A PRESENTATION ON

POWER AND ITS EFFECT IN

AN ORGANISATON
PRESENTED TO- PRESENTED BY- GROUP NO.- 5
DR. SASHMITA MOHANTY
Definition

 Power is the ability to make things happen

according to one’s perspective by getting someone
else to do it for you.
 It is mainly beneficial in organizations where the
managers assign tasks to different employees and
make them do those tasks.
Key to power

 The most important aspect of power is that it is a

function of dependence.
 The General Dependence Postulate-
The greater B’s dependence on A, the more power
A has over B
Power And Authority

 Power means the personal capacity of an

individual to influence others to do or not to do
an act. It is independent and informal in nature.
 Power is not hierarchical, i.e. it can flow in any
direction.
 Authority is legal and formal right to a person,
who can take decisions, give orders and
commands to others to perform a particular task.
  It is hierarchical in nature, it flows downward, i.e.
delegated from superior to the subordinate.
Ccontinued.

 When the question is about influencing or

manipulating others, two things go that side by
side in the field of management
are Power and Authority
 Many of us think that these two terms are one and
the same thing, but there exists a fine line of
difference between power and authority.
 BASIS FOR
POWER AUTHORITY
COMPARISON
Meaning Power means the The legal and formal
ability or potential of right to give orders
an individual to and commands, and
influence others and take decisions is
control their actions. known as an
Authority.

What is it? It is a personal trait. It is a formal right,

given to the high
officials.

Source Knowledge and Position & office

expertise.
Hierarchy Power does not Authority follows the
follow any hierarchy. hierarchy.

Resides with Person Designation

Legitimate No Yes
Bases of power

 WHERE DOES POWER COME FROM ?

 WHAT GIVES AN INDIVIDUAL OR A GROUP
INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS ?
 THE BASE OR SOURCES OF POWER INTO
TWO GENERAL GROUPINGS

• Formal power
. • Personal power
Formal power

Coercive power Reward power Legitimate power

• Depends on fear of • Compliance achieved • The power a person
negative results based on the ability to receives as a result of
• It rests on the distribute rewards that his or her position in
other views are the formal hierarchy of
application or the valuable. an organization
threat of application,
of physical sanctions
such as the infliction
of pain
Personal power

• Influence based on special skill

EXPERT POWER or knowledge

• Influence based on
REFERENCE
POWER identification with a person who
has desirable resources or
personal traits.
Power dynamic

The dynamics of power are studied from several angles viz.,

 Dependency
 Distribution
 Uncertainty
 Compilance
Dependency : The key to power

 The general dependency postulate

- The greater B’s dependency on A, the greater the
power A has over B.
- Position/control of scarce organizational resources
that others need makes a manager powerful.
- Access to optional resources(e.g., multiple suppliers)
reduces the resources holder’s power.
 What creates dependency
- Importance of the resource to the organization
- Scarcity of the resource
- Non substitutability of the resource
Distribution
 Some members do wield more power than others. Often, the
power wielded by one member may be disproportionate to
the organizational position he holds.
 Those who are in power try to grab more of it. They
strongly resist any attempt to weaken the power they wielded.
 An individual cannot have power at all times and at all places,
at times he may be forced to forego and stripped of it.
 In the event to regain the power or failure of power, he or
she will try to form coalition. There is strength in numbers.
Uncertainty
 Organisation do seek to avoid uncertain condition. Those who
can predict, absorb and resolve such uncertain conditions,
tend to grab more powers.
 Uncertainty depends on the nature of the operations of the
Organization. For instance , Marketing and sales has to deal
with uncertain condition and produce result, and naturally
they wield more power.
Compliance

 Of all types of power, people generally comply with

legitimate power.
 People perceive reward and coercive powers as weak for
comply with manager’s requests.
Power tactics
 Power tactics is the ways in which individuals translate
power bases into specific action.
 Power tactics means how people use their power to
influence the behaviour of their targets.
 Different tactics are used by people to gain power over
other.
• Research has identified nine distinct influence tactics.

 Legitimacy – Relying on your authority position or saying a

request accords with organizational policies or rules. agents
can use their official authority to influence the behaviour of
targets.
 Rational persuasion –Presenting logical arguments and factual
evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. Gathering
additional information in view of a forthcoming discussion and
using logical arguments and facts to persuade another that a
desired result will accur.
 Inspirational appeal – Developing emotional commitment by
appealing to target’s value ,need ,hope and aspiration.
 Consultation – Increasing the target’s support by involving him
or her in deciding how you will accomplish your plan. Asking
for participation in decision making or planning a change.
 Exchange –This tactic suggests that making express or
implied promises and trading favours rewarding the
target with benefits in exchange for following a request.

 Personal appeals –asking for compliance based on

friendship or loyalty.
 Ingratiation – being charming to gain resources or
emphasizes on getting someone in a good mood prior to
making a request.it includes being friendly,helping and
using praise or flattery.
 Pressure – using warning ,repeated demands and threats.
 Coalitions- enlisting the aid or support of others to
persuade the target to agree.
Thank you