SOURCES OF POWER

Briefly explain three (3) sources of power

Power is the ability or capacity to influence decision. In other words, power refers to a capacity that one has to influence the behavior of other so that other does something he or she would not otherwise do.

The sources of power can be explained as follow:

i-        Position of a person holds in an organization’s hierarchy

This kind of power is called legitimate power because they gain power from the formal position in an organization’s hierarchy. They can influence others by means of a position held or recognized. This position holder, depending on his style of working, they may use the power to gain the control over others but of course within the overall framework provided by the organization. The example of legitimate power is that held by a company’s CEO.

ii-       Possessing knowledge or expertise in particular area

They influence others through the possession of knowledge or skill that is useful to others. Such people are highly appreciated by organizations for their problem solving skills. This power is called expert power. The opinion, ideas and decisions of people with expert power are held in high regard by other employees and hence greatly influence their actions.

iii-     The ability of a person to influence the allocation of incentives in an organization.

This type of power is called reward power. They influence others by controlling       things they want such as money, acceptance, praise, promotion and status. In an organization, people who wield reward power tend to influence the actions of the employees due to his ability to satisfy follower’s needs and give rewards. Reward power if used well, will greatly motivates employees but if it’s applied through favoritism, reward power can greatly demoralize employees and diminish their output.