Essential Elements of

Politics
 Power
•The ability to control the behavior of
others by threatening and/or carrying out
and serve sanctions if that behavior is
other than compliant.
Types of Power
1. Coercive Power
the ability to influence someone's decision
making by taking something away as
punishment or threatening punishment if
the person does not follow instructions.
Examples: termination, demotion,
revoking privileges, or suspension.
Reward Power
simply the power of a manager to give some type
of reward to an employee as a means to influence
the employee to act. Rewards can be tangible or
intangible
Referent Power

• the ability of a leader to cultivate the respect and

admiration of his followers in such a way that
they wish to be like him.
Expert Power

• based upon employees' perception that a manager

or some other member of an organization has a
high level of knowledge or a specialized set of
skills that other employees or members of the
organization do not possess.
Legitimate Power

• derive from your formal position or office held

in the organization's hierarchy of authority. For
example, the president of a corporation has
certain powers because of the office he holds in
the corporation
 Influence
•Ability to control or affect other’s by
authority, persuasion
•It takes place without the threat of
sanctions or without the promise of
rewards.
 Authority
• The right to exercise the power and influence to
govern, control or command. It comes from
having been placed in a particular position
according to regular (constitutional/legal) and
widely accepted processes
Types of Authority
• Traditional Authority
-rule over others without questions
- handed down from the past
- given legitimacy by customs and traditions
Charismatic Authority

• As "resting on devotion to the exceptional

sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an
individual person, and of the normative patterns
or order revealed or ordained by him."
•Rational-legal Authority
- elected leader
- status allows them to rule
- do it because you accept me as
your leader
 Legitimacy
The condition of being considered to be
correctly placed in a particularly role and
to be carrying out the functions of that
role correctly
Political Power
• The exercise and control of political power
in society depends upon the mode of
government established. The exercise and
control of political power is maybe absolute,
authoritarian, democratic or totalitarian in
nature.
• Governmental powers could either be
executive, legislative and judicial.
Political Legitimacy
• means having widespread
approval for the way one
exercises political power.