Organizational power refers to the ability to influence others and get things done within an organization. There are several key aspects of organizational power: 1) Power comes from one's potential to influence others, the level of dependence others have on that person, the discretion others have over their own behavior, and the reciprocal nature of power relationships within an organization. 2) The main sources of power are legitimate power (from one's formal position), reward power (ability to distribute rewards), coercive power (ability to impose punishments), expert power (special skills or knowledge), and referent power (personal admiration and respect from others). 3) Power differs from authority in that authority is based on one's formal

1. Organizational Power
Dr. Bhumija Chouhan

2. Concept
Power: is the ability to get something
done the way a person wants it to do.
It includes the ability to gather physical
and human resources and put them to
work to reach a goal.
Power is essential for leadership and
management functions.

3. Power is more than dominance: a
capacity to get something done in an
organization
It is central feature of political behavior

4. According to Robbins power is the capacity that
A has to influence the behaviour of B, so B does
something he would not -otherwise do. This
definition includes five things:
Potential
Dependency
Discretion
Specific
Reciprocal

5. Potential: A potential that need not be
actualized to be effective. For eg-a football
coach has power to bench a player who is
not performing up to par.
Dependency: A dependency relationship
i.e. the greater B’s dependence on A,
greater would be A’s power in relationship.

6. Discretion: The assumption that B has
some discretion over his own behaviour.
As an employee you may be dependent
on your supervisor for continued
employment. But in spite of this
dependence he may not join hands with
the supervisor in stealing store items or
cash

7. Specific: It is specific in the sense that it
can be exercised by some people that too
in some circumstances.
Reciprocal: Power in an organisation is
essentially reciprocal in nature. It is based
on the two-way concept of influencing
others and getting influenced in the
process.

8. Power is the capacity of a person, team, or
organization to influence others.
 The potential to influence others
 People have power they don’t use and may
not know they possess
 Power requires one person’s perception of
dependence on another person

9. Model of power in organisations
Power
over others
Contingencies
of power
Sources
of power
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Expert
Referent

10. Sources of power
Legitimate power
Reward power
Coercive power
Expert power
Referent power

11. Coercive Power :Power that is based on fear
Reward Power: Power that is based on the
ability to distribute rewards that are seen as
valuable
Legitimate Power :Power that a person receives
as a result of his/her position in the hierarchy
Expert Power: Power based on specific skills or
knowledge
Referent Power: Power based on admiration of
another

12.  Legitimate power
Derives from position
Decision authority
 Reward power
Tie positive results to a person’s behavior
Organization’s reward system and policies

13.  Coercive power
Tie negative results to a person’s behavior
Organization’s reward system and policies
 Referent power:.
positive feelings about the leader
Related to charisma

14.  Expert power: technical knowledge and
expertise
 Flow from the attributes and qualities of the
person
 Strongly affected by attribution processes

15. Power Vs Authority
Ability: It is the ability
of an individual to
affect and influence
others.
Leadership: It is
generally associated
with leadership
Broad: It is a broader
concept and include
authority also in some
sense
Right: It is the right to
command and extract
the work from
employees.
Narrow: It is a narrow
concept. A manager
may have
considerable authority
but still may be
powerless.

16. Two faces: It has two
faces Negative and
Positive. Personal
power is negative and
socialized power is
positive.
Personal: It is a
personal quality
Congruence:
Authority cannot have
markedly distinct
faces. And such
distinction becomes
ridiculous with regard
to authority.
Positional: It is mostly
vested in the position.
Legitimate power is
similar to authority.

17. Difference Between
Power/Influence/Authority
Power - the ability to influence another
person
Influence - the process of affecting the
thoughts, behavior, & feelings of another
person
Authority - the right to influence another
person

18. Influence
It is an all inclusive concept that covers both
authority and power
It covers any means by which behavioural
change is induced in individuals or groups.
Influence is multi directional and includes a
spectrum of ways such as emulation,
suggestion, persuasion etc. to effect behaviour.
Like power influence does not rely upon formal
position or sanctions in obtaining the agreement.
Influence has power of choice with freedom to
accept or reject.