MANUEL G.

ARAULLO HIGH SCHOOL

Taft Avenue Cor. UN Ave, Ermita Manila

Philippine Politics and Governance

Asynchronous Activity #4
1 Semester, S.Y. 2023-2024
st

NAME RAMIL T. MANIQUIZ YEAR SECTION 11 - HUMSS A DATE OCT. 9, 2023

TOPIC: POWER
(35 points)

It is not easy to explain the meaning of ‘Power’, more particularly in the context of human
relations. We are encountered with many different explanations in various disciplines. Even
within a single social discipline, Power is defined in several different ways.
Some social scientists define it as the use of force whereas many others explain it as the
capacity to secure the desired goals through the use of force or threat of use of force or even by
exercising influence.
1. “Power is the power of man on others” and as a “man’s control over the minds and
actions of other men.” —Morgenthau
2. “Power is the capacity to impose one’s will on others by reliance on effective sanctions
in case of non-compliance.” —Schwarzenberger

3. “Power is the ability to exercise such control as to make others do what they otherwise
would not do by rewarding or promising to reward them, or by depriving or
threatening to deprive them of something they value.” —Charles P. Schleicher
On the basis of these definitions we can say that power in the context of human relations is
the capacity and ability to secure a desired and intended effect or gain by means of use of force,
influence or control.
Moreover, power is the capacity of an individual to influence the actions, beliefs, or conduct
(behavior) of others. The term "authority" is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate
by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust. However, power can also be seen as
good and as something inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help,
move, and empower others as well. In general, it is derived by the factors of interdependence
between two entities and the environment.

TYPES OF POWER

Power comes from numerous sources, each of which has different effects on the targets of that
power. Some originate from individual characteristics; others draw on aspects of an
organization's structure. There are six types of power that include legitimate, referent, expert,
reward, coercive, and informational.
1. Legitimate Power
It is also known as "positional power". This is the power individuals have from their
role and status within an organization. Legitimate power usually involves formal authority
delegated to the holder of the position.
For example, the president of a corporation has certain powers because of the office he
holds in the corporation.
2. Referent Power
Referent power originates from the ability of individuals to attract others and build their
faithfulness. It is based on the personality and interpersonal skills of the power holder. A
person may be admired because of a specific personal mannerism, such as charisma or
likability, and these positive feelings become the basis for interpersonal influence.
For example, Kyle is the Production Manager of a big consumer electronics firm. He has
a strong leadership within his subordinates that comes from a positive attitude, a strong
knowledge of the field and a charismatic way to transmit ideas. Since Kyle took the job, the
company’s production figures have increased tremendously and the Board of Directors is very
pleased with what he does.
An external consulting firm evaluated Kyle’s performance and concluded that he developed a
strong referent power throughout the whole organization and this assessment created new
opportunities for Kyle’s career. He is set to be the next CEO of the company if he keeps
delivering such great results.
3. Expert Power
Expert power draws from a person's ability and knowledge and is especially strong
when an organization has a high need for them. Narrower than most sources of power, the
power of an expert typically applies only in the specific area of the person's expertise and
credibility.
As an example, consider a company that sells all of their products online. At 3pm on a
Friday afternoon their database crashes. Employees leave at 6pm, and many of them can’t work
later as they have flights booked for a weekend away etc. In this situation the manager is facing
the prospect of lost sales not just for that night, but for the whole weekend.
This scenario would cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales.
Now suppose that a relatively junior engineer said they could fix the problem temporarily, at
least for the weekend, in just two hours. All of the sudden this relatively junior engineer holds
all the power, at least for the next two hours.
In fact, the power dynamic has been completely turned upside down, with the manager
at the mercy of the junior engineer whilst the problem is being resolved.
4. Reward Power
Reward power comes from the ability to bestow valued material rewards or create other
positive incentives. It refers to the extent to which the individual can provide external
motivation to others through benefits or gifts.
Examples of rewards include bonus, pay rise, extra time off, company car, gifts,
increased responsibility, recognition, praise, a discount on the company’s products or services.
There are two types of rewards – tangible and intangible. Tangible rewards include such
things as bonuses and pay rises, whereas intangible rewards include such things as praise and
increased responsibility.
5. Coercive Power
Coercive power is the menace and application of sanctions and other negative outcomes.
These can include direct punishment or the withholding of desired resources or rewards.
Coercive power relies on fear to induce compliance.
For example, Mr. Gerard is the Marketing Manager of a company called All Men
Clothing Co. The company sells men's apparel through its website and social media. Mr. Gerard
is in charge of supervising the Social Media Department, led by Mr. Warren. The owners of the
company recently demanded from Mr. Gerard an increase of sales coming from social media
platforms.
In order to achieve this goal, Mr. Gerard approached Mr. Warren and set a goal for his
department to increase sales by 10% in the next 3 months. Mr. Gerard said that if the goal
wasn’t met in that period some of the people working in the department (including Mr.
Warren) might lose their jobs.
The fact that Mr. Gerard established the possibility of losing the job is the main
indication that he is using coercive power to achieve the goal set by the owners. By threatening
the department with this, he is putting pressure on them to work harder in order to achieve this
goal.
6. Informational Power
Informational power derives from access to facts and knowledge that others find helpful
or valuable. That access can signify relationships with other power holders and convey status
that creates a positive impression. Informational power has numerous benefits in building
credibility and rational persuasion. It may also serve as the basis for beneficial exchanges with
others who seek that information.
For example, a project manager may have all the information for a specific project, and
that will give her "informational power." But it's hard for a person to keep this power for long,
and eventually this information will be released. This should not be a long-term strategy.
Ipaliwanag ang kahulugan ng larawan sa itaas sa limang pangungusap. (20 puntos)
 As we can see in the image there is someone holding a string connected to the
television man that is also holding many strings connected to other people. We may
conclude from this that there is someone who is in control over the television man which
we could say represents mass media and we also know that mass media holds a huge
amount of influence on people especially the youth of today. As such, there is a form of
“power” shown in the image and that power is to either influence or control the thoughts,
behavior or the way others move in the society. It can be interpreted, as the one who has
the main control over mass media is either the government or the oligarchs to ascertain
their desire to the people in the society. In addition, with that, they can now gain
approval of the people and have their goals achieved. May it be good for the society or
not.

Sa pelikulang Spider-man, sinabi ni Uncle Ben kay Peter Parker, “with great power comes with
great responsibility. Ipaliwanag kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng pahiwatig ni Uncle Ben kay Peter.
(15 puntos)

For me the phrase “With great power comes with great responsibility” that
was said by Uncle Ben means that if you hold a certain amount of power, any kind of
power, that can influence the lives of those around you; you have to be responsible when
using it because you are not the only one that is affected by that power. Those that
surround you are also very much affected and you are the only that can decide whether
to use that power to achieve your goals even if it means trampling on others, or push
through success joined by those that surround you. The more power you have the more
you will have an impact on the lives of the people that you are with and you have to think
carefully on the actions that you may do because these actions may be mimicked by the
ones that are under your influence. For example, today social media has been a great
influence to the minds of the youth especially when the pandemic hit. Everyone that were
reached by social media even the recent election was also influenced by social media did
every trend that went viral. Some did research while some didn’t because the people that
released those information had a certain influence on the mind of their audience.

That is how I interpret the infamous phrase that Uncle Ben said in the movie.
I would also like to add that power must be handled carefully for when you lose control
of it there is a certainty that everything around you may or may not be destroyed by it.