THE CONCEPT

OF POWER

Prepared by:
TARA ZYLA O. VARGAS
SHS – I, MORMS
 Power is one of the important concepts and

plays a huge role in politics,

from governing how decisions are made to how

political actors interact with one another.

OBJECTIVE
At the end of this lesson, you
are expected to:
Analyze the nature,
dimensions/types, and
consequences of power
VOCABULARY
LIST
POWER is the ability to
get someone to do something
he/she wants to accomplish,
thus making things happen
in the way he/she wants.
The exercise of legitimate
power. The power to give
orders or make decisions
 The process
by which a
person
affects the
behavior and
feelings of
another
person.
SOURCE OF POWER
1. Organizational Power

It is the power derived

from a person’s position
in an organization and
from control over
valuable resources
afforded by that position.
2. Individual Power or Personal Power

It is power derived from

personal characteristics
that are of value to the
organization.
 Reward Power. It is the extent to which a
leader can use extrinsic and intrinsic
rewards to control and influence other
people.

Coercive Power. It is degree to which a leader

can deny desired rewards or administer
punishments to control other people and let them
follow his wants.
Legitimate Power. It is the extent to which a leader can use subordinate’s
internalized values or beliefs that the boss has a right of command to
control his subordinates’ behavior. That if legitimacy is lost, authority will
not be accepted by subordinates. It is otherwise known as formal
hierarchical authority.

Information power. The leader has the access to and

control of information. This complements legitimate
hierarchical power. This could be granted to
specialists and managers in the middle of the
information system. The people may protect
information in order to increase power.
Process power. The leader has
full control over the methods of
production and analysis. Thereby,
placing an individual in the
position of influencing how
inputs are transformed into
outputs as well as managing the
analytical process used to make
choices.
Representative power.
The legal right conferred to
speak by the firm as
representative of a potentially
significant group composed of
individuals from departments or
outside the firm. Helps complex
organizations deal with a variety
of constituencies.
 Much of a supervisor’s daily activity involves rational persuasion.

•Expert power
 The ability to control another’s
behavior through the possession of
• Referent power knowledge, experience, or judgement
 The ability to control that the other person needs but does
another’s behavior because not have.
the person wants to identify  Is relative, not absolute.
•Rational Persuasion
with the power source.  The ability to control another
 Can be enhanced by linking person’s behavior by convincing the
to morality and ethics and other person of the desirability of a
long-term vision. goal and a reasonable way of
achieving it.
Symbols of Powers
A.Kanter’s Symbol of Power
The primary characteristics of
Kanter’s seven symbols of power is
that they provide an ability to aid
or assist another person. Her
symbols are active and other-
directed.
 These symbols are:
1. Ability to intercede for someone in trouble.
2. Ability to get placements for favoured employees.
3. Exceeding budget limitations.
4. Procuring above-average raises for employees
5. Getting items on the agenda at meetings
6. Access to recent information
7. Having top managers seek out one’s opinions.
A.Kanter’s Symbol of Powerless

Powerlessness is a lack of
power, which may have
different symptoms in
managers at various levels of
the organization.
B. Korda’s Symbols of Power
Korda’s symbols of power are
easier to determine, and they include
furnishings time power, and
standing by.
Ways to expand power (Schermerhorn, 2003)
 Clearly define roles and responsibilities
 Provide opportunities for creative problem solving
coupled with the discretion to act.
 Emphasize different ways of exercising influence.
 Provide support to individuals so they become
comfortable with developing their power.
 Expand inducements for thinking and acting, not
just obeying.
 Two Faces of Power

McClelland takes a stand for the use of authority

in a right or wrong fashion.

1.Personal Power is used for personal gain, and

results in a win-lose approach.
2.Social Control involves the use of power to
create motivation or to accomplish group goals.
Influence Tactics
1.Consultation
2.Rational Persuasion
3.Inspirational appeal
4.Ingratiation
Types of Authority
(Weber in Ethridge,
Handelman, 2004)
 Traditional Authority.
Charismatic Authority. It is an influence The leadership is based
possessed by person by virtue of their personal from the culture that is
magnetism. They have the capacity to gain people often give
respect and even adulation to the point of allegiance to the one who
moving followers to make a great sacrifices. It occupy the institutional
flows not from the legal basis of one’s power positions.
but an individual’s personal “gifts”.
Rational-Legal Authority. It is a leadership Coercive Authority. The
based on establish law. People obey the leader power to use force such as
or executive because they accept his or her police or military force to
power under the law. demand obedience from the
subordinate
Activity 1: Authority Mapping
Complete the diagram by supplying the characteristics of the different types of
authority and pinpoint
its significance to ones’s life
and leadership.

Types of
Authority
Activity 2: Comparing Concepts
Direction: Use the concepts learned to fill in the similarities and differences of the two
terminologies.

POWER AUTHORITY
 Activity 3:
My Leader’s Power
and Authority

Direction: Select two leaders and identify

the kind of power they possess. Determine
the kind of authority they employ.
 ASSIGNMENT:

Create a 3-paragraph essay discussing this

dictum “Power doesn’t corrupt people, people
corrupt power” by William Gaddis.