Running head: PERSONAL POWER
RetailMax: Personal Power
Timothy D. Stroud
Grand Canyon University: LDR-610-O101 Power, Politics, and Influence
October 31, 2012
RetailMax: Personal Power Climbing the corporate ladder can be like playing a game. It can be fun and exciting if you know all of the rules and play fair. Or it can be dreary and arduous if you are finding out the rules as you go along and are playing with people that are less than ethical. The good news is that once you know the rules and apply yourself, you have a better chance of climbing upward. The bad news is that most people think they are playing the first game in which everyone is climbing up the ladder with little or no risk. They simply have
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The referent power is not as strong as the expert power because the direction of the company will be based on Cam’s decision.
Power Bases When looking at French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power in this situation, you can understand where the power comes from in this workplace (French, Raven, 1960). I see only four of the five forms being actively used in the RetailMax scenario. The CEO, who helped put the company back into a positive growth, has legitimate power since he believes that he has the right to make demands and get compliance from others in the organization. This can be seen as he authorizes another department to make an offer to Cam. Vince Mangini, Vice President of Professional Services (PS), has reward power and is able to compensate Cam for joining his department with a higher salary and a larger bonus. Cam Archer has the expert power and he wields is well. He has become a more-rounded team player and is continuing to gain credibility and experience in the company. And Regan Kessel has the referent power since he has gained the respect of other workers. With over twenty years of experience in the industry, he is a trusted leader. This has been shown by the relocation of the marketing team under his purview. Neither Kessel nor Archer let stereotypical gender roles influence their actions. Archer showed flexibility when he took a temporary detour within the company. He accepted the challenge to
My professor Evie Adomait at the University of Guelph wrote an interesting book that I am currently reading now called Cocktail Economics. As you might have guessed the book informs people about economics but is set up in a way that is suitable even for a common man. As the author mentioned in the book her main goal of the book is to inform people who think they know about economics but are actually misinformed. The authors have added an interesting and fun tone throughout the book to keep the reader entertained. The author begins the book with a story, a common story that always takes place at a cocktail party, as you. might have guessed it by the title. The books goal is to entertain its readers and interest them in the idea of the economic thought process. The book Cocktail Party
The amount of legitimate power someone has depends on the importance of the position she or he occupies and the willingness to grant authority to the person in that position. The benefits of this type of power are that incorporates weight of the entire organization, effective for gaining obedience, helps large organizations function effectively. The costs are that lowers follower task performance, lowers follower task satisfaction, and may become less effective overtime.
According to healthcare management (shortell&kaluzny, 2012) Power is the notion of one stakeholder’s ability to exert influence other in ways that, among other thing, influences them to do things they normal would not do. Power comes in many different forms, and as a supper visor we need to learn how to handle each type. According to business insider three major sources of power within an organization or company are structure, cultural, and knowledge based. There are different types of power, such as Legitimate Power is where a person in a higher position has control over people in a lower position the company. This is the power were people give to you, so you cannot abuse it. Coercive Power is where a person leads threats and force. It is
The handling of power is also paramount in an organization. Boleman and Deal offer meaningful insight in this aspect. They observe the following,
Coercive power, reward power and legitimate power are all formal powers. A person’s position in a company can give him influence over others below him, thereby affording him formal power. Coercive power is dependent on fear. A person reacts to this power out of
Archer’s interest in either position will depend on how strongly she feels about not traveling or if she is motivated by money. Her potential power is greatest before she makes her decision. She will keep a lot of this power once her salary has been determined. Kessel should continue to go after Archer. If he can get her to take the position, his reputation will be raised. She has great marketing abilities which would be a huge benefit to him. Kessel should offer Archer the most promising salary compensation package that he can while staying within his budget. The compensation package should include non-monetary resources such as an office with a great view or a flexible schedule.
Power is defined as the capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes (p.198). Being a collaborative organization, Stryker’s power resides in four key teams: accounting, human resources management, information technologies management, and a cross functional team known as the steering committee. Power resides within these teams because they control the things that the organization needs to function. The relationships that these teams have with the organization are based upon dependence, these departments can influence the distribution of resources in the organization. These teams exercise their power to help the organization generate a profit, respond to changes, to limit the number of errors,
In addition to power established because of organizational hierarchy or role, power is also established based on the level of influence or status one holds in an organization (Anichich, Fast, Halevy, Galinsky, 2016). “Status is the outcome of an evaluation of attributes that produce differences in respect and prominence” (Ketner et al, 2003 p. 266) They co-exists but are not co-dependent on each other. It’s possible to have status without power and power without status (Ketner et al, 2003). Whether one’s control comes through status or positional power, lauding control or significant influence over another inevitably leads to conflict.
In that case, my source of power would be years I’ve worked at my present employer, including the experience I’ve gained, the work-product I’ve produced, my relationship with clients and customers, and the fact that I understand the goals of the company and have proven that I can assist the company in achieving those goals. Perhaps, however, the ultimate source of my power is that my interests are not completely focused on salary and that if I can achieve all of my other interests except for a salary than I will personally be successful.
If household retail spending (demand) exceeds the retail store sales volume (supply) within the three-mile trade area, it indicates that a portion of household retail spending is being met outside the trade area, and therefore the trade area would be considered as having greater demand for retail commerce than available supply. If household spending is less than store sales volume, then the trade area would have greater retail supply than household demand, therefore suggesting an oversaturated retail market.
It is important for managers to understand the sources of power and influence as they must rely upon the cooperation of subordinates in order to be successful. Strong managers rely upon more than just authority they also use leadership skills and power to obtain the most productivity from their staff. According to French and Raven (1959) there are five sources of power. Referent power seems to be the most influential and the least affected by change. To quote Paul Argenti,
One could argue that Terrill simply holds legitimate power over his twenty engineers, because if they fail to meet his requests they have the potential to be demoted or permanently dismissed (Willer, Youngreen, Troyer & Lovaglia 2012, pp. 364-365). Considering Terrill was appointed the managerial position and expected to resolve the lack of productivity issue within the company, he is obligated due to his position in the hierarchy to control his employees and therefore has legitimate power over them (Willer et al 2012 , pp. 364-365). Contrary to this, reward power could be more suited to Terrill’s circumstances, as he is listening to the needs and desires of the employees and is committed to resolving the issues. Robbins et al explains that reward power is ‘based on the ability to distribute something that others value’, therefore the change in the reports policy (one required every month) would be the beneficial outcome affecting the employees (2011, p.131). Consequently, Terrill has power over his workers as they seek something he can potentially provide (Lindskold, Banoma, Schlenker & Tedeschi 1972, pp. 68-69). One could also suggest that after dealing with this situation in the employees’ favour, Terrill may then gain referent power, where those he oversees have full trust and respect in his ability to make good decisions (Kudisch, Poteet, Dobbins, Rush & Russell, 1995, pp.178-179). However, in relation to this
Thistle has completed the Infinity upgrade in six stores, and is on track to complete three more by the end of February.
The management can use this power to demote, transfer, fire or deny raises to their employees. The third power base of Position is legitimate power. This power stems from the level of hierarchy in which the subordinates report directly to the authority over them for decisions. Process Power controls the input and output of organizations to make sure that the processes are carried out efficiently and effectively within. Information power is the control of information or access to it within an organization. Information can be controlled to a ?need to know? basis and/or just limited to the upper management. This type of power compliments the legitimate power. Finally, there is Representative power in which an organization uses an individual to be there spokesperson both within the organization and when dealing with people outside of the organization.
In market, innovative initiatives are develops by employees with specials skills or knowledge. Robbins & Judge (2011) Formal power is based on an individual’s position in an organization. It can come from the ability to coerce or reward, or from formal authority (p. 421). Robbins & Judge (2011) Coercive power base depends on fear of the negative results from failing to comply (p. 421). It is used in negative basis to intimidate employees but its effect is not positive on the organization. Reward power is based the results