Power and authority

Power can be considered as: Part of the rational model that considers organizations as rational instruments to achieve certain collective ends. (In the organization there are many individuals who cooperate and the spontaneous variability of individual behavior must be countered). Power as an instrument of political domination of some groups over others. (It allows to achieve the objectives of a certain group). The organization is considered as a set of coalitions in which there are interests, conflicts and activities deviating from the established purposes.

Index

1. Power and authority
2. Direction of power
3. Political behavior in organizations

Nature and characteristics of power Power is the relationship between two or more actors in which the action of one is determined by that of another or others. Sometimes it has been defined as the potentiality of the subjects. It is the ability of one or more people to influence the behavior of others. A distinction has been made between potential power and real power (between having power and exercising it). Power is an aspect (at least potential) in all social interaction and is characterized by its condition of asymmetry, there is also a certain reciprocity, although it is not in the form of balance. Dimensions that allow clarifying the notion of power:

• Power intensity, is the degree of influence that A exerts on B, in order to change the probability of their responses.
• The domain of power, depending on its extension (number of people or groups on which it is exercised).
• The range of power, is the range of responses from B over which A exercises power.

The bases of power Lawler distinguishes three bases in any power relationship: resources, dependency and alternatives. Resources are objects or events that are useful for a certain subject or group, the power value of those resources.

It is only guaranteeing if the subject or group has a high dependence on them and they have no other alternatives available. The existence of alternative solutions would decrease dependence on controlled resources.

There are two groups of factors that explain more than half of the variance of the aspects of control and power:

• The degree of structuring of organizational activities.
• The degree of concentration of authority.

By combining these two factors, they found a tendency to group into four categories:

• Total bureaucracies; that exercise control through the specialization of tasks, the establishment of measures for it and the centralization of authority.
• Workflow bureaucracies; their control is based on the specialization of tasks and the establishment of specific control mechanisms.
• Implicitly structured organizations; they achieve their coordination through a mutual adjustment between the members (they are usually small).

The centralizing alternative establishes a predominance of a vertical power structure, the alternative that favors specialization puts more emphasis on horizontal power relations. Vertical descending power It is the most studied power direction within organizations. Research on participation indicates that participation has little effect on changing the dominant distribution of power. Individuals at the higher levels have more power and exercise more control than those at the lower levels. In many situations power has a self-perpetuating aspect.

Lateral or horizontal power Members exercise power and influence that is not tied to their formally defined position of power within the organization. This availability of power and influence is much greater, if its position is strategic power, that is, it performs crucial functions in the organization. The power of the different subunits within an organization can be explained in terms of the degree of dependence that each one of them has on the others.

Those who have the capacity to satisfy the needs of others and also monopolize that capacity have greater power. Factors that influence a unit to be critical:

• The uncertainty, those units that reduce this uncertainty to a greater degree acquire more power.
• The monopoly of that skill, if other groups cannot replace the functions that the powerful unit performs.
• Centrality of activities carried out by that unit, when they are widely connected with those of other units and their detention quickly and negatively affects their operation.
• Another factor to take into account is the Degree of institutionalization, power tries to perpetuate and maintain itself and the degree of power hierarchically depends on the power that has been previously held.

Power and upward influence

It is the attempt to influence a person who occupies a higher hierarchical position in the organization. Therefore, the person seeking to exert influence cannot base it on a formal position of authority. There are different sources: The skill in the trade added to the difficulty of replacing the individual. The degree of effort and interest shown in the job.

Collective pressure media such as coalitions. The ability to influence higher levels by a supervisor made his supervision more effective and allowed allows you to achieve higher morale in your subordinates, better communication with them and an increase in their productivity.

Characteristic notes of political behavior:

• Attempts at social influence.
• They are discretionary (they fall outside the areas prohibited by the organization).
• They are designed to promote and protect personal or group interests.
• They attack the interests of other individuals and groups.

The means used depend on the resources available. Those resources include various types of power over other people and characteristics of the subunit. The mediating variable between resources and means is the intent and claims of the subject. Personal needs may in turn be influenced by the resource availability.

The intentions and claims of the individual will determine the means chosen. In the perception of the situation, one of the central elements is the recognition of the existing norms in this field.

These norms vary based on various situational aspects: Political norms vary based on position within the organization, Political activity is more frequent among staff members than among line members, it is also greater in those subunits in which uncertainty is older.

Variable that explains the differences in situations according to their "use":

• Uncertainty
• The importance of activity
• Relevance of the topic to members
• The scarcity of resources

The situations in which political activity is more relevant, seem to combine situational ambiguity with a personal interest sufficient to activate the individual to consider reactions that fall outside the limits of the system of formal norms of the organization.

Besides situational aspects there is the importance of personal characteristics: need for power, propensity for risk, etc.

In summary, along with the exercise of power as an instrumental means to achieve the organization's ends, is its use to achieve benefits or protect personal interests. The dimension of power as a political phenomenon within organizations.

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