order to use this type of power successfully a manager must show acceptance and positive regard and must also use personal appeal when necessary. However a manager must ensure that they don’t manipulate or exploit their subordinate and not ask for excessive personal favours. Managers with referent power can also use it for coercion; most people fear social exclusion and this can easily occur if an influential leader of a group decides upon it.

The final source of power in French and Ravens theory is Expert power. This power is “based on the perception of the leader as someone who is competent and has some specialist knowledge or expertise in a given area” (Mullins, 2005, p 306). This is a very common source of power, especially in an organisation when specialization is key. This sort of power is adopted by trade unions when they encourage member employees to go on strike in order to obtain better pay. A further example of this is an apprentice builder who would perceive his leader who had over twenty years experience in the trade to have specialist knowledge or expertise in his field. There can however be a negative side to expert power, this is because expertises do not last forever, things continue to change and new facts are being discovered. Despite this, some managers think that they know everything there is to know about there job and so become less effective as they may have previously been. In addition to this, some people can think that there expertise are wider than they actually are, for example a manager in a car showroom may know a lot about the cars he sells and how to sell them but at the same time may falsely claim to know about the construction of an engine, a far more complex and specialised area, simply because his job involves cars.

In addition to the five sources of power identified by French and Raven, Finlay (2000, p 103) suggests that two more can be added. The first of these being Personal power, this is the power that a manager has when he is supported and trusted by subordinates who are then willing to carry out his wishes. The second extra source of power according to Finlay is Connection power. This is the power that a manager obtains by having access, both personal and professional to people and information of key importance. An example of this is if a marketing manager at Toys R Us has inside information on Woolworth’s Christmas advertising campaign he can use this to his advantage and as a result the knowledge will make him more powerful.

When deciding what source of power to take, a manager must think carefully as it could have serious effects on many aspects of the business and ultimately productivity. Each of the leadership powers are important and can be used individually or combined to get the best outcome. However they must get it correct, the use of one of the sources of power could lead to a decrease in the affectability of another. For example coercive power may work negatively against the referent power of a manager, as subordinates will perceive their manager to have qualities that are not amiable. A manager may also use different types of power at different times. It could be assumed that the most effective managers would be those who use high legitimate power and control rewards and punishments. However, the more personal sources, such as expert and referent power, should not be forgotten, as they are the leadership styles that encourage motivation of employees, which is a very important factor to an organisation.

All managers possess some form of power, simply due to their status, however what they do with their power and how they maintain it will make the difference between success and failure. In order to use these several sources of power effectively a manager needs certain skills and attributes. The first of these is that a manager needs to have formal authority. This is a fact that Lukes (1974) mentions in his theory on two-dimensional power structure. It is vital that subordinates acknowledge and understand who their manager is and are aware that he must be obeyed in order for them to keep their jobs. A manager that lacks formal authority will find it hard to get the cooperation of his team as they do not respect him, symbols of authority may be used to help to do this. The second thing that is important for the effectiveness of a manager is scarcity. It is important that a manager makes subordinates aware that he is the only person who is in charge of them and therefore making him the only wielder of power, enabling him to chose how it is used. An example where this isn’t the case is in Tesco where there are often various floor managers. In this case managers can often tell subordinates two different conflicting things to do and so the power of each of them decreases.

A further skill that a manager requires is the ability to deal with uncertainties. Businesses and their environments, particularly external, are ever changing and for this reason predictions cannot always be made. It is vital that a manager has the ability to be flexible and deal with this calmly and effectively and not worry subordinates. If a manager were seen to be losing control of a situation his subordinates may also follow him and at the same time lose respect for their manager and his decisions, this would ultimately result in a loss of power.

A further skill that is required is to effectively set agendas and targets. Employees will be aware that their manager is the powerful one and what he says needs to be obeyed. However, it is important that managers clearly set out and state what it is that they require to be done and an effective way of doing this is with targets. An example of this is in car sales, the salesmen have a target number of cars that they need to sell each month and if they reach or improve on this they receive praise and sometimes bonuses. Targets provide a measurable way of showing subordinates what needs to be done and in addition to this can be a motivational factor if they are met. Failure to explain to employees what is required can result in demotivation, decreased productivity and a loss of power and respect for managers.

In addition to this if managers are to remain powerful they need to be able to successfully delegate. Delegation is “ the process of entrusting authority and responsibility to others throughout the various levels of the organisation” (Mullins, 2005, p 850). It is very important that managers can do this as if not it results in them being over worked and their standards slipping. Letting go of the activities that probably made them so successful is often hard and is a skill that a manager needs to acquire. Also by delegating and giving responsibility to subordinates it empowers them as it is giving them the opportunity to be successful and recognised in their own right. For this reason it is vital that a manager has the skills to do this if he wants to stay powerful because as Crainer (1995, p 8) suggests, “in the age of empowerment, the ability to delegate effectively is critically important.”

Another skill that managers must use in order to remain powerful is to make sure that they keep updating their knowledge and making themselves aware of what is happening in their field of business, as Toffler (1990) pointed out, “knowledge is the ultimate form of power”. They can do this by developing exclusive sources of information and keeping informed about technical matters. This is especially important in businesses that are in a specialized market. Computer manufactures such as Dell or Packard Bell need to keep updating their knowledge continuously and monitor what technological advances other companies are making.

Whilst the above skills and attributes are very important in maintaining power, there are other skills that are based more on the relationship between a manager and his subordinates that are important to maintain power and respect. This is supported by Bennis (2001), who suggests, “ that leaders of the future will have to cast off the heavy burden of command and control, hierarchically based leadership.” The first example of this sort of skill is that a manager must have in order to use power effectively is good communications at all levels. In an organisation communication is vital, it is what keeps everyone in the business connected and a lack of it can result in a decrease in productivity and efficiency. For this reason a manager needs to be able to communicate with people at all levels of the business. For example, a store manager of Asda needs to be able to communicate with employees on the shop floor and the managers at head office. Whist these two groups of people may have completely different jobs they are equally as important, after all with out employees on the shop floor, there would be nobody to serve the customers and so communication throughout is essential. Furthermore, it is important that employees receive frequent and honest communication about their performance in order for them to develop and become more productive to the organisation.

Also a manager needs the skill to understand and practise the power of appreciation. It is often underestimated how important both to employees and the business itself, acknowledgment and appreciation really are. If someone is acknowledged by their managers for the good work that they have done, then thy will be empowered and more likely to do it again and will be happier to carry out the jobs set by their manager. In addition to this Gratton (2000), suggests that it is important to listen to employee’s ideas, allowing them to believe that they can make a difference. Similarly to this a manager must be able to reinforce and make his subordinates aware of what is important to him and the business. Often it is easy for everyone involved in a busy organisation to lose sight of what the company is about. By reminding them it will give value and meaning to the work that employees spend a lot of time doing and will bring the team together and increase energy and motivation towards their jobs.

Finally a manager must also have the ability to develop a good reputation and relationship with his subordinates, this will be especially important to a manager that uses referent power. Both managers and subordinates are part of a team and so it is important that they get on. This will be easier for a manager who is friendly, caring, supportive and trustworthy. In order to maintain power, it is also important that a manager is sensitive to his subordinates. If an employee is not afraid of a manager and feels that they can go to him if they have a problem there will be a better relationship between the two. A manager that has these attributes will be more likely to have committed and loyal subordinates who show respect, which in the long term will prove beneficial for the company in many ways, such as decreasing labour turnover.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that having power is a very important aspect of a manager’s job and the way in which they use it could contribute to the success or failure of an organisation. When used in a positive way it can empower employees and as a result increase efficiency and productivity. However, if miss used it can lead to demotivation and high labour turnover. I have mentioned various theorists who have written about power but I feel that French and Raven is the most successful in dividing power into five sources. It does however rely on the subordinates having one of the five perceptions or beliefs about their manager. In relation to this there are many attributes and skills that a manager needs to effectively maintain power and the more of these that one has the more successful they will be in the long term.

References

Mullins, L.J, 2005, Management and Organisational Behaviour, Financial Times Prentice Hall, P 306-845

Morgan, G.1986, Images of Organisation, Sage Publications, p.158

Farrell, W.1988, Why men are the way they are: the definitive guide to love sex and intimacy, Bantam books

Lukes, S. 1974. Power: a radical view, Macmillan

French, J.R.P and Raven, B. ‘The bases of Social Power’, in Cartwright, D. and Zander, A.F. (eds) Group Dynamics: Research and Theory, Third edition, Harper and Row (1968)

Finlay, P, 2000, Strategic Management: an introduction to business and corporate strategy. Financial Times Prentice Hall, p 103

Crainer, S, March 1995, Have the corporate superheroes had their day?, Professional Manager, p 8

Alvin Toffler, 1990. Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century. Bantam Books

Bennis, W. 2001, The new leadership, in Crainer, S and Dearlove, D. (eds) Financial times handbook of management, Second edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall, p 546-550