The Concept of

Power
Caryl Campano
Abby Acuña
Arven Cornelio
Aldrin Hernandez
Jamaica Baldomar
Eranew D. Gilleran

HUMSS XII – James

 What is Power?

● Power is frequently defined by political scientists as the ability to influence the behavior
of others with or without resistance. The term authority is often used for power perceived
as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise
of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. The use of power need not
involve coercion, force or the threat of force. At one extreme, power closely resembles
what English speakers call “influence”, although some authors make a distinction
between the two.
 Why is power required?
● Providing direction

● Get fast access to decision-makers.

● Maintain regular, frequent contact with decision-makers.

● Assist in the management process.

● Structure to organizations.

● Assist to employees in performing better.

● Articulate the goals.

 Nature of Power
● From the definitions of power noted above we can get certain features and the first
such feature is it is used in relational sense. When there is only one actor or element
the issue of power does not arise. It is because power implies ability to influence or
control others or to get things done by others. Naturally power relates to the
relationship or interaction between two or among more than two elements or actors.
So power is always viewed in the background of relationship.
● In the second place, “power is disaggregated and non-cumulative it is shared and
bartered by numerous groups spread throughout society and representing diverse
interests”. In any pluralist society there are numerous groups and they all compete
among themselves at various levels to capture political power or to influence the
agencies who exercise their influence.
 Nature of Power

● Thirdly, in a class-society there are diverse interests and each power center represents
a particular interest. This point may further be explained. In any capitalist society
there are several classes, both major and minor, and each class strives for the
realization of its own interests which are generally economic.
● Fourthly, Maclver is of opinion that power is a conditional concept. Power, Maclver
says, is an ability to command service from others. But this ability, he continues,
depends in some measure upon certain conditions and if the conditions are not
fulfilled properly power cannot function. Power is not something which is
permanently fixed. It is subject to change and it has source.
 Nature of Power

● Fifthly, power (used in political science) is a very complex notion. How it is used,
what consequences it produces, how it is to be achieved-all are in real sense complex.
No simple analysis can unearth the various aspects of power. Different people use
different terms to denote power.
 Nature of Power

POWER OVER
● The ability to dominate another person or a group.
● Usually comes from force and threat.

POWER TO
● The ability to do something on one’s own (sources: intellect, resources, knowledge,
stamina and etc.)

POWER WITH
● Is similar also to “power to” in that it reflects ability.
● The ability to work with others to get something done by cooperation.
 Dimensions of Power

● One of Steven Lukes academic theories is that of

the "three faces of power," presented in his
book, Power: A Radical View. This theory
claims that power is exercised in three ways:
decision-making power, agenda-setting power,
and ideological power.
● He describes power as having three dimensions
and has divided power into three distinct faces,
each focusing on a specific aspect of power.
 Dimensions of Power

1. Decision-making Power

● ”open face of power”.

● The ability to control or influence in an open and direct way.

● In the classical idea of political power, meaning the government has the power to
make decisions on behalf of the people.
 Dimensions of Power

2. Agenda-setting Power

● “power is exercised behind closed doors.

● This is because you can decide or limit what will be discussed and more importantly
what cannot be discussed, effectively controlling the situation.

● Power is not just about decision making, it is about preventing decisions being made
is reducing the choices which can be made.
 Dimensions of Power

3. Ideological Power

● Power to shape desires.

● It seeks to identify “the means through which power influences, shapes and
determine conceptions of necessities, possibilities and strategies of challenge in
situation of conflict.”
 Different Types of Power

● Power has been an important aspect of human civilization since time immemorial.
Power might be physical, political or social. In the context of business as well, power
dynamics tend to influence decisions and people transactions heavily. So defining
power can be difficult as it is understood and interpreted in several ways however
power can definitely not be called a force which gets you what you want. Power
basically emanates from position or authority which can influence people both
positively and negatively.
 Different Types of Power

1. Coercive Power

● This kind of power involves the usage of threat to make people do what one desires.
In the organizational set up, it translates into threatening someone with transfer,
firing, demotions etc. It basically forces people to submit to one’s demand for the
fear of losing something.
 Different Types of Power

2. Reward Power

● As the name suggests, this type of power uses rewards, perks, new projects or
training opportunities, better roles and monetary benefits to influence people.
However an interesting aspect of this type of power is that, it is not powerful enough
in itself, as decisions related to rewards do not rest solely with the person promising
them, because in organizations, a lot of other people come into play like senior
managers and board.
 Different Types of Power

3. Legitimate Power 

● This power emanates from an official position held by someone, be it in an

organization, bureaucracy or government etc. The duration of this power is short
lived as a person can use it only till the time he/she holds that position, as well as,
the scope of the power is small as it is strictly defined by the position held.
 Different Types of Power

4. Expert Power 

● This is a personal kind of power which owes its genesis to the skills and expertise
possessed by an individual, which is of higher quality and not easily available. In
such a situation, the person can exercise the power of knowledge to influence people.
Since, it is very person specific and skills can be enhanced with time; it has more
credibility and respect.
 Different Types of Power

5. Referent Power 

● This is a power wielded by celebrities and film stars as they have huge following
among mass who like them, identify with them and follow them. Hence, they exert
lasting influence on a large number of people for a large number of decisions; like
from what car to buy to which candidate to choose for a higher office in the country.
Power and consequence are often closely related. The basic principle is that a
person with power has the ability to create consequences for the target
person, who takes these consequences into account when they are deciding
whether to comply with a request or refuse it.
 Effects of Power
POSITIVE

● Power prompts people to take action.

● Makes individuals more responsive to changes within a group and its environment.

● Powerful people are more proactive, more likely to speak up, make the first move,
and lead negotiation.

● Powerful people are more focused on the goals appropriate in a given situation and
tend to plan more task-related activities in a work setting.
 Effects of Power
POSITIVE

● Powerful people tend to experience more positive emotions, such as happiness and
satisfaction, and they smile more than low-power individuals.

● Power is associated with optimism about the future because more powerful
individuals focus their attention on more positive aspects of the environment.

● People with more power tend to carry out executive cognitive functions more rapidly
and successfully, including internal control mechanisms that coordinate attention,
decision-making, planning, and goal-selection.
 Effects of Power

NEGATIVE

● Powerful people are prone to take risky, inappropriate, or unethical decisions and
often overstep their boundaries.

● They tend to generate negative emotional reactions in their subordinates, particularly

when there is a conflict in the group.

● When individuals gain power, their self-evaluation become more positive, while their
evaluations of others become more negative.
 Effects of Power
NEGATIVE

● Power tends to weaken one's social attentiveness, which leads to difficulty

understanding other people's point of view.

● Powerful people also spend less time collecting and processing information about
their subordinates and often perceive them in a stereotypical fashion.

● People with power tend to use more coercive tactics, increase social distance
between themselves and subordinates, believe that non-powerful individuals are
untrustworthy, and devalue work and ability of less powerful individuals.