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Business Studies > Power & Authority > Flashcards

Power & Authority Flashcards

1
Q

What is power?

A
  • it exists when one person can get another person to do something they otherwise wouldn’t want to do
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2
Q

What is authority?

A
  • a special form of power, in the sense that it gives people the right to give commands which others accept as legitimate
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3
Q

What are Weber’s 3 forms of authority?

A

1) Traditional - due to tradition or custom (e.g. the royal family)
2) Charismatic - personality
3) Rational/legal - selection/legitimate

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4
Q

Why might managers who are perceived to lack authority lack difficulty in leading and controlling subordinates?

A
  • ability
  • experience
  • drive
  • different objectives
  • knowledge
  • blurred lines of authority
  • lack of coordination/direction

so subordinates don’t follow instructions because they don’t agree with them = time wasted, different objectives followed and no teamwork

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5
Q

What are the 5 sources of power?

A

1) coercive
2) reward
3) expert
4) position
5) referent

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6
Q

What is coercive power?

A
  • based on the subordinate’s fear of the leader

- most extreme form of autocratic leadership

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7
Q

What are the disadvantages of coercive power?

A
  • many people don’t perform well in this kind of environment
  • few people respond to such a harsh approach
  • employees can’t develop their skills and use attributes
  • some won’t tolerate it resulting in high labour turnover
  • doesn’t encourage open communication between subordinates and their managers
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8
Q

What is reward power?

A
  • providing subordinates with rewards for good performance
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9
Q

What are the advantages of reward power?

A
  • gives them motivation
  • staff become more positive
  • staff begin to offer ideas and suggestions
  • they’re willing to take on additional responsibilities and duties
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10
Q

What are the disadvantages of reward power?

A
  • motivational impact of specific rewards varies between individuals
  • can be expensive
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11
Q

What are examples of rewards?

A
  • pay
  • promotion
  • recognition
  • praise
  • compliments or flattery
  • commission pay
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12
Q

What is expert power?

A
  • ability to influence other parties based on expertise and knowledge
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13
Q

Give 3 examples of expert power.

A
  • professors
  • chief executives
  • lawers
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14
Q

What are the advantages of expert power?

A
  • able to influence a person’s behaviour due to their knowledge and skills related to work being performed
  • easier to get promoted to senior management
  • gain trust and respect about decisions and opinions from others
  • can build up self-confidence
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15
Q

What are the disadvantages of expert power?

A
  • expertise will decrease and respects or superiority diminish as they share their knowledge and skills
  • the gap closes as others become equally expert
  • high level of experience, knowledge and skills required and they need to improve from day to day
  • managers may withhold knowledge to maintain power
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16
Q

What is legitimate (position) power?

A
  • derives from a person’s position or job in an organisation
17
Q

What are the advantages of legitimate power?

A
  • many people are used to accepting it

- employees say it’s the main reason why they follow their boss’ orders

18
Q

What are the disadvantages of legitimate power?

A
  • doesn’t always result in effective and flexible organisations
  • power is given to the employees because of their roles rather than their skills
19
Q

What is referent power?

A
  • derives from a leader’s charisma
20
Q

What are the advantages of referent power?

A
  • people tend to follow the lead of someone they admire
  • they use them as role models and seek approval
  • may allow managers to have influence across the business when combined with strong interpersonal skills
  • workers more motivated to achieve because they believe in what they’re doing
  • interaction is easier
21
Q

What are the disadvantages of referent power?

A
  • employees may lack recognition of authority due to them being too friendly with the boss

Business Studies (6 decks)

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