Power and Leadership

Power and Leadership

The topic that I chose for my semester project is Power and Leadership. The main points within the main subject I am focusing on are Power in Organizations, Sources of Power, The Dark Side of Power, and Empowerment. I will define each, apply them to every day business situations and theoretically analyze the context. The topics that I have chosen will give good insight to what Power and leadership really are and how they are used in are everyday businesses organizations to give a general understanding of what it means to be powerful.

The first topic that I have chosen is Power in Organizations. Power is the ability of one person to influence another. They can use this power to become leaders and to manage businesses. Power also brings influence on the behavior and attitudes of other people. This can be applied to customers and/or suppliers. The demand for power is common among the business world. There is a difference in power and authority. Only people who hold formal positions have authority, whereas all people at any level of an organized company have the power to influence other people. Authority is power. It is power on another level. Power is obvious and understood, while authority is vested in a particular position. An example of such a position of authority would be the CEO of a company or a GM. The distinguishing aspect however lies between the position and the need to become more powerful.

Where there is power, there are also consequences that go along with it. It depends on how the power is used and to whom it is inflicted. The consequences range from a number of general effects. There are three specific examples of this. They are commitment, compliance, and resistance. Power is the stronghold for the three fold outcome that is brought on through consequences.

The first consequence is commitment. It can be as simple as following through with the task at hand or lack thereof. It is best defined in this way, "when the followers welcome the influence process and accept it as reasonable and legitimate." (pg. 98) Commitment can be shown through an employee's ability to complete the task they are given by the person with more power than they possess. They will change their ideals to match that of the higher authority. If the CEO of a company says that his proposal is going to change, in the mind of the employee, they agree to change theirs as well. The employees, or people of lower authority, believe in the success of the company, they are fully committed the leader's ideas. The outcome of commitment is accepting without a doubt that whatever the leader says goes.

The second consequence mentioned above is compliance. It is asking someone to do something or perform a job, but they are not committed to it. They go along with their leader simply because they have to; it is party of their job. They could be doing it out of fear that they may fail or become jobless if they do not follow through. What sort of leader wants their co-workers to appear weak and not as dedicated as they should be? That is why the business leaders of the world want the best they can get? No boss wants to ask twice or to complain about an employee who, to put it simply, just doesn't care enough.

The third possible reaction or consequence of power is resistance. They do not actively agree with their leader or authority figure and passively resist it. This can affect their efficiency as a worker and can set a poor example for the rest of the employees around them. They can set a low standard of thinking that they do not have to do the job because there are other people who can do it instead. They may have the mind set that they are superior or too busy to deal with something that they do not fully agree with. This particular consequence is crucial to the reputation and status of the employee within the company.

One important factor within power and leadership is the distribution power. In organizations today, they feel that concentrated power can be detrimental to an organization's performance. When I say this I mean that more equal power should be distributed throughout the company, bringing about a higher performance in an organization's operating systems, to make decisions. Power should be equally distributed throughout, with the exception of the authority figures. If companies didn't have CEO's or managers, there would be too many power starving people and much more chaos. They keep the business flow organized. They make sure that their employees follow through with their jobs and support the business's purpose.

Within distribution of power, there are differences in the ways cultures view its importance. For example, "in some cultures the implementation of power sharing is likely to face more obstacles in a culture where sub ordinance do not rely heavily on their superiors." (pg.99) This is contrary to the common culture that most of us know in our world. For example, in the United States, people would be more likely to respond to managers that they favor or take liking to.

On the contrary, people in countries over seas would be more prone to follow directions that are given by managers who have legitimate power or authority. This goes to show how cultural influence has not only an obvious affect, but a psychological one as well. It can propose ideas that need to be honored because the culture believes that it is a better way of doing things. They believe that if they perform a certain way, they are doing things the best way.

Within power in leadership, I have stated the reasons and consequences that appear most relevant. In most companies, the want for power is greatly desired. The more powerful one individual is, the more successful and respected they become. They have a greater influence to the people who follow them, who are looking for a way to find a safe position of status. They need to feel that they are efficient enough to do their job and to make sure people see that quality in them.

Sources of power are part of the second focal point within power and leadership. There are five genuine sources of power. They are legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, expert power, and referent power. All of these prove to be valid in getting a deeper insight to the sources of power. The second aspect within sources of power is using individual sources of power. I am going to talk about these after the five sources are explained.

The first source of power is legitimate power. It is "based on person holding a formal position. Others may comply because they accept the legitimacy of the position of the power holder." (pg.100) it is going to have the most fulfillments out of all other powers. It is better described as having power, but abilities