Applying Managers Powers - Essay Example

Manager’s Powers Name Course Lecture Date Introduction Managers can exert influence over their subordinates by exercising different types of powers. A great manager has to understand the kind of power he can use over employees. To establish a position as a leader the manager has to know the right situation to apply the different powers he possesses. Good use of leadership power can lead to the development of good relationships with subordinates in the workplace. Effective leadership is based on the development of a leadership style that suits the particular workplace and workplace culture. Influencing employees can be a complicated issue in many organizations. Managers have to find ways of applying their powers to deal with the issues they face in managing employees. Through appropriate leadership skills and application of these types of powers managers can able to overcome obstacles in the workplace. According to McShane and Von Glinow (2011), managers can use five types of powers to influence the behaviour of employees. These types of powers include legitimate power, expert power, referent power, reward power and coercive power. A manager’s power can be derived from two power bases; position and their own personal power. This paper discusses these types of powers as possessed by managers and how they can use them to realize their full leadership potential. In particular, the paper dwells on the issue of referent power which have become increasingly important in modern organizations. Referent power is shown to be effective in influencing employees who dislike the concept of boss. It is more suited to the project oriented approach of modern organizations that are likely to complete tasks through teams. Power bases: Position vs. Personal Power Manager can rely on two power bases to influence the behaviour of subordinates. Position power and personal power are used to influence subordinate behaviour in organizations (Gibson et al 2012). Position power comes from a manager’s position in the organizations in the upper echelons of the organization. By virtue of their position managers exert authority over subordinate employees. Personal power comes from the belief that the managers have influential powers over others (Flynn 2011). Belief in a leader has more potential in influencing follower behaviour and in creating relationships in the organization. All the types of leaderships discussed in this paper are based on the two power bases. Legitimate power The position of manager in the organizational hierarchy gives them legitimate power over their subordinates. According to Pfeffer (2011), legitimate power comes from the manager’s right to direct employee and supervise them. Employees are under obligation to the organizational to follow the legitimate power of the manager. Legitimate power is part of the traditional powers of managers. Managers can exert more legitimate powers by designing new policies and procedures. Legitimate power is enhanced by promotion of workers to high position for obeying the directives of managers. Legitimate power in an organization is expressed in various ways. For example, the CEO setting the overall company direction is a good expression of legitimate power. A manager setting annual performance goal for employee also comprises some of his legitimate power. Another example is the deadlines given to employees for accomplishment of tasks. According to Montana and Charnov (2008), a manager’s legitimate power can be enhanced by listening and considering the thoughts and input of followers. Legitimate power is likely to appeal to employees who are inspired by rational thought rather than emotions. It is important to get subordinates to accept the legitimate power of their leader (Luthans, 2011). Only when they view the power of a manager as legitimate will they comply. However, the scope of legitimate power means managers can only ask employee to accomplish tasks within their job definition. Reward Power Another type of power possessed by managers is referred to as reward power. Managers who use reward power offer employee something attractive in return for obeying them (Butler 2002). Rewards are either financial or non-financial. Financial rewards include bonuses, raises or stock-options. On the other hand, non-financial rewards included promotions, recognition, flexible work, more responsibility and new equipment (Ellickson and Logsdon 2002). If the employees continue to perceive the rewards as valuable the manager can continue exerting power over them. However, the power of reward power can be greatly reduced if employees have more important considerations. Reward power relies on providing a clear link between employee performance and some sort of reward (Ellickson and Logsdon 2002). Haugaard and Clegg (2012) reward power is based on the assumption that performance will improve in the presence of rewards. Therefore managers are supposed to make it explicit the time of behaviours that are to be rewarded. Yahaya, Boon and Hashim (2011) say rewarding employee creates the perception that the organization regards them as dedicated. However, funds to offer rewards to employee are not always available meaning non-financial rewards are more commonly used. Literature suggests that non-financial rewards such as verbal approval, recognition and praise are more effective and cheaper and thus are suited for public organizations (Flynn 2011). Managers can also use reward power to influence their seniors. A promise to assist or support their future endeavours suffices as good reward in the organizations. However, some rewards like promotions attract a lot of organizational politics (McLean and Elkind 2003). Promotions are fought over with some people within the organization disputing the promotion of some employees as undeserved. Therefore, managers must ensure that the process of offering rewards is perceived as fair and just by their followers (Erdogan and Liden 2002). Furthermore, the use of reward power has been faulted as rewards need to increase with time for them to be ineffective in influencing behavior. Coercive Power Coercive power is where threats of harm are made on employees to compel them to complete to complete a task. Employee are either punished or penalized for performing below expectations. The use of coercive power assumes an employee is not willing to do what he/she has been asked (Carson, Carson and Pence 2002). Coercion aims to get compliance and punishes the employees for failing to comply. Common punishments in organizations include dismissal, demotion, suspension, undesirable work and reprimands. However, managers should be careful while using coercive power as it results in the resentment of their authority. Abuse of power is common among managers who use coercive power and sometimes it lead to their own dismissal if their actions are taken to be too rash. According to Rahim et al (2002), the use of coercive power is a major cause of employee dissatisfaction and high turnover rates in organizations. Referent Power Referent power is another common type of power used by managers to influence subordinates in the workplace (McShane and Von Glinow 2011). Referent power arises from the admiration followers have of their leader. According to Tosi, Misangyi and Fanelli (2004), if subordinates hold a person in high regard he has great power to influence their behaviour. Greenberg (2011) argues that business leaders who have an admirable personality, a good reputation and a level of personal charisma will influence the behaviour of employees automatically. A manager has to have qualities that employees admire and desire to emulate (Montesino 2002). Referent leadership is based on the creation of a good work environment that fosters improvement in performance. Referent power aims to inspire employees to complete their task and targets their satisfaction with their work. Referent managers allow employees to take up more responsibilities and autonomy over their jobs. Unlike the other powers of managers already discussed, referent power does not rely on supervision for effective completion of tasks (Luthans 2011). In contrast to legitimate power, referent power uses emotional appeal to influence the behaviour of employees in the workplace (Leung and Wong, 2002). It depends on the relationship of reference between the employee and his manager (Jones, Armour and Potrac 2002). Referent powers arise from the personal power base as it is the personality of the managers that is the source of his influence over employee behaviour. Increasing importance of Referent power Changes in the organizations structure, the nature of work and a generational change in the workplace have seen the importance of referent power increase in organizations. While traditional organizations were organized hierarchically through departments today’s organizations are flatter (Yahaya, Boon and Hashim 2011). The traditional structure allowed managers to use formal power very effectively. However, organizational work is now more project-oriented. Organization work is much more likely to be implemented by teams, some which may span across departments. Project teams take on work that the whole organization is unable to perform effectively. According to Yukl, Gordo and Taber (2002), the nature of work in organizations has changed as a result of downsizing, increased competition, advances in information technology, customer demands for higher quality and the increased globalization of organizational operations. Organizations are relying on self-managed teams more than ever before. These teams recruit a select number of people to work towards a specific objective, but do not have a specific boss. Yukl, Gordo and Taber (2002), argue that elimination of the old concept of a supervisory and directive boss can enable work to be done more effectively in most organizations. The arrival of generation-Y employee in the workplace has also seen the role of the traditional boss recede in the workplace. Generation-Y employee abhor being bossed over and take pride in their ability to work without supervision (Tosi, Misangyi and Fanelli 2004). Thus, modern workers are immune to traditional positional power as they have no desire to move up the organizational hierarchy. Personal growth, self-expression and self-fulfilment are much more important among generation-Y employees than respect for authority (Luthans 2011). The presence and increased use of self-managed teams in organizations necessitates a shift from traditional positional power to personal power leadership. Managers need to be more collaborative and influential rather than controlling. Strong interpersonal skills are crucial aspect of managers who have referent powers. According to Erdogan and Liden (2002), leaders can acquire referent power by involving in a number of practices including assisting employee, giving positive feedback, making self-sacrifice, keeping promises and showing honest concern for workers welfare (Leung and Wong 2002). According to Yukl, Gordon and Taber (2002), a manager can gain referent power more easily by genuinely showing concern for his subordinates. Concern about their work-life balance and other issues that affect their morale will go a long way in making a leader revered (Tracy 1990). The integrity of a leader is also crucial aspect that increases their referent power. Expert Power Expert power is another key power manager can use to exert influence over subordinates. Like referent power it rises out of the personal power base. Expert power works under the assumption that people are more likely to follow a person who has great skills and proficiency in certain areas (Luthans 2011). Other employees desire to have the same achievement as the expert manager. According to Luthans (2011), women are more likely to use expert power to influence their followers. Expert power necessitates employee to regularly consult the manager for answers and guidance on completion of task. Expertise is therefore a basis for the creation of referent power as discussed above. Expert managers have more influence over rational thinkers as people believe in their ability to guide completion of tasks. Expert power has increased the need for personal development in the workplace (Pfeffer 2011). Even where expert employees have a low-rank in the organization they need to be considered in decision making in the organizations. Managers have to further their education or take part in on-job training to increase their expertise and thus exert more influence on subordinates (DuBrin 2009). The use of technology in the organizations and its increasing sophistication has seen organizations become more dependent on expert power. Information technology managers have risen to manage organization-wide project work as they understand how technology can change organizations for the better (Pfeffer 2011). Expert power is dependent on the perception by followers that the leader holds some unique skills and knowledge (Pfeffer 2011). Expert power is limited to a leader’s area of knowledge. In the views of Brown (2006), expert power is supported by the perception of a leader as trustworthy, credible and relevant. Leaders who have been able to show their credibility in a certain field will have the respect of subordinates and thus wield influential power over them. Conclusion The discussion in this paper shows that power gained from personal power bases is more effective in influencing employee performance in the long-term. In contrast, positional power mostly involves making employee do what they do not desire. Legitimate power places employee under an obligation to comply whether they like it or not. However, the tall organizational hierarchies that were the basis of legitimate power have been dismantled in most organizations. Although managers continue to hold legitimate power in the new organizational structures, its prominence as receded. Primitive coercive power in organizations is also receding due to a combination of government policy, trade unions advocacy and employee centred employment practices. Identified as a leading cause of employee dissatisfaction and turnover, modern managers should use coercive power as rarely as possible. However, when employees fail to yield to the other powers of a manager, coercion becomes necessary. In comparison, reward power remains relevant in modern organizations. But managers should concentrate on the use of non-monetary rewards such as praise, recognition and appreciation that will not need to be increased every time to remain effective. The need for managers who can use their personal power to influence subordinates has increased in contemporary organizations. Managers need to posses referent and/or expert power to effectively influence modern employees. 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