Leadership theories and applications

Bases of Power

French and Raven described five bases of power within any given organization that can still be used today to define each person's social role. The five bases of power were defined as coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert power (Tauber, 2007, p.40). Each of these powers is visibly on display in the corporation described in the case study and the corresponding definitions can be applied to the employees and managers discussed in the study. Understanding the role of each employee and manager will also help to illuminate the power and dependency relationship that exists between them.

Reward Power

Reward power is the easiest power to define. It involves the dispensing of rewards in return for action that benefits either the entire company or the individual manager doing the rewarding. Because it is so easy to understand, it is also the easiest form of power to recognize and it exists at several places within Corporation A. The marketing department of Corporation A gives a large bonus to any employee who earns a superior rating on the yearly performance evaluation.

Employee 2 and 3 in the scenario also receive rewards from their superiors, though they are earned through other bases of power. Rewards are commonly combined with other forms of power to make them more meaningful to the employee. In the case of Employee 2, he receives a shortened work-week, while Employee 3 was rewarded the job of team leader.

Coercive Power

Coercive power is a lot like reward power in that it someone is does something they would not normally do in return for a reward or to avoid punishment. Both reward and coercive power involve manipulation of the employee (Tauber, 2007, p.41). In the marketing department of Corporation A, the manager constantly reminds employees of the large bonus they can earn with a superior evaluation and, as a consequence, urges them to work beyond their mandated 40 hours per week. Because Employee 1 wants to pay for an expensive vacation, he works the extra time in hopes of securing the superior evaluation and corresponding large bonus.

Expert Power

Expert power is best described as offering expertise in a certain field in exchange for a reward of some kind. Employee 2 is the lone CPA in the accounting department and the only one who can prepare the company's financial statements. In exchange for that expertise, the accounting manager has allowed him to work a four-day work-week, the only person in the department allowed to do so.

Referent Power

Referent power is a bit more difficult to obtain and evaluate. In essence, it states that people confer rewards on an employee because they respect and are personally attracted to them (Tauber, 2007, p.43). Often, the person demonstrating this power is described as "charming." In the case of Employee 3, when he pitched his ideas to increase sales many of the other team members were initially skeptical. But they changed their tunes after a short time because they all liked and admired him so, even going so far as to name him the team leader. All of this was conferred upon him even though he lacks the experience of most of the other employees in the sales department.

Legitimate Power

Legitimate power is the inherent authority that a manager possesses. It can be seen as a form of social approval that facilitates the acquisition of power (Bouquet & Birkinshaw, 2008, p.480). The marketing manager for Corporation A encourages his employees to work beyond 40 hours per week and many of them do it to gain preferential treatment when evaluation time comes around. They recognize that he has the power to determine whether or not they get a positive or negative evaluation and that their bonuses are contingent upon it, so they work harder than they might normally.

Dependency and Power

One cannot have any power unless another is dependent upon him in some way. In fact, the more dependent an employee is on a manager for something, or vice versa, the more power that manager or employee garners. There are several examples of dependency and power at Corporation A.

Employee 1 depends on his manager for his performance evaluation. His manager holds the power to give him a positive or negative review, thereby determining the bonus that Employee 1 may or may not receive. As a result, Employee 1 depends on his manager for his bonus. The marketing manager wields this power by encouraging his employees to work extra time, which many of them do in hopes of gaining a positive review and, subsequently, a large bonus.