Key Terms
Power
The ABILITY to secure compliance regardless of whether it's legitimate.
Key distinction
Power is about ABILITY to secure compliance. Not the right to.
Authority
The right to seek compliance; backed by legitimacy Bases of power: referent, expert, legitimate, reward, coercive Bureau
Leadership
Elicits responses that go BEYOND required compliance. Voluntary.
Coercive
Forcing compliance (example: prison) Utilitarian: compliance based on performance-reward contingency (example: most busi
Normative
Compliance based on members' belief in the organization's right to govern behavior (example: religious organization)
Commitment
Follower buys in fully; driven by referent or expert power
Compliance
Follower goes through the motions; driven by legitimate or reward power Resistance: follower actively pushes back; drive
Power dependency
The degree to which a person is susceptible to an influence attempt.
Controlling access to information
Decisions run on information; whoever controls the information controls the decision. Pay secrecy is a textbook example
Controlling access to persons
Limiting who can reach a decision-maker. A gatekeeper (scheduler, assistant, chief of staff) shapes the decision environ
Selective use of objective criteria
When there's no single right answer, whoever sets the evaluation criteria shapes the outcome.
Example
A hiring committee where one group pushes teaching criteria and another pushes research criteria - both are trying to wi
Controlling the agenda
The simplest power move; keep an issue from ever coming to a vote. Bury it last on the agenda, raise objections, table i
Using outside experts
Bring in consultants pre-aligned with your position. The "outside expert" legitimizes a predetermined conclusion.