Write a note on the legitimate use of power about 500 words each
Answers
Explanation:
Introduction
According to Phatak, power is the ability to influence the outcome of other people’s behaviors. Accordingly, one can only boost power if he/she is able to influence the world around him/her. Legitimate power is one of the important types of powers enjoyed by leaders. Additionally, legitimate power depends on the position a person occupies within an organization.
For that reason, legitimate power is the power enjoyed by a person by virtue of his position within an organization (Phatak). Ashraf also reiterates that legitimate power is the degree to which a leader uses his juniors to fulfill certain goals. However, the legitimate power concept allows a person to exercise more power than his position permits (Phatak). This scenario occurs when his/her seniors delegate some of their responsibilities to him/her.
On the other hand, a leader can also exercise less power than what is conferred on him/her (Phatak). Accordingly, he can delegate some of his powers to his juniors. Nevertheless, one cannot lead effectively if he or she does not understand the people he is leading. For that reason, all leaders must understand the fundamental principles of organizational behaviour.
Furthermore, power can have negative or positive effects on an organization, depending on how it is utilized (Merchant). For instance, good leaders are likely to use power in a manner that produces results. On the other hand, leaders who use power arrogantly or in a domineering manner are likely to encounter resistance from their subordinates.
Therefore, they are less likely to produce results. In addition, legitimate power has boundaries, as such, it can only be exercised to a certain extent. For that reason, exercise of legitimate cannot go beyond an employee’s zone of indifference (Hellriegel and Slocum 24).
An Overview of Power
One cannot fully understand the concept of legitimate power without revisiting the definition of power. According to Phatak, a person is said to possess power when he or she has the capability to influence outcomes and fulfill goals. Merchant also adds that a person can also exercise power unknowingly. For that reason, most people fail to recognize that they possess power. In simple terms, power enables a person to get things done.
According to Green, there are several ways in which one can acquire power. Power can be won, given or forcefully taken (Green). To start with, one can compete for power as in the case with elections. Secondly, one can receive power from another person. Finally, one can forcefully dethrone another person from power.
Major Attributes of Legitimate Power
Legitimate power is an important aspect in the day to day running of a busy organization. However, in order to fully understand legitimate power, it is important to know what legitimacy means. In his article, Phatak reiterates that legitimacy is undertaking something without breaking the law. In this regard, the law is the code of conduct that is accepted and unanimously agreed upon by members of an organization (Phatak).
Legitimate power, on the other hand, refers to the power a leader enjoys within an organization (Phatak). Therefore, legitimate power refers to the authority a person enjoys due to his or her rank. For that reason, the strength of legitimate power depends on the status of a person in an organization’s power structure (Merchant).
Legitimate power is also called positional power (Merchant). Citing Hinkin and Schriesheim, Faeth also states that legitimate power is the ability to make another person feel obligated or responsible. In this case, the leader is indentified by the responsibilities bestowed on him. Therefore, a legitimate leader has more rights and responsibilities than his followers.
In addition, he has an absolute control over his follower. For instance, subordinates report to managers. On the other hand, a manager allocates responsibilities to subordinates. In addition, a manager has the right to control the behaviors of his subordinates.
Interestingly, when a person receives more responsibilities, his legitimate powers increase (Merchant).