Preview

Five Bases of Power - Let1

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
728 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Five Bases of Power - Let1
The five bases of power are divided into two groups; formal power and personal power, and further subdivided into five specific categories under each group. Categories of formal power are coercive power, reward power, and legitimate power, and they come from the authority of one person over another. Categories of personal power are expert power and referent power, and they come from one’s characteristics rather than one’s authority. “Coercive power base depends on fear of the negative results from failing to comply.” (Judge and Robbins, 2012) It is the most conspicuous form of power from the people’s perspective. Fear of negative results can lead to dissatisfaction and resentment, and it is usually the least effective power. People will acquiesce to coercive power to avoid the stated negative results, but its excessive use can ultimately undermine the leader’s ability to lead. Reward power is said to be the opposite of coercive power, and is, “Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable.” (Judge and Robbins, 2012) These rewards are based on compliance, and the benefits can be either financial or nonfinancial such as promotions, raises, bonuses, preferred work schedules, or time off. Legitimate power is, “the formal authority to control and use organizational resources based on structural position in the organization.” (Judge and Robbins, 2012) This power is greater than the power to reward or coerce, because it relies on the peoples acknowledgement of the authority of a leaders position. It can be unstable on a personal level, if the leader is seen as not having the authority in a certain area, the power is lost. “Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge.” (Judge and Robbins, 2012) This category shifts the balance of power from authority to personal. When you can exhibit expertise in a field, people are more apt to trust and respect what you have to say, and they will


References: Judge, S. P. and Robbins, T. A. (07/2012). Organizational Behavior, 15/e VitalSource for Western Governors University [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781256819752/id/ch12

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    References: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.…

    • 2373 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mt302 Unit 8

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Western Agencies Ltd

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    for the company's business in the interior region of British Columbia. In 1973, he was…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior (10 ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/ Irwin. .). Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/mcgraw-hill/2013/organizational behavior_ebook_10e.php…

    • 1074 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009) Organizational behavior, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780136007173 Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009) Organizational behavior, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780136007173…

    • 2350 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Apollo 13 Video Clip

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cited: Organizational Behavior: 13th Ed., Dan Hellriegel, and John W. Slocum, Jr., South-Western College Publishing, Cinncinnati, OH…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Robbins, S. R. & Judge, T. A. (2013). Organizational behavior (15th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.…

    • 2108 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Retrieved from The…

    • 2388 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robbins & Judge. (2013). Organizational Behavior, Fifteenth Edition, eBook Collection, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; Published by Prentice Hall.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Employee Management Plan

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    References: Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011).Organizational behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The five bases of power are coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, expert power, and referent power. Three of these powers are formal powers and two of these powers are personal powers. The three types of formal power are coercive, reward, and legitimate power. Coercive power is dependent upon fear of negative results. Reward power is dependent upon positive rewards or benefits. Legitimate power is dependent upon a person’s structural position or ranking position in an organization. The two types of personal power are expert power and referent power. Expert power is based upon one’s experience and knowledge of a skill or trade. Referent power is based upon one’s personal traits and likeable resources. Personal bases of power seem to be more effective in the workplace structure because they are “positively related to employees’ satisfaction with supervision, their organizational commitment, and their performance” (Robbins & Judge, 2009). These bases of power affect communication in the Colstrip Electric organization tremendously. There are 10 people in the same office as me, and all of them use different bases of power to accomplish their duties. Some of my coworkers are more successful because their use of the bases of power is more effective.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Team Diversity Paper

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages

    University of Phoenix. (ed.). (2003). Organizational Behavior. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Retrieved November 9, 2003, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/331-Organization Behavior Web site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp.…

    • 1682 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bmal 500 Syllabus

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational behavior (custom ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 9780555012277.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    7 Bases of Power

    • 1583 Words
    • 7 Pages

    POWER. The most important and unyielding condition of management isn't human relations, communication skills or employee empowerment, but power. POWER. Defined as the ability to influence and produce a desired effect on other individuals without having one's own behavior modified in any undesired way by other individuals. On one hand, some people view power as being limited in amount, kind of like a pie, with constant conflict about who gets the largest slice. On the other hand, people view it as open-ended, having no limits, except those imposed by the situation. The latter may be the more reasonable way of viewing power. Unfortunately, power can lead to exhibitionism. A supervisor, for instance, can use power just to show that power exists by perhaps unfairly punishing an employee. This is an abuse of power and can easily be counterproductive in the workplace. Nonetheless frontline supervisors must have power and use it properly in order to maintain organizational policies, procedures and regulations. Without power, there can be no authority and without authority there can be no discipline. Finally without power, we would find it hard augmenting productivity. Clearly, supervisors must recognize that power can get things done. Unique and different kinds of power that should be exercised at various times in the workplace Let's look at seven of them and how they are used:…

    • 1583 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays