The Five Basis of Power

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The Five Basis of Power Ernest Snyder BCOM/230 MAY 21, 2012 Fran Carter The Five Basis of Power The five basis of power are coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, reward power, and referent power. Certain power is bestowed upon someone based on their position within a company. Most leaders have to grow into their positions, so it takes time for them to figure out which type of power works best for them, everybody is different, what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another, and different situations demand different types of power. Coercive power is power used to persuade somebody to do something forcefully, by threatening him or her with punishment, or loss of privileges. Coercive power relies alot on intimidation, I would have to say that it is an informal type of communication because it is the abuse of power bestowed upon you based upon your position in the company and is not something that you are required to use, although it can be effective in the short-term, it can have detrimental long-term effects. A good leader will use coercive power only when needed. Today’s workforce is so much different than it was 30 years ago, you do not just yell at someone anymore and expect to get the desired results, for fear of discrimination or abuse. The legal system has made it almost impossible to discipline someone unless they have a track record of similar behavior a mile long. An example of coercive power in my workplace would be where our managers receive a bonus at the end of the season based upon different aspects of their performance and the office performance, two weeks before the end of the season our district manager told him or her that if they missed their office quota by one tax return, they would lose their whole bonus, and this is a situation that sometimes is beyond the managers control. Reward power is just the opposite of

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