Power of Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Power of Organization - Essay Example On the other hand, his workers can work more or less diligently, group together to form a union, to leave, and so on. On the part of managers, they can engage in activities called organizational politics to increase their power and pursue goals that favor their individual goals (George & Jones, 2005). French & Raven (1959) developed a scheme of five categories of power: reward, coercive, legitimate, referent and expert power. According to them, reward power is formal and depends on the ability of the power-wielder to confer rewards. Coercive power, on the other hand is compelling people to behave in particular ways or giving sanction of noncompliance. In legitimate power, the role carries authority, having something to do with the relative position and duties of the holder of the position within an organization. It is the ultimate source of an individuals power in an organization (George & Jones, 2005). On the other hand, referent power pertains to personal attributes or charisma, or interpersonal skills. People with this power are liked because of who they are, not just because of their expertise (George & Jones, 2005). Meanwhile, expert power refers to those of specialists or simply, expertise. This type of power is usually highly specific and limited to the particular area in which the expert is trained and qualified. Use of power creates and eliminates conflict. Conflict behaviors may create and eliminate conflict. Thomas (1985) reports that conflict has two dimensions, each representing an individual’s intention with respect to a conflict situation. The two dimensions are cooperativeness, attempting to satisfy the other party’s concerns, and assertiveness, attempting to satisfy one’s own concerns. Five different combinations of these two dimensions are said to create conflict behaviors. Competing behavior, for example is assertive, uncooperative. Meanwhile, accommodating behavior is unassertive, cooperative. Avoiding