Power Dynamics

Power Dynamics

Power is the ability to accomplish a set goal. There are multiple types of power in which people hold. Power can also be viewed differently between women and men. In the nursing field with predominant female, men in this field are still held as a higher figure by women nurses.

Situation Involving the Use of Multiple Types of Power

Nurses working in hospital settings are considered essential personnel. They are expected to report to work even during inclement weather. Sometimes the weather can be that bad that they are not able to make it to work. Few years ago, leaders at my organization took the unusual approach to discipline nurses who could not make it to work after one of the worse snow storms in my area. The administration used the reward power to grant bonus and extra pay to those of the nurses who were able to make it to work. As asserted by Marquis & Huston (2012), the positive face of power occurs when someone exerts influence on behalf of people rather than over people. Nurses who worked the shift following the storm were also given accommodations to spend the night at the hospital and were paid fifty percent of their base salary while sleeping. For the same situation, leaders used coercive power to discipline nurses who were not able to report to work. The hospital made some arrangement to send adaptive vehicles to pick up nurses but this was not feasible in some areas.

Influence of Gender on the Dynamics of the Situation

Most of the leaders within the organization are males. Most of the employees involved with the punitive effect were females given the fact that the nursing workforce is predominantly female. Nightingale firmly believed that nursing was a natural extension of virtuous womanhood ( McMurry, 2011). Some women view power as dominance versus submission. As managers take power, when they are less coercive and rule bound their peers and subordinates are more cooperative (Marquis & Huston, 2012).

Strategies to Develop more Effective Power Base

One of the most critical leadership roles in the use of power and authority is the empowerment of subordinates. It is