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Positional and Personal Power

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Positional and Personal Power
"Drawing from positional sources of power is more effective in organizational settings than drawing from personal sources of power." Discuss.

In this coursework I shall discuss two theories explaining different sources of power that related to positional sources of power and personal sources of power. I shall outline the usage of positional sources of power and personal sources of power , I also use sources to support or against statement. After that comparison will exist between positional sources of power and personal sources of power since by using some examples. Finally, I shall decide whether I agree or disagree this statement and comment on the influence of both sources of power in contemporary organizational systems and then conclude about the most effective way for manager. As a manager of the firm, power is a significant tool to influence employees. French and Raven's(1959,p434-435) shows that power can be divided by five sources that include legitimate power,reward power,coercive power,referent power and expertise power. Hales(2001,p435) develops further on French and Raven's theory claiming that coercive power, reward power,expertise power and referent power can involve both a personal and a positional source, except legitimate power which is only belonging to positional sources of power. It is manifest that positional power is depends on the role of the person in the organization whereas personal power is derived by the individual's personality, skills and capabilities. Now, it is turning to explain the usage of positional power and personal power by analysing the theory of French and Raven(1959,p434-435). Legitimate power appears to be derived from the formal position of a person in the organization which means the higher the position, the greater the power. For example, the boss has the power to decide to recruit or cut staffs, make capital expenditures and investment decisions. Actually, legitimate power is really useful.As


Bibliography: Situation Management Systems,Inc.(1998). Character building:The Positive Use Of Positional Power. [Online] Available http://smsinc.com/resources/articles/the_positive_use_of_positional_power.html [accessed on 27 November,2011]
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